By Rianna Lowrance, Senior Marketing Campaign Manager, Trimble
In the high-stakes world of Premier League football in the UK, "extra time" is a luxury designers rarely have. When interior designer Jenny Denton was designing the new Japan Airlines (JAL) Lounge at Liverpool Football Club's iconic Anfield stadium, she faced a logistical mountain.
The challenge wasn't just the design—it was the distance. With the designer based near Liverpool, key JAL stakeholders in London, Los Angeles and San Diego, and a hard deadline set for the start of the new season, the project demanded a departure from traditional, localized design reviews.
A global huddle on a tight clock
Japan Airlines, like Trimble, is a Liverpool Football Club sponsorship partner. The new to be designed JAL hospitality venue at the stadium would need to feature dining facilities and theater seating for up to 60 guests, with matchday reception capacity maxing out at 130.
Designing for a global brand like JAL within a historic venue like Anfield required meticulous detail. However, geographic dispersion of the team made in-person meetings a physical and environmental impossibility. To meet a timeline that saw construction begin almost immediately after the partnership was inked, Denton needed a "single source of truth" that could be accessed from any time zone.
Placing stakeholders 'inside the space'
"SketchUp was fundamental in gaining approvals, as the schedule was extremely tight," Denton explained. "The software enabled us to show how the existing space could be transformed quickly, gaining the real-time feedback necessary to develop the project further without the lag of traditional 2D revisions."
By utilizing the powerful SketchUp visualization capabilities, the process shifted from "showing" a design to "experiencing" it. The LFC team noted that the ability to virtually place stakeholders into the space together was the project's turning point. This digital-first approach yielded three critical wins:
Accelerated approvals: Stakeholders and decision-makers in the UK and California could "walk through" the envisioned JAL Anfield lounge via their browsers.
Sustainability: Eliminating international site visits significantly reduced the carbon footprint of the project.
Risk mitigation: Identifying key constraints in the design phase—rather than the construction window—prevented costly delays that would have threatened readiness of the lounge for the season.
A new standard for hospitality
The finished JAL Lounge is a masterclass in multi-functional design. The transition from initial input sessions to a grand opening in just months underscores a new reality in construction: when you leverage a connected digital workflow, "winning edges" are not just found on the pitch—they can be built into the design process for the stadium itself.
Trimble SketchUp 3D design software brings your vision to life.
