Arena Seating enjoy Indian summer with The Police

The Police have been the hottest music ticket around the world this summer, and they sold out stadium shows at Twickenham and Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium this autumn. Some 10,000 seats were installed on England rugby’s hallowed turf by leading temporary seating specialists Arena Seating in September, while the Cardiff event in October will require about 11,000.

The Police shows represent a welcome extension to the summer music season for Arena Seating. While major outdoor music events usually finish at the end of August, The Police’s tour continues well into October, giving both the seating company and music fans the chance to enjoy something of an Indian summer.

The projects see Arena Seating operating at its well-oiled best. Installing infrastructure at sports stadia always requires the utmost care – with the protection of turf and precise logistical co-ordination with the promoter high on the priority list. “We first got the call from Phil Bowdery at Live Nation about six months ago,” explains Arena Seating director Dave Withey. “We received the stage drawings early on, which dictate the size and shape of the seating. The event was very well organised and there weren’t many changes, although they added an extra night at Twickenham because the sales were so good.”

The work at the Police included clipping seating together to local authority standards, “floor-barring” all seats from front to back for additional stability, seat numbering to match the event’s ticket manifest, and the installation of block signage for the public.

Dave points out that Arena Seating’s willingness to adapt keeps the company at the head of the field in the live events world. “A big part of our selling point is that we’re very flexible,” he enthuses. “We’re on site the whole time. Our crew are on standby for last minute changes, adapting to new camera positions or follow spots. We use CAD design and can make layout changes right up to showtime, if necessary.”