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S E A Tleading the premium seat industry www.alsd.com summer 2011
p u b l i s h e d b y t h e a s s o c i a t i o n o f l u x u r y s u i t e d i r e c t o r s
member editorial:how Jake bye & the st. louis rams sell suite partnerships
page 16
member highlight:“rally rob” and tulsa’s
entertainment wellpage 32
an analysis of best practices utilized by suite directors
page 60
reliVe the alsd conference in photos: find yourself at la liVe page 46
the destination suiteplus: why is the alsd going to minneapolis in 2012? page 40
cambria’s design studio at target field
Ice Machines Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA SeriesIce Machines
Ice Machines Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA Series
Contact us for details on our stadium programs and these Marvel’s exclusives!
Installation service• Stainless steel or your choice of color• Team logo graphics applied with SonicImage• TM technology
For more information on Marvel’s top of the line products, visit our website or call 1-800-223-3900 www.marvelrefrigeration.com
Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA SeriesRefrigerators Refrigerated Drawers
The Preferred Stadium Brand of Undercounter Refrigeration
Relax responsibly.®
Imported by Crown Imports LLC, Chicago, IL 60603
Your Away Team
TWO WORDS: SPECIAL. TREATMENT.
MOTOROLA HOSPITALITY SOLUTIONSWhether entertaining business clients, closing a major deal or socializing with family or friends, your customers look to make the most out of their entertainment dollar.
Service, state-of-the-art amenities, and an overall exceptional experience are a must. Exceed their expectations. Equip your staff with mobile voice and data solutions so they can offer the ultimate in entertainment satisfaction. Afterall, everyone loves to be treated like a VIP.
MOTOROLA, MOTO, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2011 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more information, please visit us at: www.motorolasolutions.com/hospitality
Elite Risk Services, Inc. is pleased to be
THE OFFICIAL INSURANCE PARTNER OF THE ALSD
We recently launched a newly enhanced third party liability insurance policy that is designed to protect suite owners and managers each and every time you rent
a suite to a third party. Separate your liability and pass the minimal insurance premium on to the renter or tenant.
WHAT DOES IT COVER?
• Third Party Liability
• Property Damage or Bodily Injury (specific to the damages or injuries the client may cause or is held responsible)
• Separates the suite manager, the venue and the suite owner from the renter or borrower of the suite
• One low premium that can included in the suite rental agreement
Visit www.suiteinsurance.com or call Kevin Kurtz at 800-596-0969 ext. 105
Elite RiskInsurance Solutions
License # 0G40499
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 5
S E A TPublished by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors
COVER STORY
40 POLISHED BRANDING One company surfaces as a preeminent branded sports marketing partner. Visit the “facility” at Target Field, a destination suite that is a world of its own – Cambria’s Design Studio.PLUS: Learn why the ALSD is going to Minneapolis in 2012.BY AMANDA VERHOFF
FEATURES
46 ALSD 2011 IN PHOTOS This year’s ALSD Conference and Tradeshow at LA LIVE was one for the ages. In this year’s show recap, SEAT relives the memories of all the events through the lens of SuiteCaptures photography. See if you can find Waldo, or even yourself.
54 HOW TO WIN DESPITE LOSING Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” But for many ALSD members, winning on the field is an uncontrollable variable. Instead, teams focus on what they can control – creating superior customer service and memorable experiences.BY RYAN MIRABEDINI
60 AN ANALYSIS OF BEST PRACTICES UTILIZED BY LUXURY SUITE DIRECTORS
ALSD members completed two surveys earlier this year – one for sales professionals; the other for service professionals. The results are now unveiled. BY HEATHER LAWRENCE, PH.D.
68 ALL CITIES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL SEAT presents a summary of the four-part series, investigating suite pricing across a multi-variant landscape in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. The researchers then aggregate all teams and break them down by geographic location to further investigate the business of sports.BY DR. PETER TITLEBAUM AND DIANE BRANCA, MBA
74 CREATING PREMIUM SPONSORSHIP ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY
Sponsor presence in stadiums and arenas once consisted of simply splashing static logos around the venue. Not anymore. Welcome to the era of dynamic environments.BY JUSTIN WOOD
About the Cover: The Minnesota Twins and Cambria have created a unique brandingpartnership, highlighted by Cambria’s Design Studio at Target Field.
SUMMER2011
Contents continues overleaf
40
46
74
ASSociATion of Luxury SuiTE DirEcTorS Chairman Bill DorseyExecutive Director Amanda VerhoffPresident Jennifer Ark, Green Bay Packers VP, Business Development Pat McCaffreyDirector, Sponsor and Partnership Development Dene ShielsEditor of SEAT, Website Director Jared FrankNational Sales Manager Scott HinzmanMembership Director Ryan MirabediniDesign Carole Winters Art + DesignDirector of Finance Dan LindemanFinancial Account Manager Vickie HenkeDirector of Interactive Media John Tymoski
ExECuTIVE CoMMITTEEChris Bigelow, Bigelow CompaniesBrian Bucciarelli, Hershey Entertainment & ResortsGreg Hanrahan, united CenterTom Kaucic, Southern Wine & Spirits Pat McCaffrey, ALSDKim Reckley, Detroit Red Wings & olympia Entertainment
BoARD oF DIRECToRS Janie Boles, Auburn universityNatalie Burbank, utah Jazz / Salt Lake BeesRichard Dobransky, Delaware North CompaniesTrent Dutry, uS Airways CenterChris Granger, National Basketball AssociationMIke Guiffre, Pittsburgh PenguinsAdam Kellner, Chicago BearsGerald KisselDebbie Massa, RoI ConsultingScott O’Connell, Minnesota Twins Baseball ClubMike Ondrejko, Legends Premium SalesRichard Searls, New York Red BullsTom Sheridan, Chicago White SoxPeter Titlebaum, university of Dayton
Published by Venue Pub. Inc. Copyright 2011. (All rights reserved). SEAT is a registered trademark of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors. SEAT is published quarterly and is complimentary to all members of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors.
Association of Luxury Suite Directors10017 McKelvey Road, Cincinnati, oH 45231513 674 0555 [email protected]
6 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
DEPARTMENTS8 NEW ALSD MEMBERS
14 ALSD STAFF EDITORIAL
Editor’s Note BY JARED FRANKThe Myth of Ownership (Page 18) BY BILL DORSEY
16 ALSD MEMBER EDITORIALHow Do You Ask for the Sale? BY JAKE BYE
22 ALSD MEMBER Q&A
24 INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATION NEWS
Cleveland Indians devote suite to its social media initiative ALSD adds three members to its Board of DirectorsIs tailgating the next new revenue stream?
30 ON ALSD.COM
32 MEMBER HIGHLIGHTSEAT visits with: Rob GardenhireDirector of Marketing and Business DevelopmentTulsa DrillersBY JARED FRANK
80 COMING ATTRACTIONS
Please Recycle This Magazine
S E A TPublished by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors
SUMMER2011
SPORTS & eNTeRTAINMeNT ALLIANCe IN TeCHNOLOGyS.E.A.T. ExECuTIVE CoMMITTEEChristine Stoffel, Founder, S.E.A.T. ConsortiumChris Wood, S.E.A.T. Chief Technology Advisor/Coordinator
S.E.A.T. 2011 STEERING CoMMITTEE Bob Jordan, New Meadowlands Stadium Co.Casey Bookout, university of oklahoma Craig Neeb, International Speedway CorporationChip Foley, Forest City Ratners Chris Dill, Portland Trail BlazersDan O’Neil, National Hockey LeagueDennis Mills, Major Events InternationalJim Darrow, Ilitch Holdings/Detroit Red WingsJohn Avenson, Minnesota TwinsKevin Naylor, Indiana PacersLarry Bonfante, united States Tennis AssociationLorraine Spadaro, DNC Boston, Inc/TD GardenMike Morris, Major League BaseballNancy Galietti, National Football LeaguePeter Surhoff, Major League BaseballPaul DelGuidice, National Basketball AssociationPaul Barber, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Richard Searls, Red Bulls ArenaRoger Baugh, London 2012 olympicsSasha Puric, Maple Leaf Sports & EntertainmentSteve Conley, Boston Red Sox Shane Harmon, New Zealand 2011 World Cup RugbyTod Caflisch, New orleans HornetsWayne Wichlacz, Green Bay Packers
34
24
T O K E N S & I C O N S.. .recycled nostalgia
tokens-icons.com 877-558-7404
offers inventive gifts crafted from game used pucks, stadium seating, arena floor, even game used jerseys. We work exclusively with real, existing materials that are filled with your venue and team history.
GAME USED
AUTHENTIC
Game Used Pucks
Game Used Jerseys
T O K E N S & I C O N S.. .recycled nostalgia
8 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Erin WhiteDirector of Special ProjectsRome Braves755 Braves Blvd.Rome, GA 30161P: [email protected]
Tom RamaleyPrincipalColorLink2211 Braemar DriveFort Wayne, IN 46814P: [email protected] Scott CampbellPrincipalColorLink2211 Braemar DriveFort Wayne, IN [email protected]
Lisa RatermanColorLink1615 Park RoadFort Wright, KY 41011P: [email protected]
Steven AyresPresidentRocket 55325 Cedar Street, Suite 102St. Paul, MN 55101P: [email protected]
Kyle JohnsonCreative DirectorRocket 55325 Cedar Street, Suite 102St. Paul, MN [email protected]
Jeannie AyresProject ManagerRocket 55325 Cedar Street, Suite 102St. Paul, MN [email protected]
Macy JohnsonProject ManagerRocket 55325 Cedar Street, Suite 102St. Paul, MN [email protected]
Dave NeffAssociate Director, Suite Sales & ServicesIndiana PacersConseco Fieldhouseone Conseco Court125 S. Pennsylvania StreetIndianapolis, IN 46204P: [email protected]
Bret CadenheadnQativ5414 68th Street, Suite 200Sentry Plaza IIILubbock, Tx 79424P: [email protected]
Marvin CrossnoenQativ5414 68th Street, Suite 200Sentry Plaza IIILubbock, Tx [email protected]
Kathy CadenheadnQativ5414 68th Street, Suite 200Sentry Plaza IIILubbock, Tx [email protected]
Larry LanduskynQativ5414 68th Street, Suite 200Sentry Plaza IIILubbock, Tx [email protected]
Nancy PowellSales RepresentativeMobileBytes41 Far Pond RoadSouthampton, NY 11968P: [email protected]
Martin SkulnikCooMobileBytes41 Far Pond RoadSouthampton, NY 11968P: [email protected]
Michael ReynoldsSales ManagerMobileBytes41 Far Pond RoadSouthampton, NY 11968P: [email protected]
Britton MillerDirector, Client Services and Special ProjectsWashington NationalsNationals Park1500 S. CapitolWashington, DC [email protected]
Kathy HilgendorfPremium Services ManagerDelaware North CompaniesSportservice at Busch Stadium405 S. BroadwaySt. Louis, Mo 63102P: [email protected]
Mike MungielloDirector of SuitesCalgary Flames Hockey Club555 Saddledome Rise SECalgary, AB T2G 2W1CanadaP: [email protected]
Kelvin AngStudentDeVos Sport Business Management Programuniversity of Central Florida12050 Lexington Summit Streetorlando, FL 32828P: [email protected]
Caitlin BrownStudentDuke university610 W. Morgan Street, #212Durham, NC [email protected]
Veronica MorrisonRadiant Systems, Inc.3925 Brookside ParkwayAlpharetta, GA [email protected]
Lindsey NealisManager of Premium Seating ServicesChicago White Soxu.S. Cellular Field333 W. 35th StreetChicago, IL 60616P: [email protected]
Jorel CuomoManaging PartneriConcertTickets/Premium Seating, Inc.2263 NW Boca Raton Blvd, #20Boca Raton, FL 33431P: [email protected]
Jen GreenbergAssistant Director of Client ServicesExecutive SuitesVerizon CenterMonumental Sports & Entertainment601 F Street NW Washington, DC 20004P: 202-661-5042 [email protected]
Ginger SeidelNational Ticket CompanyPo Box 547Shamokin, PA 17872P: [email protected]
Mark LaCosteNational Ticket CompanyPo Box 547Shamokin, PA [email protected]
Gary ChabotNational Ticket CompanyPo Box 547Shamokin, PA [email protected]
Jason MauserNational Ticket CompanyPo Box 547Shamokin, PA [email protected]
R. Clay JensenVice President of Ticket Sales & VIP Servicesutah Jazz/Salt Lake Bees EnergySolutions Arena/ Miller Motorsports Park301 West South TempleSalt Lake City, uT 84101P: [email protected]
Kristen BuchananHospitality and Events AssistantCarolina Panthers800 S. MintCharlotte, NC 28202P: [email protected]
nEw ALSD MEMbErS SuMMEr 2011
10 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Chrystal RoweMarketing ManagerCarolina Panthers800 S. MintCharlotte, NC 28202P: [email protected]
John WellsExecutive DirectorErie County Convention Center Authority809 French StreetErie, PA 16501P: [email protected]
Charles IversonDirector of Finance, AdministrationErie County Convention Center Authority809 French StreetErie, PA 16501P: [email protected]
Ronald DesserDirector – FacilitiesErie County Convention Center Authority809 French StreetErie, PA 16501P: [email protected]
Dawn BetzaCoordinator – Publicity/SEErie County Convention Center Authority809 French StreetErie, PA 16501P: [email protected]
Naiden Kremenliev4Topps, LLC121 Fayette StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101P: [email protected]
Joe BellissimoCEo4Topps, LLC121 Fayette StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101P: [email protected]
Adam PenningtonGametime64 Taxter RoadIrvington, NY [email protected]
Doug JacksonGametime64 Taxter RoadIrvington, NY 10533
Neil Martin Gametime64 Taxter RoadIrvington, NY 10533
Jeff KrollManager, Premium ServicesMinnesota TwinsTarget Field1 Twins WayMinneapolis, MN 55403P: [email protected]
Bob Price President /ownerone Furniture Group6520 Airport Center Drive Greensboro, NC 27409P: [email protected]
Grant BuckboroughSenior Director of Ticket SalesPhoenix Coyotes6751 N. Sunset Blvd, #200Glendale, AZ 85305P: [email protected]
Stew MacDonaldChief Revenue OfficerEdmonton oilers Hockey Club11230 110th StreetEdmonton, AB T5G 3H7Canada P: [email protected]
Crystal HauntePremium Seating ManagerStockton ArenaStockton, CA 95203P: [email protected]
Jordan HergottSpec Seats348 Hauser Blvd, #113Los Angeles, CA 90036P: [email protected]
Al HergottSpec Seats348 Hauser Blvd, #113Los Angeles, CA 90036
Harvey HergottSpec Seats348 Hauser Blvd, #113Los Angeles, CA 90036
David YangSpec Seats348 Hauser Blvd, #113Los Angeles, CA 90036
Keith GentiliThat’s My Ticket165 Main Street, Suite 101Medway, MA 02053P: [email protected]
Dean MacchiThat’s My Ticket165 Main Street, Suite 101Medway, MA 02053
Russ HavensThat’s My Ticket165 Main Street, Suite 101Medway, MA 02053
Stefan Macchi That’s My Ticket165 Main Street, Suite 101Medway, MA 02053
Scott JablonskiDirector, Club Analytics & Reporting National Hockey League 1185 Avenue of the Americas14th FloorNew York, NY 10036P: [email protected]
Rob MulhallInformation Manager, Club Analytics & ReportingNational Hockey League 1185 Avenue of the Americas14th FloorNew York, NY [email protected]
Janice ThissenVice PresidentAcme Ticket16 Sheffield StreetToronto, oN M6M 3E6CanadaP: [email protected]
Bill Kerson President Acme Ticket16 Sheffield StreetToronto, oN M6M 3E6Canada
Patrick DuffySenior Vice President, Corporate Sales and Marketing PartnershipsSt. Pete Times ForumTampa Bay Lightning401 Channelside DriveTampa, FL 33602P: [email protected]
Paul Wallace Senior Director of Executive Suites & operationsSt. Pete Times ForumTampa Bay Lightning401 Channelside DriveTampa, FL 33602P: [email protected]
Andy BlackburnAssistant Director Premium Sales and ServiceChicago Cubs1060 W. AddisonChicago, IL 60613P: [email protected]
Christina M. RamosPartnership Services & Fulfillment Coordinatororange Bowl Committee2301 Collins Avenue, #527Miami Beach, FL 33139P: [email protected]
Jeffrey Wilenorganizational Development Strategist Cleveland IndiansProgressive Field2401 ontario StreetCleveland, oH 44115-4003P: [email protected]
nEw ALSD MEMbErS SuMMEr 2011
Branded TicketsTM is a full color personalization service thatseamlessly integrates with your basic ticket design to allow Suite, Club and Premium Seat clients to “Brand” their tickets by adding
logos, images or messages.
John Watlington [email protected] 804.598.9107 www.ptx.cc30 Mill Street Wheatland, Pa. 16161 Toll Free: 800.941.1070 Fax: 724.346.1073
High Impact, Premium Quality, Astonishingly Affordable
Branded TicketsTM Connect. It’s Time.
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
122 122 122 122 122E E E E E10 10 10 10 10
122 122 122 122 122 122E E E E E10 10 10 10 10
Book-1158
AAEBAAFABEAFBEAFAAFABEAEFABBAEBEEA124298296448
AAABAEFFEBAABEAFAFBAAEAAFAFEBBAEEA AAEFBAAAEFBAEEABBEBABEEBEBAAEABFEA AAAAFFAFAEABAAFEBBEBEAAAFEBEFABAEA AABAEBEEABEBBAEBEBEABEEAABFABAFEEA723598134416 366037195927 005104950439 488448281779
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
111 111 111 111 111G G G G G11 11 11 11 11
111 111 111 111 111 111G G G G G11 11 11 11 11
Book-1077
AAAEFBAAAFBEABEFAEBBAEAABFEEBAAFEA604009167012
AAEABEBAEBAFBEAFAEBABEABBEEEABEBEA AAABAEFABBEEBBEEAAAFEBAEBAFFBAEAEA AAAEFBAABAEFAFAAFFEABAFAAFAAEEBBEA AAEBAAFEABEBEBEBAABEBEEABAFABAFEEA842498197684 727603042483 607222388867 128459491479
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
111 111 111 111 111K K K K K2 2 2 2 2
111 111 111 111 111 111K K K K K2 2 2 2 2
Book-1088
AAAAFFABAEFAEEBABABBEEEFABAEFBAAEA000834763936
AAAEBAFEFBAAFAABEABBEEEBABEAAFEBEA AAAEFBAAEAFBEBEBAFAAEBAEABFBEAEBEA AAAAFFAFBAEAABEAFBEBEAEEBBABEBEAEA AAEFBAAAABFEBEAFAAEEBBEABEBEBABEEA243618761904 609759812791 008342953095 367098678419
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
113 113 113 113 113F F F F F1 1 1 1 1
113 113 113 113 113 113F F F F F1 1 1 1 1
Book-1093
AABAEBEEEABBBAEAFAFEBAEABBEFAAAFEA483741691011
AAEABEBAEBAFEBAFAFAAEBBAEAFBFEAAEA AABAEBEAABFEABBEEBAEBEBEAAFAFBEAEA AAAEFBAABAEFEEBBAAAAFFAAFAFEFBAAEA AAAEBAFEAAFBEABBEEBABEBFAAEAAFEBEA842489814163 487076482196 607230774436 248710192304
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
121 121 121 121 121F F F F F2 2 2 2 2
121 121 121 121 121 121F F F F F2 2 2 2 2
Book-1128
AABAEBEAAEBFBEAFABEFAAEBFAAFAABEEA484798655618
AAEABEBFEBAAEABFAFFAAAEFAABABEEBEA AAABAEFBEFAAEEABBBEEBABEEABBEFAAEA AAEABEBAFFAAFAEBAABEAFEFABABBAEEEA AAABAEFEBBEAEBAFAEBFAABAEBEABEBEEA843580333202 726537686165 846658423973 728689564849
Justin SMOAK 2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONSMOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
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D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
APRIL 15, 2011APRIL 16, 2011
APRIL 17, 2011APRIL 18, 2011
7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.APRIL 15, 2011
APRIL 16, 2011APRIL 17, 2011
APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
99535651219953565121
99535651219953565121
VO
VO
VO
VO
I
I
I
I
D
D
D
D
VO
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VO
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I
I
I
I
D
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D
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567
VoidSATU
RD
AY
April 3
0, 2011 - 2
:00 p
m-7:0
0 p
m
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
001
000
SATU
RD
AY
April 3
0, 2011 - 2
:00 p
m-7:0
0 p
m
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
122 122 122 122 122D D D D D9 9 9 9 9
122 122 122 122 122 122D D D D D9 9 9 9 9
Book-1149
AAAEBAFAEBAFABEFAFBAEABAFEABEABEEA242409830528
AAABAEFEAEBBBAFAEFAFAAFABAEAAFEBEA AAEABEBAFAEBBEAAFBAEFAEBAAFEFABAEA AAAEFBAFABEAAAEBFBAAFEEBAFAAEEBBEA AAAEBAFEAEBBEBAEBEBFAAAFABEBEBEAEA725745551504 849221081239 608547788967 245782562995
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 20107:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 20107:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 20107:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 20107:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TAX ON BALANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
101 101 101 101 101G G G G G10 10 10 10 10
101 101 101 101 101 101G G G G G10 10 10 10 10
Book-1026
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Triple-A Affiliatetacomarainiers.com
DustinACKLEY
INAUGURAL SEASON AT THE NEW CHENEY STADIUM
2 0 1 1 S E A S O N T I C K E T SL U X U R Y S U I T E
Justin SMOAK 2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONSMOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
APRIL 15, 2011APRIL 16, 2011
APRIL 17, 2011APRIL 18, 2011
7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.APRIL 15, 2011
APRIL 16, 2011APRIL 17, 2011
APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
99535651219953565121
99535651219953565121
VO
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I
I
D
D
D
D
VO
VO
VO
VO
I
I
I
I
D
D
D
D
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567
Void
Justin SMOAK 2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONSMOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
D U G O U T C L U BD U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
APRIL 15, 2011APRIL 16, 2011
APRIL 17, 2011APRIL 18, 2011
7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
TACOMA RAINIERS vs.TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATSSACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.
TACOMA vs.APRIL 15, 2011
APRIL 16, 2011APRIL 17, 2011
APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO
SACRAMENTO7:05 PM
7:05 PM
1:35 PM
7:05 PM
99535651219953565121
99535651219953565121
VO
VO
VO
VO
I
I
I
I
D
D
D
D
VO
VO
VO
VO
I
I
I
I
D
D
D
D
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
ACCT# 1234567ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567
Void
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
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This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
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Apri
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m-7
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This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
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Apri
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
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Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
:30 p
m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
:30 p
m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
:30 p
m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
:30 p
m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
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m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
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m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FR
IDAY
Apri
l 29, 2011
- 2
:30 p
m-7
:00 p
m
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
SATU
RD
AY
April 3
0, 2011 - 2
:00 p
m-7:0
0 p
m
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
001 Personalized Dynamic Brand Activation
12 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
James Schrader PresidentInternational Micro Systems200 Racoosin Drive, Suite 106Aston, PA 19014P: [email protected]
Charlotte JensenVice President & Director, Sports and EntertainmentABM Industries, Inc.165 Technology Drive, Suite 150Irvine, CA 92618P: [email protected]
Krista Rammelsberg Director of Special Eventsuniversity of Washington3910 Montlake Blvd.Seattle, WA 98195P: [email protected]
Chip SuttlesDirector, TechnologyVancouver Canucks800 Griffiths WayVancouver, BC V6B 6G1CanadaP: [email protected]
Eric MastalirVice President, Corporate PartnershipsSan Jose Sharks HP Pavilion at San Jose525 West Santa Clara StreetSan Jose, CA 95113P: [email protected]
Eric ErdlenChief Revenue OfficerNew York Mets75 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, NY 10019P: [email protected]
Luke SolomonsonPrincipalMatchday IntelligenceBarrio San Martin 26ABloque I, Portal 1, Bajo 1AZurita de Pielagos, Cantabria 39479SpainP: [email protected]
Brittany WardSales and MarketingSMG-Reliant Parkone Reliant ParkHouston, Tx 77054P: [email protected]
Clay KowalskiDirector, Premium SalesHouston Astros501 Crawford StreetHouston, Tx 77002P: [email protected]
Allison ChinExecutive Suites CoordinatorNew York Islanders1255 Hempstead Tpkeuniondale, NY 11553P: [email protected]
Rich RossiManager, Corporate Partnerships New York Islanders1255 Hempstead Tpkeuniondale, NY 11553P: [email protected]
Alberto AccionCEo, President RWB Hospitality, LLC901 Hennepin AvenueMinneapolis, MN 55403P: [email protected]
Jason KirkseyPR CoordinatorGeorgia Dome1 Georgia Dome DriveAtlanta, GA 30313P: [email protected]
Jeff TuckerVice President of SalesSan Francisco Giants24 Willie Mays PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94107P: [email protected]
Sara HirschSales ExecutiveSan Francisco Giants24 Willie Mays PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94107P: [email protected]
Candice KeenerLuxury Suite Account ManagerSan Francisco Giants24 Willie Mays PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94107P: [email protected]
Casey ConroyLuxury Suite & Business Center CoordinatorSan Francisco Giants24 Willie Mays PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94107P: [email protected]
Christian ChapmanPremium Seating Account ManagerSan Francisco Giants24 Willie Mays PlazaSan Francisco, CA 94107P: [email protected]
Dave BrooksSenior Writer & Assignment EditorVenues Today MagazinePo Box 2540Huntington Beach, CA 92647P: [email protected]
Emily FoxDirector of Marketing and operationsConcept Artists, LLC 462 Broadway, Suite 540New York, NY 10013P: 212-343-0956 [email protected]
Mike ondrejkoChief Operating Officer Legends Premium Sales 634 FrelinghuysenNewark, NJ 07114P: [email protected]
Heather EnglandDirector of Guest Servicesuniversity of Arkansas Athletics DepartmentRazorback Athletics Bud Walton Arena 1270 W. Leroy Pond RoadFayetteville, AR 72701P: [email protected]
Scott SchiffDirector of Ticket SalesHarlem Globetrotters400 E. Van Buren, Suite 300Phoenix, AZ 85004P: [email protected]
nEw ALSD MEMbErS SuMMEr 2011
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14 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Editor’s notE by JarEd Frank
It is a Tuesday afternoon in August in Dallas which oppressively means: it is Death Valley time outside. And who wants to work, who wants to think during Death Valley time?
Fifty-plus days and counting of 100 degree tem-peratures this calendar year will fry a man’s brain, not to mention an egg on the sidewalk. The plants in the backyard are no longer green and growing; rather, they are brown and dying. The cockroach-es, crickets, ants, spiders, baby lizards and freakish mutant Godzilla bugs have all migrated into my bathroom to beat the heat and maybe, just maybe, find a drink of water. The cicada choirs have been singing for months; the birds have fallen silent. It is too hot to chirp. The dried-out creek beds no longer provide a refreshing drink to wet their beaks. It has not rained in weeks. Hell, I have not seen a cloud in weeks. The dog days of August have a rabic bite.
Perhaps more so than ever before, we need a change of season. We need the different angle of the September sun and the shorter days that it brings with it, beckoning the air to crisp and the leaves to fall. We need the rain to return to wash away a summer that left much to be desired. The NFL lockout wore us out. The NBA lockout is still wearing us out. The volatility of Wall Street and the recession that never really went away is exhausting. The debt ceiling crisis is a daily con-versation. I mean, really? Debt, ceiling and crisis – three words we never want uttered consecutively, an unholy trinity. The United States Congressional representatives and their unimaginative bickering do not speak for me. When the NFL CBA was finally agreed to, Patriots Owner Bob Kraft said, “The debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal was.” I never want life to be easy. But nor do I want it to ever feel this hard.
Stated differently, I do not feel shocked. And I am not in awe of anything. That is the way I feel right now, and I bet a lot of you in the sports industry out there feel the same way – like the steadfast heat of the world has created a pressure that is practicing pugilism on you. And you are tired, worn out and weary, fed up with being a mere punching bag. But do we feel weary because the world has made us feel this way or simply because it is August?
Either way, we need shock and awe in the best way – to be inspired again, to see things from a fresh perspective. And there is reason for encouragement. The Weather Channel app on my iPhone says it will only be 100 degrees on Friday, down from the 109 I felt on Sunday. Moreover,
at the time this note is being read, a new football season has begun, and MLB pennant races are in full swing. It is a time of beginning and ending. It is time for the seasons to change. It is time to feel shocked and surprised, awe-inspired onto new challenges.
We need the fall to begin, and the rain to fall. And I know that it will. Soon enough the clouds will form, the thunder will roll, and the lightning will strike our senses of urgency. Our vigor and vitality will become watered and excited once again which demands just one question: What will we do with our newfound energy? Will we prattle through another passing fashion until the Arab spring of August returns next year? Or will we adopt a doctrine of shock and awe to again spawn the contagious, feel-good pride of yesteryear? The choice is ours.
How do you plan to be shocked and awed in the next season?Email me at [email protected].
Also connect with me on social media (See Sidebar).
Shock and AweConnect with me on
www.linkedin.com/in/ jaredfrank
and follow me on www.twitter.com/
SEAT_Editor for daily updates.
Here is a sampling of my tweets:
VIP Club 100 level in new Dynamo Stadium sold out. 90% of seats in President’s Club and VIP Club 200
level also sold.
Model suite built @ Progressive Field. Indians are renting test suite anticipating full-scale renovation.
Dog and a ballgame with @KTsportsmarket. Discuss-ing #socialmedia & other #sportsbiz
with the #RoughRiders.
NO Hornets get aggressive w/ 100 events in 100 days. The organization aiming to sell 10,000 season tickets.
UNM granted license to serve alcohol in club levels. Ends long fight between university & city councilors.
Leiweke: “(Sports and entertainment) is one of the greatest industries today full of entrepreneurs,
risk-takers and visionaries” #ALSD2011.
Many thanks to @tribetalk, @MarkShapiro & Mike Mulhall for a great experience in the #Indians #SocialSuite. You guys have something here.
Congrats 2 Leah Leahy, Dana Petrie & all our other #ALSD friends at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins &
@delawarenorth. Enjoy Lord Stanley’s Cup!
From the last issue of SEAT-”But first, I’m looking forward to a long Mavs playoff run.” Congrats 2 Frank
Hubach & the rest of @AACPlatinum.
#LSU exploring expansion of Tiger Stadium. New suites and club seats could be added to the south
end zone.
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Spring USA Seasons Ad ALSD Fall 2011 8.5” x 11” Trim
Are you interested in purchasing a suite?” The answer to this question that all of us in sales and marketing are looking for seems to be more
elusive with each passing season. Perhaps the fo-cus should not be on the answer, but rather how we are asking the question. In St. Louis, as in all markets, we have been forced to reinvent the way we handle our executive suite partnerships. We employ three primary strategies to make this happen: create year-round partnerships with our suite holders, utilize assets and relationships across all areas of our organization, and focus on value as opposed to price by avoiding the dreaded “discount”.
Creating a 12-month partnership for suite holders seems a bit like stating the obvious, but it has become increasingly important as the ex-pectations of our partners continue to grow. This idea is even more relevant in the NFL with our 16-game schedule and our 7-month offseason. With limited touch points in the form of home games, our focus has been to extend the 10-game season into a 15-20-game season through access and experiences during the offseason.
Let’s face it; the majority of people we deal with at this investment level can purchase the majority of entertainment options at their disposal. What they cannot purchase is private access to our organization, our facilities and our leadership. The events that are not debatable are the ones congruent with your respective league’s offseason calendar. In the case of the NFL, these would be the schedule release, the NFL Draft and training camps, all of which have become part of the standard expectation for all of our partners. Where we have been able to make headway is with the unexpected touch points such as fantasy camps with suite holders, where they practice, learn and interact with our coaches as players would, trips to the NFL Hall of Fame to leverage not only the St. Louis Rams but the power of our league and its history as a whole, and private dinners at our coach’s home during traditionally quiet periods in our offseason. Regarding the last idea, it takes a very engaging and very willing coaching staff to make this one a reality. In St. Louis, we are blessed to have both.
It is not the ideas themselves that are para-mount – we all have ideas – it is the planning and the execution of a consistent calendar of touch points. We in sports often proclaim that “there is no offseason” regardless of our role. The challenge becomes making this statement ring
true for our suite holders through an engaging partnership that remains consistent throughout the year.
Selling suites and premium seating in 2011 is nothing like what it has been in recent years. As companies struggle to justify a large expense based on hospitality alone, it has become increas-ingly imperative to give them another reason to come on board. Suites have always been viewed as a tangible sale but as this process evolves, we have been forced to view them as more of an intangible, in essence selling a partnership with other assets that come with an executive suite.
This could include any number of marketing assets or elements of a civic or community part-nership, all of which are necessary for a company to justify such an expense to their board, their executives or their investors.
In the past, our model has been to keep dis-tinct lines between community affairs, sponsor-ship and suite sales with at times three contacts within our organization for one partner. We have recently broken down these barriers and empow-ered our sales and service group to sell across all channels, creating lists of “borrowed” inventory available to each seller. This inventory could be in the form of editorial pieces on our community page, service projects employing Rams’ and our partner’s employees, radio inventory, in-game inventory, player appearances and essentially anything else that can be monetized.
This approach has worked externally, particu-larly with our newest suite partners who are will-ing to discuss a civic or marketing partnership more readily than they are suites or premium seating. This process has also made a noticeable impact internally by creating sellers and service people who are more educated and confident to speak to all areas of the business, not just their own. So often we have three pots of inventory, and it is easy to fall into “that sign belongs to sponsorship” or “that event belongs to ticketing”. Borrowing these assets has allowed us to sell and renew suites that would have otherwise been lost while also creating a more dynamic selling environment and improving communication throughout the organization.
Perhaps the easiest answer to selling more of anything is to reduce the price, have a “sale”, or offer a discount. For something as dependent on the long-term relationship as a suite or premium seating sale, this is an extremely dangerous strategy to employ. So often it may make sense in the short-term, but the price you pay, literally and figuratively, in the long-term with current and future partners will far outweigh whatever reduced revenue you secure in the here and now.
Our firm belief is that a consumer makes decisions based on value far more than price, and this idea holds even truer for the corporate sale. It is nearly impossible to go backwards from a pricing standpoint due to circumstance then approach that partner with a price increase without throwing in the “kitchen sink” as we like to say. If we as an organization do not view the value of our product independent of context then
16 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
How do you ask for the sale?ALSD MEMbEr EDiToriAL by JakE byE
We have broken down barriers and empowered our sales and service group to sell across all channels, creating lists of “borrowed” inventory… This approach has worked with our suite partners who are willing to discuss a civic or marketing partnership more readily than they are suites or premium seating.
[continued on page 78]
tables for the sports & entertainment market
800.327.2548 | fax: 812.683.7256www.loewensteininc.com
an OFS Brands™ company
R O C OD E S I G N E D B Y M I C H A E L W O L K
18 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
The Myth of Ownership: Is It Good To Be the King? Is professional sports ownership what it used to be? The author believes that the days when teams could be purchased cheaply and when owners had the upper hand are long gone. Here’s why…
EDiToriAL by bill dorsEy, Chairman, alsd
Professional sports, beyond the winning and losing, is a revenue race. It has been since Red Grange laced them up, since the Babe hitched up his pants,
and since the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to the greener pastures of the growing City of Angels. Players, over the years, have fought with owners. Over the years, owners have begrudg-ingly given the players if not what they wanted, what they decided they were worth. Time was, the owners held the upper hand.
But times change. I am not exactly sure of the precise moment in time, but I believe it began to change in the 1970s with the emergence of former Major League Baseball Players Associa-tion Executive Director, Marvin Miller, and aggressive player representation. Miller was a game changer for the players, forming one of the strongest unions in the United States. Author Studs Terkel said this: “Marvin Miller, along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, is one of the two or three most important men in baseball history.”
It was the age that first ushered in big price, big name free agents such as Catfish Hunter and his 5-year, $3.5 million contract with the Yan-kees, an unheard of amount at the time. Another of those players, Curt Flood, took his $90,000 a year and thumbed his nose at Major League Baseball. “A well-paid slave…is still a slave,” said Flood. “I am a human being. I am not a piece of property. I am not a consignment of goods.”
GenTleman, STarT Your enGineSPlayers began getting smarter and around that time, began getting more money. And for own-ers, they were more or less forced to pay market value.
To help pay for the players, the revenue race started heating up. And everything began speeding up. Thus began the age of free agency, arbitration, drafts on television and college sports televised, creating stars before they had a chance to shine in the galaxy of professional leagues. Players got agents; agents signed con-tracts on behalf of players with sponsors; players became brands. Then they became celebrities at extremely young ages, and thanks to things such
as fantasy sports and video games, started to become appreciated beyond their local markets.
The leagues saw there was opportunity in players becoming brands and began merchandis-ing players’ images far beyond baseball cards and into apparel of all shapes and sizes. The media took note of the opportunity and gave birth to a new brainchild of biblical proportions. ESPN begat ESPN2 begat ESPN Classic begat ESPNU. The leagues saw this and also began their own media outlets. Everyone wanted a piece of the action. The revenue race was on.
“Gentleman, Start Your Engines.”Eventually, players began to figure out ways
to circumvent these middle men. Today, Twitter and Facebook have come into being, and players can control, in a sense, their own fan clubs on a national/global level. Suddenly, thousands of people seem to find it fascinating what a player’s opinions are or what he bought at the grocery store, not just his or her statistics. Players are beginning to claim ownership and monetize their “names.” Use of names and images is no longer restricted to the “express written consent of Major League Baseball.” Some players claim they own their own images now.
With all the fame and, in some cases infamy, came higher salaries. Much higher salaries. Extraordinarily higher salaries. It is almost hard to fathom that the NCAA Men’s Final Four was not nationally televised until the late 1960s, or that Pete Rose left Cincinnati to win an MVP Award in Philadelphia, because the Reds could not pay him $400,000 for hitting over .300 and getting 200-plus hits a year for about 20 years. Just a few years earlier, Major League Baseball could not fathom such an uprising from a player. The Major League minimum salary in 1968 was only $10,000 – up from $6,000 the year before. The Reds could not afford Pete Rose’s salary then, which is just a little more than the Major League minimum now.
GoinG DoWn The maDneSS rouTeNow, the player’s value is firmly established, and the owners need to find ways to pay for these new generations of heroes, less they go on to another team, and the owners become berated 24/7 on local talk shows and national TV and radio for not paying for their players. Why those cheapskates! Fans who would drive across town to save four cents a gallon on gas think nothing of the owner who refuses to pay $3.6 million a year for a journeyman second baseman who can-not hit his way out of a paper bag.
The fans routinely believe players deserve mil-lions, even without proof of performance. The owners must pay these salaries, they claim. After all, owners are billionaires. They can afford any amount of money. Ask any sports reporter who
if [owners] cannot find a way to pay the salaries to be competitive, in most cases, they will not win. if they do not win, people do not come. if they do not come, they cannot afford “not-so-free-agency.”
has never read a balance sheet but seemingly knows the value of everything else. Or ask any player who did not have to toil for 30 or 40 years of hard work, taking calculated gambles in the first place to get to where they can afford to own a team in the second place. How billionaires be-came billionaires is rarely questioned. Now that they are billionaires, then they are under some kind of strange obligation to commit financial hari-kari with the teams they own.
Bernie Mullin, who has been President for three different teams in three different leagues puts it this way: “There are three groups that think the owner owes them every penny he has that must be spent on acquiring and paying players – the fans, the media and the players.”
According to Mullin, the same issues hap-pen in Europe in the premier soccer leagues. “The fans expect the owner to spend whatever it takes to win. Every attractive player must be signed, and that’s what Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are pressured to do.” Stan Kroenke, owner of Arsenal Football Club says, “No, I’m not going down that madness route.”
The result of this is a general misunderstand-ing by the media and most fans of what it is really like to own a professional sports franchise. It is what I call: The Myth of Ownership.
The truth? No longer do the owners control the players. The players probably have had the upper hand since the time of the great Curt Flood. The days when players, even the best All-Pro players, had to almost beg to get a small pay increase are over. Have a good year or two, and players are set for life. For two lives.
The players clearly have the edge now. The age of publicly purchased buildings, one of the owners’ last big edges, seems to be ending. You do not see as many new builds now (maybe because everyone already has a great place to play already). But you will not see as many new buildings for the next ten years. Cities will not vote for them, and owners cannot afford them (and neither can taxpayers pay for them).
You need a couple billion dollars to build a world-class venue these days, not a mere $500 million. Even if owners could afford them, there is a catch-22 to all this – the new builds create
additional revenue, but more than half of it goes back to the players, while only a certain part of the financial risk of building out can be credited back to the collective bargaining agreements. In other words, the owners take the risk but cannot partake as directly in the reward as their own employees. And if they do take the risks and can afford great players because their coffers are full, they may be asked to pay back some of this money in the form of a luxury tax or some other form of a big market/small market revenue share deal that is so commonplace to maintain competitive balance. Not many businesses are run like this. It is a byzantine process.
Billionaire VerSuS millionaire SquaBBleS Thus, lockouts are occurring, two of them this year and maybe more coming. Atlas is shrug-ging. “No mas” say the owners to a very skeptical public and players who do not believe what the owners are telling them.
The work stoppages happen to some extent because owners can no longer afford to pay their own players. Salaries have skyrocketed. Owners are losing money. In all of sports, about half of
them claim to be losing money. In the NBA, 22 of the 30 teams claim to be losing money.
David Stern has provided the National Bas-ketball Players Association (NBPA) with very detailed financial information that is audited by independent firms that claim a $370 million loss. The NBA, to become solvent, wants a $45 million hard cap and players to take huge 15% to 25% reductions in pay. The NBPA contends the $370 million in losses are accounting tricks related to debt service from owning the team and amortization losses taken by the team. Legitimate accounting practices to be sure, but not really representative of an actual dollar loss. The true losses are not nearly what they say they are, say the NBPA representatives.
Perhaps. But the public, reeling from a reces-sion, has no appetite for these billionaire versus millionaire squabbles.
The public sees owners as “billionaires.” Thing is, they were billionaires to be able to afford the team in the first place; they rarely become billionaires by owning the team. You rarely hear sympathy for owners who have lost millions of dollars, because they are billionaires, and they can afford the loss, so says the public. At least not recently when too many owners are losing money and team valuations have stopped going up...at least not as dramatically as they were.
Times have changed, and owners, those evil billionaires, who pay 38% of the taxes as part of the top 1% in this country, seem to be on the wrong end of the class warfare that is going on at this moment in time. It is not so good to be king of professional sports these days. The “new owners” have millions of dollars in debt service, unlike the “old owners” who have seen their investments go through the roof. The advantages have largely gone away for the new breed of owners which is probably why the NBA has had six franchises sold since 2005, and the NHL, a very healthy league at the moment, has teams going back home to northern climes where the Buffaloneons roam. In other words, where the fans are.
This is just reality, and the reality is a need for revenue to keep pace. The owners need to find ways to pay for these salaries. If they cannot
owners take the risk but cannot partake as directly in the reward as their own employees. and if they do take the risks and can afford great players because their coffers are full, they may be asked to pay back some of this money in the form of a luxury tax or some other form of a big market/small market revenue share deal that is so commonplace to maintain competitive balance. not many businesses are run like this. it is a byzantine process.
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 19
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find a way to pay the salaries to be competi-tive, in most cases, they will not win. If they do not win, people (with some exceptions like the Cubs) do not come. If they do not come, they cannot afford “not-so-free-agency.” The spiral effect takes place, and teams become perennial second-division teams and second-class citizens in the cities where they are supposed to be heroes. When a critical mass of fans stop com-ing to the games, the result is inevitable – the team owner decides it is time to pull up stakes and move the franchise. That is the story of the Rochester Royals which became the Cincinnati Royals in 1957 which then became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972 which moved to Sacramento in 1985 and now, apparently, may held over to Anaheim in the near future. Maybe that is how the West was really won.
Owners usually move when they cannot make money where they are. And they usually sell when they are tired of losing money and want to get whole again. The professional sports landscape is littered with owners who have escaped from pro sports never to return again, sadder but wiser.
if There iS a Will, There iS a WaYIt has always been a revenue race. Teams search very hard to find any way they can to maximize their revenues. First, there were the media rights fees – TV and Radio. Then, there were the venue fees – concession rights, signs, etc. Then about 25 years of venue construction led to premium seats, sponsored spaces, naming rights and higher costs of concessions.
Lately however, it is clear that owners and team presidents are starting to look outside the walls of the venues. Parking is now reportedly the second highest profit center for a team in the venue besides ticketing. Concessions are re-portedly third now. With the revenue race in full swing, it is clear now that the action has moved outside the venue.
Or into cyberspace. High tech is starting to be monetized. Smartphone apps, sponsorship of new media and “digital rights” have all helped keep players in the tall clover. Secondary ticket companies have gone online and are paying
teams sponsorship fees to capture the team’s already existing customers.
If there is the will, there is a way to make money. Empty spaces under stands are being monetized. That crawl space under the stands is now a hip bar. That backroom janitor’s closet has been transformed into an upscale club.
Again, not just inside the venue, but outside. The Dallas Cowboys can draw 20,000 fans on game day outside the walls of the venue. STAPLES Center, under AEG’s umbrella, has built itself a city outside the venue. Others are following suit in Philadelphia, Miami and other cities who are building entertainment districts, attempting to get fans away from their high-definition TV sets and not just into their venues, but also into the local restaurants and bars or into overnight stays at the hotels next door. The game has become part of a total package experience.
The hero BuSineSSYes, it is about money. The hero business, which is the philosophical underpinning of the entire business of sports, is about money. The teams and leagues and media create heroes who are larger than life and then have to find a way to feed the monster that they created. People make emotional purchases for their sports teams and sports heroes, and the money that flows in keeps the players happy until their careers are over in about five years. End of bright lights, big city. Fame is fleeting. Beauty fades. What have you
done for us lately? Reality sets in for the players. “The athletic
celebrity recedes into twilight,” said Curt Flood. “Time draws him from center stage to the wings to oblivion. It converts him from celebrity to recent celebrity to former celebrity and finally emancipates (or condemns) him to whatever he can make of himself in the world at large.”
Curt Flood died too young at age 59. He battled more than Major League Baseball; he also battled cancer, alcoholism and many other issues. His life was in many ways, tragic. The sport he loved had abandoned him in many re-spects. In 1994, during MLB’s longest strike, the year they did not play the World Series, Curt Flood addressed the players association and was given a standing ovation. MLB may have never embraced him, but the players remembered him.
A similar reality sets in for the owners. And it is no longer as good to be king as it was before Curt Flood became a free agent.
Do you believe the majesty of ownership is a myth?Write to Bill at [email protected], and connect with him onLinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-dorsey/6/125/76a.
CominG uP neXT:alSD memBer q&a
The public sees owners as “billionaires.” Thing is, they were billionaires to be able to afford the team in the first place; they rarely become billionaires by owning the team. You rarely hear sympathy for owners who have lost millions of dollars, because they are billionaires, and they can afford the loss, so says the public.
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ALSD MEMbEr Q&A
Membership in the Association of Luxury Suite Directors comes with many ben-efits. SEAT Magazine, the ALSD Pre-mium Seat Sourcebook and Member
Surveys, including our popular Salary Survey, are a few favorites. But the greatest benefit is being a part of the community. We all have access every-day to a mindshare of over 1,000 members from across all sports and leagues. How often do you take advantage of these like-minded contacts? When your organization has a question of any sort related to premium seating, do you think to ask your peers within ALSD?
We’re all in this together. And we’re all in this together for the entire year, not just for the four days we spend together in-person at the confer-ence and tradeshow. Let the ALSD help you reach your fellow members, all 1,000 of them, at one time. We'll help you find your answers. That’s the true benefit of membership – not ALSD Member Questions, but ALSD Member Answers.
Here’s how you submit your questions:• Send your Member Question exactly how
you want it posted to members to Aman-da Verhoff at [email protected] OR
• Visit us on the web and submit your Member Question at www.alsd.com/content/member-questions. Please note - members must be logged into www.ALSD.com to submit questions.
• When submitting a question, include all contact information, including your Name, Organization, Title, Address, Phone and Email Address so respondents can reach you in the way most appropriate to completely answer the question.
• ALSD tracks all responses and archives answers on www.ALSD.com.
• Member Questions are sent to TEAM AND VENUE MEMBERS ONLY to avoid solicitations.
This page also serves as an introduction to the newest department in SEAT Magazine. Along with the archived Q & A’s that will begin to ap-pear on the web, we will publish a few conversa-tions each quarter in SEAT. Below are a couple sample questions for those of you not familiar with the format:
Sample Member QuestionMember Question: Bottled Beer vs. Canned BeerALSD Member asks:
• Does your venue use/stock bottled beer in the suite refrigerators (vs. canned beer)?
• What are the advantages and disadvan-tages to using/stocking bottled beer over canned beer?
• What are the advantages and disadvan-tages to using/stocking canned beer over bottled beer?
• Would there be a reason to stay with canned beer over bottled beer?
Answer 1: Bottled beer is of course high-end; however,
our campus does not recycle bottles, only alumi-num and plastic. There is a push for recycling on campus by the President’s Office. Bottles are also heavier, so if the refrigerators have glass shelves, the shelves break under the weight. We have not decided the direction to go for this upcoming season.Answer 2:
We use only canned beer at our venue. Bottles do break and also are considered by many con-cert promoters to be weapons. Bottles are slightly larger and are more costly. Email me direct if I can be of any other assistance. Answer 3:
Our arena stocks glass bottled beer, 12 oz., into all of the refrigerators. Stocking bottled beer is nicer looking when using it in suites to enter-tain clients/guests. Canned beer will fit better in the fridge and can be stacked. This means we would be able to hold more beer in the fridges for large events. The only reason I would use canned beer versus bottled beer is the quantity you would be able to keep in the fridge.Answer 4:
We mostly use canned beer as much as possible, with the exclusion of specialty beers that are only available in bottles. A couple of advantages of using cans: Requires less space in garbage and can be compacted, canned products stack more easily in fridges, as well as cooler stor-age spaces (space is always a challenge), less need for bottle openers, which sometimes disappear in the suites.
Sample Member Question Member Question: In-suIte F&B orderIngALSD Member asks:
• How do suite clients - both licensees and single event renters - order food and beverage in your venue? I am looking for samples of online software being used, as well as internal and external business processes.
Answer 1: Our university suite holders (season and
single game) receive a catering guide prior to each season that includes the expanded menu and multiple ordering options – they can call/fax/email the catering office directly to place the order, or they can order via the online system Catertrax, which is the most popular ordering option. Information on this software can be found at www.catertrax.com.Answer 2:
Here at our soccer venue (150 executive boxes) most of our licensees will pre-order through their account manager or via a custom built online solution that we have. Those who don’t pre-order can order on the day with the waiting staff who have an iPad and app which has the full menu and can send orders to the kitchen through MICROS. I hope that you find that helpful, but let me know if you would like further info.Answer 3:
Our long term suite holders order online through elevy.com, a website provided by Levy Restaurants. Our single game buyers contact the Levy suite ordering hotline. Levy provides the software.Answer 4:
We have just changed catering providers to Delaware North Sportservice and they are about to introduce EMBS – from some of our existing clients who use it with other venues, they are quite happy with the way it works.
CoMIng uP neXt: lIvIng soCIal wIth the Cleveland IndIans
• Digital controlled convection cooling system rapidly cools food and drink
• Refrigeration capacity of 5.3 cubic feet• Storage for more than 7-1/2 cases of 12 oz beverages• LowE coated, argon gas filled thermopane glass door• 4 full depth removable, chrome plated heavy duty wire shelves• Commercial stainless steel handle• ADA24R and ADA24RGL come with a locking door• ADA24RGL is ENERGY STAR
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U-Line Refrigeration is keeping it cool in stadiums across the nation:
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InDuSTry AnD ASSocIATIon nEwS
As part of its growing social media focus, the Cleveland Indians are recognizing Twitter followers and Facebook fans of the team and rewarding those social
media users with free tickets to an Indians game. While this prize sounds great by itself, if one then considers that those free tickets are for seats in a suite, the legitimacy of social media for the Tribe can be seen clearly in the crosshairs.
Dubbed the Indians Social Suite presented by Time Warner Cable, Suite 356 on the Press Suite Level of Progressive Field provides the “first interactive Major League ballpark experi-ence” according to the Indians Social Suite online application (http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/social_suite.jsp). The online application process largely determines who is invited into the suite for each game. Fans are asked to fill out information such as how they use social media, their favorite Cleveland Indians memory, and what game they would like to attend. “We go through the applications based on the date that applicants choose, their
social media levels of acumen, and what they’re doing out there in the space,” explains Rob Campbell, Digital Media Coordinator for the Indians. “Then we’ll fill the schedule homestand to homestand.”
The Indians have had a tremendous response thus far. The team announced the Social Suite on March 23rd before the season started and by Opening Day had over 600 applications for the season. “We have a rolling wait list of 200-250 people that we try to fit in wherever we have spots available,” reveals Campbell.
The capacity for the suite is 18 if SROs are included, but to ensure everyone gets a seat, the Indians invite only 12-14 people for each game. The team invites in pairs, providing two tickets per applicant so each attendee will know someone else going into the suite. But with the common thread of Indians baseball, it does not take long for guests to become friendly with one another and share user name information. “It gets interesting when attendees start tweeting each other, sitting just two seats apart,” smiles Campbell.
The primary demographics in the suite are mid-20s to mid-30s split 50-50 between male and female. The Indians have also invited fami-lies on Sundays which are KeyBank Kids Fun
Days at Progressive Field. “The demographics are definitely a sweet spot that we’re trying to hit,” Campbell states. “Through social media, we’re able to reach new fans, ones that are im-portant to the future.”
Aside from its exclusive Wi-Fi network and outlets for charging smartphones, laptops and tablets, the Indians Social Suite is similar to all others at Progressive Field. It is a relaxed environment where guests are encouraged to wear their Indians gear, talk baseball and enjoy a hot dog and a beer. The hope is guests become brand ambassadors for the Indians, but the team does not require any posts on Twitter, Facebook or blogs while in the Social Suite or after. “The main thing we want to do is bring people here to have a positive experience,” Campbell says. “We of course want people to share that experience, but we don’t require ‘x’ number of tweets or posts per game. We just want people to come out and have a good time at Progressive Field.”
When the initiative first started, the Indians were not entirely sure in what direction the conversation would go, but they were not overly concerned with the possibility of critical com-mentary. According to Campbell, the feeling has been overwhelmingly positive. By and large,
Cleveland Indians devote suite to its social media initiative The Indians Social Suite rewards social media users and establishes new connections with fans
Meet your new ALSD BOD members, p.26Member Highlight: Rob Gardenhire, p.32
“[the tribe social deck] gave us inroads into communications channels that we had never been a part of before; and now by dedicating a suite to this initiative, you see how important [social media] is to the organization.” [continued on page 78]
Social Butterflies: Rob Campbell explains the 25-35 years old, 50-50 male-female split in the Social Suite: “The demographics are definitely a sweet spot that we’re trying to hit.”
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InDuSTry AnD ASSocIATIon nEwS
alsd adds three members to its Board of directorsMike Guiffre, Adam Kellner and Scott O’Connell began service at the 2011 ALSD Conference and Tradeshow in Los Angeles
MIke guIFFreDirector of Premium Seating and Group SalesPittsburgh [email protected]
Michael Guiffre will begin his 13th season with the Pittsburgh Penguins this year, his seventh as Director of Premium Seating. He began with the Penguins as an intern after college, working in the group sales department before being promoted to Manager of Ticket Sales and then to the premium seating department. Michael attended the West Virginia University (WVU), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management while working with the ath-letic department to gain experience in the sports business field. He is single and currently resides in the North Hills suburb of Pittsburgh.
adaM kellnerDirector of Premium HospitalityChicago Bears Football [email protected]
Adam Kellner is the Chicago Bears Direc-tor of Premium Hospitality. He oversees all of the team’s premium seating sales and service initiatives, including Suites, Skyline Suite Seats, United Club Seats, PSL sales and Season Ticket Priority List sign-ups. Adam joined the team in 2001 to manage the team’s New Soldier Field PSL sales campaign and supervise all tickets for the team’s 2002 season at the University of Illi-nois. Prior to the Bears, Adam worked in various ticket sales and service roles for the Chicago Wolves, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Tampa Bay Lightning. A native of Gainesville, Florida, Adam received a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Business from the University of South Carolina and earned a Master’s degree in Busi-ness from the University of Central Florida. He and his wife, Tracy, have two daughters, Morgan (3) and Aubrey (1).
sCott o’Connell Director, Suite and Premium Seat Sales and ServiceMinnesota Twins Baseball [email protected]
Scott joined the Minnesota Twins in November of 1984 as a season ticket representative. He annually has led the ticket sales department in ticket sales and revenue generated. Promoted to Director of Ticket Sales prior to the 1998 season, Scott has been instrumental in the development of Twins season ticket programs and packages during his time with the ballclub. In 2007 Scott was promoted to Director of New Ballpark Development and was responsible for the sales and marketing of all suites and premium seating at Target Field. As the team transitioned into its new home at Target Field, Scott assumed the position of Director of Suite and Premium Seat Sales and Service. This posi-tion allows Scott to personally address the needs of all suite and premium seat clients by servicing an elite segment of season ticket holders that have ownership in venues previously not avail-able to Twins season ticket holders. A graduate of Brown Institute, Scott had a career in broad-casting prior to joining the Twins organization. Scott is a native of South St. Paul and currently resides in Woodbury with his wife Pam, son Mick and daughter Allison.
MIke guIFFre adaM kellner sCott o’Connell
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InDuSTry AnD ASSocIATIon nEwS
Is tailgating the next new revenue stream?The revenue race that dominates professional sports today is starting to look more closely at ideas outside the venue walls
buildings such as Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and others where people can watch games outside the venue are starting to catch people’s attention. Other examples
include the American Airlines Center also in Dallas and AEG’s LA LIVE outside STAPLES Center where in both cases, there are large video boards and expansive concourses outside the venues to entertain fans. One of the largest potential new areas of revenue growth is this one place where nearly everyone must be at before and after the game itself – the parking lots.
According to some, parking is now recog-nized as the second most profitable area in a venue’s revenue stream. And it does make sense. Once the blacktop is laid down and the lights are put up, there is very little in the way of up-keep. It is not labor intensive as are concessions. No chefs, no distribution trucks, no food spoil-age. And parking is an absolute necessity for the vast majority of the venues in North America.
Now teams, concessionaires, parking compa-nies and municipalities are all looking to cash in on a decades-old trend – tailgating. It is a time-honored tradition, especially in college and professional football, but until recently, very few teams had much control over it.
CashIng In on taIlgatIngThose days are starting to change. Enter a new concept from Pat Boone All-American Meats called Tailgate in a Box. It is an attempt to mon-etize all the food that is not being purchased inside the venue. And it is doing it in a way that will encourage usage by making it easier for the non-committed tailgater who may or may not tailgate because frankly… it is just too much work.
“Logic dictates that there must be a group of people who do not want to pack up a grill or put things on ice but who do like the idea of tailgat-ing,” says Bill Dorsey, Chairman of the ALSD. “I submit to you that premium seating is a great place for this idea to start. Tell me another area in the venue where everyone already has assigned parking places. Tell me another area where the people who own these parking passes do not want to disrupt their day with buying food, bringing in a grill or putting beer on ice.”
“I personally think this is going to be another new revenue stream and like a lot of new rev-enue streams, it may begin with those who have the most disposable income,” Dorsey concludes.
“Premium seating is often the test market for new venue ideas.”
A few teams have already looked at this concept. The Indianapolis Colts host a VIP Tail-gating Event across from Lucas Oil Stadium. It is held in a hospitality tent that holds up to 500 people, and it is an all-inclusive price for food and drink. There are TVs in the tent and of course, if it rains, fans are covered. It is a varia-tion of the theme.
The Green Bay Packers have set up a similar situation with their Tundra Tailgate area, a free
area in which fans can enjoy the game and have food and drinks without even having a ticket to the game. The tent is heated which is a big deal in Green Bay in the winter. It allows fans who cannot get into a sold-out venue a place to be a part of the Packer experience outside the venue walls.
CharItaBle CoMPonents oF taIlgatIngThere is another area of this strategy that is intriguing – royalty programs. Pat Boone All-American Meets donates a 7% royalty back to affiliate program users, i.e., teams and venues that utilize the service. So for example, if a large alumni association uses these branded Tailgates in a Box, a percentage of the procedes go back to the alumni association. On game day, far-flung alumni spread across the globe can purchase their Tailgate in a Box, grill out and give back to their school. It acts very much like an alumni donation. Teams, venues and concessionaires can use the 7% as a strict profit center also, without a donation involved.
Donations are tough to come by these days for cash-strapped Americans. Gary Tedder, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Accredited Members, Inc., the company
[continued on page 78]
“I personally think [tailgating] is going to be another new revenue stream and like a lot of new revenue streams, it may begin with those who have the most disposable income. Premium seating is often the test market for new venue ideas.”
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30 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
InDuSTry AnD ASSocIATIon nEwS
on alsd.CoM
Connect with the ALSD on LinkedIn:
Association of Luxury Suite Directors Group Page:www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=918457
Bill Dorsey:www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-dorsey/6/125/76a
Amanda Verhoff:www.linkedin.com/in/amandakuntzverhoff
Jennifer Ark:www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-ark/6/44b/1b5
Pat McCaffrey:www.linkedin.com/pub/pat-mccaffrey/9/27b/54b
Jared Frank:www.linkedin.com/in/jaredfrank
Dene Shiels:www.linkedin.com/pub/dene-shiels/10/b97/b8
Ryan Mirabedini:www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmirabedini
Follow the ALSD on Twitter:
Jared Frank:www.twitter.com/SEAT_Editor
Ryan Mirabedini:www.twitter.com/Ryan_ALSD
Like the ALSD on Facebook:
Association of Luxury Suite Directors Group Page:www.facebook.com/AssociationOfLuxurySuiteDirectors
alsd soCIal MedIa
FroM FaCeBookwww.facebook.com/associationofluxurysuitedirectorsalsd ConFerenCe and tradeshow Photos: los angeles, Ca
alsd on loCatIon: Cleveland, oh
Living Social: Jared’s visit to Cleveland included a night tweeting from the Indians Social Suite at Progressive Field.
uP-to-the-MInute IndustrY and assoCIatIon news www.alsd.com/news
More details of the proposed 49er stadium revealed HNTB calls its design “an outdoor entertainment venue.”www.alsd.com/content/more-details-proposed-49er-stadium-revealed
new orleans hornets get aggressive with 100 events in 100 daysThe organization is aiming to sell 10,000 season tickets by mid-September.www.alsd.com/content/new-orleans-hornets-get-aggressive-100-events-100-days
new to alsd.CoMalsd Member Q&a www.alsd.com/content/member-questions
team Case studies Brought to You By alsd solution Providerswww.alsd.com/content/team-case-studies
korbel co-brands party suite to celebrate angels 50th anniversaryThe activated space delivers brand recognition while enhancing the fan experience.www.alsd.com/content/korbel-co-brands-party-suite-celebrate-angels-50th-anniversary
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A Conversation with Rob GardenhireDirector of Marketing and Business Development, Tulsa Drillers
It’s baseball season; it’s Shark Week; the OU Sooners are about to start summer camp. Life is good for Rob Gardenhire. While tak-ing a break from these pleasures and escaping
the oppressive 30-plus consecutive days of 100 degree heat in Tulsa, Rob cools off with nostal-gic tales of laundering jock straps and introduces his alter ego, “Rally Rob”.
Whether he is managing suites or trying to convince the state of Oklahoma and his wife to let him marry Bob Stoops, Rob’s approach is always the same – beast mode.
SEAT: My spies tell me you are a crazy, die hard OU Sooners fan and season ticket holder. Does it make you nervous at all that the Sooners are preseason #1 in the Coaches Poll? Gardenhire: A little bit. You know, who knows? If we could have avoided losing to the teams we shouldn’t have lost to last year, we probably would have won the National Championship a year ago. So anything can happen.
SEAT: But what do you think will happen? What’s your prediction for the Crimson and Cream this year?Gardenhire: Florida State is going to be a tough test. And the OU-OSU game could end up being the biggest that it’s ever been. I think we could see two undefeated teams there, and the winner goes on to play for the National Championship.
SEAT: After a few years of teaching and coach-ing in the Dallas area, what made you decide to make the move to the sports business industry and take your current position in Tulsa?Gardenhire: When I was an Athletic Director a couple times early on in my career, I realized I needed more education on the business end of things. So I enrolled at the University of Dallas and got my MBA really for the sole purpose of getting into an athletic department at the college level.
About a year from graduation, I realized I didn’t have a ton of experience with marketing and promotions and selling and these kinds of things that everybody was telling me I needed to have. So I took an internship with the Conti-nental Baseball League, which was based out of Dallas. It had three teams in the [Dallas-Fort Worth] Metroplex and one in Houston. I did that in the summer of ’07 while taking nine hours and having a young family. I did every-
thing from laundry to workers comp to payroll. It was nuts but a great experience. It opened
the door for me here in Tulsa. I was born here, and my wife grew up here. So that’s why we eventually decided to come back here with a little luck at the Baseball Winter Meetings in ’07. I ran into these guys from Tulsa. They had a job come open, and here I am.
SEAT: Sounds like you have certainly paid your dues. Gardenhire: Yeah I guess I have. No more doing laundry at two o’clock in the morning for me.
SEAT: Alright, time for the most important question of the day, who the hell is “Rally Rob”?Gardenhire: [Laughing] Rally Rob is a fan of the Tulsa Drillers who often out of frustration
for long work days and extra inning games will show up wearing various outfits, most recently a Drillers hard hat and an old Drillers jersey. He will come out and yell pretty loudly, loud enough to be heard by the 500 fans that are still in the ballpark after the 15th inning.
The story goes back to a doubleheader we had in 2009 on a Sunday night, the last day of a homestand. The way we do doubleheaders is we’ll do two seven inning games. The first game went to nine innings, and the second game went to 16 innings. So at two in the morning after about the 12th inning, Rally Rob was born. He changed outfits after each inning in hopes of rallying the troops.
SEAT: From your Twitter feed, I see you are a fan of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I need you to help explain that phenomenon to me, because I just do not get it.Gardenhire: For me, I think it goes back to a love for big animal movies, whether it’s Anaconda or Jaws or anything like that. Any B-movie that has to do with a large animal, I will definitely sit down and watch.
SEAT: Does your wife watch Shark Week with you?Gardenhire: She will watch Shark Week with me. It doesn’t get any better than that – a guy who works in baseball and is gone most of the time, and when he comes home, all he wants to do is watch Shark Week. It’s real romantic.
SEAT: What is this #beastmode hash tag I keep seeing on your Twitter feed?Gardenhire: The #beastmode hash tag is inspired by Kevin Butcher, my Assistant Busi-ness Development Manager. Kevin stole it from [Toronto Blue Jays outfielder/third baseman] Jose Batista. Recently, the joke has been that we were going to pitch an event to do here at the ballpark. So we were going to go “beast mode” on our management and get this event done. Sure enough, management went “beast mode” on us and said no.
InduSTry And ASSocIATIon nEwS: ALSd MEMbEr HIgHLIgHT
By Jared Frank, Editor, SEAT Magazine
“[My wife] will watch Shark Week with me. It doesn’t get any better than that – a guy who works in baseball and is gone most of the time, and when he comes home, all he wants to do is watch Shark Week. It’s real romantic.”
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The Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, have struck enter-tainment oil. By abandoning the economi-cally limited Drillers Stadium at the Tulsa
County Fairgrounds in favor of the gushing geyser that is the state-of-the-art ONEOK Field, the Drillers are producing black gold in the form of corporate and family entertainment. Built in the art deco style of architecture char-acteristic of the historic Greenwood District of downtown Tulsa, the ballpark embraces the city’s culture and its oldest and most popular profes-sional sports franchise, a baseball club that has played for over 100 years. “It’s not hard to get on the phone and talk about Tulsa Drillers baseball with anybody, even if it’s a cold call,” contends Rob Gardenhire, Director of Marketing and Business Development for the Drillers. “People have fond memories of the Drillers here in Tulsa that date back a long way. We’re entrenched in this community.”
The major league amenities available at ONEOK Field begin with its 23 suites, 19 more than the Drillers had at the old ballpark. Eigh-teen suites are sold at 5-, 7- or 10-year deals; two are sold on a nightly basis; and two are 40-person suites. The Drillers also have a suite of their own that the club donates frequently, hosts the players’ wives in and uses for family functions.
Because ONEOK Field is a private-public partnership in which $30 million came from private donations, one of the double, 40-person suites is reserved for ballpark donors. Twenty-one of the donating groups have access to the suite a number of times per year based on their giving level. The second 40-person suite is the ballpark’s naming rights suite. ONEOK, Inc., one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, together with the ONEOK Foundation secured a $5 million, 20-year nam-ing rights deal.
ONEOK Field’s capacity is 7,833 fans. The seating bowl is comprised of 5,200 seats, 212 of which are club seats, which according to Gardenhire have been sold out for the ballpark’s first two years. Some of the club seat amenities include a padded seat, a drink rail, a side table and in-seat food and beverage service. Club seat holders also have access to the air conditioned Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac, which is directly behind home plate on the ballpark’s suite level. Tycoon’s offers a full service bar, food service, two 42” plasma TVs and an energetic, social atmosphere.
Other premium and group seating options include the Coors Light Refinery Deck, an exclusive, upscale environment with a full service bar and seating for up to 200 guests, and the Oil Field Picnic Pavilion, which can host more than 1,000 guests in a shaded outdoor hospitality environment with access to the TD Williamson Kids Zone.
Introducing ONEOK Field: Tulsa’s Entertainment WellTulsa is annually a top minor league market. Now it is a top minor league market with major league amenities such as ONEOK Field, home of the Tulsa Drillers.By Jared Frank, Editor, SEAT Magazine
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“The ballpark is now a true entertainment venue. We really have something for everybody now whereas at the old place, you had to leave the stadium and leave the action to be able to do anything besides watch baseball.”
– Rob Gardenhire, Tulsa Drillers
The Drillers also have a 2,380 square-foot Conference Center located on ONEOK Field’s suite level. Patrons benefit from the latest in audio-visual technology to showcase their latest products and space to comfortably accommodate groups of 25-200 guests. The Drillers Confer-ence Center can also be combined with the Coors Light Refinery Deck to grow meeting capacities.
All of these premium opportunities allow the Drillers to compete for entertainment dollars in a saturated minor league marketplace that includes the Tulsa Talons (AFL), the Tulsa Oil-ers (CHL) and one professional franchise – the Tulsa Shock (WNBA), all who play at the three year old BOK Center. The NBA Development League’s 66ers also call Tulsa home, playing in the Tulsa Convention Center. “It’s definitely a
healthy competition. It keeps us on our toes,” says Gardenhire. “We feel we offer the most af-fordable and most entertaining product both on the field and in the stands.”
The entertainment value “in the stands” is ONEOK Field’s greatest improvement over the old ballpark, which was a place where fans had to really love baseball to have a good fan experience. Now with changes to the ballpark setup, such as an open-air 360 degree concourse, whether fans are seeking a baseball game, fun with the family, great food or just a cold beer and a hot dog, ONEOK Field provides them all. “The ballpark is now a true entertainment venue,” Gardenhire proclaims. “We really have something for everybody now whereas at the old place, you had to leave the stadium and leave the action to be able to do anything besides watch baseball.”
The aforementioned BOK Center, which came online almost two years prior to ONEOK Field opening, paved the way in some respects for the Drillers ticket sales success. The BOK Center created a culture of ticket buying in Tulsa, which it never had, largely because the city never had great venues before. “It certainly aided us to have a venue come in and get people adjusted to what suite life is like and what club seats are like,” explains Gardenhire. “When we walked in and offered our product, a lot of times it was a little more affordable with some different features, but it was in line with what the BOK Center had done. They set the bar, and we tried to hopefully set it a little higher in some ways.”
These lessons learned from the BOK Center will also serve ONEOK Field well when it begins to host concerts and other events. The Drillers just announced their first concert on October 1st, the Greenwood Music Festival, a contemporary R&B showcase featuring Kem, The Whispers and Mint Condition.
Food and beverage is provided to ONEOK Field by Professional Sports Catering (PSC). PSC owns two minor league baseball clubs and operates concessions for twelve others. They employ five full-time staffers year-round at ONEOK Field to serve Drillers baseball and all the events booked at the new facility on non-game days and in the offseason.“PSC does a great job of staying on top of our issues and serving as a sounding board for us throughout the year,” says Gardenhire.
More than half of food and beverage orders
Top: Cold Certified: Fans can enjoy an upscale hospitality environment with full service bar at the Coors Light Refinery Deck.Bottom: Creating a Higher Standard: Premium amenities at ONEOK Field, such as Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac, are redefining corporate hospitality in Tulsa.
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What’s yourWi-Fi done for you lately?
©2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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38 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
InduSTry And ASSocIATIon nEwS: ALSd MEMbEr VEnuE HIgHLIgHT
DRILLERS SOCIAL MEDIA TOPS DOUBLE-A BASEBALLThe Tulsa Drillers are #1 – in social media following that is. The following of Drillers team pages, over 23,000 total fans through Twitter and Facebook combined, ranks first in Double-A baseball and ninth overall in all of the minor leagues. The organization benefits from using social media to solve customer service problems and to give their customers a voice. “Customer service has been the most powerful aspect of our social media,” explains Gardenhire.
Gardenhire has a post-it note on his wall to remind him of how far the organization has come. As written on the note, on June 17, 2008, the Drillers were at 732 Facebook fans. “That day is when I got the green light to roll with this thing,” Gardenhire beams. “We’ve blown it up ever since.” The team now has 19,453 fans who “like” the team’s Facebook page.
The Drillers have a six man team plus two interns who get together every other week to look at what the organization is doing in the social media space. It really is an all-hands-on-deck, team approach, one that allows the promotions personnel to answer promotions questions and Gardenhire to answer market-ing and ticketing questions. “The folks who are allowed to respond are very knowledgeable about what our product is, and who we are as an organization,” says Gardenhire. “So we’re all able to stay in the same voice.”
Social media offers the Drillers creative, video and promotions teams the outlets to keep their fans on their toes through giveaways and offers that the Drillers otherwise would not be able to do. And as Gardenhire likes to point out, “it’s all free.”
– J.F.
come via the Drillers online suite catering form, which was set up by PSC and is administered by the catering manager at ONEOK Field. “We always want to put the ball in the hands of our customers,” Gardenhire states. “It’s a lot easier than calling an order in and dictating over the phone.”
What’s Gardenhire’s best memory from year one at ONEOK Field? “I’d have to say opening night and the last game of the season.” The Drillers had a capacity crowd on opening night, an evening worthy of a celebration, consider-ing how much effort had gone into getting to that point. “After the game, we had a chance to crack some beers with the guys and enjoy that moment.”
By the end of ONEOK Field’s inaugural sea-son, the Drillers had set an all-time attendance record for professional baseball in Tulsa with 408,183 fans. “After the last game, it was neat to say, ‘Hey, we did it. We pulled it off ’.”
As is always the case, there was much learned from year one to apply to year two. One of the Drillers notable improvements this season is the customer service management of premium patron relationships. The Drillers have hired higher quality personnel across the entire suite level from bartenders to suite attendants. “We’ve got some folks who have been shifted around to some better roles that suit their strengths,” says Gardenhire. “The minute our fans park, we want to start affecting their experiences in a positive way. We’ve done a lot better job of that this year.”
“We’ve been sold out which is great,” continues Gardenhire. “We’re coming into our third year next year with some of our contracts. So that’ll be a big challenge for us to renew that business and keep things moving forward as they have been.” With the overall financial stability of the region and now the amenities to cater to this strength, ONEOK Field should remain a rich entertainment well for years to come. #
Want to network with Rob? Here Is His Business Card:Rob GardenhireTulsa DrillersDirector of Marketing & Business Development(O): [email protected] Field201 N. Elgin AvenueTulsa, OK 74120
xxxxx
ONEOK Field at a Glance
Capacity: 7,833
Number of Suites: 23
18 multi-year leases
2 nightly rentals
2 40-person suites
1 suite owned by the Drillers
Number of Club Seats: 212
Event Spaces: 4
Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac
Coors Light Refinery Deck
Oil Field Picnic Pavilion
Drillers Conference Center
Concessionaire: Professional Sports Catering
Architect: Populous
Builder: Manhattan Construction
Construction Cost: $39.2 million
Owner: Tulsa Stadium Trust
Operator: Tulsa Drillers
Naming Rights: ONEOK, Inc. ($5 million, 20 years)
“The minute our fans park, we want to start affecting their experiences in a positive way. We’ve done a lot better job of that this year.”
– Rob Gardenhire, Tulsa Drillers
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40 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Suite branding is not a new concept in the sports indus-try. Nevertheless, it has been met with somewhat slow adoption and relative ambiguity. Accordingly, few teams
or companies have truly strived to find the formula for success. Until now. One industrious duo, comprised of the Minnesota Twins and Cambria, has engineered one of the most prosper-ous partnerships in suite branding to date. Cambria, the fami-ly-owned, Le Sueur, Minnesota stone surface manufacturer, is refining its branding and has produced – and more importantly is utilizing it to its fullest potential – one of the most inventive branded spaces in the venue marketplace: Cambria’s Design Studio at Target Field.
Background Peter Martin, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Residential Sales at Cambria, explains that early on Cambria felt the need for more than mainstream marketing to promote its products. He says, “We wanted to get into a medium that allowed us to differentiate ourselves and also to a certain extent have some unique ownership of it.” That said, while still in its infancy in 2002, Cambria teamed with the Minnesota Twins to brand the Cambria Skybox Suite in the Metrodome. Since then, Cambria has installed not only countertops, but any sur-face ripe for its quartz surfaces in the Minneapolis market and beyond. In all, no fewer than 15 North American partnerships
exist. Coupled with the company’s passion for sports, particu-larly baseball, Cambria’s branding platform has morphed into a premier partnership model in sports marketing.
PerPetually Premium To appreciate a product’s quality, you have to see it, feel it and experience it. Cambria’s product and potential purchasers are both, in a literal and figurative sense, upscale and polished. For that reason, there is not a better place for clients to absorb a product’s appeal than on an exclusive premium level in a stadium or arena. Posh premium amenities further persuade high-end clientele to remain in the captive environment that allows for key demonstrations, networking and interaction, and reinforced aesthetic and performance opportunities.
At Target Field, the most posh premium space exists on the first baseline, in two 16-person suites that have been combined and built-out into Cambria’s Design Studio. Marty Davis, Cambria’s President and CEO and longtime advocate for the Twins organization, worked with Scott O’Connell, Twins Di-rector of Suite and Premium Seat Sales and Service, and Dave St. Peter, Twins President, to develop the concept for a party-sized suite with 32 external seats and 12 internal seats. From there, the Twins worked hand-in-hand with Cambria’s archi-tects and designers on the suite layout. The photos included in this article illustrate the finished product, a custom double
One company surfaces as a preeminent branded sports marketing partner.By Amanda Verhoff, Executive Director, ALSD
PoliShed Branding
cambria entertains 100-125 times a year in the design Studio, including all twins home games and numerous non-game day events. Food and beverage options are available for each event, and cambria personnel are on-hand for each game and non-game day event.
Branding Bullseye: Cambria’s activation at Target Field hits the mark for its guests.
a camBria client on the deSign Studio:Creative Surfaces, Inc., a national manufacturing company of custom store fixtures, signage and countertops for the retail, automotive and casino industries, is one such customer who, after experiencing the Cambria Design Studio, felt the product was the right fit.
“We have enjoyed the benefit of using the Cambria Design Center with our customers. The trips in their entirety are an experience, from the bus ride, where we mingle and get to know our customers to the amazing experiences at the games to the product knowledge gained by the plant tours and interactions with our Cam-bria representatives. Our customers get a sense of what Cambria is all about when they see the outpouring of generosity from our Cambria representatives during their trip. The experience has definitely turned a local custom home builder into a Cambria believer. A customer confided that after seeing the total Cambria package, he knew that Cambria was right for his high-end homes and demanding customers. As we follow up with our customers on the trip, we see a repeating pattern – it wasn’t any one thing that stood out, it was the ‘Cambria experience’ as a whole that is the resounding sentiment.”
– Jud Pins, CEO/President, Creative Surfaces, Inc.
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suite with floor-to-ceiling Cambria finishings. Moreover, it illustrates branding at its best, as the suite replicates possible designs and fittings for commercial and residential projects.
PartnerShiP ParameterS In the 10-year lease contract, Cambria agreed to pay for the double suite construction and installation of materials. Upon contract expiration, Cambria will have the opportunity to re-up or terminate the lease. If terminated, the Twins can leave the suite as is if the team wishes, or the suite can be returned to its original condition, financed by Cambria. From the Twins’ perspective, the contract outlines few limitations, but of im-portance, advertising needs to stay contained within the suite and not extend into the hallways or exterior of the suite. One key contractual component is that the Cambria partnership includes signage behind home plate, supplementing the brand’s visibility to those in the stadium and to those in the television viewing market.
The Davis family, owners of Cambria and avid baseball fans, also receive tickets to the Champions Club as part of the agreement. The family seldom is not in attendance at home games. O’Connell believes that the synergy and long-standing relationship between the Davis family and the Twins made contractual and branding negotiations smooth and, in fact, entertaining. Davis was one of the first to select his space in the park, and O’Connell recalls visiting the two largest suites along the first baseline, and Davis remarking, “I want them both!”
duB it a deStination Decorating a suite with a company’s materials is only the be-
ginning of a comprehensive plan to promote brand awareness. Cambria has taken the following steps to ensure its brand is promoted efficiently and frequently. In no particular order:•Cambria refers to its party suite as a Design Studio. Draw-
ing on innovation in its truest sense, Cambria decided that “Design Studio” conveyed a more meaningful connotation than luxury suite. “A private-engagement, by-invitation-only studio that highlights our products’ capabilities” is Cambria’s intention.
•A Vice President of Sales for Cambria doubles as bartender in the Design Studio for Twins home games. Not only is he versed in the world of olives and twists, but he is fluent in the company’s lingo and product lines.
•Cambria offers educational courses in its suite. On the com-mercial side, architects and designers have yearly continuing education needs, much like doctors or lawyers. Cambria offers certified courses, often combined with stadium tours, which carry credits for associations in the market segment. Cambria holds instructional courses before games or during off days, the former with entertainment and hospitality to follow dur-ing the game.
•Cambria entertains 100-125 times a year in the Design Studio, including all Twins home games and numerous non-game day events. Food and beverage options are avail-able for each event, and Cambria personnel are on-hand for each game and non-game day event. The Twins are more than happy to accommodate distinctive food and beverage requests.
•The Twins often refer to the suite as a destination, as it is a cut above the rest in terms of luxury and amenities. Twins
Hospitality By Design: Cambria explains its designation of Design
Studio in place of luxury suite: The Design Studio is “a private-
engagement, by-invitation-only studio that highlights our products’
capabilities.”
• Enter into the partnership only when strong synergy exists between the client and the team.
•Whether considering a redesign or a new build, bring your best client in early and offer them the best space.
• Because brand visibility is the main objective, en-courage use on non-game days as well as game days.
• Put it in writing. Include as much detail as possible about the contractual items, payments and return of the suite to the original condition.
•Offer more than branding. Package the branding op-portunity with prime signage or club seats.
•Ask permission to showcase the branded suite. To a team or venue, branding is not a new idea, but to your clients and prospects, it might be. You will need a model to display.
• Because the suite holder will value the added visibil-ity, ask for authorization to leverage the suite for the team or venue’s benefit.
•Contract it at the customer’s cost if you must; offer it as a renewal incentive if you can.
• Encourage the client to do more than entertain. Holding educational seminars is a meaningful ap-proach to get potential clients into the suite.
•Use it as your own sales tool. Get your other suite holders’ creative juices flowing.
• Embrace a partner who embraces sports. A strong partner is never a stranger to the ballpark.
• Educate the client on how to leverage the branded suite. Remember, the team is the expert in the sports marketplace.
•Make it a destination, and brand it in namesake as well if it makes sense for the product.
• Look for ways the sponsor’s product can upgrade your venue, aside from the suite itself.
•Map out the client’s objective early on. For instance, if the client’s goal is exclusivity, ballpark tours through the suite are not appropriate.
• Recognize the right opportunity. Offer the opportu-nity to outfit all suites, a club area or an entire con-course with a client’s product if they want stronger market penetration. Help brand just the client’s suite or exclusive area if market penetration is already strong.
• If possible, showcase the product as it would be used outside of the ballpark.
Suite Branding For dummieS – tiPS For teamS conSidering a Suite Branding oPPortunity:
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alums frequent the suite with Cambria’s permission, which they value greatly. Affiliation with Cambria from former players only strengthens the brand.
•The Twins utilize the suite, with permission, for non-game day events. O’Connell stated that MLB League Meetings were held in the suite, and Cambria is always open to permit-ting the Twins access to the suite for private functions.
•The Twins often incorporate the suite in the ballpark tours offered to guests. Cambria was hesitant at the onset as the suite was to be an exclusive experience, but Davis committed to the additional exposure and is open to the showcase.
recognize the return Return on investment is tough to track in any business. Sports marketing is no different, but Cambria recognizes that an “experiential” method works well. Peter Martin believes, “measurement sometimes occurs just from what we hear, feel and see in the marketplace. It is hearing from people who have had experience with your product.” That the suite is staffed for each ballpark event is of utmost importance, in accordance with hearing feedback from customers. Cambria also takes note of testimonials from customers who have viewed advertise-ments at the park or on television. A more concrete method of branding ROI is tracking new business that results purely from a hosted event in the suite, in a nutshell, utilizing the tickets and sponsorship opportunity the company has been given. Cambria, in its product and personnel, embraces the opportu-nity to be seen, and in doing so, keeps a finger on the pulse of the marketplace.
Another appeal for Cambria at Target Field is the baseball game itself. While Cambria prides itself on its presence in several professional sports venues, such as in the NBA’s Amway Center in Orlando and the NHL’s Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the company realizes that baseball, for one, offers more games, equaling more exposure. What’s more, there is a bit more “downtime” during a baseball game, a slower paced game than say hockey or football. Finally, the absence of in-game and halftime events allow more time for entertainment to occur in the suite. By a gut feeling, Martin suggests that “the absorption rate may be a little higher in baseball.”
the trend to Brand The Cambria suite is truly a world of its own. Perhaps that is why Scott O’Connell affectionately calls it a “facility” when referencing it. Its wow factor was not initially deliberate by
Cambria or the Twins, but as is evident in the photos, it cer-tainly became a welcomed outcome. O’Connell recognizes it as a marketing opportunity and seizes it by allowing select suite clients and prospects into the suite. The Twins offer clients the freedom to decorate their suites, and they are clear about the financial and design responsibility from the outset – suite holders have to cover payment of the suite build-out and the suite’s return to its original state. Most clients and prospects understand, and some are warming up to the idea, namely the 10-year lease holders who see it as an investment.
The Twins exercise caution however when exhibiting Cam-bria’s suite, understanding that some will wonder “why can’t I have this in my suite.” The companies that “get it” realize that Cambria’s own products led to the result of the branded De-sign Studio. Those same companies were the first to have their creative juices flowing in their own suites. For instance, General Mills displays a giant Wheaties box in its suite. With built-in bat in hand, guests have the opportunity to pose for pictures “on the Wheaties box.” O’Connell believes the trend is growing as companies embrace the right opportunity to highlight their product or service. Ultimately, most companies do not offer surfaces to outfit a suite like Cambria does, but nonetheless, the best-informed clients discover they can too exploit their own products in a successful branding situation.
in the end For most teams, suite branding is not a new concept, but it comes with questions. Who will pay for the build out, the team or the client? What if a company defaults on its lease, and the team is stuck putting the suite back to its original form? What is the true ROI value to the client, and how can the team explain how it is measured? Yet some teams, like the Minne-sota Twins, understand that with risk comes reward. The Twins create branding partnership models that ensure long-term rela-tionships with its clients. In the situation of the Cambria suite, branding not only adds to the overall sponsorship package and the ballpark’s appeal itself, it helps strengthen the relationship between the team and Cambria, helping to alleviate many of the abovementioned uncertainties. Cambria realizes that the visibility at Target Field leads to brand association in the ballpark and beyond. In the end, the team reaps the benefit of a uniquely adorned suite, ripe for showing off, while the company reaps the benefits of potential clients regularly seeing, feeling and most importantly, experiencing its products. #
Do you have a client who you can approach with this idea?Write to Amanda at [email protected], and connect with her onLinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/amandakuntzverhoff.
The “Facility”: The Design Studio is a world of its own, serving
specific marketing goals of both Cambria and the Twins.
more on mlB on alSd.com:indianS conStruct model Suite at ProgreSSive Field
So Why minneaPoliS? The ALSD historically attempts to hold our annual conferences in the cities with the most state-of-the-art venues. Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins, is, in our opinion, the best new ballpark to come around in a long time. The fact that it won the “Facility of the Year “ from Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal helps substantiate our claim.
But there are more reasons for Minneapolis.The Minnesota Wild’s Xcel Energy Center is often cited as the model for new hockey arenas being built in North America, and some believe it will some day reach nearly iconic status, like the Wrigleys and Fenways of the sports world. It has got a few years to achieve that kind of status, but the building has clearly been the model used for so many arenas built in the past five years.
But there is more. The ALSD Conference is nomadic. The idea is to give regions a chance to host the ALSD show. It has been a while since we were in the Midwest, about a decade. This allows people who are regional a chance to travel more easily.
The cost. Let's face it – the Midwest is less expensive than New York and Los Angeles. For those teams on tighter budgets, you will find the hotel costs are around $100 less per room per night. Not only that, but the food is less costly and in most cases, so too is the flight in, because we are in the middle of the country.
Need more reasons? The ALSD is trying to reach out and grow our College and University Division. TCF Bank Stadium, the home of University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football, is state-of-the-art. It is quite possibly the best new college football stadium built in the last decade.
Tell me more.OK, we will. There are two seasons in Minneapolis – July 4th and winter. We are there over the July 4th week, in one of America's most beautiful cities during its short summer season. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the foli-age is breathtaking. About 40,000 people live in Downtown Minneapolis which hosts many summer festivals and has a “regionality” that is nearly unmatched. The city has been ranked the best bicycling city in the coun-try, so it is perfect for our active attendees, with 46 miles of streets with dedicated bike lanes and 84 miles of off-street paths. And for those who like the indoors – and more specifically shopping indoors – the renowned Mall of America awaits.
Give me more.Minneapolis is one of only 14 cities to have all four major sports. This allows league meetings to thrive, be-cause all four leagues call it their home.
What's not to like? Minneapolis offers great facilities, a Midwest location and affordable plane and hotel prices for the budget conscious. We are excited about Minneapolis, and we look forward to seeing you there.
– Bill Dorsey, Chairman, ALSD
coming uP neXt:Where’S Waldo?#alSd2011 recaP in PhotoScan you Find your-SelF?
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In PhotosA fter the completion of the 2010 ALSD Conference and Trade-
show, I thought there was no way our New York show could be topped. That was until I arrived at LA LIVE this past June. The 2011 conference, the ALSD’s highest attended show to date, was
a show for the ages. From the events held at the Rose Bowl to Nokia Theatre to STAPLES
Center to Angel Stadium to The Home Depot Center, this year’s tours and receptions included takeaways for all attendees.
This year’s event was a name dropper’s paradise. Naming off our prolific roster of keynote speakers was like calling roll for the Mount Rushmore of our industry: Robb Heineman, Ray Bednar and, of course, Tim Leiweke all imparted words of wisdom. Additionally, Tom Wilson received the ALSD Visionary Award. The room was not short of talent.
There were planned and spontaneous celebrity interactions. Nona Sivley, winner of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, provided behind-the-scenes access for our Food and Beverage Division. Pat Boone was on hand to showcase his Tail-gate in a Box. Hollywood celebrities appeared out of nowhere in the hotel bar following a Rihanna concert next door at STAPLES Center. Outside the JW Marriott in LA LIVE’s Nokia Plaza, the red carpet was laid out, literally, for a press conference promoting the upcoming Mayweather-Ortiz fight. If you check the Facebook walls of a few of our attendees, you’ll see them hobnob-
bing with Victor Ortiz himself post-press conference. I wish I could take credit for that rendezvous, but that experience went off-script.
Oh yeah, and we learned the new solutions to achieve success in our transformed industry. The roundtable discussions and educational presenta-tions were as good as always, if not better. The tradeshow floor was abuzz with product demonstrations exhibiting the latest and greatest innovations in the venue marketplace. Wherever you were, you felt the energy of this year’s show.
There was so much to experience, even I, the intrepid editor of SEAT Magazine, missed some of the magic. I’m sure you did too. But no need to fret. Take the following pictorial tour and relive the memories – all the venue tours and receptions, celebrity appearances, behind-the-scenes access, round-table discussions, educational sessions, exhibit hall demonstrations, keynote speakers and networking with colleagues. Find yourself and your friends at LA LIVE!
A special thanks to SuiteCaptures for snapping all these great shots and creating these lasting memories.
Still want more? Visit ALSD.com and “like” the Association of Luxury Suite Directors on Facebook to view more photos.
– Jared Frank
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WinAs many of our ALSD members can attest, winning is uncontrollable and often hard to come by. Discover how some teams overcome more losses than wins through creating superior customer service and memorable experiences.
By Ryan Mirabedini, Membership Director, ALSD
Sports provide a very simple concept: there is a winner and a loser. As Ricky Bobby would say, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” Just ask any Cubs fan born after 1908. Point being, people inherently love to win and/
or be around a winner. From checkers to the Madden NFL video game to the local 3-on-3 tournament and so forth, there is no better feeling that being declared a victor. Combine this natural human emotion with a team that represents a com-munity, and we have the microcosm that is professional sports. Considering this idea, fans want to watch a game or match where the organization they support is victorious. For any of a multitude of reasons (small market, bad drafts, injuries, etc.), some franchises have more success than others. This begs the age-old question: how can a franchise sell their product when the performance on the field is underwhelming?
As is common knowledge, the sale of suites and club areas brings into play several aspects for the company or individual leasing it. The obligatory statement is that a purchase of this inventory is a major investment for any client. With that in mind, a specific venue could have the highest rated customer service, concessions and facility in the industry, but if the team is being dismantled by a division rival, the check-ins of “How is everything today?” are often met with a solemn “It’d be better if we were winning.”
True. Winning is quite nice, but is it everything? It is clear that some of the larger markets in the country, e.g., New York, Chicago, LA and Dallas, have plenty of entertainment avenues other than sports for local companies, but coincidentally enough, these cities all have notably successful franchises to call their own.
On the other hand, take a smaller market like Cleveland. It is no secret that the city by the lake does not necessarily have the equivalent incentives as the aforementioned larger markets, and residents can only visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so many times before it loses its luster. That leaves companies like KeyBank, Huntington and other larger companies in the area with local sports teams as their resource for employee awards and client entertainment. Take the Browns for example. Reborn in 1999, they have the second worst record in the NFL since that time, yet nearly sell out every season. As part of their submission in the 2010-2011 ALSD Reference Manual, the Browns claimed their suites to be at 80% capacity which is quite admirable considering the still lingering effects of a down economy and poor team performances. When asked as part of the survey what kind of effect the economy actually had, the Browns responded, “The economy hurt renewal rates, and paired with a losing season, made us have to add more value-added programs.”
DeSpite LoSing
How to
FanVision enhances your fans’ game-day experience by turning your venue into a smart venue. Now they can tap into ten channels of instant replays, multiple camera views, statistics, commentary and out-of-market games at your venue, the moment the action happens. Which means they get closer to the action than ever before, stay in their seats and return season after season.
For more information, visit FanVision.com
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TO CHEER.
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Added value options should not be overlooked as they are a fantastic way to alleviate some of the lackluster on-field perfor-mances. Offering suite holders and high-value customers with access to premium options such as private concierges, exclusive golf courses, transportation services, major event opportunities and trips to destinations like Las Vegas create an ability for customers to see the value in being part of the “club” at no ad-ditional cost. This is a beautifully ideal way to remind someone that may be disappointed by a team’s record that while it would be great to win a championship, it is not a terrible thing to have gratis accessibility to such rewarding incentives.
The city of Pittsburgh, while often rivaling in competi-tion with Cleveland, is a very similar marketplace. According to www.cesus.gov, the population of Pittsburgh in 2009 was roughly 311,647 compared to 239,760 in Cleveland – close enough to have several parallels in market size and corporate dollars. This brings us to the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the previ-ous 18 seasons, the Pirates have not been able to finish the season above the .500 mark, but that does not stop the front office from being successful. “We typically do not sell wins and losses but instead focus on the things we can control,” says Chris Zaber, Senior Director of Ticket Sales & Service for the Pirates. “Providing excellent service and quality entertainment are just a few.” A valid point when considering how highly regarded PNC Park, the Pirates home, is considered through-out the industry.
Zaber also notes, “Outside of that, having the right structure in place, a well-trained and motivated staff, and utilizing best practices can go a long way to maintaining your current client base as well as growing your business regardless of how the team is performing.” The main point here being that by the nature of sports in general, there is always a winner and a loser. That cannot be changed. But a customer can still have a memo-rable experience if the service is at a high level.
Winning is also cyclical. A team may lose for several years, but in that time, they also stockpile draft picks and young talent that in some cases leads to a team’s success. This point leads to wondering how customers are convinced to have the necessary patience. Granted, it would be fantastic if every suite in the inventory of a venue was occupied on 10-, 15- and even 20-year leases, but those days, minus some rare instances, are long gone. It does not take a certified genius to decipher that customer service is an integral, if not, all-deciding aspect to re-tention. What does take true intuition is exactly how to provide the service necessary to keep morale in a desirable place.
Greg Hanrahan, Senior Director of Premium Seating at the United Center, has seen the highest of highs (The Jordan years and the Blackhawks Stanley Cup in 2010) and the low-est of lows (Post-Jordan/Pre-Derrick Rose and no hockey on local TV), but no scenario has ever altered his approach to
making sure his premium seat clients continue to return each year because of hard work and dedication. “We try to provide the best service possible at all times,” says Hanrahan. “So no matter what is going on the court or ice, we know our premium seating guests are having the best time possible at the United Center.” This type of positive attitude helps the United Center maintain one of the most respected levels of service on an an-nual basis in the industry.
According to Hanrahan, “The United Center Premium Seating Department tries to touch our premium seating cus-tomers over 100 times a year, not including telephone calls and emails. We want to be in front of our customers at all times.” This outlook has served Hanrahan and his staff sufficiently for 17 years now.
Another approach to keeping fans in the stands while the losses are adding up is to focus on promotions and pricing. For example, popular bobblehead nights often boost attendance by up to 10,000 fans. While these priceless, plastic replicas with springs for necks rarely look like the player they represent, people will show up in droves to get their hands on the latest release. Nobody is quite sure why these trinkets work, but they do, and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
The Kansas City Royals have implemented this kind of thinking to battle recent losing records but even more so to reward their passionate and loyal fans. According to Steve Shiffman, Senior Director of Ticket Sales & Services with the Royals, they have created wildly popular “Buck Nights.” It is no secret that food & beverage prices hurt the common fan, but
“the United Center premium Seating Department tries to touch our premium seating customers over 100 times a year, not including telephone calls and emails. we want to be in front of our customers at all times.”
– Greg Hanrahan, United Center
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on these “Buck Nights”, the Royals offer hot dogs, soft drinks, pretzels and popcorn for $1 each. Shiffman claims this promo-tion has provided a “huge spike” on Fridays, so much so that they often outsell Saturday night games.
As for the Royals premium clients, the staff harps on the fu-ture of the team, a bevy of young, talented players and hosting the 2012 All-Star game, which can be seen as a major benefit for premium customers. By creating an atmosphere such as this, the Royals put themselves in a position for when that one magic season finally arrives, they will be ready to cash in on the goodwill they already embedded throughout the community and Kauffman Stadium.
So what have we learned thus far? Well, yes, winning does help quite a bit as we might suspect but by no means defines the success of sales and services departments of the teams less fortunate in the standings. Bottom line is the ability of a professional franchise or a collegiate program to provide a venue for entertainment and unique business opportunities despite wins and losses. Having said that, the winning teams and schools do not stay the same each year. To this point is exactly why it is integral to have a plan in place to attack when that special season does arrive. Once that opportunity comes, which can be quite rare for smaller market teams, it is a battle to capitalize as best as possible initially, and then be prepared to maintain the following year(s) if the record happens to go back to mediocre or less.
Just ask Tom Sheridan, Director of Ticket Sales with the Chicago White Sox, who was part of the sales staff when the Southsiders won the World Series six years ago. “We are still hanging onto our 2005 success,” Sheridan says. “Our formula has been to continue to give as much season ticket holder value-added experiences, swag, renewal prizes, gifts and pric-ing consideration as possible.” Sheridan’s comments express an ongoing theme of the ability of teams to create such an atmosphere for their suite holders, club seat holders and gen-eral season ticket holders that is one with a plethora of team involvement, return on investment and outright enjoyment.
One area where winning and losing plays much less of a role is in the minor leagues. Baseball and hockey both have strong representation in diverse markets across North America, and because of the liquidity of player movement for these franchis-es, fans have come to enjoy the games not for the devoted love of the team, but because the sport is enjoyable to watch, and the venues charge less money and provide more discounts and giveaways to make the entertainment value more festive. Again, this is not to say winning is irrelevant, but for teams like the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Triple-A Baseball), it plays considerably less of a role. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre President, Kristen Rose, certainly sees things this way. “The consistency of the team is different from other sports,” says Rose. “The
game itself, the family entertainment factor and value become the draw.” She continues by adding, “Fans come to see various players as they move around, knowing they will be seeing some of them in the majors in the future.”
This is one of the more beautiful aspects about minor league sports. The entertainment can range from seeing who will be the next big star for fanatics, kids areas and on-field entertain-ment for the tots, and picnic areas in some venues for families to more casually spend a night at the ball game. But Rose is also sure to point out that, of course, winning is nice too. “We have been fortunate to have a record four International League North Division Titles, and we won the Governor’s Cup in 2008,” she remarks. “We certainly play to win.”
So there you have it. Winning is good, losing is bad and cus-tomer service trumps all. The moral of the story ultimately rests with the ability of an organization and a venue to consistently create an experience at an event that is so memorable and enjoyable that even when the inevitable losses begin to pile up, the smiles on the faces of those in attendance last long after the final whistle blows. #
How does your team or venue achieve sales success despite a losing team record?Write to Ryan at [email protected].
“our formula has been to continue to give as much season ticket holder value-added experiences, swag, renewal prizes, gifts and pricing consideration as possible.”
– Tom Sheridan, Chicago White Sox
CoMing Up neXt:pReMiUM SeAt SALeS AnD SeRViCe BeSt pRACtiCeS
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An AnALySiS of BeSt pRACtiCeS UtiLizeD By LUXURy SUite DiReCtoRSALSD members completed two separate surveys in 2011 – Part I: Premium Seat Service and Part II: Premium Seat Sales. The following is a synopsis of the results from each survey, as prepared by Ohio University and ALSD. By Heather Lawrence, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sports Administration, Ohio University
pARt i: SeRViCe SURVey AnALySiSPrepared by: Augustino Adams, Kevin Kelly, Drew Ossakow, Asown Sayles, Ohio University
Roi MeASUReMentALSD asked its members about the use, value and explanation to clients of ROI measurement tools. Results show that few of those surveyed have a specific ROI measurement tool for their clients to use. In fact, only six respondents have a specific tool. Spotlight Ticket Management is mentioned as being used, or that there are plans to use them in the future. Concierge Live is the only other program mentioned. Respondents were also asked if their clients have ever provided a ROI measurement tool. Again, the majority of respondents mention no such tool. Survey takers frequently mention that each client is different. Many measure their results in some way, with a large portion seeming to use their own internal spreadsheets.
CLient CoMMUniCAtionRegarding continual communication with clients, members were asked about the most effective method to solicit feedback. Most effective is one-on-one interviews at tastings or other events. Coming in a close second is personal phone calls. Results show that when it comes to getting good feedback, personal effort makes a difference. To ensure good feedback, respondents make sure to speak directly with clients over the phone or in person. The least effective method mentioned is pre-game surveys, with a majority of respondents finding this method not effective.
Regarding the frequency and medium used to communicate with clients, the most frequently used is email messages. A majority of respondents send emails out over twenty times per year to each client. Ticket delivery, direct mail and gifts are frequently used as well, typically less than five times per year. Phone calls, while a popular method used, vary in number per year, averaging between 11-15 calls. Finally, social media and text messaging are used to communicate with clients the least, each used on average less than five times per year. Further, respondents make it clear that social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, is one of the least effective methods to receive feedback, if even used at all, as respondents cannot depend on these resources when gathering information on their services.
toUCH point pRoCeSSRespondents share that a touch point process is used by their employer for hands-on engagement and to contact clients about specials, issues and other important matters. One system shared is a six week renewal e-mail followed by a contract follow-up call from the ticket dispatch. A few respondents also mention “end of season” gifts, birthday cards, event remind-ers or golf outings as touch points. Another respondent states touch points, to be effective, should foster a relationship not just a transaction. Some share that while they try to stay in regular communication with clients, they do not have a system in place to know who they touched and when.
CLUB AnD SUite HoLDeR BenefitS iMpACt on RetentionRespondents report that the most effective/useful benefits for retaining suite clients include:
• Parking benefits• Suite holder tastings• Including non-game events• Ticket delivery systems
Some of the least effective or little used benefits are: • All-inclusive food and beverage (soda, beer, wine and
hard alcohol)• Annual suite holder trip to non-athletic event• Suite-specific website
The same question was asked regarding club seating clients. The most effective benefits are:
• Parking benefits• Private event invitations• Client controlled ticket management systems• Renewal gifts
The least effective benefits for club seat retention are: • All-inclusive food and beverage (soda, beer, wine, and
hard alcohol)• Food and beverage credits• Using a suite as an amenity• Personalized gifts
giftingThere has been little change over the past two years in gifting budgets. One area that shows a small increase is Ticket Pack-aging/Delivery; it is the only strategy that shows significant increase in spending. The other categories (holiday gifts,
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-ment, the survey may be limited in tracking new trends and methods. For instance, a “not effective” ranking could mean that members simply have not attempted to use certain methods, rather than find them not effective.
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renewal gifts, small in-suite gifts and other) show little change or an equal number of respondents that increased to those that decreased.
The average annual gifting budget per suite reported is $642.75. The maximum value listed is $4,535.00 per suite, and the standard deviation for all responses is $1,169.35. While some respondents have much larger budgets, respondents in general spend less than $800.00 on annual gifting per suite.
teCHnoLogy USe foR fooD AnD BeVeRAgeTechnology is becoming more a part of the premium seat cli-ent experience. While tablets and smart phones have recently attained widespread popularity, venue/team suite directors have not been able to effectively harness them yet. However, there are other technologies that are very useful in enhancing client’s premium seating food and beverage service. In par-ticular, online pre-ordering options are very well liked among respondents. Additionally, for in-game service, in-suite phones are effective.
BeVeRAge AnD ALCoHoL poLiCieSRespondents make it clear that inclusive packages that include soda, water, beer and wine are not suitable in the current economic environment. The majority of respondents use point-of-sale and on-consumption-only policies. Fourteen-percent do include an all-inclusive package as a part of the club seating experience.
effeCtiVe fooD AnD BeVeRAge StRAtegieSSuites, loge boxes and club seating areas see the most revenue generated from concessionaire items such as boneless wings, hot dogs and popcorn. It is interesting to point out that suite directors state “all-you-can-eat” offerings are quite popular. For example, taco and burrito bars and dessert carts are the most well-liked items by clients based on quantity ordered.
Due to the current economic state, there has been a decline in premium food and beverage sales. Data suggests that companies are not investing as much in their entertainment budgets and are spending less on in-stadium food and bever-age. To combat the decrease, some venues are reducing prices and creating new packaging with smaller portions.
teCHnoLogy StRAtegieS foR MonitoRing pReMiUM SeAting inVentoRyMost respondents are reluctant to use technological advances like cell/smart phone ticketing applications and keyless entry scanners. To date, most venues have not been equipped with the resources to support these systems. Data shows that the most effective seating inventory systems used are e-ticketing or ticket management programs such as Ticketmaster, My Tickets or bookit, where staffers can physically count each ticket.
eMpLoyee peRfoRMAnCe RewARD StRAtegieSGetting fans and organizations to invest in premium seating has become increasingly difficult in the current recession. This difficulty has put more pressure on sales and service staffs to bring in new and retain existing suite holders. Motivating em-ployees is more critical than ever. Below are the most important
ways to motivate suite directors:• Annual or semi-annual employee performance evalua-
tions• Creation/cultivation of a distinctive venue culture for
employees to follow• Employee recognition
Interestingly, the top three responses do not involve mon-etary rewards. While incremental raises are the fourth highest rated answer, it is indicative that employees value recognition and feedback from their supervisor, which are vital to long-term career development.
BiggeSt iSSUe in tHe inDUStRy toDAyRecently, main issues stem from the economy, contracts and general uncertainty. Results also show that suites and premium seating sales are being affected by the age and condition of the facilities. Clients are seldom investing in out-of-date premium seating areas that are lacking in technology.
SURVey DeMogRApHiCSApproximately 80% of the members that filled out the survey are at the director or vice president level on the service side of the industry. The majority are female with an average age of between 31 and 35. The Big Four professional leagues are represented, along with college venues, auto racing venues and the English Premier League.
pARt ii: SALeS SURVey AnALySiSPrepared by: Trevor Allison, ALSD
pRoSpeCting MetHoDS effeCtiVeneSSRespondents make it very clear that when it comes to pros-pecting for new business, outside sales is the most effective method. Current customer analysis rates as the second most effective method.
Results show that the least effective method of sales prospecting is list buying. The least utilized method with our respondents is the drip marketing technique.
effeCtiVe SUite AnD CLUB LeVeL SALeS StRAtegieSCommonly used strategies in suite and club seat sales found to be most effective are:
• Packaging/selling sponsorships with suites• Offering non-game day events as part of suite packages• Offering all-inclusive food and beverage packages with
suites• Shortening lease terms/years• Payment plans
BeSt pRACtiCeS
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-ment, the survey may be limited in tracking new trends and methods. For instance, a “not effective” ranking could mean that members simply have not attempted to use certain methods, rather than find them not effective.
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Some of the least effective or least used strategies are:• Loyalty cards• Membership clubs• Virtual ticket selection options• Per-ticket suite sales
Interestingly, respondents almost unanimously favor strate-gies that are directly related to cost savings or payment options, while added-value programs such as loyalty cards or member-ship clubs are not widely used by organizations. It is important to point out that loyalty cards and membership clubs are relatively new concepts in the industry, and the results of this survey are by no means indicative of their effectiveness; more studies need to be completed to determine their value.
fooD AnD BeVeRAge SALeS StRAtegieS LeADing to SUite SALeSStrategies used in the sale of food and beverage listed as effec-tive are:
• All-inclusive food and beverage packages• Allowing catering companies to meet with clients in
regards to menu options• Adding food and beverage credits to the suite agree-
ment Some of the least effective or least used strategies are:
• Digital signage• Tiered food and beverage strategies• Dynamic food and beverage pricing
It is possible that these strategies are too new for the indus-try to gauge an accurate response of their effectiveness.
Members listed their annual food and beverage revenues generated for their different premium seat inventory. The aver-age yearly revenues are:
• Traditional luxury suites: $14,960,000• Club seats: $1,162,000• Loge boxes: $523,000• Party/Super suites: $234,000• Stadium clubs: $224,000
teCHnoLogy USe foR SUite AnD CLUB SeAt SALeSThe results prove that technology and advanced database analytics are becoming more a part of the premium seat sales experience. In particular, the advancement of technology has been influential in the retention of existing customers.
According to the data, the most effective form of technology for suite and club seat sales is database marketing or prospect-ing software. Other effective methods are flex or suite share plans, as well as variable pricing.
Eighteen-percent of the respondents claim to use social media such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for premium seat sales. Of those respondents, 2% claim that social media outlets have been highly effective. According to results, the least ef-fective technology used for suite and club seat sales is dynamic pricing.
CLient Roi MeASUReMentIn regards to ROI measurement tools, 20% of respondents claim that their teams provide a method of measuring ROI. Of those who say they do provide ROI measurement tools,
the majority mention using Spotlight Ticket Management software. Those using Spotlight have just recently begun using the software.
Thirteen-percent of respondents say their clients use some sort of measurable ROI tool, and all of those that have pro-vided ROI did so in the form of a basic Excel spreadsheet.
pReMiUM inVentoRyRespondents rated the popularity of their different premium options in regards to inventory usage. Results establish that traditional luxury boxes are still the most popular premium seating option. The premium options ranked in popularity are as follows:
• Traditional luxury suites• Club seats• Loge boxes• Super/Party suites• Mini-Suites• Stadium clubs (with or without seating)
Members listed their annual revenues for each of the preced-ing premium seating categories. From this information, the approximate industry averages for revenues generated from each category are as follows:
• Traditional luxury suites: $6,100,000• Club seats: $5,300,000• Loge boxes: $2,520,000• Super/Party suites: $942,000• Stadium clubs: $800,000• Mini-Suites: $420,000
Additionally, respondents described their venues’ future plans on premium inventory upgrades, changes or new builds. The majority state no future plans are in order. Of the available options, the least considered options are those that include plans to deconstruct parts of the venue in order to add more suites or club level seating. The option that is currently in reno-vation/upgrade plans is the construction of a new venue. It is the association’s belief that there is a strong correlation between the discrepancies between these two discoveries.
eMpLoyee peRfoRMAnCe AnD RewARD StRAtegieSRespondents rated employee reward strategies on a scale rang-ing from “do not use” to “highly effective.” Seventy-five-per-cent of respondents claim that they do not use incentive trips as an employee reward; however the 25%, that do use a trip as an incentive, rate it as highly effective.
Other effective strategies are:• Performance based recognition• Employee performance evaluations• Incremental raises
Some of the least effective strategies are:• Organization wide retreats• Encouraging a distinctive venue culture for employees
to follow
BiggeSt iSSUe in tHe inDUStRy toDAyRespondents have shown that there are many issues that orga-nizations and venues are dealing with in regards to suite and club seat sales and retention. Recently, the main issues stem
BeSt pRACtiCeS
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-ment, the survey may be limited in tracking new trends and methods. For instance, a “not effective” ranking could mean that members simply have not attempted to use certain methods, rather than find them not effective.
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Will WilsonExecutive VP, MLS
ALSD_Soccerex.indd 1 15/08/2011 10:48:44
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from the economy, contracts and collective bargaining agree-ments. Results also show that suite and premium seating sales are being affected by the age and condition of the facilities. Clients are seldom investing in out-of-date premium seating areas that are lacking in technology.
SURVey DeMogRApHiCSApproximately 58% of ALSD members that filled out the survey are at the director or vice president level on the sales side of the industry. Twenty-seven-percent are involved in the management side, and 15% are entry-level executives. Results show that the majority of respondents work with facilities affiliated with one of the Big Four professional leagues as well as concerts, live event and theater performances. There are also considerable respondents from the college and food and bever-age divisions.
The majority of respondents are male with an average age between 31 and 40. Four-percent of the survey respondents are under the age of 25. The average salary of respondents is approximately $66,000. #
Ohio University Sports Administration graduate students used Qualtrics survey software to collect responses. The Ohio Univer-sity Sports Administration graduate program is regarded for its excellence in preparing students for careers in professional sports, intercollegiate athletics, amateur sports, youth sports, sports agencies and corporate positions with a sport-related component. Under the
guidance of Walter O’Malley, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first-ever sports administration program was started at Ohio University in 1966. Since its founding, the graduate program has grown an alumni base of over 1,200 members. If you are looking for a talented, energetic and knowledgeable young professional to join your organization, please contact Jim Kahler in the Ohio University Center for Sports Administration at 740-593-4666. For questions or comments about this project, please contact Dr. Heather Lawrence at 740-597-1520.
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BeSt pRACtiCeS
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-ment, the survey may be limited in tracking new trends and methods. For instance, a “not effective” ranking could mean that members simply have not attempted to use certain methods, rather than find them not effective.
CoMing Up neXt:ALL CitieS ARe notCReAteD eQUAL
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All Cities Are Not CreAted equAl
if you recall our series of articles from the past year, we found that in the NFL, the value for all teams in the NFC outweighs the teams in the AFC. In the NBA and the
NHL, the Eastern Conference has a higher value than the Western Conference. And in MLB, the American League out-ranks the National League (unless the New York Yankees are removed from the equation). After reviewing all the data, we wondered which city or region really has bragging rights over the competition. To satisfy our curiosity, we investigated what would happen if we treated all four leagues as just one giant league known by us as the Great North American League.
All of the teams were broken up into regions regardless
of sport. Geographical location (Northeast, South, Midwest, West), as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau, played a significant role in the value of a team. We also combined all Canadian teams into one geographical area containing its eight teams. This methodology allowed for a truer gauge of what is going on in sport by geographical location and by state, and not by league, conference or division. While a particular sport may not be of interest to everyone, aggregating the results based on all sports impacts the landscape.
Teams are broken down and color-coded by region and sport in Chart 1. The South has the most teams with 36. The next highest region is the Midwest with 29 teams, followed by
Over the past year, SEAT presented a four-part series on the state of the suite market for the Big Four leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB). The researchers now aggregate all teams from these leagues, breaking them down by geographic location to further influence their understanding of the sports business landscape.By Dr. Peter Titlebaum and Diane Branca, MBA, University of Dayton
Chart 1*Note that dollar amount
units are in millions (USD)
INDUSTRY CASE STUDY: ALSD MEMBER SUCCESS
F L E X c o n www.FLEXcon.com
Sponsorship Pops for Korbel with SUITE-art®!
Korbel Champagne doesn’t have a dedicated suite at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. But, they
do have a brand story to tell the team’s corporate clients and other groups who rent one of four party suites on a nightly basis.
Maria Dinh, Sponsorship Services Manager, had a unique co-branding solution. She suggested Korbel take advantage of the stadium’s “suite branding” option. Since Korbel had been the “champagne of choice” and a partner of the Angels organization for years, she had an idea of how to link the two together in the hearts and minds of the team’s fans.
To transform a plain, generic space into a showcase of the Korbel brand for fans of the team, Ms. Dinh proposed a visual celebration of the Angels’ 50th Anniversary.
After selecting images from the Angels’ photo archive and Korbel marketing materials, BPGraphics created dramatic, eye-popping, wall wraps on SUITE-art® materials from FLEXcon. The result was the creation of a “Hall of Fame” exhibit-style environment and a personal connection between Korbel, the Angels and their fans.
“Our sponsor (Korbel) was very happy with the end result,” reports Ms. Dinh.
BPGraphics completed printing in just a few days, and installation only took a day. Best of all, because the FLEXcon self-adhesive film is quick and clean to remove, Angel Stadium can easily switch out artwork to feature other sponsors’ brand stories.
FLEXcon is the only self-adhesive film provider certified by the ALSD. In addition to the SUITE-art® wall
opportunities on a nightly basis in four different spaces is improving marketability of the suites.
To learn more about telling your story with SUITE-art®, contact Michael Chevalier, New Business Development Manager, FLEXcon, by phone at (508) 826-7204 or by email at [email protected]; or visit www.FLEXcon.com/SUITE-art.
products used for the Korbel/Angels exhibit, FLEXcon offers floor, window, counter, table and door products. All of these films produce graphics with a brilliance, depth and dimension of photographic quality.
Enhanced with the dynamic graphics, the space delivered exceptional brand recognition for Korbel while enhancing the fan experience for the Angels’ sponsors. Most importantly, the ability to offer sponsorship and co-branding
– A D V E R T O R I A L –
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the West with 27 teams. The Northeast comes in next with 22 teams, followed by Canada with eight teams.
While the Northeast has the smallest region in the United States, it has the highest mean value per team at $665 million (See Chart 2). When we look at the data for each league, the Northeast again wins three of the four leagues. The fourth league is the NHL, where Canada still enjoys bragging rights as the birthplace of the sport. In this category, the Northeast comes in a strong second place.
We learned fun facts by breaking team values down by region, such as what areas of North America have the most number of teams based on certain sports. For example, MLB is the leader in the Midwest with 14 teams. The NBA and the NFL share first place in the South with 11 teams in each league. Finally, the NHL has the lead with seven teams in the Northeast.
Next, the authors considered rankings by state to see if any were significantly different from the others. We grouped the states into those with four or more teams and three or fewer teams. This approach is akin to big/small conference cham-pions. In the “big conference”, California has the most teams
with 15 and has the highest total value at $7.43 billion. How-ever, when you break it down by the mean value, Massachu-setts, with just four teams, comes out on top with an average mean value of $746 million, as shown in Chart 3 on page 72.
Now we shift our attention to the “small conference” championship (See Chart 4 on page 72). Wisconsin, with three teams, has the highest total value at $1.63 billion. When comparing mean values, Maryland takes top honors with just two teams and a mean value of $728 million. Even if we had not broken the states into big and small conference champions, Maryland would have come in second place overall. Not bad for a state that only has five Fortune 1000 companies in its marketplace.
This information is relevant because sport is not immune to marketplace factors or the economy. Teams have relocated for a new stadium or arena just to help their bottom line profit-ability. Leagues often consider expansion as a means to increase revenue for their brands. Conversely, leagues also sometimes talk of contraction when a team is not profitable. But the last time a professional sports team folded in the Big Four was in 1952.
Mean Values by Region and Sport
Teams Low Value High Value Mean ValueNORTHEAST - 22 Teams 22 $415 $1,019 $665SOUTH - 36 Teams 36 $391 $700 $506MID-WEST - 29 Teams 29 $396 $659 $491WEST - 27 Teams 27 $383 $667 $487CANADA - 8 Teams 8 $303 $406 $335
By Region
Teams Low Value High Value Mean ValueMLB - NORTHEAST 5 $289 $1,600 $831MLB - WEST 8 $295 $727 $455MLB - MID-WEST 14 $331 $726 $406MLB - SOUTH 7 $316 $453 $393MLB - CANADA 1 $326 $326 $326
MLBTeams Low Value High Value Mean Value
NBA - NORTHEAST 4 $269 $655 $422NBA - CANADA 1 $399 $399 $399NBA -WEST 8 $293 $643 $379NBA - MID-WEST 6 $258 $511 $336NBA - SOUTH 11 $266 $443 $352
NBA
Teams Low Value High Value Mean ValueNFL - NORTHEAST 6 $909 $1,361 $1,128NFL - SOUTH 11 $856 $1,650 $1,113NFL - MID-WEST 9 $835 $1,082 $973NFL - WEST 6 $797 $1,081 $933NFL - CANADA 0 No Team No Team No Team
NFLTeams Low Value High Value Mean Value
NHL - CANADA 6 $183 $505 $293NHL - NORTHEAST 7 $151 $461 $262NHL - MID-WEST 5 $153 $315 $227NHL - WEST 5 $134 $215 $186NHL - SOUTH 7 $135 $227 $169
NHL
Chart 2*Note that dollar amount units
are in millions (USD)
Just like any industry, sport has growing pains, and not all teams and locations have the same value. the old adage, “location, location, location”, applies to the business of sports, where not all cities are created equal.
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Contraction also almost occurred in 2011 when MLB own-ers voted to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos. The league avoided contraction when the Expos moved to Washington, D.C., changed their name to the Nationals, and moved into a new stadium in 2008. The Twins stayed in Minnesota and moved into a new stadium in 2010.
This information can empower leagues and teams by un-derstanding which states or regions in the country support a particular sport, although there will always be exceptions with only one team in markets like Oregon, Utah and Oklahoma. In addition, Canada has provinces that only have one team as well, such as Québec and British Columbia. This evidence says a great deal about these communities and the degree to which they support a professional team.
However, if leagues are making decisions based solely on profitability and location, the Northeast region appears to be the strongest candidate for a new team in all sports, as does Canada for acquiring another NHL team. Sometimes a community will step up and bring out the welcome wagon to attract a team. A great example is St. Louis, who put together a sweetheart deal to get the Los Angeles Rams in 1995. The city provided the Rams a guaranteed three-year sellout of skyboxes and luxury seats, paid $29 million in relocation fees to the NFL, and guaranteed ticket sales of 85% of the Edward Jones
Dome capacity for the next 15 years. In North America, the sports landscape is still deciphering
how big it can get and in what markets to expand. Just like any industry, sport has growing pains, and not all teams and loca-tions have the same value. The old adage, “location, location, location”, applies to the business of sports where not all cities are created equal.#
Do you have questions or comments regarding this research?Write to Dr. Titlebaum at [email protected].
Charts 3 and 4
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CreAtiNG PreMiuM sPoNsorsHiP eNGAGeMeNt witH teCHNoloGYIt was not too long ago that sponsor presence in stadiums and arenas consisted primarily of small, now seemingly inconsequential signage, merely splashing logos around the venue. Not anymore.
By Justin Wood, Vice President, Dimensional Innovations
Brands today expect more for their investment and an opportunity to showcase their commitment to the team and to the community. Interactive experiences are providing just that opportunity. By utilizing
technology to add sponsorship value and fan engagement, brand presence is greatly increasing.
In the past, the “make my logo bigger” strategy often led to an organization’s brand being completely lost in a sea of a million other logos. In facilities where nearly every square-inch of real estate is a potential asset for the team or venue, there is a real challenge for a brand to separate itself from the rest of the visual noise that exists. Logos and static signage become a textural background that, over time, is more difficult to get noticed. Fans are so oversaturated with the same old stimuli that it simply gets blocked.
So where is a brand to go to gain the presence they are seek-ing for the dollars they are spending? How do they insure that their message does not become background noise? And how can they make certain that their message can be constantly and affordably updated with relevant information?
Technology integrated into the built environment goes a long way towards meeting these challenging goals. In 17 years of designing, branding and building these experiential spaces, Dimensional Innovations has seen a tremendous shift to one of interaction, as opposed to static branding. Especially in facilities where there is a large season ticket holder base, the opportunity to use technology as a way to keep content fresh and enticing is extraordinary.
dYNAMiC eNViroNMeNtsIn recent years, the term “dynamic environments” has been used quite heavily. What it means in our world is that the built environment can change and can change easily and frequently. It also has the ability to respond to users. It simply turns architecture into a living organism that has the ability to tell an ever-changing story. Dynamic environments are broken into several categories with varying levels of functionality and com-mitment. They each have their own characteristics, deliverables and, of course, cost implications. Most dynamic experiences fall into three different categories: Autoactive, Interactive and Reactive.
AutoACtiVe eXPerieNCesThe simplest and least complex of dynamic environments falls into the category of autoactive experiences. These experi-ences are characterized by simple digital content dominated by animated text and graphics. These are incredibly reliable in delivering targeted messaging for a brand, conveying informa-tion and invoking an emotional response from visitors. These can be readily delivered using very simple back-end systems and re-purposing existing brand content in new ways.
This deployment method was used heavily at Sprint’s East Gate Sponsorship at Lucas Oil Stadium. With over 25 LCD monitors in the space, existing messaging for the Sprint brand, NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts was easily deployed and constantly updated to keep things fresh. In combination with simple static graphics and a strong in-venue activation, this space has been a very effective way to convey a constantly changing brand message in a very cost efficient manner.
iNterACtiVe eXPerieNCesSince the early 1980s, we have been bombarded with memo-rable experiences from technology like Pac Man and Space
Sponsorship zones, such as this one at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, draw in users and speak directly to them, providing a personal experience.
Invaders. The nostalgia still compels us to engage in today’s modern games, such as the experiences we get from the Nintendo Wii or the Xbox Kinect. These kinds of experiences provide real-time feedback in a game-like environment. They are frequently used as a way to provide fun and engagement, while often adding an educational component to the fun.
At the Booth Hall of Athletics at the University of Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, low tech and mid tech interactives were used to tell some of the many stories of Kansas basketball. Interac-tives include, “On the Air with Max”, which features the game highlight calls of Max Falkenstein, the longtime voice of the Jayhawks and “Think You Can Stop Me”, a reaction time game, which utilizes modified basketballs to test your defensive skills. The experiences provide a clear connection to the team while allowing fans to have a great time, and more importantly, encourage fans to enter Allen Fieldhouse 20 minutes earlier than they might have otherwise. The cost commitments here can be relatively modest with the use of LCD monitors and self-contained CPUs with dedicated IP addresses that allow for what we call “plug and play architecture”. With a simple elec-trical connection, a wireless internet connection and, of course, the floor space, great, dynamic stories are told and created.
reACtiVe eXPerieNCesIn the most sophisticated of experiences, the digital media
is enabled to react directly with the surroundings in the venue. Through the use of cameras, sensors, etc., the reactive experi-ence gathers real-time information about the surroundings and reacts accordingly. This technology has the ability to draw in the user and then hold them. If correctly done, the experi-ence “speaks” directly to the user and makes for an incredibly personal experience.
One of the best examples of a reactive experience is the in-stallation at CONSOL Energy Center for the Pittsburgh Pen-guins. The Penguins’ sponsorship activation with Highmark,
Top: With over 25 LCD monitors and simple static graphics, the Sprint East Gate Sponsor-ship at Lucas Oil Stadium is an effective way to convey a constantly changing brand message.Bottom: The Booth Hall of Athletics at Allen Fieldhouse uses low tech and mid tech to engage fans and tell the stories of University of Kansas basketball.
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a Pittsburgh-based Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, includes six different high tech interactives and four different low tech interactives, with the most unique being the “Put Your Game Face On” interactive. The augmented reality-based program allows a user to utilize the 52” touchscreens (magic mirror) to manipulate his or her image to include a new updated image, displaying anything from a favorite player’s bobblehead to the Stanley Cup beard of a favorite player. The screen shot is sent to a user’s smart phone, keeping the viral nature of this kind of interactive in full swing. It also provides the impetus for users to supply their personal information (email or phone number) to the sponsor to receive a worthy takeaway from engaging with the experience.
Recently, the collegiate scene has begun to participate in the premium activations that can be delivered with these sorts of reactive experiences. At the University of Missouri’s MATC building, Mizzou Athletics has created an experience that acts as a recruiting experience, a donor experience, a current athlete experience as well as a game day fan experience. The interactive 4’ x 15’ touchscreen wall tells the story of all 21 Mizzou sports in an incredibly interactive experience. The reactive portion of this experience entails the use of infrared cameras in the ceiling that force the animated and rather intimidating Mizzou Tiger to engage each user very specifically as they engage the touchscreen wall. Mizzou Athletics’ willingness to undertake a project with such bleeding-edge technology made for an in-credibly exciting and fulfilling project. The potential for donors and sponsors to use this sort of experience to tell their stories is indescribable, and as this technology grows and becomes more and more affordable, we are going to see it being used for many different purposes and budgets.
tHe FutureWhat we see for the future of technology in sports venues is congruent with much of what you have already read in SEAT Magazine. Everything from in-suite ordering for food and beverage to interactive cameras like the Penguins’ YinzCam to enhance the fans’ views of the game will become more and more common. Branded experiences and sponsorship zones will continue to grow in interactivity in their nature as fans and users continue to expect more and more from their in-venue experience. #
Would you like more information on the case studies included in this article? Write to Justin Wood at [email protected].
Justin is the Vice President of Business Development for Dimensional Innovations, a Design- Build Experience firm based in Kansas City.
Top: Mizzou Athletics has created a reactive environment that acts as an athlete recruit-ing, donor and game day fan experience.Bottom: Interactives, such as “Think You Can Stop Me” in Allen Fieldhouse, provide real-time feedback in a game-like environment.
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All products shown were made for existing clients and are being used for display purposes only.
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InduSTry And ASSocIATIon nEwS, conTInuEd
ALSD Member Editorial by Jake Bye[continued from page 16] we certainly cannot expect our partners and our prospects to, a crucial message we consistently deliver to our staff. Utilizing community and civic assets, building in sponsorship inventory, creating a communication strategy, and offering unique experiences are all ways to enhance the value of a partnership without compromising its profitability, something we continually strive for as a sales group.
Our economic landscape has grown increas-ingly complex over the past few years and, contrary to popular belief, professional sports are not immune to the challenges at hand. So many leagues and clubs have set the bar increasingly higher with the programs, events and strategies they have employed. In St. Louis, we strive to be a trendsetter and have used these strategies to build a foundation that will blend short-term success with long-term organizational goals. Though our suites and premium seating have recently endured some challenging seasons, stick-ing to these principles as closely as we can has positioned us for success in 2011 and for seasons to come.
All the best to your club and organization for the remainder of 2011. Happy selling!
Want to network with Jake?Here’s His Business CardJake ByeDirector, Ticket Sales and Premium SeatingSt. Louis Rams901 N. BroadwaySt. Louis, MO 63101(O): [email protected]
Indians Social Suite[continued from page 24] the people who attend seem to have an under-standing that they are being recognized for what they have been doing, and it is a pat on the back to have their own suite and to have a free ticket to a game.
There will inevitably be questions about per-formance on the field, but the Indians view such comments no differently than those made by its beat writers in the local papers. The organiza-tion does not have control over the print media message just as it does not have control over the social media message. The Indians appear to be
happy just joining the conversation. “People are going to be talking about the Indians regardless of whether we engage with them or not,” con-tends Campbell. “Even if we did not have Twit-ter accounts or a Facebook page, the conversation would still be happening in that space. So rather than sit on the sidelines, we wanted to step foot on the field and play, engage and interact.”
The Indians Social Suite is one part of a larger strategy to engage fans through social media. Team President Mark Shapiro is the primary driving force behind the push to social media. Where some other teams and businesses in general run into the problem of having to sell social media up the ladder, Shapiro sees value in it and is an active user himself. “Mark has a Twit-ter account. He’s monitoring what people say to him, and he answers their questions,” observes Campbell. “He’ll also call me once a week with an idea for a contest to give away tickets.”
The strategy was put in place before last sea-son after the Indians consulted with Amy Martin and Digital Royalty. Martin did a baseline senti-ment study on the Indians brand and brain-stormed ideas on how to capitalize on it. From those discussions came the Tribe Social Deck, a ten-seat section in the left field bleachers. It was an overwhelming success, which is largely why the Indians upgraded to a suite for this season. “[The Tribe Social Deck] gave us inroads into communications channels that we had never been a part of before,” Campbell explains.
There are also operational and logistical benefits of moving indoors to a suite, such as no glare on laptops, cell phones or televisions. “It’s a much better experience,” continues Campbell. “And now by dedicating a suite to this initiative, you see how important it is to the organization.”
The social media sphere has visibly evolved from a buzzword to a vital department within the Indians organization with the driving motive being building stronger connections with fans. Although tough to quantify, the Indians have attributed direct ticket sales through discounts for select games only promoted through social media. Campbell believes the larger actual revenue is realized more by building a brand. “It’s both a marketing and a sales application for us,” says Campbell. “We recognize its ability to help us build a brand and manage the message around our brand.”
“We put the message out there initially, and then we listen and interact,” Campbell continues, “because there’s always ways for us to enhance our fans’ experiences.”
– Jared Frank
For more information on the Indians Social Suite, contact:Rob Campbell, Digital Media [email protected]
For more information on Cleveland Indians Social Media, visit:www.indians.com/connect
To view photos from Jared’s night in the Indians Social Suite, visit the ALSD on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AssociationOfLuxurySuiteDirectors
Tailgating[continued from page 28]which owns Pat Boone All-American Meats, ex-plains the charitable component of the program. He gives the example of large charitable groups such as the March of Dimes which has millions of people on their donor roles. If only one-tenth of 1% of this group would purchase their weekly allotment of meat products from Pat Boone’s group versus the grocery store, Tedder says it will help feed 40 million high protein meals to the hungry in the United States and abroad.
At the ALSD Conference and Tradeshow this past June, the tailgating concept was tested in the exhibit hall. Pat Boone made a personal appear-ance at the show and according to Tedder, Pat will personally work with individual venues to test the concept. How much of a commitment? According to Tedder, Pat will work with teams at his music museum home office and do interviews and media appearances to bring the charitable aspect of this program to their attention.
For the right program, Pat will even make a personal appearance and sing the Star-Spangled Banner. Boone is a huge sports fan and at one time, he owned an American Basketball As-sociation team, the Oakland Oaks. A couple of teams are already talking with Pat about doing a Charity Night.
According to Tedder, the program is gaining some traction in the brief time it has been intro-duced. And why not? In the revenue race that dominates professional and college sports, here is another idea that can help teams out. And that is the bottom line.
– ALSD Staff Report
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coming ATTrAcTionS
T he fall season is again buying season for the premium seat industry. The next issue of SEAT will include our annual Buyers Guide listings which continue to be a valuable member benefit, the marketplace’s only pre-
mium buyers guide and one-stop shopping resource. Listings this year will again include a variety of categories, including:
Amenities And PromotionAl Products
Food And BeverAge
Furniture, Fixtures And equiPment
inFormAtion technology
ProFessionAl services
If you would like more information on the Buyers Guide or want to be included in our listing, please contact the ALSD:
Scott HinzmanNational Sales Manager513.674.0555 [email protected]
Ryan MirabediniMembership Director513.674.0555 [email protected]
S E A Tleading the premium seat industry www.alsd.com Fall 2011
p u b l i s h e d b y t h e a s s o c i a t i o n o F l u x u r y s u i t e d i r e c t o r s
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THEY CALL US
‘SHALLOW’ (AND WE’RE OKAY WITH THAT)
Perlick is proud to introduce the worlds � rst and only 18” Shallow Depth undercounter refrigerator units. Available as a Refrigerator, Beverage Center, or Wine Reserve, these versatile units can � t just about anywhere in any application. Integrate into a credenza, build them into a wet bar, or tuck underneath a desk...the possibilities are endless.
We’re ALSD certi� ed, come � nd out why. Perlick is the � rst and only to earn this prestigous certi� cation, and we’re excited to show you what makes us better than the rest. Don’t take our word for it, call or email us today to take one of our high-perfomance units for a test drive. It’s the same quality and strength of the Perlick units you’ve come to know and love, just in a smaller package.
Perlick’s 18” Shallow Depth Series Beverage Center
accommodates bottles, cans, and up to 10 bottles of wine.
Shown in a wine bar application Shown in a desk application Shown in a wet bar application
www.Perlick.com8 0 0 . 5 5 8 . 5 5 9 2
