Delaware North’s Australian Leadership Conference, Case Study

When the Fire Alarm Delayed the Keynote and Proved the Point

Morris was booked to open Delaware North’s Australian Leadership Conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground a fitting venue, since Delaware manages the stadium itself. The keynote? A deep dive into the future of sports, esports, fan expectations, mobile dining, and why venues must evolve from seat-fillers to story-makers. But just before he began, the fire alarm went off. The entire stadium evacuated. Fire trucks rolled in. Everyone waited outside.

It was unscripted. Awkward. And oddly perfect. Because the moment the crowd returned to their seats, Morris opened with a line that reframed the entire day: “This is what hospitality disruption feels like when you didn’t see it coming.”

What followed was a foresight-fuelled, guest-experience-resetting keynote on future stadiums, at-seat service, on-demand food and beverage, AI planning tools, and digital fan loyalty all years before those ideas became mainstream.

Shift: From venue as host to venue as orchestrator of seamless, personalised, anticipatory experience.

The result?: Strategic leadership buy-in, deep engagement, and follow-up praise for turning chaos into clarity.