Chang Weisberg (second from left) got the blessing of the families of deceased rappers Eazy-E and Ol' Dirty Bastard for a hologram performance of the two artists during Rock the Bells. He's pictured here with Young Dirty Bastard, E3 and Li'l Eazy (Photo courtesy of Guerilla Union)

The annual Rock the Bells tour always packs its roster with some of hip-hop's biggest and newest names. This year's edition is no different with scheduled performances from Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Wu-Tang Clan, Trinidad James, the A$AP Mob and Action Bronson.

The headline, though, is that the roster also includes two long-dead rap giants who will be brought back to the stage via hologram: N.W.A.'s Eazy-E and Wu-Tang's Ol' Dirty Bastard. The virtual performance — which first blew minds at the Coachella Festival in 2012 with a resurrection of Tupac Shakur — will once again be handled by holographic design company AV Concepts.

"The holograms will take about three-and-a-half months to create," said Curt Apanovich, AV Concepts' creative director. "These are original performances, but are based on some archive footage, as well as family members’ likenesses that are being incorporated into the appearance."

Apanovich said he was not at liberty to discuss the cost of creating the illusions, but said that, in general, holographic technology can rise into the "high six-figures." The final tally, however, depends on many factors, including what kind of content AV Concepts has to work with, the venue, length of performance and weather variables. The September tour will touch down for two-day runs at the San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore, Calif., Sept 7-8; Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., Sept. 14-15; RFK Stadium Festival Grounds in Washington, D.C., Sept 28-29 and the Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J., Oct 4-5.

The two-dimensional illusions are perceived by audiences as three-dimensional holograms using a 19th century technique called "Pepper's Ghost," after John Pepper who created the technique for theatres and haunted houses. For the special effects, AV Concepts employs pinpoint lighting beamed onto a highly tensioned piece of Mylar holographic foil with AV Concepts' proprietary Liquid Scenic Server, which takes completely uncompressed imagery using multiple high-powered projectors that converge seamlessly to create a very powerful, lifelike performance.

"It's a relatively simple effect," Apanovich said of the stunt, which gained global attention after its Coachella debut, but has yet to become a regular concert feature. "But deploying the technology to create a lifelike image is incredibly difficult and requires a great amount of technical expertise to achieve."

The setup and rig weigh several tons and will be transported on an 18-wheeler. Apanovich said the custom system is made to be deployed and withdrawn from the stage within one minute by a core team of 10 staffers who cover creative, content, technical, projection, and on-site execution. Setup takes place the day before the performance and tear down takes place after the evening's final performance, and takes about four hours.

The Eazy and ODB illusions are a collaboration between AV Concepts, festival partner Play Gig–It (whose products create virtual 3D concert games for Facebook that allow users to create a fully customizable concert they can share with friends) and Rock the Bell's promoter Guerilla Union.

It was the latter's president, Chang Weisberg, who chose which artists to resurrect, in part to honor the 2003 inaugural edition of Rock the Bells, which marked the last time ODB performed with the Wu-Tang Clan. The estates of both artists have signed off on the creative direction and their children have lent their likenesses and voices to help create the holograms.

Weisberg was at Coachella when the Tupac hologram surprised everyone, and, as a fan of both technology and music, he, too, was blown away. "My phone blew up and I [instantly] got messages like, 'You're going to do ODB, right?'" he said. He wasn't ready to integrate the stunt into last year's tour, but he began doing research and getting the often-feuding families on board with the idea. "As far as I know, this will be the first time in the history of live music that there will be virtual performances that have actual family members involved in creating the avatars," he said, noting that Eazy's sons and daughter helped provide visual and physical attributes to his hologram, as did ODB's family members.

Weisberg said the effects cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to create, and that those costs are rolled into the $1 million-plus talent price tag of the performers on each day of the tour. "That amount is in time and energy, and that's just hard costs," he said of building the avatars. "Thankfully Gig-It and AV Concepts and ourselves are all thinking much bigger than hip-hop and Rock the Bells."

Though AV Concepts' technology was created to be deployed in controlled environments, it can be used outdoors in less predictable scenarios if necessary. "The elements add a layer of complication to executing these events, but our skilled team’s technological innovation and expertise has made AV Concepts the only company in the world experienced in creating outdoor holographic projections in uncontrolled environments," said Apanovich. "Direct sunlight, wind and rain can compromise execution."

The high cost would make doing this kind of tour prohibitively expensive in a club or small theater, said Weisberg, who is on the board of Gig-It. "We're using the techniques that were used at Coachella, plus some new ones, because we've learned a lot since then." Given that hip-hop shows traditionally have a hockey stick-like sales curve, with much of the final box office coming from late-in-the-game walk-up business, he wasn't able to predict how, or if, the addition of the holograms to an already impressive talent roster would impact the bottom line.

The holograms will be spread out, with one on each day's lineup, which Weisberg said helps to amortize the costs over two days. And even with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on marketing in each market – as well as unexpected global mainstream media interest from the likes of CNN and Wired magazine because of the Eazy and ODB factors – Weisberg said he's made it clear to fans that it's possible the technology could fail, or not work as expected on the day of the show.

"I wasn't going to initially announce it at the press launch because I was nervous about all the 'what ifs' at that point," he said. "I thought it put the pressure up a whole other notch [versus] doing it as a surprise where there's no pressure. But now I need a plan B, C and D potentially."

Contacted for this story: Curt Apanovich, (866) 927-7590; Chang Weisberg, (626) 780-3119

Jerry Kurz, AFL Comissioner joins LA KISS' Brett Bouchy, KISS members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and music manager Doc McGhee, Thursday to announce the formation of the AFL's 15th franchise.

The Arena Football League is returning to Southern California and this time it’s bringing some Hollywood star power with it.

Rock group KISS has teamed up with former Orlando Predators owner Brett Bouchy, and legendary music manager Doc McGhee to form the LA KISS, an AFL expansion team that will play at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Every aspect of the team will have a KISS tie-in, from the uniforms to the cheerleader outfits and half-time shows — and season ticket holders will even get access to a special KISS concert at Honda Center, planned for some time in 2014.

“Gene Simmons (bass-guitarist and co-lead vocalist for KISS) is a marketing genius who understands the power of licensing his brand. He currently has over 400 licenses” for everything from KISS posters and T-shirts, to collectibles, and even a bar and restaurant in Las Vegas," explained Bouchy. “But this deal for the AFL team is not a licensing agreement. They are actual investors with skin in the game."

The Thursday announcement came during a press conference following Saturday’s ArenaBowl XXVI Championship at the Amway Center in Orlando, which had the Arizona Rattlers beat the Philadelphia Soul 48-39 in front of 12,039 fans.

The League appears to be on the upswing just four years after the 2009 season was abruptly canceled, following a litany of bad news that included the folding of the AFL team, the New Orleans VooDoo.

“Owners recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport,” wrote then Commissioner Ed Policy in a memo to the AFL’s board of directors explaining the cancelation decision.

In August of 2009, the league was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy by its creditors, and eventually converted to Chapter 11 bankruptcy by a judge. Through a series of complicated legal maneuvers, the AFL’s other league, af2, was first dissolved and then reconstituted as a new legal entity called Arena Football 1, with AFL former teams like the Arizona Rattlers and the Orlando Predators signing on for a second run. The former AFL’s assets were put on the auction block during the liquidation phase of its bankruptcy proceedings, and were subsequently purchased by the new league for $6.1 million. Those assets included all of the team names and logos for all the former AFL teams, except for the Dallas Desperados, which owner Jerry Jones was able to maintain control of.

In early 2010, Arena Football 1 announced it was changing its name to Arena Football League, and had inked new broadcast deals with both the NFL Network and later CBS Sports, and would launch two expansion teams — the Jacksonville (Fla.) Sharks and the Dallas Vigilantes, replacing the Desperados. The creation of the LA KISS now brings the number of teams in the league to 15.

Bouchy said he’s confident going forward that the AFL’s new labor contract with players will help keep costs from skyrocketing and will ensure a stable fiscal future. In June of last year, the League and the Arena Football League Players Union (AFLPU) signed a new five-year collective bargaining agreement, ending a public squabble that had resulted in mass firings, a player strike and the threat of a lockout.

“In professional sports there is a major flaw in that the average team pays 60 percent of its revenue to players and a super majority of teams end up losing money,” said Houchey. “The agreement we worked out is significantly lower than 60 percent and ensures we have a great economic model going forward.”

The AFL now seems poised for growth with efforts underway to develop a six-team league in China and talk of more American expansion to be announced, possibly this month.

Season tickets for the LA KISS have already gone on sale, with season tickets ranging from $2,250 to $99 per seat for the team’s 10 home games.

“At $99 a seat, that means fans will have the ability to see a two-and-a-half-hour full sensory experience for less than $10 per game,” Bouchy said, adding that his goal is to be one of the best sports/entertainment values in Southern California.

And despite his team’s Orange County origins, Bouchy is giving the squad a distinctly LA name — “that’s just marketing,” Bouchy said, adding that the use of the LA name — even in a region that prides itself on not being L.A. — invokes memories of the Los Angeles Avengers, an AFL Franchise that played their entire eight-season career (2000 to 2008) at Staples Center in LA.

“With a global brand in KISS, an ownership group dedicated to showcasing an exciting sport and a world-class venue serving as host - three great entertainment properties are converging with the overall goal of producing an unparalleled AFL experience for fans,” said Tim Ryan, President/CEO of Honda Center. “This partnership marks a new era for the unification of sports and music.”

Interviewed for this article: Brett Bouchy, (323) 761-7220; Tim Ryan, (714) 704-2412 

Sandcastle contest at the Ohio State Fair, Columbus.

Moderate weather and a grounds beautification program helped the Ohio State Fair, Columbus, not only best last year’s attendance by 7.55 percent but also gave the event its highest gate number since it went from 17 days to 12 days in 2004.

Attendance for the July 24-Aug. 4 fair was 903,824, over last year’s 840,306.

“We started the 12-day fair in 2004 when I took over as general manager and that was our best year ever,” Virgil Strickler said of the fair nine years ago, in which attendance was about 850,000.

“That was our best year ever and now this year is. The previous record was a little over 850,000 and this is significantly higher than that.”

In addition to moderate temperatures that saw highs in the mid-70s to low 80s, Strickler credited following through on some grounds beautification and agriculture education initiatives set forth by Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

“We were able to get a lot of those accomplished,” Strickler said. “When it comes to our Agriculture Is Cool program, we allowed exiting fourth graders in for free and one parent in for free and they learned about agriculture. And it’s really worked out well."

“We also have worked hard at changing our overall atmosphere at the fair, doing a lot of green spaces and putting in trees and a lot of flowers and so forth. I think the atmosphere was more family-friendly.”

Alicia Shoults, the fair’s spokeswoman, said that the fair utilized Silva Cell technology that aids in allowing trees to grow in asphalt as 20,000 gallons of storm water is gathered underground and used for hydrating the trees and plants.

“We’re going to keep advancing that technology here,” Strickler said. “We have so much of a parking area and we can make a cluster of them. I believe it makes everybody feel like there is a more park-like atmosphere when they see the trees and all the different landscaping and flowers that we’re doing.

Monroe Township, N.J.-based Amusements of America placed more than 70 rides on the midway and had five record-breaking days at the fair, Shoults said.

“Midway revenue was up 17 percent,” she added.

Pay-one-price wristbands cost $23 during the fair and $20 in advance, and were available every day.

General admission for the fair was $10 at the gate and $6 in advance, and $8 for children and senior citizens.

Concerts took place in the 10,000-seat Celeste Center indoor arena. None sold out. Comedian Jeff Dunham drew the biggest audience at 7,387 for a $38 ticket. Styx and REO Speedwagon came in second, with 6,678 audience members on a $32 ticket.

Other artists, attendance figures and ticket prices were Eric Benet, Noel Gourdin and K’Jon, 1,286, $25; Martina McBride with Angie Johnson, 2,687, $32; Will Downing and Lalah Hathaway, 2,382, $25; Justin Moore with The Farm, 5,860, $20; Austin Mahone with Jake Miller, 4,404, $25; Carly Rae Jepsen with New Hollow, 2,293, $32; Steve Miller Band, 3,896, $30; The Oak Ridge Boys/Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers/Crystal Gayle, 3,039, $30; Hillsong Live, 4,809, $25.

The fair’s concert budget was $1.1 million and the overall budget was $7.5 million, Shoults said.

The fair’s marketing budget was $330,000 and some of that was strategically reallocated for advertising on Facebook as well as kiosks in a Columbus mall and digital billboards.

“We do Facebook contests every year,” Shoults said. “This year we did the ‘Fairtastic Getaway,’ which included a hotel room stay, tickets to the concert of choice, parking and other goodies.”

The fair hires an outside company to make sure that Facebook contests are run properly.

“You just like the page and use an online entry form to win,” she said. “It’s the only way to actually administer contests on Facebook in the appropriate manner.”

The fair has a mobile app that “continues to be well used,” Shoults added.

The app allows users to search for specific food vendors but also has other applications.

“It has a park and pen feature that allows them to pen their parking spot and more easily find their vehicle when they are exiting,” she said. “It also has competition results and the daily schedules of events and a fair map.”

Two new popular foods were maple bacon ice cream, made by the Velvet Ice Cream Co. in Utica, Ohio, and deep-fried gummi bears. Both had to be replenished after a few days because the makers misjudged the popularity of the items.

“I don’t know if you could say they're the most popular, but they were the two new foods that did kind of seem to have a lot of people trying them,” Shoults said.

Next year’s dates will be July 23-Aug. 3.

Interviewed for this article: Virgil Strickler and Alicia Shoults, (614) 644-4000

Trail Blazers President & CEO Chris McGowan and Moda Health President Dr. William Johnson announce the naming rights partnership for Moda Center in Portland. (Photo by Portland Trail Blazers)

The former Rose Garden arena in Portland, Ore., is shedding its name of nearly two decades. Moda Center and its National Basketball Association tenant the Trail Blazers announced a 10-year agreement with Moda Health for the venue’s naming rights.

A new logo is currently being designed for the facility, with signage scheduled to be complete by December, though the hope is to install new court graphics and as much new signage as possible before the 2013-14 season home opener against the San Antonio Spurs, Nov. 2. At the request of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, the Moda Center logo will incorporate a rose.

“The Rose Quarter is what the district is going to remain, which is something we thought was very important,” said AEG Facilities’ Chris Oxley, GM of the Rose Quarter. “Maintaining some heritage to the Rose City through this name change was not just important to the fan base, but also important to us.”

Though financial details of the agreement aren’t being disclosed, Oxley did say that the cost for changing signage is primarily the responsibility of the ownership and the facility.

Moda Health is a local insurance provider that has been in business for more than 50 years, with many of its offices and employees in the Portland area.

“At Moda, we saw this as an opportunity to do something much more meaningful than put our name on or inside a building,” said Moda Health President Dr. William Johnson during a press conference. “We saw this as an opportunity to form an authentic community partnership — a partnership that engages Moda Health, the Portland Trail Blazers, and also the citizens throughout the Northwest.”

The Trail Blazers play at Moda Center. (Photo by NBA Photos/Getty Images)

Part of the community partnership will include a commitment to hosting health-related activities such as 5k runs and walks to support diabetes and cancer prevention. In addition to building a healthy community, the partnership will help Moda Center reinvest in programming for the space as well as upgrades and renovation.

“We have a 33-acre campus,” said Oxley. “It’s a lot more than a pair of arenas — we have the largest public plaza in the state.”

Funds from the naming rights deal will help redesign and restore landmark fountains around the space, as well as bring entertainment programming to the common areas, better signage, and eventually new retail and restaurant options.

“We’re committed to the notion that people need and deserve healthy places, and our intent is to create that here at the Moda Center,” said Johnson. “We’re convinced that we can be a showcase for modern urban healthy living in the new heart of the city.”

The naming rights relationship came together with help from Premier Partnerships, which the Trail Blazers tapped to help secure a sponsorship deal. But there was a less technical side of choosing the right partnership, too.

Trail Blazers President & CEO Chris McGowan said during a press conference that when he first sat down with Moda Health in June, he knew it was the start of something big.

“You can always tell when you get a good vibe from people and, from day one, we knew they would be great partners going forward,” McGowan said.

McGowan then addressed Portland’s traditionally passionate fans in an effort to explain why the naming rights deal is necessary to bring the Trail Blazers organization to the next level.

“I want the fans to know that because of this deal and the benefits of this deal, we’re going to be able to invest back into our organization in a lot of things that are going to directly impact our fans: things like fan experience, things like facility improvements, and even the product on the court to help us be a more competitive basketball team.”

“The Rose Garden put us on the map, and Moda Center is going to take us into the future,” he added.

Interviewed for this story: Dr. William Johnson, (503) 219-3673; Chris McGowan, (503) 797-9679; Chris Oxley, (503) 235-8771
 

Houston Texans President Jamey Rootes shows off the new huge video screen at Reliant Stadium. (Photo by Houston Texans)

It’s easy to fall back on the old saying that everything is bigger in Texas — but in the case of NFL video boards, it seems to be true. The battle for the biggest video display in the National Football League raged on as the Houston Texans unveiled a screen at Reliant Stadium larger than that of the reigning title holder —the Dallas Cowboys’ at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Texans’ two new display boards are set up on both end zones, stretching 277-feet wide and 52.5-feet high. Those figures edge out the Cowboys’ screens, which measure a massive 160-feet wide by 72-feet high.

According to Houston Texans President Jamey Rootes, the decision to invest in new video boards wasn’t about being the biggest, but instead focused on what worked for the fans and taking advantage of new technology.

“We were 11 years into our stadium and it really came to a point where there had been a leapfrog in technology,” said Rootes, who added that with the costs of ongoing maintenance and repair for the previous screens, the time was right to replace them.

The $16-million cost for the boards came from a ‘repair and replacement fund’ at Reliant Stadium, which is bankrolled out of the rental payments of the stadium’s two primary tenants: the Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

In addition to showing replays and in-game footage, the video boards will also host additional programming that survey-taking fans said they wanted.

“Our key question is when you’re on your couch at home, what do you have access to that you don’t have at the stadium,” said Rootes. The main answers were a variety of replays and access to statistics.

The video boards will play in-game stats, as well as out-of-town scores and fantasy stats. At certain times during the stadium experience like player introductions, the full board will be used for video; however, Rootes said there is also a plan to be interactive and broadcast tweets from fans. There will also be footage from the locker room, the players warming up, and game notes and facts.

“It’s been work on the front end since our production team has a lot more real estate to work with, but it’s all part of the entertainment package we’re delivering,” said Rootes. “Lots of things that we do on game day are complicated, but if they improve the fan experience they’re worth our time and our investment.”

Replacement of the video board was a long time coming. According to Rootes, the Texans have been working toward new displays for several years.

Watch the introduction video here.

There were a couple key steps in the process: proving the need, evaluating technologies, defining the project cost, then funding.

“The final step was the approval from the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation,” which came in a vote from the governing body in December, said Rootes. “If you’ve done all of your leg work, that part is relatively easy because the need is clear and the game plan is sound.”

Approval for the video boards also came while Reliant Stadium was bidding to host the 2017 Super Bowl — a bid Houston later won.

Though Mark Miller,  general manager SMG – Reliant Park, said that some of the building’s shows, such as Disney On Ice, don’t use the video screens, he believes they will be a big draw for bringing in new events.

“I think [new video technology] is a plus on anybody’s list of what they’re looking for in a venue for their event,” said Miller. “Everyone I talk to says the experience is so enhanced that it’s almost like a new building.”

Mitsubishi Electric’s Diamond Vision Systems Division manufactured the high-definition video display boards, which made their sports debut Aug.17 during a home game against the Miami Dolphins. Mitsubishi Electric also furnished the screens at AT&T Stadium. The Diamond Vision installations can also be seen at Fenway Park in Boston, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, and Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., as well as Air Canada Centre in Toronto and four other indoor arenas.

Mitsubishi Electric “doesn’t have the most installations, but they have the best installations,” said Rootes. “You can’t help but be impressed by the quality of the picture, the size, and the dynamic approach we’re able to provide for advertisers.”

“It’s no longer a static environment, but a truly dynamic experience,” he added.

Interviewed for this story: Mark Miller, (832) 667-1400; Jamey Rootes, (832) 667-2002
 

These 11-foot-tall letters once stood in front of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., but now greet visitors to the California State Fair, Sacramento.

This year’s California State Fair, Sacramento, was one day shorter but still saw a slight attendance increase, to 697,045 over last year’s 693,034 under the guidance of new CEO Rick Pickering.

“We had an increase for the first time in a number of years,” said Pickering, who also noted that the average daily attendance rose by 6.5 percent.

The fair dates of July 12-28 shaved a day off at the front end of the event, opening on a Friday with horse racing as opposed to Thursday, last year’s first day.

Pickering, formerly the CEO at Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., had good weather and the fair’s 160th anniversary on his side, but he also made some changes, which included a concert every night of the 17-day fair compared to nine last year.

Fairfield, Calif.-based Butler Amusements placed nearly 100 rides at two different areas of the fair, one for children and one for teenagers and adults. Pay-one-price wristbands cost $30 on weekdays and $35 on weekends.

“They were flat, which was a home run for them given the fair was one day less than 2012,” Pickering said.

This year, the fair had two days with more than 70,000 fairgoers and one with more than 80,000, and on that latter day, the last Saturday, the carnival gross was $398,000.

“That was spectacular,” Pickering said.

The 4,000-seat Golden 1 Credit Union Stage, an outdoor stage that also has room for about 3,500 people standing, was the site of the 17 concerts, four of which filled the venue to capacity.

Those acts were “Weird Al” Yankovic, Disney star Zendaya, country artist Randy Houser and contemporary Christian band Third Day.

“I use a strategy of three R&B bands, three country bands, three retro rock bands, a contemporary Christian act, a Hispanic act and usually three tribute bands,” Pickering said.

Other concerts were by Kool and the Gang, En Vogue, the Four Tops, Lone Star, LeAnn Rimes, Night Ranger, Hoobastank, Grand Funk Railroad, Air Supply, Ana Victoria, Journey tribute band Evolution, Queen tribute band Queen Nation, and Motley Crue tribute band True 2 Crue.
The budget to purchase the acts was $504,000, about the same as spent last year for nine concerts.

“I’m very happy,” Pickering said.

The highest tickets cost $20, and those were for Yankovic, Kool and the Gang, and Air Supply.
Gate admission was $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for ages 5 to 12. Parking was $10.

“The number of cars parked was up 9 percent,” Pickering said. “I think that had to do with the concert people coming from a distance. They tend to pay full price instead of parking in the neighborhoods.”

The overall fair budget is $15 million, but the marketing budget is more difficult to peg because it’s a year-round number, Pickering said.

Pickering stepped up the fair’s social media and has plans to keep doing that. Scenic locations were set up around the grounds for people to take photos, and they were encouraged to post those photos to the fair’s website.

“We had a number of TV stations that encouraged people to submit photos from the fair to the TV station and then the 10 o’clock news would run photos that had been submitted.”

Also, five different groups of teenagers created two-minute video productions of the fair through the eyes of a teenager, and those also were posted to the website.

“They did a spectacular job of putting the videos together,” Pickering said. “The movie business is based in California, so it makes sense that the California State Fair is helping young people get involved in videos.”

Another social media effort asked fairgoers to create and submit a Pinterest page on the fair. 

A new addition to the fair entrance was the 11-foot-tall letters that spell out California that used to stand in front of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

“They were in the process of remodeling and they were going to discard them,” Pickering said. “We were able to acquire them as a donation and Butler Amusements trucked the letters up here and installed them.”

A grand opening ceremony was held the day before the fair opened, Pickering added.

“It created quite a bit of media buzz,” Pickering said. “Where do they belong if not at Disneyland? The California State Fair.”

Next year’s dates will be July 11-27.

Interviewed for this article: Rick Pickering, (916) 263-3070

The battle for Long Island has officially ended with a victory for the Barclays Center and developer Bruce Ratner. On Thursday, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano awarded the contract for the renovation of the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. to Ratner, who built the Barclays Center in nearby Brooklyn. 

Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark will manage the new facility, in a deal that begins in June 2015 when Nassau’s lease with the Islanders and current management company SMG concludes. Manhattan-based Madison Square Garden made an unsuccessful competing bid for the highly-prized project in the country’s largest media market, as did Global Spectrum and SMG.

Ratner plans to turn Nassau Coliseum into a sprawling mixed-use entertainment district that includes a vibrant new design for the Coliseum, a 2,000-person Fillmore Theater concept, a movie theater, bowling center, food bazaar, restaurants, nightclubs and a flexible space that can be used for concerts in the summer and ice-skating in the winter. Ratner and his group have agreed to privately finance $229 million in development costs.

“When you look at Nassau and Suffolk counties combined, they are markets similar to Brooklyn that have been underserved for some time,” Yormark said. “This project will turn Long Island into a world-class entertainment destination, and more importantly, draw upon synergies between the two markets.”

Two very distinct markets, Yormark points out. Only about eight percent of Brooklyn Nets basketball tickets are sold to families on Long Island, and only about 13 percent of total tickets go to the 7.6 million people living on the most densely populated island in the U.S.

“We absolutely plan to have artists play both facilities,” whether it’s on the same tour, or two separate tours, explained Yormark. And despite the announcement that Nassau’s tenant team, the New York Islanders, have agreed to move to Barclays for the start of the 2015-2016 season, the deal means that Yormark can move several Islanders' home games back to Long Island. When asked if the Islanders tie-in helped lock in the deal, Yormark said “Yeah, because its something that will endure over time. It was a point of differentiation for us and allowed local fans to enjoy something they grew up watching. It was a fairly sizable advantage for us.”

And while SMG will retain control of the building for about two more years, Yormark said "my goal is to start the transformation now, to get out there and help the current management team,” Yormark said. "I want to understand who the major players are publicly and commercially. Why wait two years? Let’s start now.” 

Barclays designers SHoP Architects will draw up the building's façade, while Gensler will recast the front-and-back-of-house interiors. The Coliseum will be shrunk to a 13,000-capacity buildingwith a curtaining system that can scale from 4,000 to 8,000 seats.

The building was a strong performer for SMG and one of their top East Coast facilities.

“It’s a great market with over 3 million people who really support live entertainment, especially pop and Top 40,” said Jon Petrunak, VP of Booking for SMG during a June 5 interview, noting that some shows have done double dates in Long Island and Manhattan, but it's generally an individual tour decision.

"The biggest problem you run into is the limited number of available dates,” he said. “If a tour only has 30 dates scheduled for North America, they have to ask themselves how many are they going to commit to the New York market.

Yormark hopes to book 300 shows per year at the building and have a music programming partnership with Live Nation, which books the nearby Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in nearby Wantagh, N.Y. It’s a departure from their deal for booking and management support at Barclays Center with AEG, but it’s not the only contract that didn’t carry over. While Barclays has an agreement with Levy for concessions at the Brooklyn-based arena, Yormark said his group decided to pursue a food contract with Legends Hospitality for the Nassau facility.

“We, as a company, always had a desire to work with the Yankees brand and decided to closely align with them in Long Island,” he explained.

The deal also includes a first of its kind with RocNation, a full-service entertainment company owned by Jay-Z with a big roster that includes Shakira, Rihanna and super DJs Calvin Harris and deadmau5. RocNation’s role at the facility is unclear, but the partnership gives Nassau a great shot at booking dozens of world-class artists.

Interviewed for this article: Brett Yormark, (917) 618-6700; Jon Petrunak, (610) 729-7912

In spite of hot weather, attendance at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles rose slightly, to 411,511 over last year’s 410,874, said CEO Vivian Robertson.

“Most days were pretty hot, but made for beautiful evenings,” Robertson said.

A 2-Fer Tuesday season pass also helped, Robertson added, noting that the pass, good for all 12 days of the July 17-28 fair, had a 30 percent increase in May presales over last year.

Paid attendance was 269,520, once again up slightly over last year’s 268,008 and gate revenues were $1,638,918, a healthy 1.4 percent up over last year’s $1,435,205.

“Gate revenues were up this year because we increased the front gate prices this year at fair time by only $2 in order to alleviate some of the gate congestion,” Robertson said. “All the pre-sales prices remained the same as previous years.”

Gate admission was $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens 65 and older and $6 for ages 6 to 12.
“We offered many pre-sale promotional opportunities through the box office, Internet, Albertson’s and Farm Supply Co. that all evidenced increases,” she said. “Patrons are still looking for deals.”

Pre-sales did go up both at Albertson’s and at the box office, Robertson noted.

“And the biggest plus was that the lines to buy admission tickets were much shorter as we have ‘express lanes’ for all pre-sale tickets and guests sailed right through,” she added.

Davis Enterprises of Fontana, Calif., provided rides for the midway, Robertson said. Once again, presales that allows fairgoers to get a pay-one-price wristband for $23 in advance of the fair were up over last year’s, she added.

The wristbands were sold all day during the fair and cost $30 on weekdays and $35 on weekends.

Concerts took place in the 14,661-seat Main Grandstand Arena, Robertson said. No act sold out but three drew in more than 10,000 concert-goers.

Rascal Flatts and The Band Perry attracted the largest audience, with 11,921, followed by Tim McGraw with Kip Moore with 11,412, and Van Halen at 10,002. Other acts and attendance were John Mayer with Phillip Phillips, 8,969; Matchbox 20 and Goo Goo Dolls, 6,977; Huey Lewis and The News, 5,446, and Trace Atkins with Brantley Gilbert, 4,053.

The complete lineup, plus ticket prices, included McGraw, $100, $75, $65, $50; Atkins and Gilbert, $80, $50, $40, $30; Adam Lambert, $40, $25; Sail Rock, $15; Matchbox 20, $80, $55, $45, $35; John Mayer, $95, $70, $60, $45; Rascal Flatts, $100, $75, $65, $50; Van Halen, $180, $110, $85, $50; Brit Floyd, free; and Huey Lewis & The News, $60, $40.

The grandstand also was the location of a monster truck show that drew in 5,802 and the country rodeo finals at 5,146.

The entertainment budget was $3.1 million, a hefty portion of the fair’s overall $10.9 million budget.

The marketing budget was $250,000, and the fair used both traditional and social media, although less has been put into display advertising in recent years, Robertson said.

“We secured additional highway billboards this year out of the area but within our market,” she added. “Also, the Internet pop-up ads have readership value.”

The fair also had ticket giveaways on Facebook, Robertson said, and was the first fair in the nation to have a smartphone app, which went into use in 2009.

Next year’s dates will be July 16-27.

Interviewed for this article: Vivian Robertson, (805) 239-0655

Kenny Chesney performs at the SMG-managed Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Photo by Kyle Kalm)

Kenny Chesney is busy wrapping up one of the summer's hottest tours. His performance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Aug. 10, grossed nearly $5 million, with ticket prices topping out at $260. Chesney's Aug. 3 date at Georgia Dome in Atlanta grossed almost $4 million, and his Ford Field show in Detroit brought out more than 45,000 fans, Aug. 17. The Messina Group-promoted tour only has two dates left, Aug. 23-24 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., appears on Hot Tickets twice this week with very different acts. Rockers KISS, who recently announced a role in bringing professional arena football back to southern California, brought 3,225 fans to the venue. The Aug. 10 show grossed nearly $300,000. The next day, reality star and medium Theresa Caputo brought more than 4,000 fans to the venue, with tickets priced $39.75-$99.75. Both shows were promoted by CAA. Next, the venue hosts Ke$ha Aug. 23.


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 31-Aug. 21, 2013.



















Disneyland now has entertainment for the guests standing in line for amusement park rides. Sometimes it’s playground equipment in a tent to ease parents’ angst and discomfort in the hot sun with impatient babies. They are issued a restaurant-style buzzer to herald their turn to ride. Some watch movies or play interactive games while waiting in line, or enjoy strolling entertainment.

Fairs have known the value of such distractions for a long time, making every effort to provide something to see and do and interact with at every turn. It’s a feast of fun.

Arenas, stadiums, theaters and performing arts centers are just as proactive. Feld Entertainment instituted the All-Access Pre-Show at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus performances years ago, offering all ticketholders access to entertainment on the floor one hour before showtime. Ticketholders arrive earlier and parents do not have to cope with restless children waiting for the show to begin.

We are now experiencing, full-bore, the fan who needs constant interaction and distraction. One very effective and business-friendly method of positive interaction is through food and drink concessions. Fans today are not just buying tickets, buying food and watching the show. Fans are experiencing the event and a big part of that experience is in the food and drink.

 Thus our inaugural Venues Today Silver Spoon Awards. Six innovative approaches to the fans’ food experiences are reported in this issue. But there are so many more. The nominations were numerous and most impressive and in future issues of Venues Today and our weekly e-newsletter, VT Pulse, we’ll be sharing more of those ideas that can make the experience at your venue more memorable.

Even convention centers are in on the interaction game. Last month, I attended the Tessitura users conference in San Francisco and IAVM’s VenueConnect in New Orleans. Both conventions stressed interaction. Tessitura even has the All-Volunteer Rock Band, made up of users, that entertains at the closing banquet and rewrites songs from the 1960s with Tessiturian lyrics. 

Jack Rubin, Tessitura president, called it the “supernova of sharing of ideas” with lots of “snackable content.”

VenueConnect gave back to the community with its first Legacy Project, which not only benefited a New Orleans neighborhood with home improvement projects carried out by venue-industry executives, but also involved conventioneers in a networking opportunity that was a distraction from the normal conversation starter: “When did you get here?”

Everywhere we turn someone has something new to enhance the experience and generally it comes in small bites, perfect for individual consumption at a mass gathering.

God grant you many years to serve snackable content.

REPORTING FROM NEW ORLEANS — During the International Association of Venue Manager’s annual VenueConnect Conference, July 26-30, over 150 volunteers participated in the first-ever Legacy Project community outreach program. Armed with paint brushes, shovels, brooms and hammers, the volunteers spent four hours touching up the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood, which had been devastated nearly a decade ago by Hurricane Katrina and still showed signs of damage. Venues Today was on the scene and covered the efforts of the volunteers who came together to assist with the project. Below are a few of their stories.

Get Inspired 

Kim Bedier, Tacoma (Wash.) Dome 

As the second vice chair to this year’s conference, it was one of Bedier’s main responsibilities to organize the volunteer effort, sponsored by architect firm Populous. 

“Our keynote speaker Wendell Pierce grew up in the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood and established a foundation to help the area after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005,” Bedier said. Pierce is an actor who appeared on popular shows like Treme and The Wire and his neighborhood was particularly hard hit after Katrina because of its bowl-like shape and proximity to Lake Pontchartrain. The neighborhood was drowned in 10 feet of standing water for weeks. 

“Some people had to start from scratch, and many didn’t return, leaving huge empty lots in their neighborhood,” she said.

Bedier’s job was to organize the volunteer effort and then “assist with coordination, field phone calls to make sure people were in the right spot” and liaison with the neighborhood association. “Everyone had a job to do and everyone chipped in in a small way. We wanted to create an inspirational theme to run throughout the conference and this was a great way to set that tone,” she said.

Get Organized 

Jason Brock with YES Leisure, Sport & Entertainment 

With years of experience getting work crews organized for major events like the Olympic Games, Brock was Bedier’s natural choice as a logistical coordinator for the Legacy Project.

“Kim asked me about a month prior to step in and organize the volunteers into teams, put together the documentation needed and coordinate everyone once they got on site,” he said. 

It was a difficult task to do from afar and, while he did his best with spreadsheets and Google Maps, “it wasn’t until we arrived a couple days prior and first met with the neighborhood association’s President Gretchen Bradford that we really got an idea of what could be done to help as many people as possible in the time frame we faced.”

Brock said his team ended up adding an additional five houses to their list of projects and accomplished all the goals identified during planning. 

“And Bradford and the residents in the neighborhood were so genuinely appreciative,” he said. “They were phenomenal and it was amazing how everyone seemed to know everyone else and some even came out to thank us. One woman returned with the entire volunteer team, and was crying and hugging everyone before they got back on the bus. We were just blown away.” 

Get To Work 

Kathryn Carlson, SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Okla. 

After hours of gardening, painting and landscaping, several volunteers at one of the houses under repair noticed a huge metal screen door in the living room. The woman who lived in the house said she had owned the door for nearly five years, but couldn’t afford to have it installed.

“Two people from our team borrowed some tools from a neighbor and put the door on for her. She told us the metal screen door really provided her with a renewed sense of security,” Carlson said. “Other folks on our team repaired a corner of the house that had been badly damaged by water and insects, and then painted the area so that it matched the rest of the house. We even installed some solar accent lights.” 

Carlson said the Legacy Project was “an extremely rewarding experience” and added that “being able to go somewhere that was devastated was emotionally gratifying and a nice way to say thanks. It’s not just about having a good time in New Orleans, but a chance for IAVM to show that we care about the local community.” 

Get in Focus 

Adina Erwin, Fox Theatre, Atlanta 

“Our first assignment was to go to one of the residents of Pontchartrain Park and help her remove the mold from her siding. It was hard work and the owner wasn’t able to be there, but I think we were able to do a good job with what we had.”

The mold project took less time than Erwin expected, so her team headed to the main park at the entrance of the neighborhood and repainted several benches and picnic tables, helping give the neighborhood a visually appealing entrance 

“It’s the first year that IAVM did a Legacy project and we did expect some hiccups, but the important part is that we continue on,” Erwin said. “What it does is contextualizes our visit to the communities where we meet. We may go to dinner but we don’t get a feel for what the community is like. This is an authentic experience. We all work in venues that rely on community support and this is a chance for us as an industry to positively participate in a community.” 

Get Connected 

John Bolton, BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla. 

“I thought it was fantastic,” said Bolton, who worked with a team of Clemson students to clear overgrown grass and weeds from several abandoned lots.

“I loved hearing the stories of what people had been through. The neighborhood was totally destroyed by Katrina and it sat in 10 feet of water for weeks,” he said. “I remember taking a devastation tour right after it hit and you could just feel the mold in the air.”

Bolton called the event “an awesome opportunity to bond with some people I had never met,” including a group of Clemson students who would soon be submitting their resumes for future jobs in the industry. And besides the hard work, there was one other force uniting the volunteers, albeit through discomfort. It was the weather — hot, muggy and incredibly humid. 

“Luckily it had been overcast or else people would be passing out, especially if you’re not used to it, which most people aren’t. It can take your breath away,” Bolton said.

Interviewed for this story: Kim Bedier, (253) 573-2554; Jason Brock, (407) 504-4400; Kathryn Carlson, (918) 369-9360; Adina Erwin, (404) 881-2116; John Bolton, (918) 894-4210

JONATHAN FITZPATRICK

TALENT BUYER/VP OF ENTERTAINMENT

WENTE VINEYARDS, LIVERMORE, CALIF.

HOMETOWN: Vallejo, Calif.

UNIVERSITY: U.C. Santa Barbara

FIRST JOB IN THE INDUSTRY: I got my start booking shows at this small mountain winery in Bonny Doon, Calif. Eventually I headed up north and worked as an independent booker before going fulltime with Wente.

FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB: Combining people’s two passions — live entertainment and music. It’s rare to see someone unhappy when they’ve got a full glass of Merlot and they’re watching a great live band. If they don’t like the band, I just pour them more wine. If they don’t like the wine, I turn the music up.

HOBBIES: I head over to the coast and go surfing whenever I can. I just bought a custom Lance Collins fish-tail gun, which means it has split fins and is designed to go fast, like a bullet. It’s good for big waves, and getting away from sharks.

MENTORS: My dad, who always told me, “Whatever you do in life, have a plan in place. And have a backup plan, too.”

BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE: Chef Boyardee in a can and cartoons on my TV. One night it might be Ren & Stimpy with a dinner of SpaghettiOs with Franks, the next, a rerun of Speed Racer and a bowl of Beefaroni.

(925) 456-2450

RALPH HOLDERMAN

EXECUTIVE CHEF

HOUSE OF BLUES, MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.

HOMETOWN: Gulf Breeze, Fla.

UNIVERSITY: College of Charleston, S.C.

FIRST JOB IN THE INDUSTRY: I worked at several restaurants after college before taking a job at the Renaissance Charleston, which is owned by Marriott. I spent 12 years with the company and worked at several of their properties on the East Coast. In 2011, I took the job with House of Blues.

FAVORITE DISH: We were very fortunate to have celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez from the Food Network design our menu. I always recommend the lobster mac and cheese — we add panko bread crumbs to give it a nice crunch. Another good one is our Voodoo shrimp, served with a side of jalapeno cornbread.

BEST ADVICE: My former manager at Marriott told me, “You can push people’s tastes, but only so far. No one ever got a bad review for giving people what they want.”

FAVORITE SONG ON YOUR IPOD: Right now I’m digging “99 Shades of Gray” by JJ Grey and Mofro.

ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU: I used to compete in midget racecars when I was in high school. Great fun, but a very expensive hobby that didn’t seem to help me meet girls.

(843) 272-3000

LAUREN ROMERO

TOUR MANAGER

CAMPUS CONSCIOUSNESS TOUR

UNIVERSITY: Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.

HOMETOWN: Quincy, Mass.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB: Connecting with college students and getting them excited about environmental issues in their community. This year we’re working with Reverb and Articulate Entertainment to promote several university dates for Brantley Gilbert. He’s really passionate about sustainable agriculture and helped to arrange a day of service on a farm in Central Pennsylvania with the help of students from Loch Haven (Pa.) University.

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU WEREN’T AT YOUR CURRENT JOB: I’d probably be working in an office on Capitol Hill. Public policy is my other passion.

ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU: I can’t snap my fingers. I don’t understand why, but I just can’t do it.

HOBBIES: My husband and I just had our first child, so I don’t have a ton of free time, but I always love a nice picnic.

(207) 221-6553
 

If you hate waiting in line for customs, imagine how long it takes Taylor Swift?

The country starlet’s “Red” tour is one of the biggest stadium tours ever constituted, with 109 semi trucks, a 300-person and over 100 instruments with dozens of guitars. 

In 2009, U.S. Customs officials began to enforce the century-old Lacey Act protecting certain types of precious wood, That meant possible increased scrutiny of guitars for illegal material but, luckily, Customs officials are saying musicians will generally be exempt from the law.

The once-obscure Act, signed by President William McKinley in 1900 as the first far-reaching federal wildlife protection law, gained national attention in 2009 and 2011 when raids on Gibson Guitar’s facilities in Memphis and Nashville targeted the company for allegedly obtaining wood for its instruments that was illegal in India and Madagascar.

Agents claimed that the Indian wood was used in violation of the original Lacey Act (amended in 2008 to include plants), which prohibits the use of plants and wildlife that have been taken or traded in violation of foreign laws.

Gibson denied the charges, saying that the Indian wood seized in the raid (as well as a shipment of ebony from Madagascar seized in 2009) was legally obtained by a Forest Stewardship Council-certified supplier and that the wood from Madagascar was also legally obtained. The company’s CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, argued at the time that Gibson was using the same woods as its rivals, as well as furniture and architectural firms.

After the raid, which was undertaken by armed agents, Gibson settled with the Department of Justice in August 2012 by paying a penalty of $300,000 as well as $50,000 in community service payments to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

“The reality is that the amendments put forward to the Lacey Act in 2008 and now being enforced via regulation won’t have that much of a direct impact on traveling musicians,” said Mary Luehrsen, director of public affairs and government relations for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). “Lacey has a more direct impact on wood imports, guitar manufacturers and the shipment of guitars that need warranty work or repair.”

However, she said that while traveling musicians and their personal instruments are not included in the regulatory oversight of the Act, questions about Lacey from NAMM’s 9,000 global business members (which include Gibson, Yamaha and Steinway) and customers revealed that there was concern about the realities of traveling with rare, vintage or even some new instruments among musicians and manufacturers.

Those concerns centered on how those instruments would be viewed outside of the U.S. relative to the international endangered species treaty signed by more than 120 countries around the world that covers plants, animals and wildlife.

After facing those questions, U.S. regulators proposed a fix in May of 2013 that would develop what Luehrsen said is an “instrument passport.” In collaboration with the American Federation of Musicians, NAMM helped work out the details of the voluntary passport, which will cost users $75 a year and will be good for three years.

Under the new rule, she said that if an instrument was manufactured with endangered materials, it can be registered and the musician can then safely travel from country-to-country without fear of hang-ups at customs. She also debunked the myth that a musician could face issues traveling with the aforementioned instruments state-to-state within the U.S. “These changes offer validation about what we’ve been trying to articulate about that fear of traveling with these instruments,” she said. The passport provision was approved in May and is slowly being phased in the United States.

George Balady, an agriculturist and part of the plant protection and quarantine team at the Plant Health Inspection Service under the USDA, said that he, too, has been working to clear up the misconception about the Lacey Act changes. “From our perspective, the primary focus is on commercial-scale shipments, and individual instruments or performers with several instruments would not fall under consideration under normal circumstances as being involved in a commercial-scale exercise,” he said.

Balady said he has heard of some concerns from a few small companies who belong to the Association of String Instrument Artisans about the Lacey changes. “But if they are following the rules there is not going to be a problem.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posted a blog in September 2011 focused on these same concerns, which explained, “Individual consumers and musicians are not the focus of any U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement investigations pertaining to the Lacey Act, and have no need for concern about confiscation of their instruments by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” It also noted that anyone who unknowingly possesses an instrument containing wood that may have been illegally obtained will not have criminal exposure.

Jackson Haring, general manager of San Francisco-based High Road Touring, LLC, whose roster includes such internationally touring acts as Alabama Shakes, Emmylou Harris, Wilco and Robert Plant, said he has not heard of any issues with Lacey enforcement from any of his acts to date.

Interviewed for this story: Jackson Haring, (415) 332-9292; George Balady, (301) 851-2240; Mary Luehrsen, (760) 438-8001

Today’s sports and entertainment fans are probably foodies, watching chefs on TV, reading food and wine magazines, and eating out. In recognition of the growing importance of food to the fan experience, Venues Today introduced our annual Silver Spoon Awards this year. To judge the best in sustainability initiatives, new concepts and new menu items, we chose a jury (listed below) of industry experts, all foodies themselves, from various aspects of the industry.

Brenda Tinnen, AEG’s GM of Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo., brings a Midwestern mom, longtime arena manager perspective, while Tony Fiori, VP of Media and Marketing, Ray Cammack Shows, looked at it from the perspective of a 30-year veteran of the fair business. Fiori loves to try the new fair foods each year, “a big part of what the fair business is all about,” from the big rib to deep fried Oreos.

Chris Bigelow, The Bigelow Companies, was “born into the food business, the son of a Philadelphia candy maker.” His most perfect food ever is a “Philly cheesesteak, a side of scrapple, a slice of Mac’s pizza on the boardwalk, TastyKakes for dessert and wash it all down with a Birch Beer or Frank’s Wishniak Punch.” A world traveler, Bigelow judges most places by the food — worst: Cuba (salt and pepper are a luxury, but make up for it with cigars); best beer: Efes in Istanbul; best steak: Lila’s in Buenos Aires; and, of course, best barbecue: Kansas City.

When the sun goes down, Eddie Tadlock, AGM for SMG at DeVos Place Convention Center/Performance Hall, Grand Rapids, Mich., is a food blogger, slow food advocate, farmer’s market groupie, orchid lover and cookbook collector. He tells Venues Today, he “enjoys learning something just a little bit different about food and sourcing local ingredients for the table.”

Mike McGee, consultant, said his favorite foods, hands down, are “Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla, also Marble Slab chocolate almond, my wife’s devils food cake with white mountain frosting, and my mother’s banana pudding.”

On the concert promoter side of things, Dan Steinberg, Square Peg Concerts, noted he lives on the road, “where everything is about where and what I eat. The food makes the trip for me and can make or break the tone of the run.” Take note backstage caterers.

And our final jurist, Russ Simons, chief listening officer and managing partner for Venue Solutions Group, said he has “a beautiful love/hate relationship with food — I love to eat and hate it when its all gone”.

As it relates to public assembly facilities Simons believes that food quality, variety and price are among the most important guest experience factors to today’s customers. “I have always believed that our arenas, stadiums and convention facilities have a terrific untapped opportunity to use our kitchens in ways beyond just event activities.”

We agree, thus the inaugural Silver Spoon Awards, selected by this illustrious panel and the staff at Venues Today. Read on for this year’s superb and award-winning ideas and feel free to steal.

— Linda Deckard, Editor-In-Chief for Venues Today
 

Chef Allan Wambaa and his Kuku Paka.

Guests who try Kuku Paka might feel like they’re being transported to Kenya, where the dish originated. Tangy Njugu sauce, a Kenyan-style peanut sauce, gives the traditional chicken dish an authentic touch, but local Oregon hazelnuts will bring the flavors back to Portland.

Oregon Convention Center’s Executive Chef Allan Wambaa created the dish, which won honorable mention as a 2013 Venues Today Best Menu Item, to blend something ethnic and something local. By using Portland ingredients, Chef Wambaa brought a local flair to the dish. He has worked at Aramark for close to seven years, before joining pacificwild Catering in 2011. Pacificwild Catering is a division of Aramark that services the Metro Exposition and Recreation Commission’s Portland venues. Wambaa is originally from Nairobi, Kenya, and previously worked at venues in Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., and even as the Chef de Cuisine for Prince Fahad bin Khalid al Saud in Saudi Arabia. 

Kuku Paka is a chili-rubbed Draper Valley chicken skewer with an Oregon hazelnut crust, which is cooked fresh on an Evo grill in front of guests. 

“We cook it à la minute, because when someone cooks in front of you, you can ask them questions about the dish and really be surrounded by the scent,” said Chef Wambaa. “You could pre-cook it if you want to, but a lot of customers here believe in freshness.”

The chicken is served over West India spiced biryani rice, which includes raisins and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and coriander. It is served with the Tangy Njugu sauces and cabbage slaw. Traditionally, the chicken would be crusted with cashews instead of Oregon hazelnuts. 

“What’s so cool about Portland is that you get quite a bit of ethnic food, usually with a quirky twist,” said Brendan Coffey, resident district manager for pacificwild Catering. “In the case of the Kuku Paka, Chef Allan uses hazelnut to bring in a local aspect.”

A Kuku Paka portion of two chicken skewers costs $9. Coffey said he thinks the dish has been such a hit because of its genuine ingredients and sincere flavor.

“I think we’ve struck something here in the Portland market with trying to take Chef Allan’s comfort foods and adapt them,” said Coffey.

This isn’t the first dish from his culture that Chef Wambaa has introduced at OCC, having also made kabobs, samosas and curries. He credits the city for being so open to trying new and different foods.

“I always said that if I ever moved, it would be to Portland,” said Chef Wambaa. “It’s a foodie town, and I love that I’m able to use local ingredients here.”

Interviewed for this story: Brendan Coffey, (503) 731-7853; Chef Allan Wambaa, (503) 731-7867

Bottles from Vancouver Convention Center are recycled at the United We Can facility.

Vancouver (B.C.) Convention Centre has been lauded for its sustainability efforts since it opened in April 2009. The building received LEED Platinum certification, which took into account its facility-wide recycling program. Now, the convention center has been recognized with an honorable mention in Venues Today’s Best Sustainability Silver Spoon Awards for taking its recycling efforts to the next level by partnering with United We Can.

Instead of using a traditional recycling service and pocketing the proceeds, VCC has partnered with United We Can, a charitable organization that trains and employs people with barriers to traditional employment. Along with its food and beverage provider Centerplate, the convention center has gathered all of its wine and liquor bottles, as well as soda and beer cans and bottle recyclables for pick-up by United We Can, which then sorts them at the charity’s facility.

“Our partnership started kind of small at the end of 2010,” said Claire Smith, VP Sales and Marketing at VCC. “As we started to get more involved, we talked to our staff about what we were trying to achieve and they learned more about United We Can as an organization. The employees became really dedicated and the partnership began to take on more and more momentum.”

The partnership started with VCC providing United We Can with all of its recyclable beverage containers and, in turn, the charity kept 50 percent of the profits. In January 2012, the convention center started donating 100 percent of the deposit value of the beverage containers.

United We Can even set up a workstation at the facility during festivities for the 2011 Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League championship. 

“The convention center generously carved out a piece of space for us at their location, which allowed us to do all of the sorting on-site,” said Gerry Martin, GM of United We Can. “We were able to employ an extra 10 people each day because they didn’t charge us anything for the space and fed all of our people lunch — plus, they still gave us half the deposit value of the containers.”

So far, VCC has donated more than $24,000 — the value of around 500,000 beverage containers — to the charity, making the convention center its largest contributor. Pickups are regularly scheduled for Monday and Friday, but United We Can will modify the schedule if necessary. 

“The convention business is up and down like a roller coaster,” said Andrew Pollard, GM for Centerplate at Vancouver Convention Centre. “We need to have a partner who’s able to react to that.”

Interviewed for this story: Andrew Pollard and Claire Smith, (604) 647-7353; Gerry Martin, (604)  681-0001
 

Edgar’s Cantina at Safeco Field, Seattle

Edgar’s Cantina at Safeco Field, Seattle, won Honorable Mention for the 2013 Best Concept Silver Spoon Award because the themed area is what Centerplate’s John Sergi, chief design officer, calls a “destination within a destination.”

It opened to the public on April 1, 2013 to kick off the Major League Baseball season, with special appearances by Seattle Mariners Hall-of-Famer Edgar Martinez and local celebrity restaurateur and Centerplate culinary partner, Chef Ethan Stowell.

To create Edgar’s Cantina, Centerplate, along with the Seattle Mariners, removed 384 seats from the centerfield bleachers at Safeco Field to make room for the two-level restaurant and bar. Located on the “Home Run Porch” in the outfield, Edgar’s features an innovative “Northwest Mex” menu created by Chef Stowell. The cantina features a line of signature cocktails created by Seattle legend Anu Apte, owner of the Rob Roy lounge. These new drinks are all made with Zac, the specialty mezcal that the Cantina’s namesake, Edgar Martinez, and business partner Gene Juarez import from Mexico.

Steve Dominguez, GM for Centerplate at Safeco Field, said the two-story cantina has a great view of the playing field, unlike its predecessor, a Mexican restaurant that had a cave-like feel behind the bleachers. “It has become the hottest spot in our ballpark, definitely a destination,” Dominguez said.

Capacity is about 150 people and they have had to practically bar the doors some days. “Revenue has tripled in that area,” he said. Edgar’s Cantina has received best restaurant designations locally, “and we’re in a ballpark,” he said.

From concept to opening took about nine months and cost Centerplate $380,000, he added. “It’s important to do it right.”

Prices are reasonable. Most food items are $9, whether it’s three tacos or tortas or nachos. “You can switch the protein.”

Edgar’s Cantina “brings people closer to the action; it’s the only destination at Safeco Field that allows anyone in the park to have a custom-blended craft cocktail from one of the country’s top mixologists, made from Edgar Martinez’s own brand of Mezcal, alongside authentic tacos and tortas created by two top chefs in the country—all within touching distance of a Mariners’ outfielder,” Sergi said. “That isn’t just unique within Safeco—it’s unique within Seattle and unique within the country, which is why it’s becoming a part of people’s bucket lists.”

Interviewed for this story: Steve Dominguez, (206) 664-3174; John Sergi, (203) 975-5926

One of the monthly specials: Banana Bread Beer Shake.

What could be more refreshing than a cold beer during a hot baseball game? According to Johnathan Schumacher, food and beverage director at minor league baseball’s Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs, a beer shake. Venues Today’s panel of judges agreed, granting the RiverDogs’ Beer Shakes the Silver Spoon Award for Best New Menu Item in 2013.

Since introducing Beer Shakes in April, the RiverDogs have already sold more than 3,000 at a cool six bucks a pop.

Schumacher said that he first got the idea to bring beer shakes to the RiverDog’s Joseph R. Riley, Jr. Park through a trade news email that talked about a restaurant chain’s experiment with Samuel Adams shakes.

“I looked at that, scratched my head and thought, ‘this could work,’” he said.

In April, the RiverDogs introduced three flavors of the concoctions that are always available, as well as a rotating monthly special. The three constant flavors include Guinness Caramel, with vanilla ice cream, caramel syrup and Guinness; SweetWater 420 Strawberry, with strawberry ice cream and 420 Extra Pale Ale from Atlanta-based SweetWater Brewing Company; and Palmetto Espresso Porter Chocolate, with chocolate ice cream and syrup, with locally-brewed Palmetto Espresso Porter, accented with espresso from Charleston Coffee Roasters. 

For the monthly specials, the RiverDogs with ownership group, The Goldklang Group, teams with Advintage, a local micro-brew distributor. The Banana Nut Bread Beer Shake special just ended for July. Fans who come to the park in August can try an Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie Beer Shake, made with Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout and Rum Raisin ice cream.

“When they first started doing the Beer Shakes, I only delivered a few cases of Palmetto Espresso Porter because we didn’t know how it was going to go,” said Larry Lipov of Palmetto Brewery. “Their GM called and said they had blown out of the Espresso Porter.”

Because Palmetto Brewery is a local business, they brew in small batches and didn’t have a surplus of the flavor. “I actually had to go out into the retail trade and buy Palmetto Espresso Porter back from our retailers to bring to the ballpark,” Lipov added. 

The recipe is very important since the alcohol in beer tends to break down ice cream more quickly than milk. In order to keep a traditional milkshake consistency, Schumacher changed the liquid-to-ice cream ratio. Each shake contains about 7 ounces of beer, an equal amount of ice cream and, if used, an ounce of flavored syrup.

“It’s going to sound weird to a lot of people who aren’t sure how those flavors will mix, but we’ve done beer dinners with desserts involving ice creams with complimentary and contrasting flavors,” said Lipov. “John [Schumacher] is really creative in looking at the local foods and figuring out a twist for them.”

On big nights, the RiverDogs will sell around 150 shakes, with just under 100 per night as the average.

“Sales are really split right down the middle as far as male and female,” said Schumacher. “Usually we see couples come up and get two different flavors so they can try some of both.”

The three mainstay flavors and one monthly special are sold from one point of sale, with plans to expand to four constant flavors and a monthly special next season.

“Sales were very strong at the beginning and we were wondering where it would level off, but it’s still holding a very decent number,” said Schumacher. 

Most people only enjoy one per game — after all, beer shakes are very rich and filling.

“We get people having one or possibly two,” he said. “The heavier beers like the porters and the stouts work well because they’re thick and rich, and when you mix the ice cream in all of the flavors of the beer immediately come out.”

He said that intoxication from the Beer Shakes hasn’t been an issue because they’re so naturally filling. In fact, Schumacher said he considers the item more of a dessert with a hint of beer than an alcoholic beverage, though customers still need to have their IDs checked before purchase.

“Obviously you have to be 21 to order them, but it’s not like taking shots of Jagermeister.”

He said that this is a great opportunity to work with the go-local craze and the popularity of craft beer. Not only could a ballpark partner with local breweries, but also could expand the idea to use a local ice cream manufacturer. And the press attention has really raised the profile of the South Carolina ballpark.

“We were lucky because the media really jumped all over it,” he said. But it’s not just the media that’s showing an interest. Chefs and venues have reached out to Schumacher asking if he would have a problem with others taking the Beer Shakes idea and incorporating it at their facilities.

“I say, ‘hell no, go have fun with it!’” he said.

“It’s not like we’re trying to monopolize these,” he added, pointing out that it’s an easy item to test out because everyone has beer and ice cream in their inventory.

Interviewed for this story: Larry Lipov, (843) 224-9518; Johnathan Schumacher, (843) 723-7241

The Kitchen, a modular cooking experience that takes the chef to the consumer, is poised to change the banquet experience at convention centers and the concessions experience at arenas.

It might seem like a glorified portable or action station at first glance, and it is a result of “in-the-box” thinking, but the result is making the eating experience more fan-friendly and flexible. Because The Kitchen and its sister concept The Bar have shown such early promise, it won the 2013 Venues Today Silver Spoon Award for Best New Concept.

“When you walk up to a freestanding portable cart, it’s a limited, sometimes extremely limited, menu and you’re lucky to get a beverage there as well. Invariably you go somewhere else before you’re done,” noted Steve Gregosky, SVP, Ovations Food Services. The Kitchen and The Bar are appealing, approachable, and inviting and appear permanent. “You don’t see wheels; you don’t feel like it’s a cart.”

The Kitchen was introduced at the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Convention Center, helping Ovations successfully renew its concessions contract this year, though SMG won the management side of the deal.

Jay Polkinghorn, GM at the Sioux Falls venue, said the units are 16-feet wide, 8.5-feet deep, and 10-feet tall with truss & lighting. A mirror over the cooking station allows guests to watch food being cooked. Most importantly they can interact with the chef doing the cooking.

The Bar is made up of eight modular units, which can be split apart and scattered around the room when necessary, Gregosky added. But the best use is as a bar setting, circular or semicircular, where guests can sit and talk to the bartender and watch the drinks being made, again via a mirror overhead.

Depending on the finishes, The Bar units range between $35,000 and $50,000, and The Kitchen units range between $45,000 and $75,000 to build.

Typically, The Kitchen is used on the premium levels of arenas or at banquets. “It’s a culinary experience, not a snack area,” Gregosky said. “It’s a lot more visible than an action station and the menu more diverse and tailored to the crowd.”

The Kitchen has a grill, induction cooking and countertop operation with no set menu. Ovations did develop a series of menus appropriate to the method of service, but even that is flexible. You can’t do anything you could in a kitchen, of course, but you can do a lot more than you can at a portable or action station.

The Kitchen was used during a Chamber Mixer June 11 in Sioux Falls during which they served Bourbon Chicken Satays, Grilled Beef Satay with Bloody Mary Sauce, and Brisket Sliders, all made and butlered out of The Kitchen to serve 500.

During a Good Sam custom breakfast buffet priced $19 per person for 245 attendees ($4,655), The Kitchen was used for the waffle and omelet service.

But Polkinghorn has seen the greatest use as an upsell, usually garnering an additional $6.50-$15 per person per event using The Kitchen to sell appetizers, for example. Event planners can choose three appetizers from a menu that includes everything from Midwestern Bison meatballs to pulled pork sliders to Prosciutto wrapped chicken and pan-seared Walleye Cakes with citrus aioli. 

“It is as flexible and fluid as possible,” Gregosky said. “It gives our GMs the ability to come up with a cool concept for a particular show or event planner, design for that and plug in the spaces they need and make it work.”

New convention centers are sometimes being built without permanent concessions stands, preferring all space to be flexible, which makes The Kitchen the proactive answer to the trend, Gregosky said. 

The Bar is similar in meeting a need. All convention and meeting room bars are the same, six feet long, dark wood with a six-inch wide counter and an eight-foot table behind with all the bartender’s stuff. “It looks as temporary as you can get,” Gregosky said. 

But one of the hottest trends now on the street is people gathering and even eating at the restaurant bar, networking and socializing more than ever before. It’s not about chugging more beers; it’s about the bar being the lubricant to networking. That’s counterintuitive to the cocktail reception experience that requires each customer to line up single file and move out of the way quickly.

Ovations’ The Bar has a bar rail at your feet, a circular setup, seats when possible and a permanent feel. “If you’re at a reception, there is a place to go,” Gregosky said. “The Bar concept is based entirely on creating the visual of this-is-not-your-typical portable, here are your drink tickets.”

Gregosky remembers how hard it was to sell the idea of a permanent chef’s table in a convention center kitchen to market to event planners. Clients worried it was a waste of space. Now it’s expected there will be a chef’s table in the kitchen.

He envisions a day when it will be expected there will a kitchen in the ballroom.

Ovations used the concept to win the concessions contract at Direct Energy Centre in Toronto and Gregosky said there were event planners trying to book The Kitchen before Ovations even had the contract. 

In Sioux Falls, Polkinghorn sells it as bringing the fresh approach even closer to the guest. “It’s one more tool we can use. It’s been great for marketing and getting new clients in.” Wedding planners and holiday partiers love it.

“It changes the way banquets are going,” Polkinghorn said. “With two pieces, The Bar and The Kitchen, we can change people’s minds on what a banquet or reception is at a convention center. Instead of a buffet line or a plate of chicken set in front of you, it’s an experience. You can see it, smell it, and interact with the chef making the dish.”

It’s simple, but it’s revolutionary.

Interviewed for this story: Steve Gregosky, (813) 948-6900; Jay Polkinghorn, (605) 367-4163

A group of kids gathers at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins. They’re smiling and proud, eating fresh salads in the summer heat. But there’s a twist. Those same 14-to-18-year-olds were the masterminds behind the recipes, as well as the gardeners behind the ingredients.

That is the idea behind Roots for the Home Team, a program that brings children from youth garden programs to the ballpark to sell salads made with their produce. The program was awarded Best Sustainability Initiative 2013 in Venues Today’s Silver Spoon Awards. Dietician Sue Moores developed Roots for the Home Team as a way to get people to appreciate and understand where their food came from. 

“It fit perfectly with baseball,” said Moores. “The Twins were just at the point of moving to their outdoor field [when Moores had the idea in 2010.] It seemed like this whole new, fresh approach that fit perfectly with us.”

“As soon as you say ‘healthy,’ people think they’re not going to like it,” she added. “I wanted to change that.”

Roots for the Home Team's 'Beet the Heat' salad.

In 2012, Roots for the Home Team launched with a booth, staffed by kids selling their salads, at 10 games. The first year, the Roots for the Home Team crew only sold its items on Sundays, family days at the park. This year the program expanded to 18 games, with two salad choices at each game. 

“The salads, both the menus and the recipes, are created and grown by the kids in these local urban gardens,” said Pete Spike, GM for Delaware North Companies — Sportservice at Target Field. “We support them with our culinary staff.

The Roots for the Home Team youth create six salads each season and rotate which ones are sold. These salads aren’t just tomato and cucumber. Beet the Heat Salad includes raw beets and other veggies, dried cranberries, and a hint of ginger. The Miso Great Salad features a host of fruits, veggies and greens, garnished with a mixture that includes miso paste, gingerroot, jalapenos, honey and sesame oil. The Game-On Spring Roll Salad, PaLyEsai Greek Salad, Summertime Zesty Quinoa Salad, and Roast-a-Ria Salad are all 2013 options. Recipes for this year’s and last year’s salads can be found on the Roots for the Home Team website.

Salads cost $8 each and, thanks to chicken donated by sponsor Just Bare Chicken, patrons can add the protein to their salads for an extra $2. 

Roots for the Home Team sells 100 salads each game, 50 of each type the group is selling that day, although Moores estimated that about 15-20 percent is used for samples. 

Roots for the Home Team's Game On Spring Roll salad.

“We usually sell out of salads by the fifth inning,” said Moores, who added that the idea wasn’t to make 500 salads and have a lot of product left over, but to see how excited the kids get when they’ve sold the last salad.

Roots for the Home Team pays for the chefs’ time, but isn’t charged for space or other related costs, instead reinvesting profits into the program.

“It’s waiving the profits that would generally go to an existing menu item,” said Spike of the Twins’ investment. “But we’ll do it as long as Roots for the Home Team continues to get public support and is able to offset some of its operational expenses.”

“It’s fun to see the kids’ faces and how proud they are knowing that the seeds they planted grew into these items,” he added. 

While Roots for the Home Team is a great opportunity for the Twins and Target Field to give back, Spike said that the salad items are also popular with the audience.

“Everybody enjoys a story behind their food,” he said. “And what we’ve seen over the years is there’s always this demand for a healthier option when people go to a ballgame.”

“Roots for the Home Team combines both, and the fans have been really receptive,” he added.

The program partners with three local urban gardens: Emerge Homegrown Gardens, Urban Roots, and Youth Farm. Of the approximately 1,500 kids in the youth garden programs, 25-30 participate in the Roots for the Home Team initiative.

In addition to planting and taking care of the vegetables, and harvesting the produce, Roots for the Home Team participants have been on tours of the Sportservice kitchens. Plus, if they finish cleaning up the cart early, the kids can even catch the end of a Twins game.

Roots for the Home Team is just one facet of the Minnesota Twins’ sustainability efforts, noted Matt Hoy, Twins senior VP of operations. “It’s also how we clean the bowl, sorting through every bag of trash every night to increase our diversion rate and using sustainable products whenever we can.”

The motivation for going green, Hoy said, is to “be a good member of our community. Everyone is focused on sustainability at home.”

Interviewed for this story: Matt Hoy, (612) 659-3400; Susan Moores, (651) 653-4794; Pete Spike, (612) 659-3998