photo: Wikimedia Commons, for media use/Plecharéna in Olomouc
HC Olomouc did not surprise in this season’s Tipsport extraliga and did not make it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. But after the end of the season, she entertained sports fans when she made full use of the marketing potential of the Belmondo club there.
The trio of footballers Kuchta, Brabec and Coufal went to this night club in the center of the Haná metropolis during the national team match. The next day everything got to the media and the players had to leave the meeting.
Many condemned their behavior, others had fun. During the match against Moldova, some fans chanted chants that included the club’s name, creating funny collages on the Internet.
Belmondo was suddenly known throughout the Czech Republic. That this is a good advertisement was confirmed by the server PrahaIN.cz and its operator Filip Přenosil.
The marketing potential is now also being used by the hockey club from Olomouc. This year, it is organizing the second year of the so-called MORA Fest, which is an event that takes place in the area of the local hockey stadium. Among other things, several bands will perform here.
And as the club announced on social media, the afterparty will be at the Belmond. The main face of the invitation is West Ham defender Ondřej Coufal, i.e. one of the “drunks” of the national team meeting during coach Šilhavy’s time.
“This somewhat unfortunate event that took place during the meeting of the national football team in Belmond still resonates in the world of sports. So we took advantage of that a little bit. But we have had marketing cooperation with Belmond for the last two seasons. So even after negotiating with them, we agreed on this. Part of the MORA fest is that every visitor has entry to Belmondo on Saturday after the end of the event,” HC Olomouc marketing manager Simon Vejtasa described to us.
But let’s go back to the basic part and the audience attendance in Olomouc. For fans from all over the country, this is a very atypical outing. In the old tin hall there, the temperatures are very low, which is, for example, very unusual for the Spartans.
The home team has apparently gotten used to it. In the regular season, an average of 4,754 arrived at the winter stadium, which ranks eighth in the extra league.
“It could be better. On the other hand, we are satisfied with the attendance because, as far as the percentage of the hall is filled, the number was not bad at all. And given the conditions we have for spectators in Plecharéna, it is three degrees above zero here during the winter. For that, we should thank our fans, who come to support our club despite the not-so-favorable conditions,” mentions Vejtasa.
From Plecharéna. Source: PrahaIN.cz
Hockey crushes football
Is there still room for growth in these conditions?
“Without debate, improving the comfort for spectators could help to increase attendance, but on the other hand, we can at least try to increase attendance within the current conditions. It’s not unrealistic,” says the marketing director.
Hockey is currently number one in Olomouc. He wins over football. Although the football club may be thinking of participating in the title group in the Fortuna league superstructure, the fans do not like some of the management’s moves. In the second half of March, they even covered Andra’s stadium with posters. “It’s really been enough. Pigs in charge, give up command,” one of them read. He brought photos, for example Olomouc Daily.
This year’s average attendance at Sigma Olomouc is 4,188 spectators. At the same time, football has much better conditions for fans, Andrův Stadium is one of the most modern and also the largest stadiums in the Czech Republic. The Czech national team has also played here several times.
Andro’s stadium. Source: PrahaIN.cz
