THE CHALLENGES WE FACE
Despite its iconic status, Allianz Stadium remains underutilised, with the pitch and stands sitting empty for up to 340 days a year – a figure that rises during Rugby World Cup years. This significant underuse represents a major missed opportunity to generate the revenue necessary to fund essential improvements and enable the game of rugby to flourish nationwide. At the same, we recognise that it is of the utmost importance to us that whatever we do here is done in a way that minimises our impact on the area we call home.
The key challenge for Allianz Stadium is attracting world-class events, due to the strict limits we have on hosting major non-sporting events. Currently, we are restricted to just three major non-sporting events per year, with attendance capped at 55,000 – significantly lower than the 82,000 allowed on match days.
Managing our impact on local communities
In October 2024, we launched a consultation to better understand perceptions of Allianz Stadium and the event day experiences of those who live locally. This sought to build on the work we already do with residents to understand their concerns and reduce the impact we have.
In many ways this survey taught us what we already know – that while people are generally satisfied with how we manage event days, there remains concerns, particularly around increased traffic, disruptions to local transport services, noise and anti-social behaviour. We also know that the stadium doesn’t currently deliver enough tangible benefits for the local community, who often don’t feel the pride or sense of ownership we want them to have over it.
If you or anyone you know wants to find out more about our work locally, or should you have any suggestions about what we can do to improve our service, please do get in touch by emailing twickenhamcommunity@rfu.com
