Game Hire at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Leicester

With 34 event suites and close to 4,000 square metres of space, Welford Road is the largest venue of its kind in the East Midlands, and the scale changes what's worth doing. An exhibition in the Final Whistle is a different problem to a breakout day across executive boxes, and the entertainment that suits one would be wasted in the other. Fun Pro supplies interactive games, branded stand games and arcade machines into events at the stadium. We don't hire out the venue; the Tigers' own conference and events team does that.

We've been supplying corporate events since 2009 from our base in Coventry, roughly half an hour away down the M69. Delivery, staffed setup and collection are included on every booking.

About Mattioli Woods Welford Road as an Events Venue

The stadium sits on Aylestone Road, about a 15-minute walk from London Road railway station and a 20-minute drive from junction 21 of the M1. It's been home to Leicester Tigers since 1892 and holds nearly 26,000 on a matchday across four stands.

For events, the range runs from a 12-person executive box up to 1,250 in the Premiership Suite. There's a genuine exhibition offer here too: the Premiership Suite and the ground-floor Final Whistle can be hired together to create around 2,200 square metres. Enquiries go through the events team on 0116 319 8888.

One current detail worth knowing: the NCP car parks previously recommended for the stadium have closed. There are a small number of on-site spaces, pre-bookable through your event planner, and the nearest public car park is now the Odeon at Freemens Park on Aylestone Road.

Spaces at Welford Road and the Games That Suit Them

The Final Whistle

A ground-floor exhibition suite with around 900 square metres of floor space, holding 1,000 for a reception or 800 theatre-style. Being at ground level, it's the most straightforward space in the building for us to get equipment into, and it's built for exhibitions and product launches. Footfall games earn their keep here: Grab A Grand, the Prize Crane, the Ballnado and Batak Pro with a running leaderboard. Most can carry your branding.

The Premiership Suite

The largest room, taking 1,250 for a reception, 950 theatre-style or 700 cabaret, on the first floor of the North Stand. It is divided by soundproof screens into three: the 1880 Club, the Welford Investment Director's Lounge and the Champions Club. The 1880 and Champions Club each take 450, with the Director's Lounge at 200. Usefully for us, the divided suites have ceiling rigging points, a private foyer and lift access, so this is one of the few upper-floor spaces in Leicester where larger equipment is realistic. Racing simulators and full arcade setups suit a gala dinner or Christmas party at this scale.

The Clubhouse, Try Line Club and Chairman's Lounge

The Clubhouse is the only suite here with pitch views straight from the lounge, taking 120 for a reception with a balcony attached. The Try Line Club holds 150 and is self-contained with direct access to the pitch, which makes it the natural base if your day includes anything outdoors. The Chairman's Lounge sits on the ground floor with an integrated PA and takes 100. These are mid-sized rooms where one or two games add atmosphere without crowding the space: shuffleboard, Plinko or a photo booth.

Crumbie Lounge and the Executive Boxes

The Crumbie Lounge is self-contained with a large private bar, taking 80. The 25 executive boxes seat 12 each with panoramic pitch views and are used as syndicate and breakout rooms alongside a larger session. The boxes are too tight for our equipment, so if you're using the Mattioli Woods Stand's main-room-plus-syndicates arrangement, the sensible approach is games in the Try Line Club and breakouts in the boxes around it.

What Fun Pro Handles, and What We Don't

What we handle:

• Bringing the games to Aylestone Road on your event date and siting them where you need them
• Setup, testing and safety checks before doors open
• Designing, printing and applying branding in-house where you want games wrapped
• Staffing through the event and collecting afterwards

What we don't handle:

• Suite hire, room allocation or floor plans, which the Tigers' events team manages
• Catering, per-person day packages, bar or AV
• Pitch hire and pitch-based team activities, arranged through the stadium
• Parking permits for your attendees

Planning Entertainment for a Welford Road Event

Parking is the practical change to plan around. With the nearby NCP car parks now closed and only a limited number of on-site spaces available by pre-booking, delivery access needs agreeing with your event planner rather than assumed. Tell us what you've been allocated and we'll work with it. It's very manageable; it just isn't something to leave until the week before.

The second thing is which floor you're on. The Final Whistle at ground level takes anything we own. The Premiership Suite and its divided rooms have lift access and rigging points, which opens up more than most first-floor spaces, though lift dimensions still set the ceiling on our bulkiest items. Share your room and we'll tell you plainly what's realistic.

Rugby fixtures shape access in the same way football does at King Power, so confirm your date against the season calendar when you book.

Lead times run four to six weeks for busy periods, including the Christmas season when the Premiership Suite books up early. Around two weeks is often enough for simpler bookings. Branding needs longer.

If you're exhibiting, think about what you want the game to do. A leaderboard game that people return to across a day creates repeat conversations; a quick prize game creates volume. Different aims, different choices.

Getting Games Delivered to Mattioli Woods Welford Road

We're about 25 miles away in Coventry, straight down the M69. Delivery, setup and collection are all included in your quote.

For the Final Whistle we'll arrange ground-floor access with the events team and can usually turn setup around quickly. For upper-floor suites we allow more time for the lift. For exhibitions we arrive early, because stand layouts always take longer to settle than anyone plans for.

Our safety and insurance page has our PAT testing and public liability documentation, and our case studies page shows the kind of corporate work we do elsewhere.

Planning an event at Welford Road? Get in touch with your suite, guest numbers and dates and we'll recommend what works.