SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

There's one thing you can say about Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the cities surrounding it.

"Those places really, truthfully have good country fans," said Ben Farrell of Varnell Enterprises, the Nashville-based promoter for Garth Brooks' music tour.

So, when the country superstar played six concerts at the SaskTel Centre in June 2016, ticket sales skyrocketed. An estimated total of 94,000 people turned out for the concert series, hosted by the Saskatoon venue. The series became the largest concert event in the Canadian province's history. About 80,000 tickets sold in the first hour of sale alone, CEO Will Lofdahl said.
"I've never seen anything like that before," he added. "It was amazing."

Lofdahl credited the door-busting concert series as a major reason why 2016 was a banner year for the SaskTel Centre, which seats 15,000 for hockey and lacrosse events. The other factor, he said, was the arrival of a national sports team.

In 2016, the then-Edmonton Rush relocated to Saskatoon. At the time of their arrival, they were the National Lacrosse League's defending champions, "so they started off on a winning note," he said.

The team continued its winning streak at its new home. Rechristened as the Saskatchewan Rush, they went on to win the 2016 league championship. Lofdahl estimated that, in total, the Rush brought in between 140,000 and 150,000 fans to the SaskTel Centre last year. "The community ... just really wrapped its arms around the team," he said.

All told, the Garth Brooks concert series and the Rush brought in nearly a quarter of a million people to the SaskTel Centre last year, Lofdahl said.

SaskTel Centre has had good years before, but 2016 was "exceptional," he said.

Location and venue availability played a large role in the SaskTel Centre's success. Unlike the United States, which contains a multitude of large arenas, Canada has a small number of venues capable of seating 15,000 people, Lofdahl said.

"So if you're going to do a cross-Canadian tour, there's a finite number of places you can play," he said.

Saskatoon sits in the middle of a two-day drive between Edmonton and Winnipeg, making it a viable stop for artists to consider on their tour, he added.

With a little more than 250,000 residents, Saskatoon is the country's 20th largest city. However, the economy has been robust for the last decade, "so when the shows stop here, people buy tickets because they've got discretionary income," Lofdahl said.

Where country music is concerned, demographics also come into play.

"Saskatoon's outstanding in its own right," Farrell said, but drawing full crowds there requires appealing to audiences in the surrounding cities. Fortunately, Saskatchewan is home to devoted country music fans who don't mind traveling to see a live show, which is one reason why Saskatoon made sense as a stop on Garth Brooks' tour, he added.

Another indicator that the correct series would do well in Saskatoon: Local radio stations. Farrell pointed to one station that had amassed roughly 225,000 Facebook followers. The other element was the venue itself, which he praised for having an "outstanding staff."

The New Year is already looking promising for the SaskTel Centre. The Rush's second year in Saskatoon is underway, and Lofdahl estimated that between 8,000 and 9,000 season tickets have already been sold.

"2016 was a really good year for us, and this year — 2017 — is looking to be a good one as well," he said. "So we're very happy about that."

Interviewed for this story: Will Lofdahl, (306) 975-3150; Ben Farrell, (615) 259-3131

Elton John, Spokane (Wash.) Arena.

Elton John returned to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas for four sold-out shows over the New Year, Dec. 28, 2016, Jan. 1, and grossed $3.1 million in ticket sales alone. The AEG Live, Concerts West, and Caesars Entertainment-promoted shows saw more than 16,800 fans in attendance with ticket prices ranging from $55 to $750.  Elton John will return to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for The Million Dollar Piano show for 11 performances Feb. 7-20.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers grossed more than $1.28 million on their Jan. 8 show at American Airlines Center, Dallas, with supporting acts Jack Irons and Trombone Shorty. The Live Nation-promoted event saw ticket prices range from $49 to $99 for the 13,500 fans in attendance. Fans can catch the Red Hot Chili Peppers Jan.10 at the Smoothie King Center.

HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between Dec. 13, 2016-Jan. 10, 2017.

Christina Grimmie

The tragedy surrounding “The Voice” singer Christina Grimmie’s death has led her family to seek financial retribution from AEG and the venue where she was murdered last June.

The lawsuit raises a number of questions in the entertainment world about security and how far venues should go to protect, not only the fans, but the entertainers too.

Grimmie was signing autographs at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Fla. on June 10, after she performed there with her band Before You Exit, when 27-year-old Kevin Loibl shot her before shooting and killing himself. She later died at the hospital.

The Grimmie family filed a lawsuit against The Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation Inc. and AEG which owns the venue, saying The Plaza Live neglected to offer adequate security.

“I just think the new normal, unfortunately, is that at public events you have to have a lot more security,” said Entertainment Litigation Attorney Ed McPherson, of McPherson Rane LLP based in Los Angeles. “Unfortunately, not every small venue can afford that.”

McPherson represented the band Great White that was sued by victims’ relatives after the band’s pyrotechnics started a nightclub on fire in Rhode Island, killing guitar player Ty Longly and 100 other people.

“I’ve handled quite a few tragedies,” he said.

In Christina Grimmie’s case, McPherson said that although security at The Plaza Live conducted bag checks, a simple pat-down of persons at the venue might have prevented the untimely death of the 22-year-old singer.

“A lot of concert venues, and even movie theaters, are checking women’s purses, but they’re not checking the men,” McPherson said. “I think a normal pat-down would have prevented this, and it’s very, very tragic.”

The outcome of the lawsuit depends on whether or not the Grimmie family gets a trial.

“Juries don’t always buy this,” McPherson said. “AEG is not in the business of ensuring that no violence happens. They will argue they can’t be responsible for criminal acts.”

AEG did not return calls for comment on the lawsuit.

“AEG’s lawyers will say, ‘Look, if someone really wants to kill someone, they’re going to, no matter what,’” McPherson said.

The man who shot Grimmie arrived at the venue with two handguns, extra magazines and a hunting knife, according to media reports.

“This was a random, lone freak gunman,” said Robert Smith, owner of Night Life Security Consultants in San Diego. “What could AEG or anyone else have done to foresee what would happen? Yes, we live in a different world. We have to think about terrorism. Does that mean we have to go to a full TSA at every venue?”

According to reports, the shooter was obsessed with Grimmie and many claim he went to the venue specifically to harm her.

“My opinion is they don’t have enough to get a jury verdict,” he said. “I know that AEG is going to say this is ridiculous.”

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the Grimmie family relied on Christina’s income for their financial stability, which is why they seek financial retribution.

Smith said that pat-downs and metal detectors at venues will not stop the kind of violence inflicted on Christina.

He used the shooting death of Pantera’s lead singer Darrell Abbott (also known as Dimebag Darrell) at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio in 2004, as an example.

“Even if the venue had metal detectors, (the gunman) climbed over the wall. They weren’t going to stop him. This guy went there on a mission. He went there to kill. What would a metal detector do?” Smith asked.

It all comes down to if AEG had a duty to prevent Christina Grimmie’s death, McPherson said.

Interviewed for this story: Ed McPherson, (310) 553-8833; Robert Smith, (619) 997-6144

The Venue Operations Summit, Venues Today and Venue Solutions Group are introducing two new awards designed to recognize excellence in the fields of operations and engineering. These “Hidden Heroes" make it happen every day in every stadium, arena, theater, convention center, fair, festival and performing arts center worldwide.

We are seeking your nominations of professionals who have gone above and beyond in solving problems, creating solutions, instituting a new program, innovating with a new idea or leading in a highly creative way to benefit your venue in these areas. Please include the name, title, venue and specific accomplishment of your nominee and send to nominations@venuestoday.com (no attachments) by March 17, 2017.

The winners will be selected by the VOS Board of Advisors, the Venue Solutions Group team and the Venues Today team. The winners, one operations and one engineering professional, will be named in the April issue of Venues Today magazine.

The inaugural award winners will be honored at the Venue Operations Summit in Nashville, Tenn., April 30-May 2, 2017.

Please include in your email: (PLEASE NO ATTACHMENTS!)
Name of nominee
Organization of nominee
Title of nominee
Description of  specific, recent accomplishments

Nominate by Friday, March 17, 2017.

A six-lane, 350-meter indoor track — pictured here in an artist's rendering — is among the list of improvements planned for Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Mo. (Image courtesy of Foutch Brothers LLC)

The 43-year-old Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., will gain new life as a youth sports complex, thanks to a deal brokered between the city and a private developer.

In February, the City Council of Kansas City voted to authorize the sale of Kemper Arena to Foutch Brothers LLC. The price: $1. The arrangement will save taxpayer dollars and open the door for future economic development, said Chris Hernandez, communications director for the city.

"This is a good deal for us because we're currently spending about $1 million a year just on maintenance for a facility that is rarely used," he said. He later added that demolishing the building would have cost about $10 million.

The new owner's budget to renovate the building is set at $30 million. The developer will meet that cost with a combination of tax credits, private investor contributions and funds from its own coffers, said Julie Rischer, general manager at Foutch Brothers.

The city won't be contributing any money to the project, making Foutch Brothers responsible for securing the funds. However, the private developer will receive a 100-percent property tax abatement for 10 years and a 50-percent abatement for several years afterward, Hernandez said. With the city council's approval in hand, Foutch Brothers can finish seeking historic tax credits from the state to help support the project, he added.

Foutch Brothers has ambitious plans for the arena, which opened in 1974. For starters, they plan to install a second floor at the natural break between the existing upper and lower seating bowls. This modification will add another 52,000 square feet to the venue. When completed, the venue will be able to seat 8,000-10,000, Rischer said. Both floors will feature a  hardwood maple court. Together, they can host as many as 12 collegiate-size basketball courts and 18 tournament-size volleyball courts, she said.

"In addition to those two stories, we're also going to have a running track at the top of the seating section," she said, adding that an existing platform will be expanded to accommodate the six-lane, 350-meter indoor track.When renovations are completed, the facility will host a diverse range of sports, including volleyball, football, basketball, archery, wrestling, cheerleading, dance and gymnastics, Rischer said. The venue will get a new name to go along with the facelift. Mosaic Life Care purchased the naming rights to the facility, and the health care provider will offer telehealth services from one of the venue's retail spaces, she said.

The rechristened Mosaic Arena is expected to draw regional and out-of-state youth tournaments. This will make it an economic driver in the West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas City, which is already "undergoing its own kind of renaissance," Hernandez said.

This potential for economic growth was another reason the sale was appealing to the city. As families come to the arena for youth tournaments, they'll be tempted to explore the other amenities within walking distance, Hernandez said. "We really see a symbiotic effect here," he added.

On its own accord, Mosaic Arena will have an array of amenities to keep parents and families occupied during long tournaments. It will include retail spaces, a bar and dining facilities. Developers also plan to include a "fun zone" for younger children and interactive kiosks equipped with educational modules and wayfinding information, Rischer said.

"We could almost call it a sports mall because it's more of a destination versus a training facility or tournament facility," Rischer said. The renovated venue will also feature amenities for both work as well as play. It will include co-working spaces, which are rentable by the day, and business spaces available for long-term lease, she added.

Construction is scheduled to start in May, and the renovated arena is slated to be open by May or June of 2018, Rischer said.

City officials have high hopes for the venue and its contributions to the local economy. "It's going to bring a lot of new life to that neighborhood," Hernandez said, adding, "It's really an excellent deal, and it's the kind of thing we've been looking for."

Swami Bill's Flea Circus at Denver County Fair

The National Western Stock Show has purchased the Denver County Fair, adding more clout to the long list of fun and entertainment being produced in the Mile High City.

The Denver County Fair has operated on the stock show grounds since it started six years ago, and selling the fair to National Western made financial sense, said Dana Cain, co-owner of the fair.

For years, she and business partner Tracy Weil poured their hearts, souls and money into the Denver County Fair, and it’s time for them to move on.

“It’s kind of bittersweet. There were so many years when it was one of my favorite things in the universe,” Cain said. “Tracy and I created a pretty quirky fair.”

The setback was that Cain and Weil were the sole producers of the event, and selling it to National Western made good financial and production sense, considering the number of people employed by the stock show.

“We just can’t afford to keep paying for the fair. We’re not a big operation. The National Western Stock Show is a big operation and they know what they’re doing,” Cain said.

National Western Stock Show & Complex President and CEO Paul Andrews feels his staff is in a perfect position to take over the fair.

“It’s an event, so we really purchased the property rights, the website, the trademark and all of the things that come with operating an event,” he said.

National Western now will have three big annual events with the new transaction — the National Western Stock Show in January, the Rodeo All Stars in April and the Denver County Fair in July.

“Those are three events that my staff can do at a very high level, and they’re spread out for sponsorships,” Andrews said. The financials of the deal are not being released, he noted.

The stock show complex has been a staple venue in Denver since 1908 and continues to expand. The complex is growing from 15 to 20 acres of land, and will have a new livestock center, a new equestrian center with 1,000 permanent stalls, a new 46,000-sq.-ft. expo hall and a new arena that will have 10,000 seats with 40 suites.

The construction will be done in phases, and the complex will be under construction during the 2018 National Western Stock Show, Andrews said. “We will not have to pause the show,” he said, noting that they’re not about to miss a year, especially since the stock show has been around for so long without ever canceling. The hope is to break ground early next year, Andrews said earlier this year.

The expansion includes 1,800,000 sq. ft. of improvements, with Phase 1 scheduled for completion in 2017. The New National Western site is part of the old site. Some buildings will be retained, but the stockyards will be taken out, new livestock facilities will be built, and the replacement stockyards will be removable to become an entertainment zone for concerts the rest of the year. The venues are multipurpose and will be converted for the Denver County Fair.

Most fairs have a huge livestock portion, and the National Western Stock Show already caters to livestock. Andrews said the fair will accommodate animals that can be raised in the Denver Metro Area such as chickens and rabbits.

“A county fair is really a celebration of the county in which you reside,” he said, adding that the Denver County Fair in July will have pie-cooking competitions and more. “We’re also looking at bringing an amusement park.”

Andrews is hoping that he and his team can help bring fair attendance numbers up. In its peak years — 2011 and 2014 — roughly 20,000 people attended the Denver County Fair. That number dropped significantly in 2016, Cain said.

In 2014, recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, so Cain and Weil opted to have a cannabis pavilion at the fair. It was wildly popular that year, but did not do as well the following years as cannabis events continued to grow throughout the state.

Andrews said he will not be doing the cannabis pavilion at all under the new ownership.

Logo of Wine Extraordinaire, an event that had to be canceled because of the planned protests nearby.

In the interest of public safety, the OC Fair & Event Center, Costa Mesa, Calif., will be closed March 25-26, despite a last minute move to a new location for the pro-Donald Trump march and rally originally planned to be held on the streets in front of the fairgrounds.

“We are aware that the march organizers have announced that they are moving their event, but it had been promoted as being near the fairgrounds and safety concerns remain,” said Terry Moore, communications director, OC Fair & Event Center.

Last April, a pro-Trump campaign rally at the Pacific Amphitheatre, which is on the OC Fairgrounds, turned violent. The melee led to 17 arrests after Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters clashed. Protestors broke windows, jumped on top of police cars and blocked traffic before police managed to quell the near-riot.

OC Fair refused to allow another “Make America Great Again” rally to be held on the property this year, but the group that is organizing the event decided to hold the rally on the streets that border the fairgrounds instead.

“When we heard about the new event, we decided the best course of action would be to cancel all the events for the weekend,” said Moore. “We made this decision after conversations with local law enforcement agencies. Last year, the pro-Trump group and the anti-Trump group got into some heated conversations, which turned into confrontations out on the street. Law enforcement had to intervene and enforce the laws and maintain public safety.”

Moore said that the canceled events include the Orange County Wine Society’s Wine Extraordinaire, Crossroads of the West Gun Show and the weekly Orange County Market Place. In addition, Heroes Hall veterans museum, Centennial Farm and the equestrian center will be closed and the farm’s food preservation class was canceled.

The “Make America Great Again March” has since moved its march to Huntington Beach. Organizers expect at least 1,600 people to march in support of Trump and that number does not include hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-Trump protesters expected to appear.

“Safety is our utmost concern,” said OC Fair CEO Kathy Kramer in a statement. “We will work with promoters and organizers to make every effort to reschedule the canceled events. Orange County Market Place will resume its schedule the following week.”

The OC Fair events team is trying to reschedule the canceled events, said Moore. The revenue hit because of the cancellations is still undetermined because OC Fair hasn’t finished the calculations on the revenue loss. “We don’t have a number yet because we are still hoping to reschedule most of the canceled events,” said Moore.

Following last year’s altercation, the OC Fair Board passed several new procedures for events on the property in September. The new policies include requiring event organizers to pay all costs associated with a security plan developed by law enforcement and fairgrounds officials and providing a $2-million insurance policy and not issuing tickets exceeding the venue’s capacity.

One of the affected events is Wine Extraordinaire. Liz Corbett, event chair and director of the Orange County Wine Society (OCWS), which holds the Wine Extraordinaire event, said that she and her team have been working on the event for the last six months.

“We were informed Feb. 22 that the OC Fair was closing based on recommendations from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Costa Mesa Police Department and the State Attorney General’s Office,” said Corbett.

“Kathy (Kramer) and Michelle (Richards, VP of business, OC Fair) called me and were very gracious about it,” she said. “I understand and it’s unfortunate. We thought wine, guns and protestors were not a good combination as well. From a safety aspect, we absolutely agree. I wasn’t there last year, but from what I heard and read, I wouldn’t want to have been there.”

"We are not going to reschedule for this year," said Corbett. “There’s a wine event scheduled for every weekend in California and it’s too late to move ours. We’re going to cut our losses and look forward to the future.”

This would have been the 36th annual Wine Extraordinaire. There were 800-1,000 people expected to attend. “We had 60 wineries and were hoping to get 85 to 100 to join,” said Corbett, adding that they already spent $9,000-$10,000 promoting the event.

In addition, the OCWS will lose the funds that they used to donate to a long list of California colleges and universities. “We lost the money we normally use to provide scholarships to students studying enology, viticulture and culinary arts,” said Corbett.

To date, Orange County Wine Society has donated $549,000. Recipient institutions were Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa; University of California, Davis; Cal Poly, Pomona; Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria; Cal State University, Fresno and Napa (Calif.) Valley College.

Corbett said that the cancellation will not be a factor in deciding whether to book the OC Fairgrounds for next year’s event.

“It’s a matter of public safety,” said Moore. “We want to keep the community safe.”

Closing ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo courtesy of Canadian Olympic Committee/Jason Ransom)

(Editor's Note: This story first appeared in SportTechie.com)

Discovery Communications and Eurosport have announced the creation of a new exclusive Olympic Games partnership opportunity for mobile operators to deliver every moment of action to their customers through the launch of the first “Official Mobile Broadcaster” product.

Discovery Communications and Eurosport, the exclusive TV and multimedia rightsholders for 50 countries and European territories for the 2018-2024 Olympics, are taking advantage of their free-to-air, pay TV, digital and direct-to-consumer services, adding partnerships with other distributors across Europe to bring the Games to more viewers.

The “Official Mobile Broadcaster” will give mobile providers the exclusive opportunity to co-brand with the Olympics and give their customers access to all of the action. The service will offer a 24/7 channel that features the best of the Olympics including real time highlights, top news and exclusive on-demand content.

“For more than 30 years, Discovery has worked with the best partners to provide premium video content for every person, on every platform,” Jean-Briac Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery Networks International, said in a statement. “Sports are particularly powerful in a mobile environment as we are witnessing with the growth of our direct-to-consumer sports streaming service, Eurosport Player. We are excited to form new partnerships with mobile operators to make the Olympic Games more accessible and engaging for a mobile-first audience.”

Discovery is also continuing to invest in a team and platform to deliver the Eurosport Player and Olympic Games viewer experiences. Three months ago, the company announced a partnership with BAMTech.

“Building on Eurosport’s strategy to offer more premium, more local and more exclusive sports, the Eurosport Player provides fans with an all-access pass on any screen,” Ralph Rivera, managing director of Eurosport Digital, said in a statement. “From national to international football, from Grand Slam tennis to the Grand Tours of cycling, from all major winter sports events to the Olympic Winter Games, fans can choose a personalized experience to immerse themselves in every match, every court, every track, every piste, and every bit of the action.”

Rendering of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Fla.

Forget the model of a parking lot connected to a spring training baseball stadium with team facilities tucked away from the fans. That all changes with the Feb. 28 opening of the $144-million, 160-acre The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla., the new spring home of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.

“We have learned a lot about how to best choreograph the highest and best training experience for the teams and players, as well as the fans,” said Fred Ortiz, lead designer on the project for HKS. “We placed the components in a smart way to create highly engaging and memorable experiences for the fans.”

Part of the design involves moving the main stadium into the center of the largest spring training site in Major League Baseball and then positioning team facilities to the north and south of that. Instead of moving parking away from those facilities, Ortiz put the parking near the team areas so fans move through the training facilities to “engage the players as quickly as possible.”

“We tried to bring the really fun stuff to the forefront and celebrate the game right at the center,” he said.

A former vacant land full of trash that required soil remediation, HKS created a gradual ascension into the site. The rise through the site gives fans a 14-foot-tall vantage at concourse level once they reach the 7,800-capacity stadium, allowing fans to walk down into their seats.

The 12 practice fields, six for each team—the Astros have one with the exact dimensions of Minute Maid Park in Houston and the Nationals have two that mirror the layout of Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.—sit to the east and west and can easily partition off from the rest of the site for community use at this publicly-owned facility.

All through the site, from the agility fields, four-lane resistance pool outside the Nationals’ clubhouse, playground, community plaza, city park and 1.75-mile walking path, Ortiz created berms as bridges, “allowing us to create great vantage points or framing views to the next platform.” The style created mini-destinations throughout the complex, all the time connecting fans to the players.

“There is more to spring training than just the game, there is a lot more we want to celebrate,” said Mo Stein, principal in charge for HKS. “There are all sorts of opportunities to experience the game, whether from your seat, the concourse, a berm or watching practice fields. The minute you park your car, you are in baseball and have a baseball experience no matter where you are and how you do it.”

Each team approached its space differently, putting specific team culture on display, such as in how they laid out the clubhouse and amenities. For example, the Astros have one giant weight room, while they split the batting tunnels between major and minor league players and the Nationals shared batting and agility, but split into two weight rooms and dining areas.

“When it comes time to deliver how you do your work, that workplace design is as important in baseball as it is in corporate offices,” Stein said.

The stadium itself features 6,440 fixed seats in the bowl, an outfield berm ideal for 1,000 and room for another 300 fans on two party decks and in the party suites. Mix in some box seats and Stein said the stadium offers a variety of experiences.

In terms of creating revenue on site, HKS approached it twofold, both for the teams and the facility owners. Team kiosks supplement a large team store and concessions feature a variety of foods. “There are a lot of sales opportunities to connect with revenue beyond tickets,” Stein said. “I think one of the real opportunities is this is not just a baseball place.”

Stein said the design of the plaza makes it perfect for everything from concerts to arts and craft events, to even car shows. With ample parking, concessions that can support either the plaza area or the ballfields and plenty of restrooms, the design of the complex serves spring training baseball, tournaments or anything else the city and county can imagine to put on site.

The site includes a large plaza designed for public events with concessions that can open year-round. “It all works for an event inside the bowl or an event outside the bowl,” he said. “It is not just revenue for 35 days a year, but the potential for 12 months.”

By merging fan engagement into the design from the parking lot on in, MLB’s newest—and largest—spring training facility offers a fresh perspective on complex design.

The new B1 space at Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, UK.

The Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, UK, has launched B1, a new intimate layout, to attract smaller events.

The venue pioneered the reduced capacity arena concept in 2004. Since then, Barclaycard Arena has seen increased competition entering the marketplace.

“We reviewed the market, and there is a gap between smaller venues and arena level venues,” said Guy Dunstan, general manager of Barclaycard Arena. “About 15 years ago, we launched the Academy format, which bridges this gap. We recently did another review of the marketplace, and B1 was the result.”

Based on feedback from promoters and clients, the new option gives a greater degree of choice, control and affordability. This layout can be flexed in either direction from 2,500 up to 5,000 capacities, for a standing or seated audience. 

“The Academy concept we introduced proved extremely popular, so much so, that over the last decade many other venues have adopted our original approach,” said Charlotte Smith, the arena’s sales manager.

The focus of B1 is on creating a theatre environment within the arena. This will be accomplished by bringing the stage into the front row seating tier and addressing the high roof line using lighting and objects to draw the eye line down. The arena’s in-house team will perform the turnaround with rigging and staging. Dunstan says the turnaround can be accomplished overnight.

“We developed the B1 brand to create another identity, so when people book the venue, the format will create the perception of a theatre,” said Dunstan. “The key is to maximize the venue.” In terms of the rental, the entry level rate will be in line with smaller venues to attract the same level of business.

Situated in the heart of the UK in Birmingham’s city centre, B1 is named to reflect the venue’s postcode. 

“The Midlands is the strongest entertainment market outside of London,” said Smith. “What makes us different from the traditional academy venues is that we can integrate the facilities of a world-class arena with an intimate design, giving artists and promoters the flexibility to scale a show up or down to suit their needs.”

“They are not limited to the one layout option, and this can be altered at any point before their event,” she said. “Having fully flexible formats are key in this industry, so the greater the layout and package options we can provide for our customers, the greater the chance of them booking with us and maximizing our programming schedule.” 

The arena also will offer a plug-and-play option that takes care of the artists’ production needs, and has installed a new private artist tunnel that enables direct movement between the dressing room and stage to maintain the intimate feel of the venue. In addition, the inclusive event package covers rigging, security, ticketing and event marketing support.

“We identified a gap in the market for an event space between theatre and arena level, so we have created a modern, alternative space that will cater for this market demand,” said Smith. “We have seen a steady increase in interest compared to 2016. We’ve also witnessed a potential area of growth in the theatre, comedy and corporate genres.”

“The arena is already doing 150 performances per year, but we’re getting a good level of interest from clients with the new smaller format,” said Dunstan. 

Reba McEntire performs with Brooks & Dunn at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

The superstar trio of Reba McEntire, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn have extended their popular “Together in Vegas” residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace into 2017.  On Feb. 22 – March 4, country rocked the house with nearly 25,000 fans in attendance and made our Hot Tickets chart this week, grossing over $3 million with ticket prices ranging from $60-$205. Fans can experience this one-of-a-kind country residency coming up June 21.

On Feb. 17-18,  George Strait, with special guest Kacey Musgraves, hit the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, grossing over $5.5 million and ranking #1 on our Hot Tickets chart this week. The nearly 34,000 fans who attended the “2 Nights of Number 1’s” concert series rocked to Strait’s unparalleled 60 No. 1 hits during the two-day sold-out event. Strait will continue his concert series at the T-Mobile Arena April 7-8.
 

HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between Feb. 7-March 7.

John Graham

John Graham has announced his retirement from his position as executive senior associate athletics director, Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, after 28 years at the helm, effective Aug. 31.

“I’ve thought about retiring for quite some time,” said Graham. “This seemed like as good a time as any.  I realized that at 66 (years old) I would get full social security benefits and thought I’d make the move.”

Graham got his start in the arena industry in 1980 as the Events Manager of Assembly Hall (now State Farm Center) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He spent nine years at Assembly Hall, working his way up to assistant director and then associate director, before moving to Austin to join the Frank Erwin Center as associate director in May of 1989. He was then promoted to director in October of 1990, succeeding Dean Justice.

Graham said highlights of his tenure at Frank Erwin Center were when President Bill Clinton came to speak; hearing the Dali Lama speak; Final Fours in volleyball, big name regional basketball games, The Davis Cup in professional tennis, Paul McCartney (a project which took two years to work out) and Adele.

Graham’s first event was Ringling Bros. Circus and had the circus not phased out, Ringling Bros. circus would have been his last event. “Some things never change,” he said.

What has changed after 38 years in the venue world revolves around tech,  promotions and security, according to Graham. “How we deliver tickets is nothing like it used to be. In the old days, we’d get a shoebox filled with preprinted tickets. We’d put them in racks, by sections, and sell it all through a single box office. Now it’s all social media and paperless tickets.”

“Security started ramping up after 9/11 and it’s become a major issue for all of us,” said Graham. “It requires diligence and attention and you have to invest in technology like metal detectors and high-tech security cameras and training the staff.”

During Graham’s 28 year tenure, he was instrumental in bringing world renowned events to the Frank Erwin Center including the first ever WWF (now WWE) event in 1989, which was a sellout with approximately 17,000 fans in attendance; the Davis Cup quarterfinals between the U.S. and Spain in 2011 and, most recently, the iHeartCountry Music Festival, which returns for its fourth year this May.

Graham said the thing he will miss the most when he leaves will be “the crew, one hundred percent. We have nine departments and those folks have been with me 20 years, if not more. When you spend nights and weekends with people, they become like a village. You go through all the dynamics that you would have with an extended family and you’re concerned about people and want the best for them.”

Graham is only the second director of the Frank Erwin Center, following Justice, CFE, who opened the venue in 1977.

New video boards, top-of-the-line sound systems and major renovations to stadium suites and clubs will greet Detroit Lions’ fans this season.

Detroit Lions’ officials are ambitiously trying to finish a $100-million upgrade at Ford Field — funded by the Ford family — before the first pre-season game in the second week of August.

No concerts will be held at the stadium this summer during renovations.

Roughly 210,000 square feet of space will be renovated or entirely reconfigured in an effort to upgrade the 65,000-seat stadium that was built in 2002. In total, the stadium is 1.85-million-sq.-ft., with four levels of suites.

“The majority of the restoration is updating the scoreboards and other amenities throughout the entire stadium,” said Kirk Phillips, lead designer from architect firm Rossetti. “It’s going to make a better overall experience for everybody.”

Rossetti helped design the stadium when it was originally built.

The massive LED boards add extra excitement to the project, Phillips said. “It’s amazing the amount of changes that are going to occur."

Daktronics is the company in charge of creating and installing the 21-display system that includes nearly 26,000 square feet of displays and more than 28.1-million LED lights.

“It’s going to be really exciting,” said Daryl Mihal, regional manager for Brookings, S.D.-based Daktronics.

Each end zone will have new video displays that are twice the size of what’s currently there that will measure 39.5-ft. high and 152-ft. wide with a 13HD pixel layout. Additionally, four other displays that are 13-feet high and 59-feet wide will be used with the main displays for live video, instant replay, statistics and more.

Ford Field also has two columns that will be wrapped in LED lights that measure 36.5-ft. high and 62.5-ft. wide.

“It will be really unique and exciting and something different than we’ve done in any other stadium,” Mihal said.

Renovations of the suites, club areas and bars also are in the works, including redesign of The Corner Lounge, that will be renamed the Corner Bar. The bar will have old and new franchise memorabilia from the team’s past and present accomplishments. 

Other club renovations include:
• The Lounge: A new 6,800-sq.-ft. club that hovers five levels above the field on the north side of the stadium, an area that previously had suites, that will seat 200 people.
• Terrace Club and suites: A total of 5,500 sq.-ft. and 140 seats that will be a “communal gathering,” with 12 theater-type suites with all-inclusive food and beverage options.
• Gridiron Club: A two-level club, on levels two and three of the stadium. The level-two space will house 5,400 sq.-ft. of space with 106 seats and the third level will cater to 467 seats with a total of 16,800 sq.-ft. The Gridiron Club capitalizes on Detroit’s growing culinary recognition and the social scene that parallels it. Food takes center stage in this club with the addition of several new Detroit-centric concessions.

Levy Restaurants is the caterer for Ford Field and will work with local food vendors to create menus for suites and clubs, Phillips said.

“We want to utilize the great food choices we have here in Detroit,” he said. “You’ll have great local fare coming from both sides of the stadium.”

Premium suite renovations include the Red Zone Suites that will be renovated with stone, luxury fabrics and interactive tables where customers can order food.

There also will be a South Club and Loge Boxes where several current suites will be transformed into a club with tons of open space so fans can move around. Loge boxes are a new concept that will include large seats and in-seat food and beverage service.

With the renovations and the new LED lighting, fans are sure to feel the difference.

“It will be immediately evident for anyone who steps into the stadium that changes were made,” Mihal said.

Virginia and Maryland tackle ticket resale bills.

A bill that prohibits companies from restricting the resale of tickets for entertainment and sporting events has passed in the Virginia State Legislature; a similar bill is working its way through the Maryland State Senate.

Both versions of the resale legislation have the attention of industry heavyweights Ticketmaster, which opposes such laws, and StubHub, which is in favor.

Supporters of the bills say they're looking out for the consumer and that ticket buyers should have the right to sell or give away their tickets, which they believe they own once they buy them.

“We are absolutely very much in favor of the legislation,” said Aimee Bates, global head of public affairs, StubHub. “We’re in favor of any bill that makes ticket resale and availability easier for the consumer. Restrictive methods mean fans lose out.”

The opposition says they, too, have the consumer’s back and that they want to protect fans from being gouged by unscrupulous scalpers and high-tech ticket-buying bots.

“These types of laws are not born from consumer complaints,” said Jared Smith, president, North America, Ticketmaster. “This is about not allowing scalpers and bots to sell tickets. These types of legislation are trying to take away an unbelievably effective tool that helps artists and sports teams and other acts get tickets directly into the hands of fans at a price they want the fan to pay.”

The HB 1825 Ticket Resale Rights Act was introduced by Virginia Delegate Dave Albo. It guarantees the rights of ticket buyers to resell their tickets on the internet ticketing platform of their choice. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed the bill into law on March 3, and it will go into effect July 1.

State lawmakers in Maryland will begin hearings this week on Bill 892, which also addresses the resale or transfer of live-event tickets.

Albo said he was inspired to enact the new ticket resale law after he bought two $200 tickets to an Iron Maiden concert several months before the event. Albo was unable to attend the concert due to a family event. When he went to resell the tickets he was told that Ticketmaster would not allow him to resell or give away the tickets.

“Because it was a ticketless concert, in order to get in you would have to show your ID and the credit card that was used to make the purchase at the door,” he said.

Albo said his legislation will ensure that “once a consumer buys a ticket it becomes their property and they can do whatever they want with it and no one can put restrictions on what they can do with it.”

In Maryland, the current law states that the primary seller of tickets can put restrictions on reselling or giving away tickets. “A ticket is a license issued by a venue to attend the event, it’s not property,” said Smith. “There are terms and conditions on the back of every ticket.”

Maryland State Senator Brian Feldman

Maryland State Senator Brian Feldman, a Montgomery County Democrat, introduced Bill 892 to the Maryland Senate. Unlike the Virginia law, his bill says that if a ticket is offered with restrictions that the seller is obliged to offer a non-restricted version, which can be sold at a higher price.

“My bill says that if you purchase a ticket you own that property,” said Feldman. “Right now, there’s restriction after restriction. It’s anti-American and anti-consumer.”

Feldman’s hoping to get his bill passed in the next 30 days before the current session ends. Similar bills failed in 2015 and 2016.

Joining Ticketmaster in opposing the legislation are many Maryland venue operators.

Ron Legler, president of Hippodrome Performing Arts Center, Baltimore,
said, “Every year this bill keeps coming back. Every venue in the state is against it.”

Legler said that only 25 complaints came into the Maryland Attorney General last year and that 19 of them were for price gouging and fraud.

“This isn’t about protecting the consumer,” he said. “It’s about people who want to profit without taking any risk.” Legler also had safety concerns about the venues not knowing who is sitting in their seats. “This law will also open the door to anyone to sell tickets, including those who don’t have any policies in place for fraud.”

Bates pointed out that StubHub doesn’t pay the ticket seller until the buyer has already attended the event.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing rights holders going down the road of restrictive measures. That can include presenting a credit card you paid with to go to an event. That’s not a great experience for the customer,” Bates said.

“The bills allow the fan to have the reassurance that if they can’t go to an event they can easily resell their tickets, or give them away, without any restrictions,” she said. “We want people to have that flexibility.”

Audrey Schaefer, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md., said, “What matters to us is bringing great acts to Maryland. If this passes here I’m concerned that artists who refuse to allow secondary ticketing will skip over Maryland.”

Frank Remesch, GM, Royal Farm Arena, Baltimore, agreed. “This will put us at an unfair disadvantage. There are a number of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks and Adele who will not play here if this law passes.”

“These secondary ticketers have no skin in the game, they don’t bring revenue to Maryland, and they are working very hard at manufacturing complaints where they don’t exist,” said Schaefer, who believes that capping how much a ticket can be sold for on the secondary market is the best way to go.

“Our fear with that is it will move the trade onto the street,” said Bates. “There will always be supply and demand. If you don’t allow it on a safe site like StubHub, the consumer loses out.  People will go to off shore sites and meet people in bars and alleys where there is no protection. We believe in fair and open markets.”

Feldman said that the BOT Act, signed by President Barack Obama, solved many of the concerns Ticketmaster has about his legislation. That act gives the Federal Trade Commission the right to fine ticketbuyers who use robots to circumvent security put in place to prevent such cyber attacks.

“There’s no one who spends more money and time fighting the ticket scalpers [than we do],” said Smith. “There are a bunch of nefarious players who try to use technology to game the system and get access to tickets with the sole purpose of profiteering on the backs of everyday fans.”

“The BOT Act is only as good as enforcement,” Smith pointed out. “We’re not seeing it. We need real solutions. The BOT Act alone will not alleviate this problem.” Smith added that there is no private right of action under the BOT Act, which means Ticketmaster can’t sue under it.

“The facility takes the risk on putting on a show and they have the right to do what they want with their tickets,” he said.

Robert Lande, a law professor at the University of Baltimore who specializes in antitrust law, supports the bill and wrote written testimony for the Maryland Senate. “I’m in favor of the legislation. It helps gives choice to the consumer.”

Bates said StubHub is monitoring other states, like Connecticut and Missouri, both of which are eyeing similar legislation. 

“We continue to work hand-in-hand with our partners to make sure we continue to do what’s best for consumers,” said Smith.

Cabo Loaded Nachos.

The most important piece of the puzzle when launching a program like Long Island Taste, which will see menu items from eight local eateries sold at the renovated Nassau Coliseum, is to stay the course.

Marco Fabozzi, VP of Hospitality Strategy for Levy Restaurants, instituted a similar program at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, which opened five years ago. He knows that “it’s a daunting task. We were reminiscing from six months ago, when we were talking about an all-out meet and greet for interested restaurateurs, and seeing where we are today. You do get a little scared.”

Buying local and partnering with local restaurants on branding is not a new concept, but Levy has taken it a long way in Brooklyn and Uniondale, N.Y., the Long Island home of the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum By New York Community Bank, which opens April 5. 

“You wonder will you garner enough interest?” Fabozzi said. “But you have to stay true to the course. To stay local is not an easy thing because there are a lot of conglomerates out there knocking on your door.”

Though budget-wise it may make more sense to go with big firms and bulk buys, Levy’s goal in Long Island is the best experience possible for the fans, Fabozzi said. To that end, they started the search for local partners six months ago and were pleased to end up with 110 interested parties at the initial meet-and-greet to introduce the concept.

That went much better than it did in Brooklyn when Taste was launched there, Fabozzi recalled.

The initial eight partners for Long Island Taste are:

•  Prime Food Distributor (PFD) DBA Grilled by PFD’s with its Signature Coliseum Burger.
• Greekrave, with its Krave Burger, Traditional Marinated Lamb and Beef Gyro, and its signature Greek Nachos with pita chips.
• Smokin Al’s, with smoked meats, including Smokin’ Al's Pulled Pork and Chopped Brisket Sandwiches with Al's Cole Slaw.
• Roast Sandwich House, with its Buffalo Roasted Chicken sandwich with Gorgonzola Spread.
• Cabo, A Taste of Mexico’s Pollo Al Pastor Tacos, as well as loaded nachos and chicken quesadillas and Cabo Cobb Salad, a vegetarian dish.
• Nathan’s Famous, the official hot dog and French fry of The New Coliseum.
• Umberto's, with its Signature Margherita Personal Pie.
• Vincent’s Clam Bar, with its Vincent's Signature Meatball Pizza Burger.

The selection process was exhaustive. Fabozzi said that besides the orientation program in Uniondale, they researched the market through Yelp reviews and other Internet sites as well as going out for incognito tasting trips to determine “what and who they are.” Asked to compare it to the tastings he did for the predecessor program, Taste of Brooklyn, he joked that it was about a “10-pound difference, but I’ve worked it back off.”

“We narrowed it down by determining what was an arena food at the end of the day,” Fabozzi said. “The item had to be appealing to the general public, not too exotic, and had to hold up well in our environment.”

While Levy is done selecting the partners for the inaugural Long Island Taste program, the firm is still looking at products from the Long Island area – salt, mustard, cookies, chips and popcorn, as well as beverages — to be used in arena cuisine.

The partnerships vary, depending upon the restaurant, Fabozzi said, declining to reveal any financials. “It’s a two-way street.” While Levy does all the cooking and buying inhouse, “we produce their food items the way they envision them but cooked by us. Both parties have to feel proud of the end product.”

Angelo Ramunni of the 15-year-old Cabo, A Taste of Mexico couldn’t be more pleased with the arrangement. Nassau Coliseum will be his first experience serving Cabo menu items inside an arena.

He almost missed out, having heard about Levy’s open house for potential restaurateurs from a friend just the night before. A native of Long Island, he had been watching the struggle to reimagine Nassau Coliseum for years and wanted to be part of it.

“It will be great exposure to help brand our business,” he said. It dovetails nicely with their other expansion plans, which include putting their empanadas (to hopefully be introduced at the coliseum at a later date), tortilla chips and salsa in supermarkets in the region. “This will help us launch the product line. We always wanted to be involved in quick service – this is a great way to get started,” Ramunni said.

Cabo receives signage in the venue and Ramunni intends to take investors there to help expand the concept to other venues. There is no exclusive, he said.

He will also promote events at the coliseum in his restaurant. “We’re big on social media; we will host a lot of events happening at the coliseum on our social media site,” he said, adding they will then offer fans who come to the restaurant with a receipt from the arena a discount at the Cabo.

“The local restaurateur gets the recognition of being selected,” Fabozzi said. “Being a Long island-based company, they get a great deal of pride in being able to partner with a renovated, iconic venue.”

Though he had no financials to share, “anecdotally, I’ve seen a lot of institutions that have partnered with us in Brooklyn do fairly well downstream.”

Both Taste of Brooklyn and Long Island Taste aid Levy’s desire to make arena food a real meal, Fabozzi said.  To be a real meal, it needs to be seasoned and cooked in house and, to the degree possible, made to order. “We don’t believe in canned or pre-made food; it’s all made at the arena.”

The New Nassau Coliseum will have 11 unique concessions stands plus quite a few portables. There are 104 points of sale. “There are over 300 individuals we have staffed for Nassau Coliseum,” Fabozzi said.

The partner menu items will be involved in all aspects of the operation, including catering, suites, restaurants and VIP lounges.

Besides serving local brands, the New Nassau Coliseum will hopefully be known for speed of service. Levy is using a Bypass point of sale system and will institute a Bypass Lane for mobile ordering as they do on Barclays Center’s upper concourse.

The New Coliseum Presented By New York Community Bank will offer 13,000 seats for hockey, 13,500 for basketball, and 14,500 for concert configurations, with the ability to flex up.

The bowl will have a theater seating option for 4,000 guests.

Stephen Chambers, retiring Western Fairs Association (WFA) executive director; Liz Waxstein, meetings and trade show manager, WFA.

Stephen Chambers is leaving the Western Fair Association (WFA) after 30 years as its executive director.

“I became the executive director in March of 1987, so in March this year, I will have been the executive director for 30 years,” said Chambers. “I joined the company in 1982 as the company’s legislative expert; I was brought in to work on off-track betting at fairs. When the director left, I stayed and became the boss.”

“I love this industry and I love this job, but one thing I’ve noticed in all sectors is that for long-time executives it rarely ends well and I’m determined to make sure this is a good transition for the company,” he said. “I feel like I am at the top of my game.We’ve had a great convention, the company is solid; this is a great time to go.”

Chambers said he wants to give WFA the time to find a replacement executive director and will serve until replaced. “There’s no timeline,” he said. “The board has a planning session in February; we have an outsider facilitator and we’ll look at the landscape and they’ll work with me. If they recruit someone who is not available right away, then I will handle it till the new person is ready to jump onboard.”

Chambers is already working on next year’s convention in Anaheim, Calif. “I’m excited about it and I expect to go, but I expect there to be a new executive director by then.”

Chambers said he plans to stay in the Sacramento area. “My wife and I have four living parents in the area; we’re not going anywhere.”

“I didn’t grow up in the agriculture community; I was born in Maine,” said Chambers. “I didn’t know a cow from a sheep. But I fell in love with this business.”

Chambers said he loves that the business is constantly changing; the people are constantly changing. “I feel like I’ve been a minor player in a reality TV show for 35 years.”

Chambers most memorable experience was in 2008 when his staff surprised him and inducted him into the WFA Hall of Fame. “What made that so special was that Don Jacques inducted me and he was mentor of mine. It was such a treat. My family was flown in and I was completely thrown off guard,” he said.

Chambers thought this year’s convention went fantastic. “I was one of the few people that knew this year’s convention would be my last as executive director and I tried not to dwell on it.”

“Reno has challenges for us,” he said. “It’s hard to get here. Every category had challenges from sponsorship to trade show to registration. We were significantly over budget.”

“But it all came together, and I think this was one of the strongest conventions WFA has ever put on.”

Chambers most favorite — and least favorite — part of the job is the convention. “We put a lot of time into it and we derive half our revenue from it,” he explained. “It defines our members' loyalty and it defines us. The members expect a great show.”

“I’ll miss the stress and the closure at the end of the convention,” he said. “When the convention is over, it’s over.”

Chambers also said that the direct impact he and the organization have on people making a living is hard. “I put myself under a lot of pressure over that. When funding gets cut, it’s hard. When a new regulation comes along which hurts our members, I take it personally.”

“I know that means some family can’t get the house they want or send the kids to the college they want; those things are very real and scary. The responsibility is huge.”

Chambers said he will miss his staff the most. “My staff is really cool and I will miss them a great deal.”

His future plans include spending time with his family and volunteering at the local animal shelter. “I love dogs and I’ll do things like help WFA, but not as a paid consultant, just as a friend.”

Chambers said the biggest challenge to the fair industry is finding good people to work in it. “There’s not a lot of formal training and you can’t get a degree in fair management,” he said. “We need to give people the time to get the job. It’s like trying to train pilots while flying the plane.”

“Be a mentor,” he said, “That’s the key to keeping the fair manager job alive.”

Michael Paluszak, director and chief executive officer, Oregon State Fair & Expo Center, Salem, and past WFA president, has known Chambers for 30 years. “Steve was the legislative advocate,” he said. “I don’t know if you could find anyone who is more passionate about fairs; he never needs notes and works from memory; he’s forgotten more about fairs than most of us know.”

“He’s a great leader; a good friend of fairs and as a past WFA president, we’ve always stayed close. I admire him a lot. I don’t know anyone who is as passionate and sincere about fairs as Stephen is,” said Paluszak. “He’ll be a hard act to follow and he has giant shoes to fill. He’ll be sorely missed.”

Barbara Quaid is the outgoing president of WFA and the CEO of Ventura (Calif.) County Fair. “There are so many things I could say about Stephen’s leadership,” said Quaid. “He’s been a mentor to so many people and his knowledge of the fair industry and legislative initiatives is phenomenal. There is no one better to lead WFA and we’re all sorry to see him retiring.”

“Many years ago we had a corn roaster at our fair and he was having trouble with the health department,” said Quaid. “Our health department is notorious for being very strict and putting a lot of pressure on the concessionaires. Stephen took that challenge on and he was successful in getting the corn roasters a dispensation from the health department so he could operate.”

“He’s a terrific guy, a great leader, and we’ll all miss him so much,” she said.

Interviewed for this story: Stephen Chambers, (916) 927-3100; Michael Paluszak, (971) 701-6563; Barbara Quaid, (805) 648-3376

Thank you to those who nominated and voted for these influential leaders. Venues Today is honoring these young professionals who make a difference in sports, music, conventions, family shows and festivals. Our annual Generation Next Awards honoring leaders 35 or younger will be profiled in the May issue of the magazine.

Congratulations to our 2017 VT Generation Next Award Recipients!

Lucy Albers
Sr. Marketing Manager/SMG
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Age: 30

For playing a key role in opening the The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Opened in 2014, Albers placed advertisements, wrote annual reports for SMG and created the publication of a “First Year” book for the new venue and posters for shows.  Albers was hired in 2011, as a box-office supervisor.  She worked in that role until 2013 when she was promoted to the assistant box-office manager.  She excelled in her roles in the box office and when the opportunity for marketing manager came up, she jumped on it.  In May of 2013, Albers was promoted into that role, where she made many differences in marketing strategies that improved the facility’s exposure. In July of 2016, Albers received yet another promotion to senior marketing manager because of her hard work, diligence and ability to take the lead and get things done when needed.

Brian Chia
Director of Client Services
EventBooking, Knoxville, Tenn.
Age: 27

For organizing the moving parts that make a concert, conference or sporting event possible using reliable venue management software. Chia leads the Client Success team, which serves over 10,000 individual users. Brian’s ability to quickly customize the best solution for each client is invaluable as he travels to venues in-person to perform more in-depth assistance and training. Chia’s dedication to personalized customer support has taken him all over the world, from London to Beijing. He is solely responsible for the success of EventBooking’s partner in China, having trained all of their staff so that they are then capable of training others. Last year EventBooking began redesigning it’s core venue management software. Chia was appointed product owner of the new initiative. This meant that in addition to his client services responsibilities, he guided a team of software engineers so that each cycle of the development process was tailored to clients' needs and workflow.

John Ciolfi
Marketing Manager/SMG
Dunkin’ Donuts Center & Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence
Age: 30

For his ability to communicate with young patrons and promoters in a way that keeps his Rhode Island venues on the cutting edge in the digital age. Since 2013,  Ciolfi has been with the SMG management team representing the venue locally, regionally and nationally to promoters and industry leaders. Ciolfi is well respected by the NCAA for his work on their regional championships and sits on the Statewide Local Organizing Committee. In addition, he currently works on many high profile Request For Proposal projects for the city and state. Recently, Rhode Island hosted several national journalists and Ciolfi acted as PR ambassador. This past year, he was awarded the “Stars of the Industry Volunteer of the Year” from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association.

Jordan Silberman
Vice President of Operations, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Age: 29

For daily oversight of operations and conversions for the building. There was a span of 95 events across 70 days, which involved 46 changeovers, including two different setups during the same day. While managing the logistics for the 95 varying events, Silberman also took on the role of being the local tournament director for the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament, which took place at the arena last March. As tournament director, Silberman was responsible for the oversight and management of the event across operations, ticketing and marketing. Another major project he was involved in was overseeing the completion of a $6-million renovation on the event level. The renovations entailed the build-out of a 10,000-sq.-ft., brand-new VIP club hospitality space and relocating, reconfiguring and redesigning of several rooms on the event level. Prior to being in operations, Silberman also developed a new processing system for accessible seating orders at Verizon Center when he served as the director of accessible seating.

Michael Sulkes
Assistant General Manager, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Age: 30
For planning and managing of the day-to-day operations at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. In addition to overseeing the venue’s booking process, Sulkes is instrumental in pursuing new business opportunities for the facility. During his tenure at Wells Fargo Center, Sulkes has taken the lead on many marquee events the venue has hosted, including the recent 2016 Democratic National Convention, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Frozen Four, multiple NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments, the National Hockey League draft and major global touring concerts including last spring’s historic Pearl Jam concerts, Paul McCartney’s 2015 “Out There” tour and the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary tour. Sulkes was also instrumental in the venues 20th anniversary campaign and led the charge to create a free, community open house birthday party.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SMP 100 CHART

Splyce's Snake Circle Mark

This story originally appeared in Sporttechie.com

Delaware North, the parent company of the Boston Bruins and TD Garden in Boston, announced Thursday its partnership with eSports up-and-comer Splyce after buying a piece of the team. The hospitality and food service company is now positioned to capitalize on the growing global popularity of eSports.

The hospitality giant wants to help the Rochester, N.Y.-based Splyce build its brand while giving it the resources needed to compete at the highest levels. TD Garden and the Bruins will play a part in Splyce’s ascension in the near future.

“The vision is to be geographically based,” Delaware North chief marketing officer Todd Merry said. “We see Splyce, assuming everything works out long term, becoming Boston’s hometown eSports team.

“And in the long term, we see TD Garden becoming the logical home to Splyce.”

Delaware North will soon help Splyce conduct youth outreach programs and clinics to build up grassroots support.

The partnership between the multibillion-dollar organization that operates food, beverage and retail services for clients in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS should help provide Splyce with a vast amount of resources eSports teams need to dominate global leagues.

In the last two years, Delaware North commissioned two different studies about the future of sports. The second “Future of Sports,” published last October, touched on the growth potential of eSports, which already boasts a global fan base of over 300 million.

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North first became interested in Splyce through mutual upstate business connections. Merry met with Splyce CEO and president Marty Strenczewilk roughly eight months ago. The two sides began to hash out what each would bring to the table, with Merry focused on making sure his company could offer Splyce a real chance to grow.

“First and foremost, we feel like we are going to help (Splyce) sell sponsorships; secondly we can help build their brand,” said Merry, a self-admitted gamer who has followed the rise of eSports since its inception. “We have resources to help them.”

Splyce’s new Overwatch team is set to begin eight weeks of training at Delaware North’s newly acquired Sea Crest Beach Hotel on Cape Cod right away. “We love Marty’s vision, and we love where they are going, so we aren’t going to sit down and say enter this game or go recruit these people,” Merry said.

Instead, Delaware North offers Splyce the chance to improve training, increase its talent pool and expand its fan appeal.

Delaware North chairman Jeremy Jacobs has also owned the Boston Bruins since 1975. Widely regarded as one of the best owners in sports, his 42 years of experience helping the Bruins win at a high level can only help Splyce.

“This partnership with Delaware North allows us unfettered access to a championship-caliber training staff, expert guidance on key areas of monetization and rock-solid infrastructure that can allow us to skyrocket our growth and maturation as a global sports franchise,” Strenczewilk said in a statement.

Splyce was founded in 2015 as “TV guide” for eSports fans. But after acquiring a few teams, it quickly transformed into a global organization with nine teams competing across nine different games, including League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The eSports newcomer qualified for the League of Legends World Championship a year after its founding. Delaware North thinks the partnership offers Splyce the chance to become a major force in the booming international sport.

“When you look at what Splyce achieved in such a short period of time, and with folks like Marty involved in running the origination, we really do believe they can be one of those top five eSports franchises, in the same discussion with (Team) Liquid and Cloud9,” Merry said. “You know all the brands that are really household names in the eSports firmament today.”

Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis and Magic Johnson now own the controlling interest in Team Liquid. Shaquille O’Neal also has invested in eSports. And the NBA just announced a partnership to form an NBA 2K league.

Although eSports leagues and games have increased in popularity, Delaware North understands it cannot force Splyce on Boston sports fans.

“We want to go a little bit softly with some of the crossover,” Merry said.

“We know that not all Bruins fans are naturally going to be eSports fans. But we also have a belief that eSports will continue to grow, and that more and more of our future fans will be eSports fans as well.”

Eric Church plays to a sold-out crowd at Target Center, Minneapolis. (Photo Credit: Reid Long)

Eric Church officially launched his “Holdin’ My Own” tour on Jan. 13, at Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb., and for the first time in his headlining history, there are no support acts. The Messina Touring Group and AEG Live-promoted show at The Palace at Auburn Hills, Mich., Feb 25, made our Hot Tickets chart this week. Church entertained a sold-out crowd of nearly 19,000 fans and, with tickets ranging from $25-$90, grossed over $1.2 million. This time around, in an effort to ensure that his “Church Choir” fans get good tickets at face value, Church revamped the on-sale and pre-sale process to eliminate scalpers from the equation.

Balancing touring with his time on "The Voice," Blake Shelton made our Hot Tickets chart three times this week with his “Doin’ It to Country Songs” tour, which takes him across the western half of the U.S. With a combined gross of over $2 million and approximately 31,000 fans in attendance, these shows highlighted not only Shelton’s hits, but also the catalogs of two of his famous mentorships, Raelynn and Sundance Head, who were his support acts. Fans can catch up with Shelton and his mentees at the Ford Center, Evansville, Ind., on March 16.

HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between Feb. 14-March 14.