Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE), the business enterprise that manages and controls Barclays Center, N.Y., the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Islanders’ business operations, NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y., and the Nets’ National Basketball Association G League team, the Long Island Nets, has promoted three key executives.

Keith Sheldon.

Keith Sheldon has been promoted to executive VP of programming, where he will oversee the booking of concerts, sporting events, family shows and special events at Barclays Center and NYCB Live’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Sheldon is playing an integral role in the future of Webster Hall, N.Y.C., and Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn, N.Y., and Paramount Theatre, N.Y.C., which are both scheduled to undergo full renovations. He previously held the title of senior VP of programming.

Kari Cohen.

Kari Cohen has been promoted to VP & deputy general counsel. She will be responsible for negotiating and drafting a variety of agreements for all BSE properties, including the areas of venue acquisition, sponsorship, programming, and hospitality, as well as overseeing BSE’s external affairs department. She was instrumental in the Brooklyn Nets’ successful relocation from New Jersey to Brooklyn and the opening of Barclays Center and she played a significant role in the procurement of the winning bid to renovate and operate the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and eventually the venue’s reopening in April. Cohen previously held the title of VP general counsel.

Mandy Gutmann.

Mandy Gutmann has been promoted to VP, communications. Since joining the company in 2012, Gutmann has played an integral role in the launch of the Brooklyn Nets brand after the team’s move from New Jersey, the grand opening of Barclays Center in 2012, and most recently, the reopening of NYCB LIVE’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Gutmann previously held the title of senior director of communications.

World-famous Madison Square Garden, New York City.

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

The Madison Square Garden Company has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Counter Logic Gaming, marking a major expansion in the eSports space for a company that can provide venues and sports business services.

“As eSports moves toward franchise league models similar to the National Basketball Assocition and National Hockey League, we intend to leverage our knowledge and insight into the business of professional sports to play an active role in the development of this exciting industry,” Jordan Solomon, EVP of MSG Sports, said in a statement Monday. “We have incredible respect for (Counter Logic Gaming founder George ‘HotshotGG’ Georgallidis) and the championship culture he has built, and look forward to utilizing our expertise in marketing partnerships, live events, and media rights to make CLG the preeminent New York esports franchise poised to thrive not only on the business side, but also in competitive play.”

MSG’s venues have hosted eSports events including the 2014 and 2015 ESL One New York (Dota 2 Tournament) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, 2015 summer League of Legends North American League Championship Series Finals at Madison Square Garden, Call of Duty XP 2016 at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., 2016 League of Legends World Championship Quarterfinals at The Chicago Theatre, 2016 League of Legends World Championship Semifinals at Madison Square Garden, and 2016 The Boston Major (Dota 2 Major Championship) at the Wang Theatre.

“If any of us have ever been to one of these competitions and as a sponsorship leader you do not understand why this is actually going to be around longterm, you have no idea what you’re doing,” Ron Skotarczak, EVP of Marketing Partnerships for The Madison Square Garden Company, said last week at the National Sports Forum Summer Summit.

“The passion of these fans — I think boxing is the only thing I’ve seen close to it when I’m at an actual event. It is insane. I actually took a video on my phone. I didn’t tell the kid, but just videoed him right next to me once the game started, and it was zombie-like. Once these competitions began, it’s a very attractive, younger, right now male audience that is unbelievably passionate about this…I will say (in five years) it will be around. It will be a much bigger business.”

Georgallidis and CLG will continue to run the day-to-day operations of CLG’s eSports teams across games such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros. and H1Z1. The organization could benefit from MSG’s experience with marketing partnerships, media rights, event operations, ticketing, merchandise and fan engagement.

For MSG, CLG brings its fans along with growth potential as the company dives further into eSports. The New York Knicks will participate in the inaugural NBA 2K Esports League set to begin in 2018.

“In 2015, Madison Square Garden hosted the sold-out North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Finals – a first for The World’s Most Famous Arena, and a sign that eSports was ready to command sports’ biggest stage,” David O’Connor, President and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, said in a statement.

“Since then, as we have been actively exploring opportunities to enhance MSG’s portfolio of live experiences, we have been keenly interested in eSports as a natural extension of our core business," he said. "The sport now stands on the verge of enormous change, which we believe has the potential to generate significant growth."

"We are thrilled to be taking this next step with CLG – who won their first North American League of Legends Championship Series on that historic night at The Garden in 2015 – and we look forward to collaborating with these influential trailblazers to build their brand in New York.”

The PAW Patrol Live! tour rolled onto our Hot Tickets chart twice this week with shows at both the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 22-23, and David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, Fla., July 29-30, with eight shows respectively. These four-legged heroes are making their way across North America with two different shows included in the tour: PAW Patrol Live! “Race to the Rescue” and PAW Patrol Live! “The Great Pirate Adventure.” The music-filled, action-packed shows feature more than a dozen characters straight out of the hit preschool series PAW Patrol, who share lessons about social skills, problem solving and citizenship. All eight shows grossed a combined total of $750,000 with 16,000 PAWsome fans in attendance.

Music icon k.d.lang made an appearance on our chart this week with two sold-out performances, July 26-27, at ICC Sydney Theatre, with ticket prices ranging from $111-$182, grossing nearly $1.4 million. The Canadian songbird is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut, all-original album “Ingenue” with her Ingenue Redux Tour. Lang is currently taking her tour through Canada, and can be seen next at the Royal Theatre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

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 July 11-Aug. 8.

WaitTime's artificial intelligence at work at Melbourne (Australia) Cricket Ground.

A Detroit-based company, WaitTime, has found an innovative way to expedite bathroom and concession visits at stadiums across the country, and now it's heading to Australia. 

Melbourne (Australia) Cricket Ground is the latest recipient of WaitTime's state-of-the-art technology. The venue seats up to 100,000 spectators for sporting events and concerts. Implementing this new technology into one of the biggest stadiums on earth made for a prominent international debut. 

WaitTime has also been implemented into two arenas in America thus far. The first full stadium installation took place at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., home of the Detroit Pistons, in 2016. Since then, WaitTime has also been installed in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers. 

The company will pair with stadiums and arenas to help fans select a bathroom or concession stand with the shortest line. WaitTime accomplishes this by mounting sensors and cameras outside the doors of bathrooms and fixated on the line at concession stands.

"The sensors take screenshots 10 times per second that is fed to our onsite servers," said Zachary Klima, founder of WaitTime. "We developed a first-in-the-world artificial intelligence that is able to decipher the movement analysis of people in real time.” 

Fans and spectators will be able to view the capacity of restrooms or concession stands on arena digital signage, with a green, yellow and red spectrum to depict capacity or vacancy. This information will also be available on the home team's mobile app.

There are several ways that a stadium can purchase WaitTime's services without many financial responsibilities.

“We come in with a sponsor and we cover everything; we get the sponsorship revenue or they (the team or the venue) pay and they’re able to sell a sponsorship on their behalf. At this point and time, it’s a no cost opportunity,” said Klima.

WaitTime was founded in 2014 by Klima. As of 2016, the company has raised over $10 million in funding, with over 30 investors including Jeffrey Jordan, the son of National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. 

WaitTime is focusing on the U.K. and Australia. A deal is in the works involving Olympia Entertainment at the new Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, according to Klima.

SunTrust Park, Atlanta, opened in March.

A new Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium was unveiled to the public in March, giving the Atlanta Braves and fans from across the region a modern venue with a classic feel.

SunTrust Park was built in Cobb County, Georgia, replacing the baseball team’s previous home at Turner Field, Atlanta, which is roughly 19 miles south of the new ballpark.

Turner Field — which hosted the 1996 summer Olympics before it became home to the Atlanta Braves in 1997— will now be converted into a football stadium for Georgia State University.

The $672 million new ballpark broke ground in September of 2014 and opened March 31 with an exhibition game where the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Yankees, 8-5.

“The feedback has been amazing on every level… from the fans, the team and the press,” said Brad Albers, the senior architect and associate principal at Populous, the architect firm that designed the ballpark.

Populous is no stranger to designing MLB ballparks, as SunTrust is its 19th new stadium, Albers noted.

“We’ve done work for nearly every team in MLB,” he said.

The stadium has over 41,000 seats and “brings together a classic ballpark feel, modern amenities, and southern hospitality, creating a fan experience unlike any other,” according to Populous. It also has a sandlot featuring a zipline and climbing wall.

The Plaza at Battery Atlanta, connected to SunTrust park.

SunTrust Park has an adjoining 1.5 million sq.-ft. mixed-use development called Battery Atlanta that houses a corporate office building for Comcast, over 500 residential units, a new 264-room Omni Hotel, multiple restaurants and a small 4,000-seat music venue called Coca-Cola Roxy.

SunTrust Park and Battery Atlanta opened at the same time, however the hotel will open in early 2018.

The primary driver for the Braves to build a new stadium was that “they wanted to do something more around the stadium,” Albers said.

The $452 million mixed-used development that’s anchored by SunTrust Park reflects that vision.

“Once they made the decision to move away from Turner Field, they found this land up in the north suburbs in Cobb County,” Albers said. “It has really good access from all over town. The site itself was undeveloped, so they didn’t have demolish anything.”

The entire site, including the ballpark and the mixed-used development, sits on 57-acres of land near the Chattahoochee River. The river inspired a fountain design inside the ballpark with trees.

Like all MLB stadiums, the culinary offerings are important, and the Braves wanted the food and beverage to reflect southern and regional traditions, said Mason Hansen, senior interior designer and principal at Populous.

“We did extensive research early on,” she said. “We asked the Braves for a list of their favorite (culinary) destinations. They were interested in featuring local restaurants.”

Offerings include the Coors Light Chop House and a brewery called Terrapin Taproom where Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q is served. Delaware North is the food and beverage manager for the venue.

The ballfield at SunTrust Park, Atlanta.

Although the ballpark is a new construction, the Braves wanted a classic, yet modern feel to both the exterior and interior.

“The Braves is the longest continuous franchise in the history of baseball. They wanted the ballpark to feel timeless. They wanted to touch on their history,” said Zach Allee, senior associate at Populous.

The team chose red brick for the outside and the inside features heavily textured wood and antique marblewood.

They also built a Hank Aaron Terrace where visitors can dine on ballpark food and look at Aaron’s iconic memorabilia. The famed, retired Braves player is now senior vice president of the team.

The venue also has a huge canopy. “We made it the biggest in MLB,” Allee said.

To ensure fan experience stays top notch, excellent wireless access at the venue was important, Hansen said.

“The biggest thing, when looking at the future fan, is that connectivity is a huge deal for us,” she said.

Technology includes “high density wireless connectivity (DAS and Wi-Fi), a large HD video board, IPTV system, Distributed Sound System, Video Coaching camera system and security system including high resolution camera surveillance of all 41,139 seats,” according to the fact sheet. “Each of these systems is supported by a copper and fiber optic infrastructure that interconnects 32 IT equipment rooms, a 1600-SF Data Center, a 4000-SF wireless equipment room, and a scoreboard control room.”

Overall, the new ballpark is a big hit.

“Everybody is really happy with the way the ball park turned out,” Albers said. “The players themselves love it too. They like the new player facilities. The hitters like it. The lighting is phenomenal.”

Outlaw-country star Jamey Johnson, whose House of Blues concert was canceled over backstage security proceedures.

Venue managers around the country are grappling with their own back-of-house security protocols after outlaw-country star Jamey Johnson’s July 23 show at the House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, S.C., was cancelled because the artist and the venue clashed when Johnson and his team refused to follow House of Blues standard security procedures.

The cancellation was announced on Facebook by House of Blues, the night of the canceled show, along with this statement: "As always, the safety and security of our guests is our number one priority. Tonight's artist refused to adhere to our safety and security guidelines and would not enter the building."

The nightclub chain, owned by Live Nation, has a strict no-gun policy for both attendees and anyone entering backstage. “Live Nation does not permit weapons in any part of our venues,” said Carrie Davis, Live Nation, who added that the policy extends to the back-of-house. According to Davis, the incident was not about Johnson and guns, but rather that “Johnson did not want to go through our security protocols.”

Johnson allegedly took issue with the policy and refused to go through a magnetometer.

Tony TC Coleman, Johnson’s drummer, said on Facebook, "I stand with (Johnson) on this. House of Blues didn't need to treat us like we were terrorists. They put a (metal) detector between Jamey's buses and the stage entrance and the only people coming in and out of his buses was us. His band and crew and we all have laminated stage identification. We did not come to House of Blues to be treated like we are going to kill the fans. If someone came backstage to harm anybody, you better pray there is a Jamey Johnson-type individual around."

It is unclear if Johnson was carrying a firearm or if he just took issue with the venue’s policy. Calls for clarification from Johnson and his management went unreturned at press time.

The incident has many venues looking at their own backstage security procedures. Many of the facilities Venues Today contacted had no policy in place and when asked what they would do, the responses varied widely.

“I really don’t know what we’d do,” said Eric Grillie, events manager, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas, which is on Johnson’s tour schedule in December. “We are an open-carry state, which makes the question even more difficult to answer.” Grillie did say that most likely they would allow Johnson to enter the building if he had “a legal gun.”

Dale Adams, GM, Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz., also an open-carry state, also has no backstage gun policy. “We’d find a way to work it out,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to cancel a concert over an artist carrying a weapon.”

Despite doing business in an open-carry state, both Scott Breckner, GM, Pan Am Center, Las Cruces, N.M., and Shane Caldwell, GM, Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, N.M, said
Johnson would not be permitted backstage with a weapon.

“The university has a strict no-gun policy for the entire campus, which includes our facilities,” said Breckner. “We’d politely ask Johnson and his team to leave their weapons outside. If they refused we would not let them in and would have to cancel the show.”

Caldwell said, “We don’t allow weapons in the venue at all except for trained uniformed police.” Caldwell's soft-touch approach would be to “try to have a conversation and find a solution before we’d just abruptly cancel his show.”

Kristi Reedy, Valley View Casino, San Diego, Calif., an AEG Facilities venue, said, “We have a corporate-wide policy that no firearms are allowed in our venue,” and suggested that would be the policy at all AEG Facilities properties. California is a not an open-carry state.

“Bottom line. Build a good policy, inform people of the policy and enforce the policy,” said Ben Tolle, co-founder of Prevent Advisors, which is a division of Oak View Group.

Tolle responded to the Johnson cancellation this way: “A great policy does little to address disruptions if talent or guests are not aware of the policy or the policy is not enforced.”

Prevent Advisors other co-founder, Chris Robinette, agreed. “Have a plan; share the plan and execute the plan,” he said. “Venues need to formulate clear, unambiguous policy and communicate those clear policies and then strictly enforce those policies. It is prudent to build and disseminate policies well in advance of scheduled show date.”

Private entities and venues can build policy as they see fit, advised Tolle. “As private facilities, they have no obligation to accommodate individuals carrying firearms. Venues should also speak to issues related to off-duty law enforcement, contracted security, etc.”

Robinette recommended that venues should consult local law enforcement and legal bodies in determining gun policies or taking any position on a gun-ban or open-carry.

He also said, emphatically, “that if an artist or guest is in violation of clearly defined policies or beyond local legality, the venue has every right to enforce the policy.”

“Canceling the event does not have to be the default answer,” said Tolle, “but enforcement should be rigid and consistent.”

Garth Brooks will play the first-ever concert at Atlanta's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Minutes ago, Garth Brooks announced on his Facebook page that he will play the first-ever concert at Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 12. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 30. His wife, Trisha Yearwood, will also be featured as a special guest. The show will be the inaugural concert at the new venue, giving fans their first chance to experience the stadium in a full-stage entertainment format.

“I’m thrilled to be back in Atlanta and honored to play the first concert in Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” said Brooks. “I’ve visited the stadium twice in the last month, and all I can say is, the fans are going to love it; it’s truly one-of-a-kind. We’re going to create a special experience the fans will never forget, and I can’t wait to light that place up this fall.”

Garth Brooks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was booked by Marcie Allen, president, MAC Presents, and Rob Beckham, co-head of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Nashville, in partnership with Tim Zulawski, Senior VP/Chief Commercial Officer, AMB Sports + Entertainment.

“Mercedes-Benz Stadium is focused on delivering an unmatched guest experience to everyone who enters the building as well as delivering the best talent,” said Zulawski. “It was important for us to not only find an artist who could deliver the biggest show in the world, but also had the same fan-focused ideals.  We knew the best artist who could deliver, and that was Garth Brooks."

“Two of Arthur Blank’s goals for Mercedes-Benz Stadium were to create premiere home venues for the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC and to attract the best in sports and entertainment to Atlanta,” said Steve Cannon, chief executive officer of AMB Group. “We’ve succeeded in securing the premiere sporting events in America and now have the top-selling solo artist of the 20th century, Garth Brooks, coming to Atlanta to showcase the stadium as an elite music venue. We could not be more pleased than to have Garth set this milestone in the stadium.”

Brooks is currently on the three-year Garth Brooks World Tour with Yearwood. The tour began with 11 sold-out shows at the Allstate Arena, Chicago. In two and a half years, the tour has sold over 5.5 million tickets, making it the biggest tour in the world.

Upon its completion in 2017, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be home to the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United. The multipurpose stadium will host major sports and entertainment events, including the Super Bowl in 2019, the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s Men’s Final Four in 2020 and the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship game.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.Ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or by calling 800-745-3000. To learn more about the show, visit Mercedesbenzstadium.com.

Lionel Dubay

Lionel J. Dubay, AVP, business services division at the University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, has announced that he will retire July 6.

Dubay came to UF in 1985 as the director of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, a position he held until 2007 when he became the director of UF’s business services division. He took on his current title in 2012.

When Dubay moved over to the Business Services Division in 2007, his new responsibilities included overseeing the operational, fiscal, programmatic and administrative activities of several auxiliary enterprises and private management services.

“Throughout my 47-year professional career I have been blessed to have worked with so many hard working, dedicated and talented staff members and business partners as well as people I have reported to,” Dubay said. “I am very grateful to them for all of the support they have extended to me.”

As the head of UF’s Business Services Division, Dubay has worked closely with the university’s food service business partner Aramark to increase the number of national brands on campus from 9 to 18, such as: the new Au Bon Pain, Panda Express, Wing Zone, Pollo Tropical, Moe’s, Salad Creations & Rising Roll. 

Through the BSD and Aramark partnership, they have spent over $20M in building new and refreshing food service units on campus. The number of Starbucks on campus was expanded from 2 to 5 with the most recent being at Marston Library. Currently the Chick–fil-A located at the Hub is under expansion and renovation, the Starbucks at Library West is under renovation and a Chomp It and Starbucks are being installed at the Law School. These projects are slated for completion before the start of the fall semester.

UF was one of the first campuses within the state to go Styrofoam-free at all of their food service locations. The student meal plan program was completely revamped from a number of meals a student could purchase per plan to 5 and 7-day open access meal plans which now have up to 12 additional meal plan equivalency food-service locations a student can go to.

With the extension of the Bookstore contract two years ago with Follett Higher Education Group, the main bookstore underwent a $1.2M renovation and the auxiliary bookstores at the Law School and Health Science Center went through a re-fresh. And, Follett helped with the financial support to expand the seating in the Reitz Union food court across from the Pollo Tropical. In an effort to save students money on course materials, Follett implemented a Rent–a–Text Program, Price Match Program, and a Digital All Access Opt in Program.

The process time to obtain a Gator 1 Card has been shortened for students because they now can submit their photos online to the Gator 1 central office.

Upon graduation from the University of Maine, Orono, in 1970, Dubay was hired as the first full-time recreation director for the City of Augusta, Maine. In 1972 he became actively involved in the construction process of the Augusta Civic Center and shortly after the Center opened in 1973 he was appointed director, a position he held until 1985 when he became the O’Connell Center director.

Dubay joined International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM), now known as International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), in 1973 and was one of the founding members of the Florida Facility Managers Association, which consists of arenas, stadiums, convention centers and performing arts centers within the state of Florida. He served as the association’s president from 1991 to 1993 and again from 2005 to 2007.

Dubay was responsible for bringing many acts to the Augusta Civic Center and UF campus over the years, including Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, John Denver, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Elton John, Rod Stewart, M.C. Hammer, the Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Dave Mathews Band, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley. The May 24, 1977, Elvis Presley concert Dubay hosted in Maine was one of Elvis’s last concerts before his death on Aug. 16 of that year.

He served as the 75th president of the IAAM, which he said was a great honor and privilege. Dubay also served in numerous leadership positions within IAAM including vice president of Region V (1995-1997), chair of the board of governors, universities committee, diversification committee and was on the IAVM Board of Directors for seven years.

“I truly loved my time in the arena business. I have many fond memories of the many wonderful artists I booked over the years,” Dubay said. “And more importantly, I have made so many life-long friends within the entertainment industry and my professional associations. And having the opportunity to serve as President of the International Association of Assembly Managers was such an honor and privilege.”

Shortly after Dubay became President of IAAM the tragic events of 9/11 took place. In response to those terrorist attacks, Dubay appointed the IAAM Safety and Security Task Force, which brought together the largest number of like-minded organizations in the history of IAAM to develop a set of safety and security best practices and protocols for the various venue types. Out of the tireless efforts and great work of the IAAM SSTF, the IAAM Academy for Venue Safety & Security was later formed.

A champion of diversity, professional development and growing students within the venue management profession, he was the architect in setting up a student scholarship program within IAAM at the International and Region V levels, and within the Florida Facility Managers Association.

Dubay received IAVM's prestigious Charles A. McElravy Award in 2007 and in 2013 he was the first to receive the IAVM Region V Distinguished Service Award.

“I have a strong passion and love for IAVM and FFMA because they have done so much for me in the way of my personal and professional growth. Further, I would encourage everyone to get involved within their professional associations for you will definitely receive more back than you put in,” said Dubay.

As for retirement, Dubay says he has no major plans, “other than playing a little more golf and spending time with my grandkids.” Dubay added, “I do know I will miss coming to work at UF every day for it’s a very energizing and special place to work.” 

The Miami Heat app.

The Miami Heat were one game away from making the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs last spring and ushering in the era of mobile-only ticketing for entry into AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami. But by falling short of the postseason, it gave the Heat six additional months to educate its fans—with one of the largest season-ticket holder bases in the league—on what comes with the first preseason game on Oct. 1: mobile-only ticketing.

“We want to continue to be on the forefront of technology, which is part of the ethos of the NBA,” said Matthew Jafarian, Heat vice president of digital strategy and innovation. “We understand the importance of technology, and it is a convenience for our fans. It is easier to get into the building, easier to manage tickets and easier to send tickets to friends. We think it is the future and want to be first.”

First, they are.

Michael McCullough, Heat executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said fans have heard that message loud and clear ever since April and this offseason has allowed the Heat to hold a variety of events that fans could gain entry to only via the Miami Heat app as a way to continue the education.

The Heat has offered mobile ticketing since the 2015-16 season and saw a 200-percent jump in voluntary use last season, with one in three fans accessing the venue via the mobile process. To coincide with the new mobile-only focus, the Heat have rolled out a new proprietary app that includes the ability to order concessions from the app and contains a mobile wallet feature that enables fans to purchase merchandise, premium dining and concessions from within the app and then earn 6 percent of all purchases back in the form of arena bucks.

“We are trying to drive people to adopt our app technology,” McCullough said. “It is easy and the best way for us to communicate. It isn’t the only way, but we certainly think it is the best way and most convenient.”

Along with accessing mobile tickets via the Heat app, Jafarian said that fans can use the Ticketmaster app for individual tickets, and there is a website option. “We love that our fans organically adopted mobile in droves last season and are making the push across the board,” Jafarian said. “Mobile ticketing provides fans with guaranteed ticket authenticity, easy access to the arena using the phone in their pocket—no more scrambling for a printer before the game—and the easiest way to transfer to a friend or resell online.”

While the Heat certainly wants to push the concept that using the team app is to their benefit, with everything from the arena bucks to fans accessing timely news and notes about the team to the ability to easily transfer tickets to friends, there’s also a benefit to the Heat.

“From a business standpoint, utilizing the wallet and Heat app has its benefits for us, from data capture and having a full 360-degree view of who is coming into our building to knowing what those fans’ preferences are and knowing what their buying habits are,” McCullough said. “It allows us to know more and deliver a better, more complete experience because we are able to capture that data and offer things that make sense to them based on attendance habits. We will know more about our fans, with the intent to serve them, the more they use the app.”

Having a relatively high percentage of fans engaged in the season-ticket program—the Heat doesn’t disclose the actual breakdown—allows Miami to make the most of folks buying into the mobile experience. But, as with any new program, it doesn’t come without a struggle.

“No matter how big or small your (season-ticket) base is, no matter how big or small your change is, you will have some pockets of slow adopters,” McCullough said. But the more the Heat have introduced the concept and explained it, he said the “pockets of resistance” have diminished. Miami attacked the concept with extra offseason events and activities for season-ticket holders specifically to use app-only entry.

“It was with the idea that we want to get them used to downloading the app and utilizing the app to actually enter an event, and then we can have our app squad to work specifically with them,” he said. “We have targeted those slow adopters and have been staging events and activities specifically for them, so by the time the season rolls around, there is a much higher comfort level accessing and unlocking features.”

Jafarian said it comes down to education. With the massive increase in adoption last year, the data showed that when a fan switched to mobile ticketing they stayed, a positive sign, especially considering they have no choice starting Oct. 1 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Rebelution played the Pacific Amphitheatre at OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Rebelution made a stop at OC Fair, Aug. 11-12, providing some good vibrations for the near-capacity crowds at the Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, Calif. The two-day event grossed nearly $550,000 with over 14,000 fans in attendance. The much loved reggae band has been traveling with special guests Nahko and Medicine for the People, Collie Buddz, Hirie and DJ Mackle with The Good Vibes Summer Tour 2017 promoting their album “Falling into Place.” Showing no signs of slowing down, the Grammy-nominated band has found that things really are falling into place for them with this epic tour that will be making an appearance at the American Music Festival in Virginia Beach, Va., Sept. 2.

The biggest of its kind in Canada, the 12th annual Osheaga Music and Arts Festival took place at the Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Aug 4-6. The festival grossed a total of $9.1 million with 42,000 fans in attendance during the three-day event. The evenko-promoted festival provides a diverse line-up from all genres and features emerging artists playing alongside artists who have reached international notoriety. Topping the incredible line-up were headliners Lorde, Muse and The Weeknd. Over the years, Osheaga has definitely earned its place on the global festival scene.
 

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 July 18-Aug. 15.

Casper (Wyo.) Events Center is preparing to host guests for the Aug. 21 solar eclipse.

The solar eclipse is set to travel coast to coast across the United States Aug. 21, and venues across the nation plan to open their doors, parking lots, campuses and stadiums to spectators wanting a glimpse of the historic event.

The goal for many is to see the eclipse as close to totality as possible, which can only be done in a handful of states.

“A total solar eclipse occurs when the disk of the moon entirely covers the sun. The 2017 total solar eclipse will be visible across the U.S., in a region called the path of totality. Skywatchers in parts of the country outside this path will see only a partial solar eclipse,” states space.com.

Public viewing parties and festivals are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, leading up to Monday’s eclipse, and the city of Casper, Wyo. — which is along the path of totality — has been planning its festival for three years.

“Casper has the most sun of any area of total darkness. We’re right on the spot. We’re expecting 40,000 people to come to town, and already it’s getting crazy. Everyone is going to supermarkets because everyone is afraid supplies will sell out,” said Brad Murphy, the general manager of the Casper Events Center for Spectra Venue Management. “All the water across town was gobbled up, so they had to get trucks to bring in water. It’s real; it’s happening.”

The events center expects about 4,000 of the 40,000 spectators visiting Casper to park on its grounds. It's charging $20 per vehicle, $50 per RV/camper and $120 per bus load. Food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage vendors will be spread out among the center’s eight parking lots.

“We’ve actually set up a store so people can get the basic goods, so they don’t have to fight the masses,” he said.

Although the Casper Events Center isn’t making a huge profit from selling parking spots to spectators, Spectra was thrilled to be a part of Casper’s Eclipse Festival.

“This is about Spectra and being a part of the community. This is our way of giving back,” Murphy said.

Hotel rooms in Casper — now going for $600 a night — are mostly sold out, Murphy said, noting that people are also renting out their homes for upwards of $5,000 a night.

The event is so big in Casper, that the Casper Convention & Visitors Bureau actually hired a full-time eclipse coordinator over a year ago, Murphy said.

Other towns throughout Wyoming, and in other states along the eclipse’s path, are planning similar events and view parties.

A tourism group, formed especially for hosting an eclipse festival, rented out the entire fairgrounds in Madras, Ore.

“The tourism group is laying out the grounds and getting things ready on our 50 acres of property,” said Brian Crow, events coordinator for Jefferson County Fairgrounds. “We are landlords on this. We don’t have any of the planning responsibilities. We did a flat fee plus a percentage on all of their camping sales.”

The planning is in the hands of JR Brooks and his two partners who have been planning the festival on the fairgrounds for two years.

“We thought we’d be hosting a party for about 10,000 people,” Brooks said. “We realize this might be bigger than we thought.”

Brooks is the president of Jefferson County Tourism Group Inc. and has no event-planning experience. The entire event is self-funded off of ticket sales alone, Brooks said. Tickets are $60 for the whole weekend.

A full stage for concerts, big tents for “glamping" and a barn turned into a bar all are a part of the festival.

Brooks said the city of Madras and outlying areas are expecting nearly 150,000 people to visit for a chance to see the solar eclipse near totality. 

Colleges and universities wasted no time organizing viewing parties across campuses and in football stadiums.

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has four days of events scheduled on campus, including filling its 14,000-seat stadium with spectators.

“The carnival starts Friday night. Saturday, we’ve got a research workshop that’s going on and then we have a Commit Con,” said Bob Baer, co-chair of the eclipse committee for SIU Carbondale.

NASA Edge also will be doing a megacast from campus that will be streamed on television stations nationwide, Baer said.

The campus has a five-hour, sold-out show planned for Monday in the stadium when the solar eclipse happens. Tickets are $25 apiece.

“Some of it’s video, but the bulk of it is live. Somebody is performing an eclipse song,” he said.

First day of classes were supposed to start Monday, but they were canceled due to the events on campus. Baer is expecting close to 80,000 on campus throughout the four-day event.

The first day of classes will resume on Monday at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, said Sean McBride, assistant professor in the physics department.

Classes will stop, however, for a three-hour event planned on campus, McBride said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” McBride said. “It should be pretty packed.”

Jo Walker-Meador.

Jo Walker-Meador, one of the pioneers of what we now know as country music, died at age 93, in Nashville, today, Aug. 16, after suffering a stroke.

Walker-Meador was the first hire at the Country Music Association (CMA) and she led the organization from 1962-1991. Prior to her executive role, Walker-Meador worked as the office manager of the association.

Walker-Meador led the charge to get the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum built and also had a hand in creating the CMA annual awards show and worked to get the show televised. She also helped create Fan Fair, which became CMA Fest, and she was known as a strong female voice on the CMA board of directors, which was overrun with men.

The country music legend retired in 1991 but stayed involved with the organization and attended CMA events. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame she created in 1995.

“She really was an amazing woman,” said Pam Matthews, CEO, International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA). “Jo Walker-Meador was one of those Music Row icons along with Donna Hilley, Frances Preston, Connie Bradley and Minnie Pearl who defined what country music is. These women worked their ways from secretary to CEO.  They were strong and driven and intelligent and savvy. They were all elegant, and Jo was probably the most graceful of them all. They were real role models.”

Matthews likened Walker-Meador's life to a movie script. “Small town farm girl whose daddy played piano at the church,” said Matthews. “Dreams of being a school teacher. Moves to the big city, works in a World War II scrap yard, and saves money to go to college. Catches the bus to her job as a secretary. When it comes time for the organization to make a big decision about how they want to run their business, Minnie Pearl steps in and recommends Jo for a big promotion. That was 1962, and she remained with the CMA until she retired in 1991. Can’t you see all the great costumes and all the great stars who would appear in the movie of Jo’s life?”

Walker-Meador will be missed, but the concept and institution she helped create will live forever.

Amazon is entering the U.S. ticket market. Despite reports that say the e-commerce giant is clearing the path to disrupt and take over the lucrative business of ticketing, pushing out industry leaders like Ticketmaster, Venues Today has learned that Amazon’s plan is to actually partner with the established ticketers.

Amazon has mowed down other business models since it showed up using its massive customer base and deep pockets to disrupt everything from books to groceries to music-on-demand and TV streaming. A move into the ticketing industry, where they build their own platform and make deals with venues, would be a mighty threat to the Ticketmasters of this world.

“What Amazon plans to do is not what has been leaked out,” said a source close to the situation. “Amazon is not trying to lure venues and teams away from Ticketmaster.”

What they plan to do, according to our source, is partner with ticketing companies.

“Amazon is currently making deals with ticket platforms to get inventory,” said our insider, who is not authorized to speak officially on Amazon deals. “They don’t want to get into the ticket industry; they want to add another perk to being a member of their Prime program.”

Amazon Prime sells for $99 a year. For that fee customers get free two-day shipping on all items, access to Amazon Prime TV streaming, Prime music streaming and other perks.

Amazon also has grand plans to bundle tickets with other merchandise. “Imagine you are buying a ticket to a Taylor Swift concert,” explained our source. “They will then offer you Taylor Swift T-shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, keyrings and CD’s.”

As the talks have been progressing, the sticking point seems to be, as it always is, who owns the data. “Amazon is unwilling to share their data with any of their partners, which is a potential dealbreaker,” according to our source. “Ticketmaster won’t budge on this, either. If Amazon and the ticketing companies can’t come to an agreement over who owns the data, the deals won’t happen.”

An eventual deal fits in with a recent move by Ticketmaster to open up its platform to secondary sites like Gametime and Costco. Rival AXS tickets has followed Ticketmaster’s blueprint and has made deals with Gametime, Costco, Groupon and Goldstar.

“The shoe has dropped; here they are,” said Maureen Andersen, president and CEO, INTIX. “But nothing's happened yet, and the longer they have the data question in the air, the longer it will take for something to materialize. Everybody in the industry admits that data is king. Exclusivity on either side is unrealistic. Venues are not going to give up the ability to market to their customers.”

If the data issues can be worked out, Andersen thinks Amazon is the perfect player for this industry. “They go directly to the consumer,” she said, “and that will disrupt the industry, which hasn’t had a seismic shift in a long time.”

Andresen likens Amazon’s entry into the arena to when online ticketing became the preferred way to get tickets into customers’ hands. “Competition is good and will breed innovation and excellence across the board. Everyone will have to step-up.”

One of the major hurdles facing existing ticketing companies will be fees. “Amazon hides their fees in the Prime membership package,” said Andersen. “Whether the other companies will drop their fees to compete remains to be seen.”

Andersen predicts that in the near future, tickets will be sold on Expedia-like websites that are solely devoted to tickets. “Fans will see all the places they can buy the same ticket, at the various prices and choose, just like they do now with airfares and hotel rooms.”

“Airlines figured it out; banking and ATM’s figured it out and ticketing will figure it out,” she said. “If you can use points on a certain site, fans will go there. If I can bundle the ticket with something else I want on a certain site, I’ll go there. We’re in the age of choice, the ticketing industry needs to catch up.”

Amazon is already selling tickets in the U.K. and it's expected their U.S. ticketing system will be split into three tiers just as it does in Europe. Prime Tickets will allocate tickets to Prime members. Prime Experiences will give Prime users access to special events arranged by outside entities. Prime Events will invite Prime members to private concerts as they did in London with Blondie at the 750-capacity Round Chapel in Hackney, London.

Former Warner Music Group VP Lawrence Peryer is heading the ticketing push for Amazon.

Under the distribution-only model, Amazon will make a nice profit, according to Brandon Ross, an analyst at research firm BTIG. “Building their own software will take a fortune while simply partnering will require much less capital and get Amazon what they really want, which is more Prime members,” he said. “It’s all about Prime for Amazon. The reason they are spending multiple billions of dollars a year on programming is to get more Prime subscribers and engage more consumers."

Farm Fresh Fun was the theme at this year's OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif.

This year’s OC Fair final numbers are in. The 127th fair saw attendance of 1,334,753, and gross revenue approximately two percent higher than 2016. This year’s theme was Farm Fresh Fun.

“The 127th annual OC Fair was a tremendous success in so many ways,” said OC Fair CEO Kathy Kramer, who said the highlight of this year’s fair was learning that 88 percent of fairgoers said in a survey that they increased their knowledge of agriculture after attending the fair.”

“We’re an agriculture-based fair,” said Kramer. “Agriculture education is our primary goal. It’s significant and powerful that we were able to educate an urban audience about it.”

Over 4,200 exhibitors submitted 23,000 entries this year, which is a 20-percent increase in exhibitors over last year, a 112-percent increase in entries over last year. Nearly $90,000 was awarded in prize money and nearly 10,000 prize ribbons were handed out. At this year’s Junior Livestock Auction, 299 animals were sold for a total of $275,533.

OC Fair CEO Kathy Kramer.

“We increased our overall guest enjoyment rating, scoring 4.65 out of five, according to our 10-day patron survey,” said Kramer. "I am also very proud of our community give-back programs and was happy to add a new one this year, the OC Fair Kids Club, which provided 952 children from Title 1 programs with a free fair experience.”

Results of the 10-day patron survey showed an overall enjoyment rate of 4.65 (out of 5) – up from 4.45 in 2016. Of those surveyed, 28 percent were first-time fairgoers and 48 percent are OC residents.

OC Fair hosted 30 sold-out performances in Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. 

The Toyota Summer Concert Series at Pacific Amphitheatre hosted 28 shows, including five pre-fair shows. Highlights were a Kenny Loggins show and a B-52’s event. “We recently started a partnership with the Pacific Symphony,” said Kramer. “They accompanied Kenny Loggins and the B-52’s and it made for special nights of great music. It was a total win/win as we were able to introduce the symphony to people who may never have thought to see it and will hopefully want to see it again.”

Other shows took place at The Hangar, where 16 tribute bands took the stage along with The Marshall Tucker Band, Blue Oyster Cult, Trevor Hall, Metalicca, two shows by Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, plus 300 gamers in the iBUYPOWER GameFest & Tournament Series.

Over at the Action Sports Arena there was a show every night, plus three matinees. “Sixty-three vehicles were smashed in the demo derbies,” said Kramer. In addition, 674 community entertainment groups performed throughout the day on five different stages.

Food hits included Bacon A Fair’s Unicorn pork legs, which got its colorful name from the vendor’s elusive search to find a butcher willing to cut the meat how he wanted it cut. Over 4,900 Unicorn pork legs were sold.

Chicken Charlie’s sold over 6,000 fried peanut butter meatballs; Juicy’s sold 40,005 turkey legs; over 4,000 Krispy Kreme Ice Cream Chicken Sandwiches were bought and 4,500 Funnel Cake Burritos went out the door. “Just RCS alone (Ray Cammack Shows) went through one ton of funnel cake batter,” said Kramer.

RCS sold 12,000 feet of churros and 22,500 pounds of fries. They also fried an entire semi-trailer full of Oreos and sold four semi-trailers worth of cotton candy. Not to mention the truck load of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos that was used, two entire fields of corn, 2,200 pounds of fresh strawberries, 10,000 pounds of cane sugar, 7,000 pounds of ribs and 1,200 pounds of popcorn seed.

RCS VP Chris Lopez said this year’s fair “went great. Rides, food and games all met last year's numbers and keep in mind last year was a record year.”

The most popular rides were La Grande XL, Skyride, Big Wheel, Rave Wave, Wild River and EuroSlide.

The Grand Wheel, a big hit and new this year, had 36 air-conditioned cabins. “The panoramic view of the OC was breathtaking,” said Kramer. “It was the first time that we have put two giant wheels at Orange County Fair,” said Lopez. Other new rides were Endeavor and Rockin Rodeo Funhouse

Top games were Bank a ball, One ball, Tubs, Beer pong and Balloon game.

“Along with a new look for our game canvas, we lit finials and put pendent flags on top,” said Lopez. “New safety rules and safety signage throughout made for a welcomed new look.”

The G Force ride, similar to the Fire Ball ride that snapped apart at Ohio State Fair earlier this fair season, was closed for most of the fair. It re-opened just five days before closing day. “It was tested, inspected by the manufacturer (KMG) and we decided to open it up after it got full clearance,” said Kramer.

“After following the procedures set forth by KMG, we shared NDT (nondestructing testing) results and all other documentation with the manufacturer, the State of California, Coulter Associates, our third party inspectors, and our Orange County Fair partners and we re-opened G Force,” said Lopez. “Safety is priority one at RCS. I'm confident and comfortable saying that our rides get inspected thoroughly and often.”

Kramer was also pleased with the 45,000 fairgoers who visited the new Heroes Hall, a war veterans memorial and museum. “Parents called and wrote letters thanking us for teaching the kids about veterans and what they sacrificed for our country,” she said. Over 4,500 postcards written in Heroes Hall will be sent to active duty military personnel and veterans in VA hospitals. In addition, 240 videos were recorded in the Heroes Hall story booth.

Eleven piglets were born at Centennial Farm. They can be seen on a live streaming cam at OCFAIR.com. “We call it the pig cam,” said Kramer.

Fairgoers were feeling quite giving this year. Almost 29 tons of food was donated to OC Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank on July 19; 94,078 children’s books were donated to Think Together on July 26; and 43,995 pounds of clothing was donated to Goodwill on Aug. 2. Some 104,000 school supplies were donated to Share Ourselves on Aug. 9.

More than 16,000 veterans or active-duty military enjoyed the fair for free all season, and 24,058 members of their family and friends got in for half off. Almost 31,000 kids (ages 6-12) got in free on Thursdays during the fair, and 75,058 kids (ages 5 and under) got in free all season. Friends of the Fair, held July 20, saw 6,457 guests.  Almost 15,000 kids participated in the Read and Ride program, receiving three free carnival rides for reading and reviewing two books.

Next year’s fair will be July 13 - Aug. 12. A theme has not been picked yet, but Kramer did say the theme will follow the three-year-strong agriculture push they’ve been making. “Last year we did Food & Fiber, this year was People and next year will be Environment,” said Kramer.

Dan Berman

A day into interviewing the final three candidates to take his job in about two weeks time, Dan Berman, volunteer interim CEO of Carolina Theatre, Durham, N.C., talked with Venues Today about his experience leading the venue out of near bankruptcy. Eighteen months after a financial crisis threatened to force closure of the Carolina Theatre, Durham, N.C., the nonprofit that operates the venue has entirely erased an estimated $1.7-million net deficit. Thanks in large part to Berman, who has worked as a volunteer since January 2016, the theater reported an accumulated net surplus of nearly $200,000 at a meeting of its Board of Trustees on July 25. The financial report, which is preliminary and unaudited, includes operations through June 30, 2017, the end of the organization’s fiscal year. Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. cited extraordinary assistance from the City of Durham, support from fans and patrons, generous donations from private and public donors, the hard work of its staff and volunteers, and significantly improved financial performance in its rental, film, live event and concessions businesses. The $1.7-million deficit came to light in December 2015, when it was found that dozens of invoices had not been entered into the financial reports, large chunks of revenue and expenses had not been accounted for, and dozens of vendor accounts had to be reworked from scratch. The Theatre and the City of Durham recently filed suit against the nonprofit’s former auditing firm to recover losses stemming from the firm’s failure to identify significant errors in financial statements.

How long do you plan to stay on at the theater?

I expect we will have our new CEO in place in two weeks. It is my intention that the new person will take  over as soon as they are installed. I am very passionate and devoted to the people here. I will help all I can, but I think it will be important for the new CEO to operate this building without feeling like the former CEO is looking over his shoulder.

What do you plan to do when your volunteer work here is over?

I was in the radio business, buying and selling radio stations. I sold my company several years back, but was keeping my hands in the business world, more in the investing capacity. I will continue with that.

You volunteered your services to the board right after it became public that Carolina Theatre Inc. had a $1.7 million deficit. What did you do that first day on the job?

The first day was really about getting up to speed on this business. This was a new business to me. I needed to assess what was happening and how it could have happened. I spent the time at first getting to know people and figuring out what we needed to do right away.

What was your initial assessment of theater operations?

We were in dire straits. We were within weeks of not being able to make payroll. I went to our board. I knew that without city assistance, there was no way we could keep going. We met with the city manager and the city finance director. We laid out what I had discovered. The City of Durham knew that the community supported the theater so they approved an investment of  $600,000, but only if we could match with $600,000. (That approval came in March 2016.) And, they would only provide those dollars as we raised those dollars. In other words, if we raised $1,000, then they gave us $1,000. We hit the ground running on fund raising.

How did you proceed in that regard?

It always had been obvious there had been a lot of goodwill toward the theater. It became even more obvious when so many in the community came forward and said 'what can we do?' We showed them how important they were to the future of the theater. We opened up our books to the public so they could understand what had happened and what was needed. There were various foundations and companies we approached once we had a good plan in place. We showed them we had learned the lessons of the past and assured them it wouldn't be repeated.

How did you entice new donors?

There is a formula for fund raising - 80 percent of the funds come from about 20 percent of donors. We tried to hit the 20 percent first. Our largest single donation was $250,000. There were no new membership benefits with this particular campaign. It was totally separate for the annual campaign in place that included member benefits. For the couple of years prior to this, the theatre had been raising about $400,000 in donations. So, if a donor normally gave $5,000, we encouraged them to give another $5,000 for this campaign. Donors had to designate which campaign they were giving to. Once the $600,000 figure was hit, we quit that campaign. We also increased our annual campaign goal to $600,000, up from that $400,000.

As far as programming, what are you doing differently?

We changed our business model where we are taking less risks. We have partnered with NS2 to co-promote our national tours, which reduces our risks. We are looking for more partnerships, and we are looking for more diversity in programming.

How do you feel now that this job is almost ended?

When I first stepped up, I was confident that I could do this on a business aspect. But, it was the professionals here that knew the business. We all leaned on each other. It has been an amazing experience. I will look back much more fondly at it now than when we were in our darker days.

SunTrust Park, Atlanta, opened in March.

It’s been several months since the Atlanta Braves opened its new $672 million ballpark, and the entire project will be complete early next year once the 264-room Omni Hotel opens in the mixed-used development next to the venue.

SunTrust Park has over 41,000 seats — all of which were sold out for opening day and several games that followed. Almost every day of the week, the new stadium has baseball games throughout the rest of the season.

“The feedback’s been amazing on every level… from the fans, the team and the press,” said Brad Albers, the senior architect and associate principal at Populous, the firm that designed the ballpark.

Populous is no stranger to designing MLB ballparks, as SunTrust is its 19th new stadium, Albers noted.

“We’ve done work for nearly every team in Major League Baseball,” he said.

SunTrust Park has an adjoining 1.5-million-sq.-ft., mixed-use development called Battery Atlanta that houses a corporate office building for Comcast, over 500 residential units, a hotel, multiple restaurants and a small 4,000-seat music venue called Coca-Cola Roxy.

SunTrust Park and Battery Atlanta opened at the same time, however the hotel will open in early 2018, according to Omni Hotel & Resorts’ website.

The primary driver for the Braves to build a new stadium was that “they wanted to do something more around the stadium,” Albers said.

The $452-million mixed-used development that’s anchored by SunTrust Park reflects that vision.

The new ballpark broke ground in September of 2014 and opened March 31 with an exhibition game where the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Yankees 8-5.

“Once they made the decision to move away from Turner Field, they found this land up in the north suburbs in Cobb County,” Albers said. “It has really good access from all over town. The site itself was undeveloped, so they didn’t have to demolish anything.”

The entire site, including the ballpark and the mixed-used development, sits on 57-acres of land near the Chattahoochee River. The river inspired a fountain design inside the ballpark with trees.

Like all MLB stadiums, the culinary offerings are important, and the Braves wanted the food and beverage to reflect Southern and regional traditions, said Mason Hansen, senior interior designer and principal at Populous.

“We did extensive research early on,” she said. “We asked the Braves for a list of their favorite (culinary) destinations. They were interested in featuring local restaurants.”

Offerings include the Coors Light Chop House and a brewery called the Terrapin Taproom where Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q is served. Delaware North is the food and beverage manager for the venue.

Although the ballpark is a new construction, the Braves wanted a classic, yet modern feel to both the exterior and interior.

“The Braves is the longest continuous franchise in the history of baseball. They wanted the ballpark to feel timeless. They wanted to touch on their history,” said Zach Allee, senior associate at Populous.

The team chose red brick for the outside and the inside features heavily textured wood and antique marble wood.

They also built a Hank Aaron Terrace where visitors can dine on ballpark food and look at Aaron’s iconic memorabilia. Aaron is a retired Braves player and is now senior vice president of the team.

The venue also has a huge canopy. “We made it the biggest in the MLB,” Allee said.

To ensure fan experience stays top notch, excellent wireless access at the venue was important, Hansen said.

“The biggest thing, when looking at the future fan, is that connectivity is a huge deal for us,” she said.

Overall, the new ballpark is a big hit. “Everybody is really happy with the way the ballpark turned out,” Albers said. “The players themselves love it, too. They like the new player facilities. The hitters like it. The lighting is phenomenal.”

SunTrust Park was built in Cobb County, Georgia, replacing the baseball team’s previous home at Turner Field, which is roughly 19 miles south of the new ballpark.

Turner Field — which hosted the 1996 summer Olympics before it became home to the Atlanta Braves in 1997— will now be converted into a football stadium for Georgia State University.

Newly named Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. (Photo Credit: Monumental Sports and Entertainment)

Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) has called its new agreement with Capital One to name what was previously known as Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., Capital One Arena, a partnership between two home-grown companies.

Effective in early August, the switch to Capital One Arena finishes off a market search for a new naming rights partner for what has been ranked as the eighth-highest grossing arena in the nation with capacity over 15,000.

“Capital One is one of the most influential local businesses in our region over the last two decades, so we couldn’t be more pleased to partner with another homegrown company to create more incredible memories for sports fans, music fans, families and friends all across our region,” said Ted Leonsis, founder, majority owner and CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the venue owners. “Capital One shares our deep commitment to both economic and philanthropic investment in the larger Washington, D.C., community and we look forward to working closely with them.”

While Monumental didn’t disclose terms, local media has reported the agreement is in the range of $100-million over 10 years, which Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group, called “substantial” and places it near the top of any arena in the country and even above some National Football League (NFL) stadiums.

With nine venues hosting both a National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL)  team, the sponsorship rights become more valuable, he said. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which also hosts two teams, pulls in roughly $10- million per year for its rights. “Brooklyn is a major market,” Smallwood said. “D.C. is smaller than New York, so that is a good number.”

Other major arena sponsorship deals include Philips Arena, Atlanta, at $9.2 million when it had both an NBA and NHL team, Smallwood said. The planned Chase Arena, San Francisco, future home of the Golden State Warriors, will reportedly become the most expensive arena title deal in the country, anywhere from $15-million to $17-million per year.

Smallwood said the $3-million per year for 15 years received on the Verizon deal gives Monumental an obvious step up, and he said it comes as no surprise it was a financial institution behind the deal. “Those companies are the most relevant category in naming rights and there is more than meets the eye,” he said. “It is not just the branding, it is the products, services and accounts. I would hope they would leverage every bit of products and services they can muster in the arena. From the brand side, you would want them to get the most bang for their buck and activate as many services as they can for a venue through the partnership.”

Monumental has already announced that a new point-of-sale system will enable the venue to offer Capital One cardholders automated discounts on food, beverage, merchandise and more throughout the arena.

“I think leveraging different things into an experience for any company is important at any level (of sponsorship) and certainly with naming rights, the ability to leverage the two businesses is great,” said David Touhey, president of venues for Monumental. “I think there is certainly potential across a lot of dual business lines. Where things can happen, they are a great partner. We are both local, prominent companies. As things align, it makes sense for both to certainly see more (activations).”

While announcing the new naming rights deal, Monumental also announced—which was simply a matter of timing and not related, Touhey said—a $4-million investment into the 20-year-old downtown arena. “We want to do some updates to stay fresh and stay current,” he said.

As part of the updates, the Mounumental360 program will use data collection from the new point-of-sale system to better understand fans and learn preferences for when they interact with any part of the Monumental franchise.

The home to over 220 concerts, shows and events a year, including the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, Capital One Arena will host Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Guns n’ Roses, Andrea Boccelli, Jay-Z and more in the coming months, along with the A-10 men’s basketball tournament in March 2018 and the East regionals of the 2019 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Touhey said the changeover to Capital One Arena is currently happening all at once, expected to fully finish this fall. “Everything is in the works,” he said. “Signs need to be manufactured and things need to be made.”

“As a top local employer and major consumer brand, Capital One has deep roots in Washington, D.C., and we are excited to strengthen our contributions to the sports and entertainment landscape in our own backyard,” said Kleber Santos, president, retail and direct banking, Capital One. “Monumental Sports and Entertainment shares our commitment to strengthening the economic and social well-being of the local community, and we are thrilled to partner with them on Capital One Arena. Our collaboration will be great for the D.C. community, the fans who come to support their teams, the talent and events at the arena, and exceptional for our customers who will benefit from our ability to offer access to unique opportunities and experiences at the arena that money can’t buy.”

In a letter to fans, Leonsis wrote: “When it came to identifying a company to have its name on our arena, I am thrilled that the end result meant deepening our relationship with one of our longstanding partners, Capital One. A diversified bank that’s been integral to our community since 1988, Capital One shares our commitment to economic growth, philanthropy and community here. At MSE, we employ almost 4,000 full-time and part-time employees and vendors.”

Along with the Capital One sponsorship and $40-million investment announcement, MSE plans to launch the Monumental Sports Network, agree to a new television rights deal and equity partnership with CSN, welcome NBC Sports Group as an investor into the sports network, invest in eSports’ Team Liquid, kick off seasons for the American Football League’s Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade, and purchase a NBA G League team.

At today’s announcement in Spokane are Steve DeMots, CRO of Paciolan; Jack Lucas, president of WestCoast Entertainment; Kim Damron, president and COO of Paciolan, and Dusty Kurtz, president of TicketsWest.

Further expanding its reach into performing arts and non-university venues, Paciolan has agreed to acquire the assets of TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment.

TicketsWest, founded in 1987 in Spokane, Wash., by Jack Lucas with the backing of current owner Red Lion Hotels Corp., has over 200 clients. The full service ticketing and marketing company employs about 90 staffers in Spokane and in branch offices in Portland, Ore. and Denver.

Kim Damron, president and COO of Paciolan, Irvine, Calif., which was purchased by Learfield this year, said the acquisition further emphasizes Learfield’s commitment to live entertainment, citing several Learfield holdings in the performing arts, including digital marketing firm Mogo Interactive, branding agency SME, and website provider SIDEARM Sports.

Paciolan sells over 120 million tickets a year and serves over 500 venues. In 2010, Paciolan absorbed New Era Tickets with offices in Exton, Pa., when it was part of Comcast Spectacor. New Era was rebranded Paciolan, but plans are different with TicketsWest, with announcement of the intention to keep the brand and the staff intact, Damron said.

Dusty Kurtz, who was named president of TicketsWest March 1 (coincidently at the same time Damron was named president of Paciolan) will retain that role. Lucas will continue to lead WestCoast Entertainment, which is also part of the acquisition.

WestCoast Entertainment promotes and produces from 50 to 100 shows a year, primarily in the Northwest but with plans to broaden that scope. While the promotion firm cut its teeth on Broadway, WestCoast Entertainment has branched into all sorts of one-offs, including sports once in awhile. “We did music festivals before music festivals were cool,” he added.

Lucas sees promotion opportunities from “Florida to Wyoming and all parts in between. I now have a chance to devote all of my time into building WestCoast Entertainment into a national brand.”

Kurtz also sees growth opportunities for TicketsWest, which will continue to offer a wide variety of services including call center support, ticket distribution services, digital marketing and private label website support. The company will also maintain an extensive distribution and retail outlet network with nearly 300 locations. Kurtz said that for some events and some clients, there is still considerable need for walk-up and retail sales, though the internet is the primary source for tickets.

Paciolan will now be able to offer some of those additional services to clients who desire it, Damron said.

TicketsWest has been powered by Paciolan for 10 years. The two companies have similar cultures and both parties expressed delight with the new marriage. Both companies are passionate about serving their customers, Damron added.

In 2015, also while owned by Comcast Spectacor and known as Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, Paciolan acquired Ballena Technologies, once again leaving the name and staff in place.

Asked if the purchase of TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment, and given the current acquisition frenzy in ticketing, was the beginning of a rollup for Learfield, Damron demurred, saying it was more about being a natural fit.

“There is a lot going on in the ticketing industry,” Damron acknowledged, “but this just made so much sense because we have been such longterm partners.”

And it’s an opportunity for Learfield to double down on its book of business in the arts, added Craig Ricks, Paciolan SVP of marketing.

Lucas sees a lot of opportunity to grow West Coast Entertainment nationwide and appreciates the leverage Learfield and its subsidiaries will give that push. West Coast Entertainment is also partnered in Troika (www.troika.com), which produces Broadway shows.

Seeking Concessions Stand-outs! Submit your nominations by Monday, August 28, 2017!

More than the money is in the food and now it's time to give recognition to the best chefs and chief operators — the changemakers in concessions who create memorable fan experiences.

Get ready for the Venues Today SILVER SPOON AWARDS!

Venues Today is inviting you to nominate outstanding achievement in concesssions and catering in sports and entertainment in the categories of:

• Best new menu item for 2017
• Best sustainability initiative for 2017
• Best new concept in food and drink for 2017

Who is eligible?

Executives in food and drink operations at sport, entertainment, fairs and meeting venues internationally.

How to nominate?
1) Please send a 250-400 word description in an email (NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE!), including the person and title and company helming the initiative
2) Include a description of the winning endeavor including what, where, when it rolled out and how much it cost
3) Make sure your name and contact information are available so we can contact you if there are any further questions or for more details.
4) E-mail nominations to nominations@venuestoday.com by Monday, August 28, 2017. (No attachments please, include all descriptions in an email)

How will winners be selected?
Venues Today has recruited a highly qualified jury of peers in the industry to judge nominations for originality, impact on the industry and game-changing characteristics. Along with the staff of Venues Today, the jury will select outstanding contributions to the industry in food and drink service.
Winning initiatives will be profiled in the October issue of Venues Today.

Why now?
Concessions service is a major contributor to the guest experience at venues worldwide. Concessions have a major role in marketing, analytics, public relations, sponsor fulfillment and every other aspect of the fan experience. Venues Today is recognizing those initiatives that take us all to the next level.

Please send your nominations to nominations@venuestoday.com by Monday, August 28, 2017.

The gate at Mizzou Arena, Columbia, that Nathaniel J. Conant allegedly slammed through early Sunday morning, June 25.

Former Missouri University, Columbia, student Nathaniel J. Conant, 23, was arrested June 25 after he allegedly drove his car through Mizzou Arena, causing thousands of dollars in damages in the process.

“At 4 o’clock in the morning he drove his car down our loading ramp area through a sliding gate that was secured; he completely blew through that,” said Nicholas Britton, director of facility operations, Mizzou athletics. “Then without hitting his brakes he went another 150 feet through the overhead door and never hit his brakes once.”

During his early morning joy ride, Conant drove his Volkswagen Passat onto school premises and onto Norm Stewart Court, inside of Mizzou Arena. His vehicle managed to leave treadmarks and dispense antifreeze onto the hardwood floors. The damage to the court is not thought to be permanent. Though the court will be fine, other areas of the arena faced serious damage.

“We’re still in the process of getting some quotes for some things,” said Britton. “The biggest thing is we have a big sliding security gate that got completely damaged, a 13-foot wide by 16-foot tall overhead door, that’s probably completely damaged. The police put out there initially like $100,000, but I think we’ll be in the neighborhood of anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 in hard costs.”

This incident has left many at Missouri University puzzled and frustrated that someone's ill-advised actions would put the school in such a situation.

“It’s unfortunate that people decide to do silly things," said Britton. “It’s disappointing because you work so hard to take care of the facilities. To have an idiot come through and destroy everything you work for makes you kind of sad.”

There weren't any employees on the scene at the time of the incident. According to Mizzou athletics, there is a command center on the weekend with part-time staff.  The staff usually leaves at 11 p.m.

Sunday morning, when the first on the scene arrived at approximately 7 a.m., they notified Missouri University Police Department and the Mizzou athletic department of the incident.

This is a situation that no one could've foreseen. Though this was a costly mistake by a lone vandal, Mizzou athletics doesn't plan on changing their security protocol in the near future.

"You hope that something like this doesn’t happen again,” said Britton. “Obviously we’re making sure folks are aware of who to call, where to go, what to do and to make sure the necessary protocols are in place. There are nights where we have 24-hour security, but on normal nights they’re not merited. So I don’t see us doing anything drastic to change protocol or anything."

Conant graduated from Missouri University in 2016 with a degree in English. He worked as an event assistant for the Southeastern Conference Network. He has since been let go. Prior to graduating, Conant worked as a student employee in athletics.

Conant has been charged with four counts of first-degree property damage and second-degree burglary, two of which are felonies. He was released on $10,500 bail.