©

2024

The Digital Roar: Awakening a Rugby Cathedral

We transformed the home of Munster Rugby into a global digital destination, building a platform that now hosts twice the stadium's physical capacity in monthly digital footfall.

Thomond Park is not just a stadium; it is hallowed ground. As the home of Munster Rugby, it holds a mythical status in world sport. But while the physical stadium is a colosseum of noise and passion, its digital presence was silent. The legacy site was static, mobile-unfriendly, and notoriously difficult to navigate, effectively locking out the millions of global fans who wanted to engage with the brand. Our mandate was to build a digital twin that matched the intensity, history, and scale of the physical venue.

Services

UX Architecture
Web Design
Booking Engine Integration
Technical SEO
Accessibility Compliance

The Digital Roar: Awakening a Rugby Cathedral

We transformed the home of Munster Rugby into a global digital destination, building a platform that now hosts twice the stadium's physical capacity in monthly digital footfall.

Thomond Park is not just a stadium; it is hallowed ground. As the home of Munster Rugby, it holds a mythical status in world sport. But while the physical stadium is a colosseum of noise and passion, its digital presence was silent. The legacy site was static, mobile-unfriendly, and notoriously difficult to navigate, effectively locking out the millions of global fans who wanted to engage with the brand. Our mandate was to build a digital twin that matched the intensity, history, and scale of the physical venue.

Services

UX Architecture
Web Design
Booking Engine Integration
Technical SEO
Accessibility Compliance

Date

Sept 2024

Date

Sept 2024

Date

Sept 2024

Client

Thomond Park

Client

Thomond Park

Client

Thomond Park

Industry

Sports & Tourism

Industry

Sports & Tourism

Industry

Sports & Tourism

Timeline

3 Months

Timeline

3 Months

Timeline

3 Months

The Challenge

While the physical stadium stood as an impenetrable fortress of passion and sporting history, the legacy digital infrastructure had become a restrictive bottleneck that was actively silencing the brands global potential.

The stadium suffered from a "Legacy Disconnect." While the venue was hosting world-class events, the website was stuck in the past. Touring fans found it impossible to book museum visits on mobile; corporate clients struggled to find event specs; and the site failed to convey the sheer emotion of the "Thomond Roar." Commercially, the site was leaking revenue—bookings were lost to friction, and the stadium’s rich history was hidden behind poor navigation. They needed a platform that didn't just inform, but performed.

The Solution

We engineered a high-performance "Digital Turnstile" that fuses the visceral emotion of match day with the frictionless utility of a modern e-commerce booking engine, ensuring the user experience matches the intensity of the venue.

We rebuilt the architecture from the ground up, taking cues from global leaders like the Aviva and Croke Park but injecting the unique soul of Munster. The new design is mobile-first and visceral, using video-led headers to instantly immerse the user in the stadium atmosphere. We integrated a seamless booking engine for the Museum & Stadium Tours, turning a clunky manual process into a slick, automated checkout. Crucially, we prioritised accessibility, ensuring the site is open to every fan, regardless of ability.

The Process

We executed a forensic technical overhaul designed to export the "Thomond Roar" to a global audience, optimising every byte of data for speed, scale, and international reach to ensure the stadium is open to the world 24/7.

We didn't just design for Limerick; we designed for the world. We implemented an aggressive Technical SEO and caching strategy (GZIP compression, Minification) to ensure the site loads instantly, whether the user is in Cork or California. We built dynamic "Event Display" sections that allow the internal team to update matchday protocols in seconds. This wasn't just a redesign; it was a capacity expansion for their digital infrastructure.

By the numbers

k+ Active Users

We have effectively filled the stadium twice over in the digital space. The platform is now handling a massive volume of traffic, with 47,000 new users acquired in the reporting period alone.

k+ Active Users

We have effectively filled the stadium twice over in the digital space. The platform is now handling a massive volume of traffic, with 47,000 new users acquired in the reporting period alone.

k+ Active Users

We have effectively filled the stadium twice over in the digital space. The platform is now handling a massive volume of traffic, with 47,000 new users acquired in the reporting period alone.

k Organic Domination

This isn't paid traffic; it's earned authority. A staggering 40,000 of those new users arrived via Organic Search, proving the SEO strategy has made the brand the undisputed authority in its field.

k Organic Domination

This isn't paid traffic; it's earned authority. A staggering 40,000 of those new users arrived via Organic Search, proving the SEO strategy has made the brand the undisputed authority in its field.

k Organic Domination

This isn't paid traffic; it's earned authority. A staggering 40,000 of those new users arrived via Organic Search, proving the SEO strategy has made the brand the undisputed authority in its field.

% US Market Penetration

We successfully exported the brand. Nearly a quarter of all traffic now originates from the USA, proving the site is driving significant international tourism revenue.

% US Market Penetration

We successfully exported the brand. Nearly a quarter of all traffic now originates from the USA, proving the site is driving significant international tourism revenue.

% US Market Penetration

We successfully exported the brand. Nearly a quarter of all traffic now originates from the USA, proving the site is driving significant international tourism revenue.