OEC Sheffield, a £5.5m new build multipurpose conference and events centre, is delighted to announce it will be the headline sponsor at the forthcoming CHS Awards 2019.
Nestled between two of Sheffield’s most iconic leisure and entertainment venues – Owlerton Greyhound Stadium and Napoleons Casino – Owlerton Events and Conferencing (OEC) boasts an impressive range of multi-purpose suites and state of the art conferencing facilities. With flexible spaces that can cater from 10 – 500 guests at a time, the purpose-built events space is due to open November 2019.
Venue Director, Gary Cook, said: “We’re excited to be the headline sponsor for the prestigious CHS Awards in its fifth year. It’s such a great event and recognised as one of the key award shows for our industry. We are looking forward to celebrating the very best talent, individuals and organisations in the MICE industry and recognising the hard work, professionalism and innovation in our sector.
“It gives us a great opportunity to put our brand new venue in front of a nationwide audience who represent the very best in the events, conferencing and hospitality industry. The OEC is going to be an exceptional venue in the heart of Sheffield and we are very excited about being able to share it with such an engaged and relevant audience, who will get to see it first.”
The OEC is owned by A&S Leisure, who have been involved in the leisure industry for over 40 years, and renowned for the Napoleon Casino brand in Leeds, Bradford, Hull and Sheffield. The £5.5m multi-purpose venue will be suitable for events and conferencing. Gary and his team have ambitious plans to fill the gap left by well-known Sheffield brand, Baldwins Omega as the place to be for every wedding, school prom and corporate event. OEC Head Chef, Sam Lindsay, began his career 21 years ago at the much-loved venue and has aspirations to recreate Baldwin’s ethos of restaurant quality food in a function environment.
The CHS Awards, now in its fifth year, recognise the best of the hospitality and events industry, celebrating groups and individuals across a variety of different disciplines. A number of new categories have been introduced to the Awards this year, including Rising Star, Lifetime Achievement and Unsung Hero, alongside established categories such as Best Independent Venue or Hotel, Best Catering Provider and Best External Event Space.
The Awards are judged by an independent panel of almost 70 event professionals, all experts in their chosen field. Entries ranged from internationally recognised brands to quirky independents and unusual venues, exceptional event professionals and, with such an outstanding calibre and record-breaking number of entries, the judges had a tough job on their hands to come up with a shortlist.
Emma Cartmell, Chief Executive Officer, CHS Group, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome aboard the OEC as our headline sponsors for the CHS 2019 Awards. They’ve chosen a great year to be involved as we were overwhelmed by the number and quality of nominations, we received for our fifth anniversary CHS Awards. We’ve had outstanding submissions from major brands to small independents and individuals. Congratulations to all our nominees, it’s shaping up to be a very exciting and hotly contested awards night and we look forward to seeing you all on the 6th June.”
