Tag: football

Rethinking place atmospheres: Manchester City Football Club project

Photo source: www.thedrum.com

By Gareth Roberts, Chloe Steadman, Dominic Medway and Steve Millington (Institute of Place Management)

Football stadia as places

When we consider place management in all its incarnations and guises, and the many different types of places that this practice and associated actions can be applied to, the football stadium (and its immediate surrounding environs) is not likely to be amongst the first examples that spring to mind. However, the football stadium is clearly a place, and a place that hosts tens of thousands of visitors on a weekly basis. Therefore, ensuring that it best meets the needs of these people, and provides an environment conducive to a positive experience, is just as important as for towns, cities, or indeed any other place.

The problem with atmosphere Continue reading “Rethinking place atmospheres: Manchester City Football Club project” →

The football stadium and place making: a case study of Manchester City

by Steve Millington*

This presentation analyses the relationship between football stadia and place. It provides an overview of football related research by IPM members, including Tim Edensor, Dominic Medway and Cathy Parker, work that has primarily focused on Manchester City Football Club.  This encompasses both theoretical and applied research, and draws on both quantitative and qualitative methods, combing participant observation, netnographies, focus groups and latterly “big data analysis” utilising Springboard’s footfall counts from the #BDSU project. Continue reading “The football stadium and place making: a case study of Manchester City” →

Meet the IPM: Interview with Dr Steve Millington

Dr. Steve Milligton
Dr. Steve Milligton

Dr Steve Millington is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University.  He is co-editor ofSpaces of Vernacular Creativity: Rethinking the Cultural Economy and Cosmopolitan Urbanism. Steve’s research focuses on ordinary and everyday place making, drawing on empirical work concerning the habitual and routine practices of football fans, household Christmas light displays and light festivals such as Blackpool Illuminations.  This research reveals contestations regarding class, taste and aesthetics, to challenge how creativity is deployed as a mechanism for revitalising declining communities and considers alternative approaches to cultural policy.  Steve is also a director of the Institute of Place Management, working directly with town and cities to help transform communities into sustainable and liveable places.  He has recently completed an ESRC project, High Street UK2020, involving 10 local centres across the UK, and is about to start a Technology Strategy Board project involving retailers, the property industry, local authorities, and trade associations, to enable these practitioners to make individual and collective decisions designed to optimise stakeholder performance and customer experience in retail centres. Continue reading “Meet the IPM: Interview with Dr Steve Millington” →