In Focus: Populous Strategy - Creating the Future of Venue Design

In this Q&A, Colin Green, EMEA Head of Strategy at Populous, explains how a data-led approach can shape better fan experiences, unlock long-term value and give clients confidence before major investment decisions are made.

What is Populous Strategy?

Populous Strategy is a specialist team that works at the earliest stages of a project to define the strategic brief before design begins. Our role is to bring together data, fan behaviour, operational requirements and commercial objectives so that every design decision is grounded in evidence and aligned to a clear purpose.

The proposition is simple: strategy should not sit behind design as a support function. Instead, it should shape the foundations of a project from day one, helping clients understand what they need, why they need it and how it will create value.

How does Populous Strategy define a successful brief?

We use what we call the “three Fs”: fans, functionality and finance. The first asks what fans and customers actually want; The second examines what the building, asset or masterplan needs to deliver; The third assesses the commercial model, investment case and return.

Where those three areas overlap, Populous Strategy develops the strategic brief. That brief gives architects, designers and clients a shared foundation, reducing uncertainty and ensuring the design responds to an agreed ambition rather than a blank sheet of paper. By working ahead of the wider design team, the strategy team helps define what success should look like before significant design resource or capital expenditure is committed.

Why has data-led strategy become essential for venues?

Stadiums, arenas and entertainment venues have to work harder than ever. They can no longer rely on 20 or 30 event days a year. Owners and operators are increasingly looking for assets that work all year round, whether through sport, music, hospitality, retail, tourism, community use or mixed-use development.

That shift makes early strategic thinking critical. Becoming a “365-day venue” is not simply about opening the doors more often; it must be commercially viable, operationally realistic and tailored to the specific market, audience and asset.

How does the approach balance commercial return and fan experience?

For Populous Strategy, commercial success and emotional engagement are connected. Some clients may need a fast return on investment, while others are focused on long-term brand value, loyalty and repeat attendance. The strategy must reflect those different priorities.

The goal is not to extract every last pound from a fan or a customer, but to create experiences that people want to return to. The team therefore looks at both measurable data and human behaviour, using insight to design spaces and services that feel valuable at every price point.

How does strategy support architects and designers?

Early-stage strategy gives design teams a clearer brief, a stronger understanding of the client’s objectives and a more robust basis for decision-making. It can reduce abortive work by limiting unnecessary iterations and helping teams avoid designing solutions that do not meet the agreed ambition.

It also helps to align multiple disciplines, including architecture, interior design, food and beverage, wayfinding, urban planning and operations. In that sense, strategy acts as a connective layer, ensuring the final design remains coherent, purposeful and commercially grounded.

How is the original intent protected through delivery?

Our team acts as a strategic guardian. After the brief has been created, Populous Strategy stays involved to test whether the developing design continues to meet the client’s KPIs, commercial expectations and operational requirements.

The ambition is also to extend that role beyond design and construction. Once venues are live, the team wants to analyse how they perform in practice and make adjustments where necessary. This is a circular relationship rather than a linear one and the strategy should continue to inform improvement over time.

Populous Strategy is redefining how architecture, design and strategic planning come together to create venues that are commercially resilient, operationally effective and built around the people who use them.

How are fan expectations changing?

Fans now expect more from live sport and entertainment than the event itself and experiences in other sectors have raised expectations, meaning venues must work harder to create memorable moments before, during and after the main event. That does not mean every experience has to be premium. The opportunity is to create quality and distinctiveness at every level, whether through hospitality, food and beverage, digital engagement, arrival experience or the overall atmosphere of the venue.

Where are the biggest opportunities for innovation?

One growing opportunity is the development of travel-led and curated experiences around sport and entertainment. For major events, audiences may want more than a match ticket; they may want accommodation, transport, city experiences and premium access combined into a broader journey. Venues need to become more adaptable. Modern assets must be able to move between sport, concert, entertainment and community use quickly and efficiently, to open up more productive days in the calendar.

What advice would you give to older venue owners that are looking to adapt to future demands?

Major venues are now planning decades ahead. For venues such as Wembley Stadium, Estádio da Luz, or Aviva Stadium, which are approaching 20 years of operation, the challenge is no longer simply increasing capacity. Instead, the focus is on future-proofing the venue for evolving audience expectations, new event formats and changing urban environments.

Venue owners should prioritise flexibility, investing in infrastructure that can adapt to different event types, technologies and commercial models over time. This includes enhancing the premium offer, integrating digital experiences, improving sustainability performance and creating stronger connections with the surrounding destination. The most successful venues of the future will be those that continually evolve their experience, rather than relying solely on the strength of their original design.

How would you summarise the value of Populous Strategy?

At Populous we say we “design the places where people love to be together”. Populous Strategy builds on that by developing the intelligence that maximises the value of those places. In practical terms, that means helping clients make better decisions, giving designers stronger foundations and ensuring venues are created not only to look impressive, but to perform commercially, operationally and experientially over the long-term.

Find out more about Populous Strategy at: www.populous.com