GL events is proud to partner with The Open Championships. The stakes are arguably highest, and the sense of occasion most momentous, when the championship returns to St. Andrews, the home of Golf.

This was certainly the case in July 2015, when GL events supported the R&A’s rebrand, converting the 21,000 grandstand seats allocated to this event from traditional racing green to the new R&A blue.

These seats formed the largest and most ambitious spectator amphitheatre in the history of the Championship. We created a vast arena, encircling key areas of play, including the first tee and 18th green, with our C View+ tiered seating. In another first, a two-tiered grandstand was erected behind the 18th green to further enhance the extraordinary atmosphere created by the grandstands located alongside the adjoining first fairway. Spectators within the upper tiers benefitted from unusually generous sightlines, thanks to the rise of 500mm per row of seats.

A further unique feature, and a first for the industry, was the incorporation of the R&A’s official Old Course Shop within the grandstand. Grandstand seating was installed above this large, permanent retail unit, on top of a bespoke structural steel frame, forming part of the grandstand’s upper tier under-structure. Provision of disabled seating areas on raised platforms within four of the stands ensured that the event was fully accessible to all.