It’s not an easy job being the boss of a £50million sports stadium, especially one that invokes such sentiment locally.
But Ashton Gate’s managing director Mark Kelly says he’s not sure he could do anything else.
“I am very self-critical so I’m my own worst nightmare,” he tells me as we drink tea in the stadium’s swanky executive lounge. “But I am very proud of what we are delivering here.
“I enjoy my job immensely. If I was ill or not able to work I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. It’s a constant adrenaline buzz.”
Kelly took up the helm in 2015, shortly after the decision was made that Ashton Gate - the historic home of Bristol City Football Club - would not be able to build out into Ashton Vale.
With a background in hotel and events management, Kelly was brought on board to shake up the commercial strategy and expand revenue streams.
The brief from stadium owner Steve Lansdown, according to Kelly, was to “go local”.
“The original vision was to create a 365-day venue," he said. "At the same time we wanted to bring investment into South Bristol and Bedminster.
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“It was about creating a venue that would drive sustainability and be an attractive place for players and clients to come.”
Since taking the top job, Kelly has overseen the transformation of the venue into a top-class sporting stadium with facilities to rival many of the 海角视频’s best.
More than 600 contract staff are now employed at the site, which is also the base for Bristol Sport - the organisation overseeing the commercial and operational interests of Bristol City, Bristol Bears Rugby Club, Bristol Flyers Basketball, Bristol City Women's Football and Bristol Bears Women.
Kelly manages a permanent team of 149 Bristol Sport employees and a payroll across the group of roughly £1million.
Although Ashton Gate is “first and foremost a sports stadium”, according to Kelly, he is behind its transformation into a successful conference and events venue.
In five short years Kelly has set up Ashton Gate’s own catering company on site and grown the income stream for food and drink from £250,000 to £6million a year.
“We started for scratch which was carnage for the first six-to-nine months,” he said. “We built a catering department in January 2015 and opened phase one in August that year."
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Kelly says the group tries to use as many local suppliers as possible, including meat from Ruby and White butchers in Clifton, bread from Mark’s Bread in Bedminster and fruit and vegetables from Somerset.
In total the supply chain is worth about £9million across the group.
“Where we can, we go local. The butchers had to hire another two people because of our demand. There are some good stories about the knock-on effects and we are very proud of that.”
As well as food and drink, new revenue is being generated through events, including concerts.
In 2019, Ashton Gate ran a series of summer concerts with top-billing artists including Take That, Spice Girls, Rod Stewart and Muse.
Kelly is wary of revealing how much revenue the concerts generated, but with more than 110,000 people visiting the stadium over the four concert dates, it's clear the income would have been significant.
“There is something for every demographic and Bristol hasn’t done concerts with those level of acts for a long long time. It was great to see how well Bedminster did and see that all the hotels were full.”
But, despite his success, Kelly is not resting on his laurels.
Last week, Ashton Gate announced its revised plans for a sports and convention centre next to the stadium with a capacity of 4,000.
The new development, if approved, will be home to Bristol Flyers and a space for larger events. Proposals also include a 230-bedroom hotel, offices and car parking.
“I think it closes the circle for Ashton Gate," said Kelly. "It will help develop an old brownfield site next door.
“I get £13million of conference enquiries every year and at the moment I can’t convert it because people want to stay on site. But with this, that will change."
When asked about competition between the proposed YTL Arena in Filton and the plans for Ashton Gate, Kelly says he doesn’t have any concerns.
“Our sports and convention centre is a different prospect to what they are proposing in Filton. That is much bigger - and we wouldn’t be able to do that. We can do 30,000 on the pitch five or six times a year.
"I think the YTL Arena will be great for the city and we as a group support it. It’s an incredible opportunity if they get the planning for it.”
'It took a little while for the city to realise that what we were doing was credible'
Although Kelly clearly has much to be proud of, he admits the journey has not always been easy.
“When we first started there were some preconceptions about Ashton Gate because it was a really old stadium. It took a little while for the city to realise that what we were doing was credible and the impact it could have.
“It was an incredible challenge to create a catering organisation from scratch while physically developing a £50million stadium too.
“Putting the stake in the ground to say ‘we are here for Bristol’ and we are not just a football stadium, and managing expectations from fans at the same time.”
Kelly is confident the group won’t face the same challenges with the new sports and conference centre.
“There is no sentiment for the conference centre whereas this is Bristol City’s stadium.
“They have been based here for 125 years and with that comes legacy. You are messing with people’s perceptions of what history is really. That is a big challenge and we got through that by delivering a great stadium.
“[But] we have to be credible and I believe we have tested ourselves and delivered back to Bristol. It can only be a really good thing.”
Kelly believes Bristol is "brilliant" but to continue evolving could learn lessons from other cities, such as Birmingham.
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“It’s multicultural, has some of the largest venues in the 海角视频, it’s got a cracking airport, and an excellent metro into the city centre.
"Its train station has also undergone an incredible transformation - and we should have a similar ambition. We shouldn’t be afraid to change because it might have an impact on the sentiment.”
When it comes to leadership, Kelly admits its not always easy and says he has “high standards”.
He said: “We are in a pretty relentless environment - it comes thick and fast and we have high expectations.
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“The important thing is to state the clear expectation of what you are trying to deliver and then recognise and reward where possible when that is delivered. It’s about taking the team on the journey with you.”
His advice to other leaders is to do something every day that scares them.
He added: “As leaders we should not change for the sake of change but understand how we can evolve, whether it’s a product you’re selling or a venue, you have to stay ahead and watch what’s coming next. Look at industries for examples of change and learn from others.”
Kelly has achieved so much but believes there is "plenty more to do".
He added: “The day when I rest on my laurels is the day I retire or I have failed myself. As a leader you are in a job to drive success and there is always more to come.”