Hampshire Cricket Review Sport Hospitality Ticket
The deal
For the first time ever Sportz Guru visited a cricket match. The beautiful game of cricket was elevated with a surprise as we were upgraded to the Executive Club given our vast number of Twitter followers. Want to find out everything the Executive Club and accompanying Roof Terrace has to offer? Check our our review. Hampshire Cricket Review Sport Hospitality Ticket.
Rating
Overall: 7,9
Atmosphere & Entertainment: 6,5
Food & Beverage: 8,0
Seating & Facilities: 9,0
Price: 8,0
Category
Sport: Cricket
League: NatWest t20 Blast
Location
Country: United Kingdom
State: Hampshire
City: Southampton
Stadium
The Ageas Bowl (formerly known as The Rose Bowl) is a cricket ground in West End, Hampshire, England, located between the M27 motorway and Telegraph Woods, on the edge of West End. It is the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club, who have played there since 2001.
The ground was constructed as a replacement for Hampshire’s previous home ground, the County Ground in Southampton, which had been Hampshire’s home ground since 1885. Hampshire played their first first-class match at the ground against Worcestershire on 9–11 May 2001, with Hampshire winning by 124 runs. The ground has since held international cricket, including One Day Internationals, with the ground hosting some of the matches in the 2004 Champions Trophy. Two Twenty20 Internationals have also been played there, as well as a Test match in 2011, which saw England play Sri Lanka.
In order to be able to host Test cricket, the ground underwent a redevelopment starting in 2009, which saw the stands built to increase capacity and other construction work undertaken to make the hosting of international cricket at the ground more viable. The end names are the Pavilion End to the south and the Northern End to the north.
Review Hospitality Package & Sport Ticket
Hospitality Package
Hospitality Package: Executive Club
Buffet style pre-match meal with live cooking in the Executive Club
Complimentary Premium Drinks Package with Wine, Beer and soft drinks
Half Time and Full Time Refreshments
Seating in front of Executive Club with access to Roof Terrace
Hospitality Entrance
As we did not pay our tickets upfront we were supposed to collect them at the match day ticket office which is a located a little bit further on the hill at The Ageas Bowl. A little bit peculiar as there is no formal main reception and there are gates upfront the stadium to which you have to present your tickets. Upon collecting our tickets at the match day ticket office there was confusion as our tickets could not be found at first instance. Luckily this was sorted out in the next 5-10 minutes. Please be advised that when arriving by taxi, they are not allowed to proceed as far as the gates to which the hospitality areas are located. In our opinion that should be addressed and dealt with
Restaurant
We must admit that the quality of the food prepared and presented was excellent. Beautiful salmon, pasta, pate, salads and meats all prepared fresh with the best quality of ingredients. Add to that the dietary requirements that are very well addressed and cooks at the stations are very willing to help and assist. Very good quality of produce and the freshness is superb.
Dessert is a selection of sweets and hard and soft cheeses with condiments that are also available during the match and are constantly supplied and renewed.
Premium drinks selection that is included is indeed a premium drinks selection. Good quality. With respect to the drinks we however have to comment that waiting staff could improve substantially as it takes a long time to be served or even to order a drink at the bar. Possible explanation could be that the bar is slightly understaffed but in our opinion this should not be an excuse.
Business lounge
A warm welcome awaited us when we arrived at the stadium and were greeted by a friendly lady named Emma who told us that we were upgraded to the Executive Club (which is normally only for seasonal members). She also gave us a quick tour around the hospitality areas and informed us that we were also granted access to the Roof Terrace that is easily accessed via the Executive Club. The Roof Terrace is located on top of the main stand and offers great views over the pitch. At the Executive Club Emma handed us over to Janet who was in charge of the Executive Club restaurant and facilities. We were escorted to our private table which was located quite close to the toilets, but hey we got the upgrade! Private table was nicely decorated. A dress code applies here but it is not that formal as we have previously experienced at other venues.
Before dinner starts one could have a nice drinks at one of the sofas that are located in the Executive Club. A very relaxing way to start your afternoon of evening!
The pitch views in the Executive Club are excellent as you have full frontal direct views on the pitch.
Seating
The view from both the Executive Club and Roof Terrace are excellent. A very nice touch is that Janet reserved our seats when we arrived at the Executive Club as the seats are non-reserved seats, We therefore never had to rush for our seats and could dine at ease. A point of focus could be that all the seats at the hospitality areas are non-padded seats. For the price paid, one would expect padded seats.
Good to know
A very nice touch is that we were also greeted by Paul Jones from the sales department who arranged our booking and did that in a very professional way.
Hotels & tickets
The following hotels are nearest to the stadium:
1. Hilton at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
2. Holiday Inn Express Southampton, M27, JCT7
3. Premier Inn Southampton Airport
Do you want to go to Hampshire Cricket and enjoy this hospitality package? We can help you book this great package. Just send us an email with your request. We have also made it easy for you to book your hotel. Just click on the banner below and search direct for the city or hotel name you want to stay.
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Get request for hospitality package
Making a reservation can be quite tricky in terms of planning. We can make it easy for you. Please email us your contact details, the country or club you want to go to and when you would like to go. We will then make a proposal for you.
More photo’s & video’s
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Disclaimer: This is not a paid review and we haven’t been asked to write this. All views and words are our own and have not been influenced by anyone else.