Premium seats (stadium)
A premium seat is an upgraded spectator seat in a stadium that offers better location, comfort, and service than standard seating. It typically includes wider, padded seats with extra legroom, superior views of the pitch or stage, and access to exclusive facilities such as lounges, bars, hospitality areas, or private suites. Premium seats are usually sold at a significantly higher price than regular tickets and are aimed at both corporate clients and fans who want a more comfortable, exclusive, and service-focused stadium experience.
Premium seats range from relatively simple club seats with lounge access to loge boxes and luxury suites that provide private space, catering, dedicated host service, and often separate entrances and parking. In many modern venues, premium seating is treated as its own revenue category and is actively used to increase per‑capita income and attract business customers.
Examples of price levels (approximate):
UK – Wembley Stadium, Club Wembley Inner Circle season membership: roughly £2,700–2,800 per seat per season.
UK – Wembley Stadium, One Twenty top hospitality membership: roughly £13,000–14,000 per seat per season.
UK – Wembley Stadium, VIP Club Wembley for major single matches (for example finals): often from around £600 per ticket.
Sweden – Friends/Strawberry Arena national team matches: standard tickets around 200–500 SEK, with premium/hospitality packages typically several times higher.
Sweden – Premium seats for major events (for example concerts): around 2,500 SEK per VIP/premium ticket in selected areas.
Norway – Ullevaal Stadion VIP/hospitality: packages with meals and drinks priced clearly above standard tickets; exact figures are usually given on request.
Read more interesting descriptions in our dictionary here
How to buy premium seats:
Directly from the club or stadium via official ticketing and hospitality channels, including premium membership programs and season contracts.
Through authorised hospitality and event agencies that package tickets with food, drinks, and business networking, especially for corporate clients and big games.
Via long‑term suite or box contracts, often multi‑year agreements used by sponsors and larger companies for client entertainment and staff events.
Price and role development:
When premium seating began to appear in modern stadiums in the 1960s and 1970s, it mainly meant slightly better views, more privacy, and simple club areas with a modest premium over standard tickets. Since the 1980s and especially from the 1990s onwards, premium seats have become a central part of the stadium business model. Products have become more luxurious, service levels have increased, and the price gap to regular tickets has grown. Today many clubs operate a full ladder of premium products – from entry‑level club seats to ultra‑exclusive suites – often priced dynamically by opponent, day, and demand.
Sitting near VIPs and celebrities:
High‑profile VIPs and A‑list celebrities are most often placed in the very top tiers of premium seating: private boxes and suites, the most central VIP/hospitality blocks, and front‑row or sideline seats with strong TV visibility. Fans who want the best chance of being near them generally need to buy the highest or second‑highest hospitality products and, where possible, coordinate with the stadium’s premium or hospitality team about seating in the usual VIP sections. In many cases, however, the very most exclusive seats are controlled through invitations and closed guest lists via sponsors, artists, clubs, and PR agencies. For most guests, premium seating is primarily about better comfort, food, drink, and sightlines, with proximity to celebrities as a possible extra, not a guarantee.
Are you interested in more concrete statistics? See the Stats & Records category here:
Do you need clearer explanations of venue‑related concepts? See the Stadiums & Arenas category here:
Do you need explanations of equipment and gear? See the Equipment & Gear category here:
