ABOUT / THE STADIUM NETWORK
ESSMA
BY THE PEOPLE WHO BUILD STADIUMS.
Since 2010, ESSMA has grown into Europe's network for stadium professionals — a not-for-profit where venues, leagues and federations exchange what actually works, from safety to sustainability.
01/Why we exist
MISSION & VISION
Our mission
ESSMA, the European Stadium & Safety Management Association, unites the stadium industry. Over 300 European stadiums contribute to the creation of market-specific research and join us on networking events to share knowledge, best-practices and learn from their peers. ESSMA nurtures these conversations, both online and offline, with benchmark reports, industry updates and case studies.
ESSMA clustered its experience in six expert areas: Development & Construction, Operations & Ticketing, Sustainability & SMART, Safety & Security, Fan Experience & Hospitality, and Pitch Management.
Our vision
Stadiums are an essential part of sports experience. The role of ESSMA is to support the European stadium industry in its growth. Stadiums are scattered throughout Europe and often find little comparative ground within national borders. Sustainable growth is only attainable by learning from peers, comparable in capacity and ambition, at international level.
ESSMA forms the catalyst in this story, including three pillars in its approach: Events, Business Intelligence, and Strategic Support. As an association we bring our members together, provide knowledge and build towards insights, truly applicable in practice.
02/what we cover
our expertise
Everything we do for our members falls into one of buckets — designed to fit how stadium teams plan their year.
Development & Construction
The annual ESSMA Summit, stadium tours across Europe, and intimate expert workshops. Built around the calendar of stadium operations — pre-season, mid-season, off-season.
Read more →Operations & Ticketing
The annual ESSMA Summit, stadium tours across Europe, and intimate expert workshops. Built around the calendar of stadium operations — pre-season, mid-season, off-season.
Read more →Sustainability & Smart
Quarterly Stadium Development Report, expert area research, project pipeline data and case studies — researched in-house, validated by the network, exclusive to members.
Read more →Pitch Management
Quarterly Stadium Development Report, expert area research, project pipeline data and case studies — researched in-house, validated by the network, exclusive to members.
Read more →Safety & security
"Ask ESSMA" advisory line, "Join the Manager" programme, media package, communication and benchmark support — one-to-one help when you're staring down a big decision.
Read more →Fan Experience & Hospitality
"Ask ESSMA" advisory line, "Join the Manager" programme, media package, communication and benchmark support — one-to-one help when you're staring down a big decision.
Read more →03/President & Executive Committee
executive committee.
ESSMA is led by an elected President and an Executive Committee of senior operators and industry figures from across Europe.
04/Awards
ESSMA AWARDS
Placeholder
ESSMA, the European Stadium & Safety Management Association, unites the stadium industry. Over 300 European stadiums contribute to the creation of market-specific research and join us on networking events to share knowledge, best-practices and learn from their peers. ESSMA nurtures these conversations, both online and offline, with benchmark reports, industry updates and case studies.
ESSMA clustered its experience in six expert areas: Development & Construction, Operations & Ticketing, Sustainability & SMART, Safety & Security, Fan Experience & Hospitality, and Pitch Management.
05/The day-to-day
The team behind ESSMA
The full-time team based at the home of STVV in Sint-Truiden who run the platform, the Summit and the research — every day of the year.
06/how we got here
15 years in the making
From a handful of stadium managers swapping notes to the operating system of Europe’s venue industry.
The operating system of the industry
350+ venues across 35 nations and six expert areas. The Summit heads to Amsterdam ArenA as ESSMA marks fifteen years.
Mastermind & 300+
The network passes 300 venues and launches Mastermind peer groups — small, confidential circles of operators solving shared problems together.
Sustainability moves to the core
Sustainability & SMART becomes a core expert area as venues commit to net-zero, and the digital member portal launches.
200 venues, one report
Membership passes 200 operators across 25 nations, and the first Stadium Development Report sets a shared benchmark for the industry.
Expertise expands
Operations, Safety & Security and Development & Construction join as dedicated expert groups, each with its own peer community and events.
First Summit & the original group
The first ESSMA Summit brings operators together in one room — and Pitch Management, the founding discipline, is formalised as its first expert group.
The network begins
A handful of stadium managers in Belgium start meeting to swap what works. ESSMA is founded in Sint-Truiden as a not-for-profit, member-led association.