Argyle Claim Prestigious Stadium Award
Argyle and Home Park triumphed over some of the world’s finest stadia to win the prestigious Sustainability & Community category of the Stadium Business Awards 2022 alongside VfL Wolfsburg.
From a shortlist also containing the Allegiant Stadium of Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Arena, the club was jointly awarded the honour alongside the German giants for our central work in supporting the local community since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, shared the honours for their commitment to reach Net Zero.
The awarding panel were impressed with Argyle’s “commitment to the local community over and above expectations”, and the demonstration that the club lives by its well-publicised Values.
The club was shortlisted following a significant and wide-ranging effort to play a role in the community's fightback from the impact of the pandemic, with Home Park serving initially as an antenatal and phlebotomy centre in the early stages of the COVID lockdown, before going on to become a mass vaccination centre, with Argyle supporting the NHS in delivering over 500,000 Covid-19 vaccinations to date.
Home Park has also served as a vital base for many community support initiatives, including Argyle Community Trust food parcel deliveries to those in need, as well as community welfare programmes combatting isolation exacerbated by social distancing.
The club's nomination also recognises the huge steps forward in Argyle's environmental efforts, which include the installation of energy efficient lighting around the stadium, a food waste partnership with Too Good to Go, and the publication of an all-encompassing Environmental and Energy Plan, which sees Argyle aim to meet the UNFCC's net zero target by 2050.
Receiving the honour on behalf of Argyle and Home Park Stadium at the awards ceremony, held at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, Head of Venue Christian Kent said: “We are beyond thrilled to be jointly awarded this honour alongside VFL Wolfsburg.
“There are so many inspirational clubs and venues in attendance at the event, and to be shortlisted alongside them is a privilege. To win, though, was beyond any of our expectations – and it underlines just how important football clubs are to the local community.
“Of course, we would not be here without the huge contributions of a number of local partners – whose work with us has made a huge difference. Thank you to the Argyle Community Trust, who underpin so much of our community work, the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, and Public Health England.”
