Radio Communication Efficiency for Brentford Football Club

Radio Solutions for Brentford Football Club

Brentford FC is a Premier League football club based in West London. Under the ownership of sports betting and analytics entrepreneur Matthew Benham, the club has risen from the lower divisions of the English Football League to become an established and widely respected top-tier outfit.

In 2020, the club moved from Griffin Park, its home for just short of 120 years, to the purpose-built, 17,250-seat Gtech Community Stadium. A year later, the club won promotion to the Premier League under Danish manager Thomas Frank, the first time ‘the Bees’ had been promoted to the top division of English football in 74 years.

The Gtech Community Stadium has won plaudits both for its contemporary architecture and for the quality of the match day experience for fans. The stadium was ranked the best in the league in 2023 in a fan survey carried out by the Premier League, and came second the following year.

That reputation has been earned through the club’s commitment to ongoing improvement across every aspect of matchday operations – including communications.

Our solution

The Challenge

The club contacted Brentwood Communications looking to update an old fleet of Motorola DP1400 two way radios it was using to coordinate fan-facing operations, including the club’s retail concessions, on matchdays. The DP1400s were legacy handsets still running in analogue mode and were starting to show signs of ageing with a deterioration in battery life and other small issues.

The main requirement was to have a reliable line of communication between the Brentford FC Superstore, the main club shop located a few hundred yards away from the stadium, and pop-up concessions set up within the ground itself on matchdays for fans.

Cagdas Kirdag, Retail Operations Manager at Brentford FC, said: “The Motorola radios had worked wonders but they were hand-downs and were eventually over-used. Communication between staff around the stadium and with the Superstore is key. Especially if there are ever technical issues with systems that need to be resolved ASAP.”

Outcome

Cagdas commented: “The Lugra has provided a more stable connection and the ability to connect old and new radios together meant we are covered in all areas.

“Working with Brentwood was very helpful. Instead of trying to sell us over-priced radios, the team came to our site and tested three different radios to ensure we made the right decision based on reliability, not price. The Brentwood team were very helpful and were keen to resolve any issues and not rush us. I would definitely recommend Brentwood if you’re after overall service.”