The winners of the Stadium Business Awards 2011 have been announced. As the only awards to recognise a wide spectrum of achievements across the global stadium industry, all aspects were covered, from individual staff to venue of the year, from architecture to sustainability.

The glittering awards ceremony took place during the Stadium Business Summit at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium in Spain, in front of an audience of more than 220 senior sports industry professionals from around the globe, including representatives from Arsenal FC, Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup organising committee, Manchester City FC, Juventus FC, the Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, the Olympic family and more than 50 stadiums, arenas and major sports events. “The judging panel was amazed this year by the incredible levels of commitment, ingenuity and above all passion to deliver outstanding venues and experiences for fans,” commented Michael Bolingbroke, COO, Manchester United FC, who chaired the judging panel this year. “Designed to acknowledge our industry’s leaders, achievers and stars of tomorrow, the awards received even more entries than last year so winners should feel immensely proud,” commented Ian Nuttall, founder of The Stadium Business Awards. Hundreds of nominations from around the world were narrowed down to a shortlist, judged by an independent panel of industry experts, including:

• Alexander V. Atamanenko, CEO, Donbass Arena, Ukraine
• Michael Bolingbroke, COO, Manchester United FC, UK
• Simon Clegg CBE, Chief Executive, Ipswich Town FC, UK
• Ninna Engberg, Managing Director, Stockholm Globe Arenas, Sweden
• David Manica, President, MANICA Architecture, USA
• Peter McKenna, Stadium Director, Croke Park, Ireland
• Patrik Meyer, Managing Director, Commerzbank Arena, Germany
• Chris Overholt, COO, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canada

Winners of the Stadium Business Awards 2011 with judging comments

New Venue of the Year, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

“for on-time, under budget delivery of a high-quality stadium on a compact urban footprint with minimum disruption... combining football and rugby to sustain the business model... now embraced by the local community as a fantastic city and national asset...”