Family Park scoops prestigious prize
Liverpool Football Club has won an award for customer experience after receiving the 'Best Fan Innovation' prize for its matchday Family Park.
Located on Anfield Road, the area provides fantastic entertainment for fans of all ages prior to matches - and has added plenty to the matchday experience.
Four Barclays Premier League teams were handed awards for the quality of their customer care as part of a national scheme that is improving standards of fan experience at football stadiums.
A panel of industry experts from the tourism, football and customer service industries voted Liverpool the VisitFootball Best Fan Innovation award.
The club's operations director, Andrew Parkinson, said: "We're extremely proud of the work that has gone into making the Family Park a success and it's fantastic to be recognised by VisitFootball.
"This is part of our planned approach to making Anfield more accessible to families and to keep junior Reds entertained before and after the match. It's great to see so many kids enjoying the new spaces we have created for them."
VisitFootball, a joint venture between the Premier League and the national tourism board, VisitEngland, has been assessing the care that customers receive at football grounds since August 2010 and hands out annual awards for those who deliver outstanding customer service.
A spokesman for VisitFootball said: "Liverpool has been very clever with the introduction of their Family Park: what was a disused piece of land next to their stand is now a key match-day activity for children and parents alike.
"Friends and families can meet up to three hours before the match in a safe and secure environment that is a hub of activity.
"There is ball juggling, target practice, an inflatable five-a-side pitch, face painting and the inside of the Anfield dressing room is recreated so that kids can pretend to be playing with their heroes. This is all delivered by excellent and enthusiastic Liverpool community coaches.
"On average there are 1,000 home and away fans making use of the facilities, and we are sure there will be far more now that the club have expanded the area into the adjacent food village creating a stage for local musicians to showcase their skills.
"The Liverpool Family Park is a fantastic facility which makes a day at the football much more than the 90 minutes in the pitch."