VT Dec 2017 Layout 1/3/18 2:35 PM Page 1 · 12/09/2019 · EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CELL Counterterrorism expert will give keynote at INTIX Conference & Exhibition Jan. 23. TECHNOLOGY

DECEMBER

2017

VOLUME 16 NUMBER 12

WW

W.VENUESTODAY.COM

THE NEWS BEHIND THE HEADLINES : SPORTS : MUSIC : FAMILY SHOWS : CONVENTIONS : FAIRS

VT Dec 2017_Layout 1/3/18 2:35 PM Page 1

HAPPENING SOON >> Western Fairs Association Convention, Anaheim (Calif.) Marriott, Jan. 3-6 >> INTIX, Hilton Baltimore, Jan. 28-25 >> Stadium Managers Association, Hotel Del Coronado, SanDiego, Calif., Feb. 4-8 >> Pollstar Live! 2018, InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, Feb. 6-8.

70 One of the club suites at Chase Center, San Francisco.

NEWS 8 FROM ZENNER’S TO TILLAMOOK,

LOCAL SELLS

Portland’s trendy food scene infiltrates city’s

major venues.

CONTENT62 DECEMBER 2017 TOP STOPS

64 DECEMBER 2017 HOT TICKETS

OPS + SECURITY70 A NEW ERA IN NBA ARENAS

Two fresh NBA arenas highlight largest builds

in country.

INTIX CONVENTION ISSUE 75 TECHNOLOGY OR INVENTORY?

What is driving the acquisitions craze in ticketing?

88 Q&A WITH MELANIE PEARLMAN,

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CELL

Counterterrorism expert will give keynote at INTIX

Conference & Exhibition Jan. 23.

TECHNOLOGY89 THE BEST OF IN-VENUE APPS 2017

Venues Today breaks down the winning apps

of the year.

BRANDING + SPONSORSHIP

91 REBRANDING AFTER DISASTER

Following a crisis, changing the message is job one.

DEPARTMENTS 4 LETTER FROM LINDA

5 TALKING POINTS

71 SECURITY TIP OF THE MONTH

97 MANAGEMENT

99 ON THE MENU

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEFLinda Deckard [email protected]

EDITORIAL

MARKETING DIRECTORSamantha Le [email protected]

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNERLisa Brink [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS: RESOURCE GUIDESRob Ocampo [email protected]

SENIOR WRITERBrad Weissberg [email protected]

ACCOUNTINGKarmen White [email protected]

HOT TICKETSMonique Potter [email protected]

CIRCULATION Rob Ocampo [email protected]

COPY EDITORSPauline Davis [email protected] Potter [email protected]

STAFF CORRESPONDENTSNoelle RileyTim Newcomb

CONTRIBUTORSJessica BoudevinMary Wade BurnsideLinda DomingoJeffery SteeleLisa White

PRESIDENT, CONFERENCES & PUBLICATIONSRay Waddell [email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITORAndy Gensler [email protected]

ADVERTISING

TEXAS, SOUTHEASTERN AND MIDWEST U.S. Jim McNeil(207) 699-3343 [email protected]

NORTHEAST AND WESTERN U.S.,INTERNATIONALRich DiGiacomo (310) 429-3678 [email protected]

MARKETING DIRECTORSamantha Le(714) 378-5400 [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Rob Ocampo(714) [email protected] Subscription Rate: $249 (U.S.)

EDITORIAL OFFICE

VENUES TODAYP.O. Box 2540Huntington Beach, CA 92647-2540

4952 Warner Ave., Ste. 201Huntington Beach, CA 92649

Phone (714) 378-5400Fax (714) 378-0040E-mail [email protected]

Printed in the United States©All materials copyrighted Venues Today 2017ISSN 1547-4135

IN EVERY ISSUE

C O N T E N T S

16 “So what you are seeing is an

increase in length of stay. That’s the

only thing that can explain that.”

30 “The uptick is not from VIP

packages or premium seating but,

instead, from getting more fans into

the building. Acumen on pricing the

seats in the first place is the key.”


18 The Red River Showdown between Oklahoma and Texas at the State Fair of Texas' Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Fairs offer a diversity of events.

C O N T E N T S

SPOTLIGHTS + FEATURES

ON THE COVER

Founder Linda Deckard

reflects on the past — and con-

templates the future— as she

gazes upon the last issue of

Venues Today before it

relaunches as VenuesNow next

year. Hall of Headlines winners

framed here, clockwise from

top left, include: Jerry

Goldman, Maureen Ginty, Kerry

Painter, Chris Verros, Albert

Fera, Sandy Dunn, Peter

Luukko and Tim Leiweke.

HALL OF HEADLINES 6 TAKING RISK VS. CHASING FEES

Peter Luukko and Tim Leiweke lean on experience

with launch of OVG Facilities.

14 EXCITING TIMES FOR CENTERPLATE

Chris Verros to helm company bought by SOdexo.

60 TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Experience and connections are Jerry Goldman’s

secrets of success.

68 ‘OUTRAGEOUSLY EXCELLENT’

OPERATION

2017 was ‘a year of success’ for Kerry Painter in

Tulsa.

92 GIFT OF KINDNESS RESONATES

WITH ALL

SMG’s Maureen Ginty rolled out an inclusive,

attainable recognition campaign.

94 BRANDED BATCH COCKTAILS LIGHT

IT UP

DCU Center and SMG offer more fun for fans

with new initiative.

YEAR-END REPORTS 16 FAIRS ADD NICHE FESTIVALS

New content emphasizes celebrations of brews,

views and hobbies at top 50 fairs.

18 TOP 50 FAIRS IN NORTH AMERICA

30 LIVE ENTERTAINMENT REVENUE

GROWS WORLDWIDE

Quality and quantity of shows fuel 2017 windfall.

32 YEAR END TOP STOPS

34 NO MORE ROUGH RIDERS

38 FANTASY DOUBLE BILL

49 PREPARATION LEADS TO SUCCESS

Thorough planning starts before the on-sale when

it comes to outstanding events like Hamilton

54 YEAR END HOT TICKETS

TICKETING STARS78 ANDREW BRAGMAN READIES FOR THE

ALL-STAR GAME

Washington National’s Bragman stops to smell the

roses while paying attention to details.

80 TURNING NATURAL PHENOMENON

INTO A PICNIC

Ticketing the Solar Eclipse at the Grand Ole Opry

was Crystal Clinton’s job.

82 GRaCE WILL MAKE YOU CUSTOMER

FRIENDLY

Linda Forlini has brought customer service to the

passionate Philly fandom.

84 TICKETING TAKES A TEAM IN HOUSTON

Last minute cancellations, hurricanes, Super Bowls,

it’s all in a days work for David Greenbuam, NRG

Park, Houston.

TIMES UNION CENTER 24 TIMES UNION CENTER REIMAGINED

Albany venue continues operation as it undergoes

its first renovation since opening in 1990.

25 AFL RETURNS TO ALBANY

26 A FOOD SERVICE OVERHAUL

28 TIMES UNION CENTER BY THE NUMBERS


“Our foundation will be bricks and mortar,”said Peter Luukko,president of Oak View Group’s ArenaAlliance and now

helming the [possibly] newest OVG division,OVG Facilities, with Tim Leiweke, founderand chairman, OVG.

The two have a long history in privatemanagement of venues, Luukko through yearswith SMG and Comcast-Spectacor, where heformed Global Spectrum, which is nowSpectra, and Lieweke through establishingAEG Facilities. Both in prior and current liveshave managed venues as well.

That’s the key to this new venture, whichofficially launched with purchase of PinnacleVenue Services in October of this year, bring-ing more veterans of private management,Tom Paquette and Doug Higgons, into theOVG Facilities fold.

That launch and OVG Facilities’ pledge topositively disrupt the sports and entertainmentindustry with new thinking based on broad experi-ence secured the Venues Today Hall of HeadlinesAward for News for Luukko and Leiweke.

In some ways, this is “the more thingschange, the more they stay the same,” butLuukko points out that OVG Facilities is “a dif-ferent platform. When we started GlobalSpectrum, we were doing it out of the arena,First Union Center at the time [now Wells FargoCenter, Philadelphia], and we had the platform

6 VENUES TODAY DECEMBER 2017

NEWS

HALL OF HEADLINES 2017

Taking Risk Vs. Chasing FeesPeter Luukko and Tim Leiweke lean on experience

with launch of OVG Facilities

by L INDA DECKARD


of the National Hockey League (NHL) teamand National Basketball League (NBA) team.We were going to add accounts and really look-ing to get into primarily the fee business.”

Chasing the fee business is pretty much 99percent of municipal bidding, Luukko added,“and that was really our niche. The differencehere is that we’re well capitalized by ourfounders, Tim, Irving [Azoff} and MSG[Madison Square Garden], and we will not onlybe bidding on the fee business but our foundationwill be around bricks and mortar,” Luukko said.

Luukko and Leiweke are working hard ontwo brick and mortar projects that will anchorthat foundation, the rebuild of KeyArena, Seattle,which OVG has been awarded, and constructionof a new Islanders arena in Belmont Park, NewYork, which OVG will manage for the groupwhich won the bid to build it this month.

Even in the fee business, they will be cre-ative, willing to take risk and up the ante,Leiweke said, lauding OVG’s luck at havingLuukko leading the charge with his experienceand knowledge, along with the fact Leiwekepersonally has been in venue managementmore than 30 years. The combination, alongwith purchase of Pinnacle, gives OVGFacilities “instant infrastructure.” Now they’veadded veteran venue manager Steve Mattsonin the Northwest, based in Seattle.

The goal? “To make OVG Facilities thebiggest venue management company in theworld, and I welcome the challenge,” Leiwekesaid. Two-year-old OVG has been on a growth

spree second to none and includes, full disclo-sure, purchase of Venues Today and Pollstar.

Leiweke said the strategy is “resourcesand relationships” and OVG is “100 percentcommitted. Yes, we will invest money. Yes, wewill bid on projects, some of which are under-utilized. We like taking risk and sharing theupside. That’s our model.”

OVG Facilities will bid on The Greek,Los Angeles, for instance, Leiweke said. It willbe in the mix when contracts go out to bid andLeiweke guaranteed that OVG Facilities will“grow quickly.”

Luukko concurred wholeheartedly. In somebids, the approach will be “we have an alternative.We can guarantee your bottom line and/or putcapital into your business. We will look to step upand make those financial guarantees,” Luukkosaid, though he declined to name examples yet.

Published reports have them working ona potential booking deal with Rupp Arena,Lexington, Ky.; and a rebuild of the Norfolk(Va.) Scope, which is in pricing mode.

“The key I’ve learned over the years is youhave to be a good listener and tailor your dealsto the needs of the client. The key is to be flex-ible,” Luukko said. “This is strictly manage-ment, you don’t need capital? Fine, we’ll be amanager. If you’re looking for $10 million toput into the building, we can propose some-thing long-term for capital needs.

“Tim is the greatest I’ve ever seen at see-ing more opportunity than maybe others do.That’s the positive disruption,” Luukko said.

OVG Facilities also benefits from every-thing OVG, which is a many-faceted companyalready, including security and sponsorshipdivisions. “We have the capital, but also the cre-ativity and obviously the music angle,” Luukkosaid. “We have Irving Azoff as an owner. Andthen, on our professional sports side, eventhough we don’t own a team, obviously Tim,myself and others have great relationships in allthe leagues, so I think we have that covered.”

Higgons has seen that dynamic phenome-non that is becoming OVG Facilities firsthandsince he sold his company and says selling toOVG Facilities is “great. Being part of anorganization with Tim and Peter opens doorsto opportunities we just didn’t have. We’veonly been part of the organization for twomonths and there are a lot of irons in the fire.”

Luukko is one of Higgons’ mentors andHiggons says Luukko’s leadership skills areexemplary. “There really isn’t a challenge hehasn’t seen at some point.” Leiweke “bringspassion and optimism and vision to the mix,”Higgons added, noting, “we’re getting theband back together in some ways.”

Luukko loves that most of the people inOVG Facilities started from the bottom andworked their way up. They’ve learned frommistakes and know all the ingredients neededto bake a successful deal. People make greatcompanies, Luukko said.

“That’s the reward for people being inthis business so long,” Luukko said: relation-ships and resources.

DECEMBER 2017 VENUES TODAY 7


To Chris Verros, purchase ofCenterplate by Sodexo was theperfect matchup, not justbecause of the powerful potentialof being part of a $22-billioncompany but also because of

what it means to Centerplate employees.

“I’ve always been a people person. I like toget to know the people who work in the fieldbecause that’s where I came from – I was adishwasher, a waiter, bartender and server. I’vedone all those things. I have a real appreciationfor the people who work in this organizationbecause we’re a team,” said Verros, who is cur-rently CEO of Centerplate and tapped to bepresident when the acquisition is complete.

In late November, Sodexo agreed to pur-chase Centerplate for $675 million from cur-rent owner Olympus Partners. Verros’ role inthat deal and in the combined companies’futures qualified him for a 2017 Venues TodayHall of Headlines Award for News, though theNovember announcement and award cameafter the original subscribers’ vote.

Verros has spent his whole life in therestaurant/food and beverage business. “It’s inmy blood, my father was a restaurateur. Sundaymornings as a kid, I used to go down with myfather to the restaurant to sweep the floor. Icouldn’t wait to get there. I couldn’t believe peo-ple dropped so much money – probably $1.25 aday in nickels, pennies and sometimes a quarter.When I was a little older, I realized my dad wasgoing around ahead of me and dropping coins.”

Exciting Timesfor CenterplateChris Verros to helm company bought by Sodexo

by L INDA DECKARD


NEWS



His father’s strategy worked. Verros con-sidered no other career and, during his illustri-ous rise, he has been directly involved in fourfood company acquisitions, this last one at theforefront. It started when Fanfare, a start upcompany owned by Jerry Moses which hehelped start, was sold to Fine Host Corp.Verros was president of the Fine HostRecreation and Leisure Division.

“Then we sold to Aramark,” he said. Itwas 2002, and Verros did not go as the compa-ny went. He was tempted to join Aramark, buthe also wanted to stay in Boston so he called JoeO’Donnell, his other partner at Fanfare whoalso owned Boston Culinary Group (BostonConcessions at the time) and asked for a job.

“I was thinking that eventually Joe wouldwant to sell, but I knew Joe from the mid-80sand knew how important that company was tohim,” Verros recalled.

He found the right opportunity inCenterplate, which bought Boston CulinaryGroup and kept most of the team. Verrosbecame president and O’Donnell chairman ofthe board.

Centerplate originally was owned by pri-vate equity firm Kohlberg. Two or three yearsafter Verros arrived, they sold to OlympusPartners.

Truth in business is that private equityhas goals, usually three to five years out. “Wewere not for sale; however, we wereapproached by a banker representing Sodexowho said we have a company that’s very inter-

ested in purchasing you, would you be interest-ed in having those conversations? It was anumber of months, lots of meetings, lots ofdiligence. The process has been very thought-ful and very detail oriented; there’s been a lotof work behind the scenes,” Verros said.

Verros believes Sodexo and Centerplatematch up culturally almost perfectly. “Ourmantra is ‘We make it better to be therethrough memorable experiences’ and Sodexo’sis quality of life via services ‘creating memo-rable sports and leisure services for the clientand consumers.’” Neither company is aboutone person; both care about employees.

Sodexo is also trying to build their foot-print in North America and “we’re the perfectcompany to help them do that,” Verros said.

Centerplate’s relationship with clientsdoesn’t have a secret sauce. It’s about “makingsure the customer feels good about us as aprovider, making sure you do all the thingsyou say you’ll do. We don’t over promise butalways try to over deliver,” Verros said. “Wetry to do the little things. It always comes backto people, the right people in the right placeswith the support services behind them.”

Peter Luukko, Oak View Group, whoalso oversees one of Centerplate’s biggest arenaclients, BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla., can attestto that.

“Chris has the uncanny ability to listen tothe needs of the client and find solutions thatgive everybody the ability to succeed,” Luukkosaid. “I always appreciate that Chris and Joe

remember my Massachusetts roots and have aLobster Roll served at every meeting we have.Chris has worked his way up from the entrylevel of the business, and it shows when deal-ing with the detailed needs of his clients.”

Consolidation in the concessions businessis a constant, dating back to Verros’ first expe-rience working for Ogden Food Services,which was acquired by Aramark; just the mul-tiples have changed.

And the goals remain the same. “It’s stillabout the deliverable and service in the end.Certainly the expectations are higher and theservice standards are higher and offerings are alittle more extravagant. But it still comes downto delivering on those expectations,” Verros said.“At the end of the day, you have to put a reallygreat meal in front of folks and deliver it with afriendly face and a good, clean environment.”

This sale is targeted to close by the end ofthe year, though there is no specific date. Howwill the sale impact Centerplate?

“It will be Centerplate supercharged,”Verros said.

“That’s why it’s exciting for me person-ally. We were not a small company, we gen-erate $1 billion, but now you go to a companythat generates $22 billion and has services allover the world. Just think of the opportuni-ties it opens up for the people who workwithin our organization at every level. To methat’s a huge, huge win for people in ourorganization and that’s what I’m looking for-ward to most.”



Jerry Goldman wears many hats.As AGM at SMG-managed U.S.Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, he’sin charge of all of the stadium rev-enue and responsible for every-thing from marketing to coordi-

nation with concessionaire Aramark and ticketprovider Ticketmaster and the box office, butit’s in his role as head of bookings thatGoldman found his niche, and for those effortsGoldman has received Venues Today’s Hall ofHeadlines Bookings Award.

In 2017, Goldman secured four huge sta-dium shows and 600 other events; booked theSummer X Games and 2020 NationalCollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Wrestling Championships; and the crownjewel of events— Super Bowl 2018— is com-ing in February.

Locking in Luke Bryan and Metallica toopen the venue proved Goldman knew thetricks of the trade: experience and contacts.

“We had Luke Bryan, but we needed ashow,” recalled Goldman. “Metallica had notplayed in the states in seven years. They werethinking about playing arenas. We thoughtmaybe we could convince them they could fill astadium. We reached out to the Frank brothers[Frank Productions] and they’re good friendswith Q Prime, Metallica’s people.”

“Metallica sold out in 10 minutes,” said atickled Goldman. “The concert was so success-ful, the band turned the tour into a stadiumpackage.”

Tricks of the TradeExperience and connections are essential

to Jerry Goldman's success

by BRAD WEISSBERG


CONTENT



Scoring Metallica is a perfect example ofGoldman’s philosophy of “focusing on thingsthat are unique.”

“One of the good things aboutMinneapolis is that it’s a great concert market,”said Goldman, “but there are only a handful ofartists who can sell 50,000 tickets. So I lookedfor the biggest, best acts that were touring, thatI could lure to play here.”

With only a handful of acts to competefor, Goldman wound up with major gets.

Guns N’ Roses, Coldplay and U2 allplayed and, combined, pulled 147,000 fans intothe facility.

“This is very much a relationship busi-ness,” stressed Goldman, who spends his day“on the phone with promoters and agents andmanagers. Staying in contact with people andstaying close to Live Nation, AEG, the FrankBrothers and other players is the key.”

“There are many different options in ourmarket,” he explained. “They can play TargetField or TFC Bank Stadium or here.” Of thethree, U.S. Bank Stadium is the only one witha roof and Goldman plays the weather-card togreat advantage. “It’s always 70 degrees inhere,” he tells potential clients.

Goldman went after X Games and theNCAA Wrestling Championships aggressive-ly even though neither have ever been hostedby a National Football League (NFL) stadium.

“We got the whole city behind us to getthe contracts,” he shared. “We worked in con-junction with Sports Minneapolis and other

inter-city agencies and pushed hard.”

X-Games brought 30,000 people to thebuilding and was a huge success. The contractwas for two years. Goldman wrangled theNCAA Wrestling contract by “pitching a con-cept that they would have everything underone roof.”

As if major concerts, Minnesota Vikingshome football games and 125 days of baseball

weren’t plenty on the plate, U.S. Bank Stadiumhosts everything from business meetings to barmitzvahs, an extraordinary amount of bookingsfor a sales team of three, including Goldman.

Goldman’s best day was having U2 playthe building. His worst was losing a show hethought he had secured but went to anothervenue.

A canceled Justin Bieber date, just 10 daysbefore the play date, was a major headache.“We had it budgeted; we hate to disappointfans; and it’s not a good look for any venuewhen an artist cancels,” said Goldman, clearlystill annoyed by Bieber’s bailout. “The build-ing was tied up for a week and got nothing.”

Attesting to Goldman’s twin skills ofcommunication and relationship building, GMPatrick Talty said, “Jerry’s contacts in theindustry are extensive which allows him to

make sure he is not only on the minds of thepromoters but the agents as well. He has madesure U.S. Bank Stadium is always in the con-versation for a stop.”

“He sees the vision of an event othersmight not see and manages to convince othersthat his concept will see a jump in ticket salesand deliver an unprecedented experience.”

Talty is even more impressed that

Goldman does it “all with a great sense ofhumor and isn’t afraid to laugh at himself orallow the team to joke with him.” Goldman’scolleagues still rib him about the time he wascalled ‘Jerry Johnson’ in a local news story. “Asa prank, someone gave him a Coke with‘Johnson’ on it— Jerry took it and placed it onhis trophy wall. “That’s the kind of great per-sonality that has allowed him to build all therelationships that make him successful.”

Goldman’s been with SMG for 15 years;previously he was the GM of Nassau Coliseum,Uniondale, N.Y. He’s married to social workerHeather and has three kids.

“I do want to acknowledge John Drum,the other AGM at the venue, who is in chargeof operations. “I make the money and hespends it,” added Goldman, showing off hiswit and wisdom. “We’re a team here.”


“We got the whole city behind us to get

the contracts.” — JERRY GOLDMAN




She inspires her team, challengesco-workers to think outside thebox and has a true passion forrunning a convention center.Her name is Kerry Painter andshe’s been in charge of the Cox

Business Center in Tulsa, Okla., for SMG forthe last four years.

This year, the 2015 Venues TodayWoman of Influence won the Venues TodayHall of Headlines Award for Operations forspearheading the massive remodeling andrebranding of the venue.

“Kerry stretches her staff to think differ-ently and do things not necessarily in a tradi-tional way. She doesn’t just run the building,she’s constantly striving for us to improve our-selves… to make everyone successful,” saidKathy Tinker, director of sales and marketingof Cox Business Center, a 310,625-sq.-ft. facili-ty in downtown Tulsa.

The center has 120,000 square feet of exhi-bition halls, a 9,000-seat arena, roughly 20,000square feet of conference halls and 11,000square feet of meeting space.

The remodel included revamping theexhibit space where the exhibit hall floors werediamond ground and new lighting and freshpaint helped spruce up the area.

Cox Business Center is 51 years old. The30,000-sq.-ft. ballroom was added in 2010. Inthe last year, other areas of the center wererevamped, including painting the entire con-vention end of the building, putting wraps on

‘OutrageouslyExcellent’Operation2017 was ‘a year of success’ for Kerry Painter in Tulsa

by NOELLE R ILEY


OPERATIONS



the walls, updating the lobby with fresh paintand buying new furniture.

“We really activated the lobbies and thepublic space,” Painter said.

They also rebranded the convention cen-ter with a new value statement that says“Outrageously Excellent.”

“We brought in a facilitator, and we iden-tified ourselves and we created mission lines.We identified a value statement,” Painter said.“It’s on things, and we say it a lot.”

They put “Outrageously Excellent” onuniforms, lanyards and the lobby wall.

“It’s really hard to be lame when you’rewearing something that says ‘outrageouslyexcellent,’” Painter said with enthusiasm. “Ifyou’re coming up to meet with us about a con-tract, it’s smack in your face about what we’regoing to do.”

It wasn’t Painter or top management thatcame up with the logo. It was the entire team,which is the way things happen around theconvention center. Painter is a collaborator, nota dictator, and she likes to involve her team onbig decisions.

Outside thinking and collaboration willbe key next summer when Painter, her teamand SMG prepare for a $55 million renova-tion of the arena attached to the conventioncenter.

The plan is to blow out the inside of the9,000-seat arena while keeping the shell of thestructure intact. The space will become anextra 45,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Also included in the renovation is a three-story, glass-fronted atrium at the front of theconvention center. “The building has no greatprimary entrance,” Painter said, adding that itconfuses guests on where to enter the building.

Those renovations start in July with aprojected completion in 2020. Funds for theconstruction come from a Vision Taxapproved by voters, Painter said.

Painter’s spirit and management stylehasn’t gone unnoticed by SMG or her supervi-sor, Jeff Nickler, who is the GM of the SMGproperties in Tulsa.

“She is the face of Cox Business Center),”Nickler said. “She’s really over every day-to-day function of that staff. She spearheads allfacets of that building.”

He applauds Painter’s “forward think-ing” and “passion” for the industry.

“Kerry is somebody who embraceschange. She wholeheartedly believes that justbecause we’ve done something one way doesn’tmean that’s the way it needs to be done, whichis rare in the industry. She’s always challengingour staff to find new ways to do better cus-tomer service, which is really cool,” Nicklersaid.

For example, each year the conventioncenter hosts a holiday party for its clients, andthe event traditionally is held in the ballroom“because it’s the newest room we have,”Tinker said.

This year, Painter suggested moving theparty, themed Champagne and Steel, to the

exhibit hall to show off the newly renovatedspace.

“Most of our clients haven’t been in theexhibit hall,” Tinker noted. “We like to keeptheir interest piqued by not always making itsame old, same old.”

Working with Painter on a day-to-daybasis is always a learning experience, Tinkersaid.

“She sends us articles for potential busi-ness and professional development. There aretons of marketing ideas, a lot of time there arethings we don’t even think we can do. She getsus thinking about how can we translate thatinto our market and our clientele,” Tinkersaid, adding that Painter is a “huge proponentof education.”

Painter teaches various industry classesthroughout the year, including the IAVM’sVenue Management School. “I love to teachpeople; I get to do that quite a bit,” Paintersaid.

A typical day at the office for Painterincludes finding ways to bring clientele to aconvention center located in Tulsa. “What Ilearned when I moved here is that Tulsa didn’thave a bad reputation, but it had no reputa-tion,” Painter said, highlighting how challeng-ing it was to bring big national or internationalconferences to the city.

Attracting new business comes down togetting them to Tulsa for the first visit, whenthey’re invariably “shocked” at what a cool cityTulsa is, Painter said.



Add in 32 courtside lounges tuckedbehind the seating that don’t offer a view of thecourt but feature a double-height space withLED wall screen and shared wine cellar andthe courtside amenities offer variety.

The sidelines include typical club seatsamid the 18,000-seat venue. The horseshoe of44 suites was designed for optimized sightlinesfor the court and end-stage concerts. Just abovethe suites, 60 theater boxes look just like tradi-tional theater boxes with actual furniture seat-ing, a dedicated dining table and a largelounge.

The viewing options don’t stop with theupper deck, as bridge viewing and standingroom areas hover above the floor and a skybarlounge includes views to the court. At thevery top of the building, without views to thecourt, but with views over the bay, onto the

Bay Bridge and of the city skyline, is a restau-rant, accessed from outside the venue andsecure from the ticketed areas for use on anyday.

The variety in seating options was drivenby, Manica says, ownership wanting to providea variety of viewing options. “Of course, SanFrancisco is an amazing market and we hadthe support (to offer) a variety of seating types,”he says.

Manica also brings together a unique wayfor Chase Center to treat house reduction. Hedesigned the arena to scale into a 5,000-seatperformance hall. By turning a secondaryarena entrance into the main theater entrance,visitors come into a half-house situation, butnot split horizontally, rather split vertically.Using drop-down panels complete with light-ing, one side of the building turns into a the-ater with viewing angles that work for theater

and additional lighting grids and rigging forspotlights. “We worked with a theater expertto understand how the sidewalls can dropdown and create a sense of theater,” Manicasays. The built-in-place stage creates a com-pletely different experience within ChaseCenter.

Outside, as the Chase Center connects tothe training facility, mixed-use and publicareas, the main entrance also serves as a com-munity plaza, designed as a front porch for thecity to stage events reminiscent of RockefellerSquare in New York City.

From the front porch at San Francisco’sChase Center to the seven-story atrium thatopens up a fresh arena perspective inMilwaukee, the next two years will feature theopening of two new NBA arenas, offering newbenchmarks in their respective communitiesand also the arena world.

O P S + S E C U R I T Y


A NEW ERA... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 72


It’s important to recognize holistic, uni-versally possible acts of kindness and toinclude the personal life as well as pro-fessional career in the mix when rollingout a program like SMG’s Gift ofKindness Campaign.

Maureen Ginty, SMG EVP, who rolledout the employee recognition program inhonor of SMG’s 40th Anniversary, is personal-ly inspired by the program and humbled thatothers thought so well of it that she won the2017 Venues Today Hall of Headlines Awardfor Marketing.

So far, SMG has recognized three win-ners, one each quarter of this year, with plansto recognize the fourth early next year and thegrand champion soon after. Employees whoare nominated for a specific act of kindness ineither their personal or work life get a checkfor $250, a Gift of Kindness Waterford orna-ment and recognition from their peers, bossesand clients at work.

They come from all over the country(SMG manages more than 200 venues) andeach winner, in fact each nominee, leaves a last-ing impression on Ginty and the SMG World.

“We’ve had great winners so far,” Gintysaid. “That wonderful guy who trains thosedogs. That group that went to Houston ontheir own time and the guy who was just kindand helped a woman.

“They don’t have to do outrageous things.They just have to demonstrate what the com-pany believes in. That’s the whole thing with

Gift of KindnessResonates with AllSMG’s Maureen Ginty rolled out an inclusive, attainable

recognition campaign that soared

by L INDA DECKARD


BRANDING +SPONSORSHIPS



k’nekt (the human resources customer serviceprogram she started at SMG). It’s supposed tobe part of your personal life and your work life.That’s, frankly, why it has resonated so wellwith our employees. You think about this athome or on a date; it’s not just in your worklife.” The 2017 winners of the Gift of KindnessCampaign so far include:

1ST QUARTER WINNER

Randy Hollenshead, Stationary Engineer, MosconeCenter, San FranciscoRandy and his wife, Chris, have been volun-teers with Guide Dogs for the Blind for 17years as club leaders, puppy raisers and breedercustodians. They teach other trainers newtechniques, raise and train puppies for 14-18months before their formal training and thedogs’ graduation to being trained with theirnew client/owners. Randy’s tireless work helpsto nurture puppies into intelligent, caring serv-ice animals which, in turn, provide new, fullerlives to the blind.

2ND QUARTER WINNER

Adam Pawlowski, Operator, Meridian Centre, St.Catherine, OntarioAn SMG employee at the Meridian Centrewitnessed an out-of-the-ordinary act of kind-ness from Operator Adam Pawlowski, whichhelped diffuse a difficult situation. Adamoffered to assist an elderly patron whose hus-band had become irate at a difficult parking

situation. His wife was unable to walk the dis-tance from the parking lot and he wasn't ableto park any closer. Adam stepped in, offeredto personally escort the woman inside. He car-ried her purse, held her arm, and kept hercompany until her husband returned. Thiskindness was such that his coworker felt com-pelled to submit his name to the Gift ofKindness contest.

3RD QUARTER WINNERS

Willie Williams, Director of Operations; KevinMurphy, Event Manager; Mike Moore, AssistantBox Office Manager; Andrea Collins, StaffAccountant; Kathy Tinker, Director of ConventionSales & Marketing, all with Cox BusinessCenter, Tulsa, Okla.In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, whichdevastated the Houston region, the SMG-managed NRG Center was designated anEmergency Shelter for evacuees of HarrisCounty, and a call for volunteers went out.These five men and women from Tulsa’s CoxBusiness Center answered that call, loadingthemselves into one car and driving fromTulsa to the NRG Center in Houston to helpin whatever way they could. They gave uptheir Labor Day weekend and some stayedthrough the following week right up to theTexans game on Sept. 10. Their valuable andskilled service included forklift operator, dockmarshal, command center and media rela-tions. Willie Williams, in particular, madesure to take good care of his team, giving them

daily rides home in addition to his exhaustingwork sometimes putting in hours from 7 a.m.to 10 p.m.

Ginty recalls first hearing aboutWaterford’s Gift of Kindness, part of itsGreatest Gifts campaign, last New Year’s Eve.She marched into the board room, knowingthey were thinking ‘what now?’ and offered itup to affirmation all around. It was importantto make it holistic, life affirming and not justabout the money.

The service dog trainer gave his winningsto charity. “What a nice guy,” Ginty said.Relatives could submit SMG employee namesfor something kind they did at home. “Wewant families to understand these things arepart of our company, too.”

“You can’t just put on a face. I think that’swhat makes adult learners engage. They haveto see relevance in their personal and profes-sional life. It can’t be all about work.”

The Gift of Kindness Campaign followslast year’s Wow! campaign, similar in nature,and will be followed next year by yet anotheriteration. Ginty believes in this kind of recog-nition. Doug Thornton, SMG SVP, NewOrleans couldn’t agree more. “The conceptwas immediately embraced by our SMG staff,many of whom perform acts of kindness everyday in their communities and facilities. Thiswas a great way to recognize their efforts witha company-wide initiative that also parallel’sour customer service values.”




When the SMG GeneralManagers Conferencewas convened in LongBeach last summer, theBranded Batch CocktailProgram from Savor

DCU Center/SMG, Worcester, Mass., was oneof three award finalists. Albert Fera, Savor'sdirector of food and beverage, and SandraDunn, venue general manager, knew just howto grab the judges' undivided attention.

It being SMG's 40th, or Ruby Anniversary,the DCU Center/SMG team rolled out a brand-ed batch of ruby-colored cocktails it called“Wicked Red,” and donned Wicked Red T-shirts to trumpet the drink. “New England'sPremier Arena & Convention Complex” wenton to capture top prize. Before long, other SMGbuildings were emulating the initiative. Now,the program has nabbed the ultimate triumph:The 2017 Hall of Headlines Award forConcessions bestowed by Venues Today.

The Branded Batch Cocktail programfeatures event-themed craft cocktails pre-madein jugs and served from mobile stands thatreduce concession congestion. Each drink isbranded to DCU Center events, with creativenames and bright colors illuminated by blink-ing LED lights.

Savor estimates each Branded BatchCocktail selling for $12 costs $2.26 to make, foran 18.3 percent cost factor. The cocktails areavailable at five to 12 portable locations,depending on the size of the event. Because the

Branded BatchCocktails Light It UpDCU Center and SMG offer more fun for fans

with new initiative

by JEFFREY STEELE

CONCESSIONS




drinks are pre-made, union “beertenders” nottypically allowed to sell cocktails are able to doso. The Branded Batch Cocktail Program hasresulted in the top six gross sales per caprecords for arena concessions. These includePearl Jam ($11.19 and $10.55), Phish ($11.02and $10.82), Dead & Company ($12.43), GarthBrooks ($13.14, $13.71 and $10.48), Megadeth($13.50) and I Love the 90s Tour ($15.76).

How did the idea come about? “First, wewere looking for ways to increase speed ofservice, something all buildings want to do,”Fera says. After all, he adds, when patrons visita concession stand for a mixed drink, the con-coction has to be prepared, which takes time.

“Second, we were looking for somethingthat stood out. There are only so many ways toserve a hot dog. There are only so many waysto pour a beer.”

Fera recalled visiting Disney World acouple years before, and seeing huge illuminat-ed blinking frosted cups festooned with enor-mous straws. “I noticed that people wanted it,without even knowing what it was. I brain-stormed and brought it to Sandy. The benefitof working in this building, and working withSandy Dunn, is she embraces new ideas. She'salways looking for the next cool thing we cando; she doesn't want to stay with the norm. Icame to her and said, 'I want to try this,' andshe was on-board with it. She loved it.”

Because the cocktails are batched in bulkin five-gallon water jugs and served from largedrink dispensers on portables throughout the

concourse, drink service is expedited.

“The only thing that has to be put on thestands are the cups, and they have the LEDlight on them already,” Fera said.

The real genius, though, is the branding ofthe drinks. The drink “brand” and color isgeared to the event taking place in the center. Isthe event a Worcester Railers East Coast HockeyLeague game? Fans throughout the arena sporta bright blue drink called “The Blue Line.”

Is the event a Ringo Starr concert? Thecocktail, naturally, is a deep purple beveragecalled The Octopus's Garden.

“People see it and without knowing whatit is, they want it,” Fera says. “In the majorityof our shows, the arena is darkened. The LEDlights stand out, announcing the presence ofthe drinks. Looking across the arena, it lookslike a bunch of fireflies.”

While the Branded Batch CocktailProgram was a great idea, actually implementingthe concept wasn't without its challenges. “AfterI proposed it, we created a mockup,” Fera said. “Iworked with my bar manager and we made abright blue electric drink. Liquor distributorshad given us a light to put on the bottom of bot-tles, helping bottles stand out on the bar.

“And I was just playing with this, because Iknew it would look good on the bottom of thecup. It worked perfectly, but I had to find more ofthe lights. The distributor only had 50 of them.”

Fera wanted not only lights on cup bot-toms, but blinking lights. After some search-ing, he was able to work with one of his pur-

veyors who handles printing for the arena,who was able to point him to a supplier inHong Kong able to make the LED coastersavailable in bulk.

Social media proved to be the ideal promo-tional tool for the cocktails. Dunn soon had thebuilding's marketing department promotingthe drinks during the shows via social media.

“If [concert-goers] are at a concert, they'reon their phones, on Facebook and on Twitter,”Fera said. “When shows start, we put a post onour Instagram account, and on our Twitterfeed, promoting the cocktails. People see it ontheir phones and go out searching for them.”

For her part, Dunn believes the programis just one more element enhancing customerenjoyment. “Whether it's the naming of thecocktails, the coloring of the cocktails, thelighting of the cocktails, that all touches peo-ple's senses,” she says.

In addition to promoting the drinks at eachevent, DCU Center uses advance mailers to pro-mote shows, announcing the drink for thatevent and where to find it on the concourse.

To date it's been Fera's responsibility andprivilege to come up with the names for thedrinks. But, Dunn says, they may considerstaging contests that will be promoted throughsocial media.

The bottom line is that many of the showsat DCU Center are fairly pricey Fera said,adding this is “something that lets people havea little more fun. The more fun you can makeit, the more they want to come back again.”


the shooting, many at risk to their own safety.

Las Vegas hotels and casinos joined theefforts and started flashing the message:“We’ve been there for you during the goodtimes. Thank you for being there for usnow.”

Subsequent ads included a New YorkCity billboard that read “What Happens HereWill Not Stop Us,” and the “Strength InUnity” campaign, a series of messages withuser-generated content attached such as “Noone and nothing will stop me from going toVegas” and “We are stronger together.”

“Using real people’s own words was apowerful way to express that Vegas would notbe defeated,” said Tull.

The latest message is a new series of adsthat feature entertainers and chefs letting peo-ple know that Vegas is safe and still a greatplace to visit.

MGM Resorts International, owner ofMandalay Bay Resort, the hotel the shooterpositioned himself in to carry out the massacre,also jettisoned their two-week-old campaign,“Welcome to the Show,” which took its adagency McGann New York 18 months to puttogether.

“We had to scramble to get it all down buttaking that message down was what the situa-tion called for,” MGM’s Chief Experience andMarketing Officer Lili Tomovich told TheNational Association of Advertisers lastmonth.

All of LVCVB and MGM’s rebrandingefforts have seen results: tourism in Octoberwas down only four percent and byNovember it was back to normal levels.“We didn’t have any business cancella-tions,” said Tull. “In October, anecdotally,we heard that people wanted to be respect-ful and put off coming in the weeks follow-ing the incident; it was not a case of thetourists feeling unsafe but, instead, wantingto let us heal.”

The city of Orlando, Fla., faced a similarsituation after the Pulse nightclub killings in2016 followed quickly by an incident at DisneyWorld where a boy was dragged into a lakeand killed by an alligator.

The business-targeted campaign runningat the time was “You don’t know the half of it.”Post Pulse, the city wanted to show off itsdiversity and how the whole city stood strongbehind the LGBT community, a populationthe majority of Pulse victims identified them-

selves as being part of.

“The whole city came together, embracedthe LGBT community, and stood up for toler-ance and acceptance for all our residents,” saidHeather Fagin, deputy chief of staff, City ofOrlando. “We wanted messaging thatexpressed that.”

“Orlando United” was unanimouslyagreed upon as the new message during thefew first days the Emergency FamilyAssistance Center was set up in CampingWorld Stadium. “We needed to have a positivemessage for people to rally behind,” saidMichele Brennan, director of communications,city of Orlando.

The “Orlando United” message waspaired with a new graphic for Orlando’sfountain image, redrawn by an artist usingthe colors of the gay pride rainbow flag, andthe slogan has been used in many ways eversince.

Fagin believes that a quickly put togetherpress conference by the mayor, where heexpressed that Orlando is safe and accessible toeveryone, combined with the quickly put outpositive messaging, “is the main reason thattourism did not decline following the inci-dents.”

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