Digital Simplicity. Real Matchday Impact.
Client: Nottingham Rugby Football Club
Location: Nottingham, UK
Industry: Professional Rugby (RFU Championship)
TicketCo Solutions: Digital Ticketing, Access Control, Season Tickets, Event Management
Background
Founded in 1877, Nottingham RFC is one of England’s oldest rugby union clubs. Today, they compete in the RFU Championship, England’s second-tier professional rugby competition, alongside fellow TicketCo clients such as Ealing Trailfinders, Bedford Blues, Cornish Pirates, Richmond, Hartpury, Ampthill, and Caldy.
Based at The Bay Sports Ground, just a stone’s throw from Forest’s City Ground, Nottingham RFC draws an average of 1,200 fans per game, with attendance soaring to over 3,000 for marquee cup fixtures. With a community-first ethos and Friday night fixtures that avoid clashes with local football giants, the club aims to create accessible, family-friendly events.
Ollie Brewill, the club’s Marketing and Ticketing Manager, leads the effort to combine operational efficiency with personalised fan engagement. Since adopting TicketCo in early 2024, the club has dramatically improved ticketing simplicity, operational flow, and its ability to make data-driven decisions.
Challenges
Nottingham RFC needed a simpler mobile ticketing experience, especially for an older demographic accustomed to traditional entry methods.
Ollie was keen to gather deeper insights into buyer behaviour and fan profiles to improve marketing precision.
Operating in a competitive local market (with Nottingham Forest, Notts County, and Leicester Tigers nearby), the club needed to diversify revenue and broaden its appeal with new event formats.
TicketCo in Action
1. Frictionless Entry, Even Without a Ticket in HandWith TicketCo, Nottingham Rugby offers mobile tickets that can be stored in digital wallets and scanned at the gate using mobile devices. When fans forget their ticket emails, staff can instantly look them up by name in the admin app—resolving issues in seconds.
“We don’t have any faffing around on the gate. If someone can’t find their ticket, we just search the name in TicketCo and check them in there and then.”— Ollie Brewill, Marketing & Ticketing Manager
2. Smarter Marketing Through Data
TicketCo gives Ollie the insights needed to analyse ticket types, identify high-converting groups (such as students), and re-target them post-match.
“The data collection side is extremely useful for me. We can see which tickets were used, which weren’t, and go back to those fans. It’s helped us create themed nights and tailored campaigns.”— Ollie Brewill
3. Revenue Beyond Rugby
Beyond matchdays, the club uses TicketCo to run:
- Charity quiz nights
- End-of-season dinners
- Pre-season friendlies
- Parking passes for Nottingham Forest matches, sold in advance to maximise convenience and cashflow
4. Season Tickets and Event Flexibility
TicketCo allows the club to manage over 200 season ticket holders, while seamlessly adding new fixtures to the calendar, such as friendlies and cup games.
Results
- 📈 30% growth in attendance (from 950 to over 1,200 per game)
- 🎟️ Sell-out crowds for cup games, with 3,000 attending against Leicester Tigers
- 🧾 New revenue streams from dinners, quizzes, and Forest parking sales
- 👥 200+ season ticket holders, with steady year-on-year growth
- 🚪 Reduced gate queues and faster ingress via mobile scanning
- 🎯 Targeted re-engagement campaigns built on fan data insights
Looking Ahead
With new initiatives underway and further integrations with tools like Mailchimp on the horizon, Nottingham RFC is future-proofing its operations with a modern platform that puts fans first.
“You can’t enjoy rugby without a ticket. And when getting that ticket is this easy, everything else just works.”
— Ollie Brewill
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