Hospitality, the new way of experiencing sporting events wins more and more spectators

The hospitality sector has evolved significantly over the last two decades and is one of the sports industry's most interesting factors. It is a market that has undergone a rapid transformation and is constantly growing; from the first experiences of exclusive services dedicated to a select clientele in the world of American sports - think of the NFL in the 1960s, which offered 'luxury boxes' to sponsors and corporate guests - to the offer of 'hospitality packages' for companies and exclusive fans in English football in the late 1970s.

All over Europe, the hospitality industry exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, when the opportunity to coordinate business, public relations and visibility for all parties involved (from institutions to private customers, enhancing their personal interest in the experience of attending the event) during the most important global sporting occasions, from the World Cup to the Olympics, began to be emphasised.

It is still a young market, yet it has reached a stage of maturity with an increasingly solid evolution, full of growth prospects. The projected figures are clear: in 2023, the global sports hospitality market was estimated to be worth $17 billion, with a forecast of constant growth of more than 20% annually until 2031.

The occasion of the Winter Olympics

Italy awaiting Milan Cortina 2026 (data updated to April 2025) registers a growing interest in hospitality-related service purchases second only to the United States. On the lowest step of the podium is Japan, followed by Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The most popular events at the moment are ice hockey, ice skating and the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but there is also the traditional interest in the queen speciality, alpine skiing, and the curiosity for the disciplines that attract the youngest, such as snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

Nowadays, sports hospitality is no longer just a basic offer reserved for a few, but offers an immersive and customised mode for a wide range of customers, with solutions designed ad hoc according to the context and the event, the season and the location. And if it is true that the most popular sports such as football act as a driving force, individual events such as the Winter Olympics are driving commercial and cultural interests of ever increasing value, both for the organisers and for the participating public, as the anticipation for Milan Cortina 2026 already demonstrates.

 
On Location, leader in the sector that has as its flagship the Hospitality of the Super Bowl, the final of the NFL championship, and in 2026 will be the official provider of Hospitality for the Fifa World Cup to be held between the United States, Canada and Mexico, is the official and exclusive provider for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. For this event, it has created a rich catalogue of customised solutions, designed to meet the needs of every type of customer involved from the hospitality of the Olympic Games, including everything that has been designed for the 'Customised Packages' with customised solutions for every occasion. Customised Packages are available that include tickets to the events, the best accommodation solutions (in luxury, premium, plus and essential versions) and access to the In Venue Hospitality, such as the Private Suites, the Premium (access allowed before, during and after the event) and the Classic Lounges, customised venues with large screens where you can share the excitement of the event, eat and drink, and enjoy a unique hospitality experience, surrounded by memorabilia that immerse you in the magic of the Olympic atmosphere, in collaboration with the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

On Location has also thought about Off Site areas (called Clubhouse 26, in Milan, Cortina and Livigno) and Takeaway areas (Winter Essential), enriching a unique variety of Hospitality Packages, able to offer an unforgettable hospitality experience for all those who will attend Milan Cortina 2026.

On Location offers all this during the entire duration of Milano Cortina 2026, from 6th to 22nd February, with a staff in attendance at all events and in every location, from the opening in Milan to the closing in Verona, in between the races in Cortina, Bormio, Livigno, Anterselva, Tesero and Predazzo.

For further info: Hospitality Milan Cortina 2026.