PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C., was a rehersal site for Katy Perry
Though a cold snap caused trouble for a few venues, the live entertainment industry is heating up in Georgia and the Carolinas. Between Aug. 1, 2013, and July 31, 2014, the top venues in the three states grossed nearly $140 million. The top four venues in Georgia grossed a combined $66.4 million, with the top 10 facilities in the Carolinas reporting a gross of more than $71 million.
Venues with fewer than 10,000 seats proved very strong this year, accounting for more than 45 percent of the total gross. Whether it was new management, innovative ways of using technology and social media, adding rehearsal dates, or coming up with creative solutions to canceled shows, all of the facilities did something a bit different to make the time period such a success.
Profit from Privatization
The switch to private management raises revenues
Since taking over management of Crown Complex Nov. 1, 2013, Global Spectrum has overperformed, besting its revenue benchmark in year one. The deal privatized multiple venues — Crown Coliseum, Crown Arena, Crown Expo Center, Crown Theatre and Crown Ballroom — and the firm has lured artists such as Darius Rucker, Eli Young Band, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line to the city.
General Manager Jim Grafstrom said that the county opted for private management to streamline expenses and book more events in multiple venues.
As part of the five-year contract, Global Spectrum is required to hit a revenue benchmark each year to earn an incentive. Cumberland County set the benchmark at $2.45 million across all properties, which is an average of the last three years at the facility. The prorated amount that Global Spectrum was aiming for during the first eight months it operated the facility was $1.64 million. They beat that prorated average by more than $1 million, ending the fiscal year at $2.8 million in revenue.
Crown Complex also partners with local producers, including Community Concerts of Fayetteville that put on a series of five to six shows in the theater each year. The subscription series includes national acts, such as Scotty McCreery and Smokey Robinson.
The county’s preestablished yearly budget set a $4-million operating loss for the facility, which includes some improvements and renovations. Global Spectrum was able to cut the loss to $3.4 million for the year.
Contact: (910) 438-4117
Rehearsing for Success
Kicking off a tour helps arena hit #1
PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., brought more than 369,000 attendees to the facility for shows that included Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Bob Seeger, and Katy Perry.
For Dave Olsen, arena executive VP and GM, Perry stands out above the rest.
“Katy Perry kicked off her North America tour and they were here for a week rehearsing,” he said, adding that it was the first time PNC Arena has had the opportunity to kick off a tour.
To help draw fans back, the venue has undergone some major renovations, including $650,000 to add a new LED lighting system, which makes PNC Arena the first US-based NHL team to have that type of system.
They have also added a three-sided fireplace to the Lenovo Champions Club at a cost of about $30,000, and reworked the Ledge Lounge countertops to provide additional counter space, featuring 13-inch HDTVs, and upgraded finishes for about $120,000. PNC Arena also spent $140,000 converting two of its 18-seat suites into five loge boxes that seat six.
“It gives small to midsize companies the suite experience and provides great networking,” said Olsen.
Contact: (919) 861-5470
Seeking Compassion in Georgia
Increasing fan engagement is the goal in Duluth
Increasing engagement with all stakeholders has been the focus at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
“Whether it is engaging with our clients or our ticket buyers, we want them to know that we are listening and that we care,” said General Manager Joseph Dennis. As part of increasing that engagement, the 13,100-capacity facility entered a partnership with Samsung that stretches across many AEG-managed facilities. The technology allows the center to provide ticket upgrades and offer in-venue benefits to customers after they enter the facility.
Gwinnett Center also redesigned its website and created a mobile website in order for fans to be able to discover information about its events on the go.
“This is even more necessary in-venue, so we increased our bandwidth and added additional access points, which makes the fan experience more shareable,” added Dennis.
In March 2013, Gwinnett Center switched to AXS Ticketing and has been working to educate the public about the change ever since.
“The Atlanta market has eight major venues within a 30-mile radius, so there is a lot of competition in the market,” said Dennis.
Contact: (770) 813-7552
Atlanta Celebrates Its Own
Fox Theatre has always considered Nashvillian Gregg Allman one of their own
All My Friends, Celebrating the Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman, brought dozens of A-list artists to Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Jan. 10. The once-in-a-lifetime, all-star performance paid tribute to the life and music of Gregg Allman, who requested that the show be held in Atlanta.
“Atlanta has always considered him one of their own, and I think everyone has watched his career and seen him resurrect himself the last couple of years,” said Allan Vella, president and CEO. “It was an evening where the energy in the room felt like you went to a party in honor of a good friend.”
A cast of stars including Trace Adkins, Jackson Browne, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Dr. John, Martina McBride and Susan Tedeschi joined Allman for the tribute, performing some of the artist’s greatest hits in a special that was recorded and filmed and later released.
“They had limited rehearsals on stage, so it was definitely off the cuff, but when you have world-class musicians all coming together and feeding off each other, it made for a great show,” said Vella.
The theater had to remove about 200 seats due to camera kills and view obstructions, but still managed to sell out the 4,609 tickets Nov. 1 in “literally, minutes,” with a top price of $550 and tickets starting at $75. The event grossed more than $890,000.
Fox Theatre was also full for two weeks of “Book of Mormon,” which brought a nearly $5-million gross along with some icy drama. The first day of the run, Jan. 28, Georgia declared a state of emergency due to ice and snow conditions at about 5:30 p.m.
“My box office and the Fox staff literally stayed here overnight, trying to accommodate and care for all of the guests that showed up, giving them coffee and a warm place to sit,” said Vella. “A good majority of my staff slept here overnight — in conference rooms, offices, anywhere they could fit.”
The state of emergency continued the following day, making for two canceled performances. However, Broadway Across America worked with the theater and show to add an additional performance and the nearly 8,000 customers that were displaced from the first two performances were accommodated.
Contact: (404) 881-2100
Rocking Rockettes
The once-every-four-years event is a hit
The Radio City Rockettes Christmas tour isn’t something you see every day. In fact, the show only goes out for a total of six weeks each year and hits three different cities. Last year, Atlanta was one of those cities, with Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre serving as the host.
Managing Director Michael Taormina said the show chose the facility because it’s state of the art and large enough to accommodate the production, with load in including 17 trucks and a 50-foot LED wall.
The 27 shows, Nov. 7-17, brought nearly 60,000 people to the facility for a gross of almost $4 million, more than a third of the venue’s total reported gross for Top Stops.
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre has stepped up its involvement in social media, extending content beyond just what’s on the stage. The full-time employee in charge of social media also posts backstage shots and behind-the-scenes items like recipes from the venue’s kitchen.
In the month of July the facility’s Facebook fans increased by 14 percent.
“I think the traditional forms of performing arts will start loosening the rules when it comes to social media,” he added. “I’m not saying they’ll encourage it during a performance, but taking a picture of the curtain, set, or posting a review during intermission could only be a benefit.”
Contact: (770) 916-2800
Broadway’s High Point
DPAC shares in Book of Mormon’s success
The event was the fastest multiweek Broadway sellout ever in Durham Performing Arts Center history. More than 600 fans lined up outside the facility for tickets the morning that public sales began. Around 40,000 people entered the facility because of it.
That dynamo event was “Book of Mormon,” which played Durham (N.C.) Performing Arts Center, Feb. 11-23.
“Without a doubt, ‘Book of Mormon’ was the high point of the past year,” said GM Bob Klaus. The show headlined DPAC’s signature SunTrust Broadway series.
The show contributed to helping the facility’s Broadway season ticket base grow more than 25 percent in the last two seasons, now counting more than 15,000 season members. In order to give first-class customer service to all of the new fans, the DPAC Ticket Center has restructured and modernized, introducing new payment plans, updating how season tickets are processed and fulfilled, and even changing how the tickets themselves look and feel.
About 85 percent of members renewed their tickets for the 2014/15 season.
DPAC is growing, adding seasoned staff in order to bring on more events. Most recently, 15-year veteran of Live Nation Taki Pappas joined the team as in-house talent buyer in February.
“With his expertise we hope to grow our current concert and comedy lineup of about 50 events per year into the 60-70 range,” added Klaus.
Contact: (919 688-3722
In Development in Charlotte
The arena focuses on improvements with future dividends
Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., faced a rebrand of its tenant team, originally named the Charlotte Bobcats, bringing the Charlotte Hornets moniker back to the National Basketball Association for the first time since the NBA franchise moved to New Orleans in 2002.
Facility GM Donna Julian considers the rebrand the biggest organizational change this year.
Justin Timberlake brought his 20/20 Experience to the venue, July 12, for one of the year’s largest shows. In the winter, “Jay-Z returned to Charlotte after a 12-year hiatus,” said Julian, proving that absence makes the heart grow fonder, Jan. 4.
The facility worked hard this year to develop a renovation checklist for Time Warner Cable Arena, with Charlotte City Council approving an investment of $33.5 million over 10 years on improvements. Included are renovations to restaurants and bathrooms, adding seating in the lower bowl, improving lighting and replacing the scoreboard, among other upgrades.
Contact: (704) 688-8532
Scoring Big Laughs
Comedy lights up Durham
Carolina Theatre in Durham, N.C., set a record with its four sold-out shows on Aziz Ansari’s spring tour, selling 4,081 tickets.
“It’s a record for one artist in our 1,044-seat hall, and probably one that won’t fall anytime soon,” said President and CEO Bob Nocek. The March 10-11 performances had a flat price of $35, grossing nearly $150,000 total.
The dates were a long time coming.
“The show was the result of several years of relationship-building with APA’s comedy division, and of having a consistent track record of presenting their artists and taking good care of them while they’re in town,” added Nocek.
The facility also continued to build its relationship with the City of Durham, having spent the last two years working toward a renewal of Carolina Theatre of Durham’s management contract. The original contract expired in June 2013, followed by a temporary one-year extension.
This April, the company signed a new 10-year agreement that runs through June 30, 2024, followed by two five-year renewal options.
“Having spent so much time prior to this year focused on the future and facing some degree of uncertainty, it gives us a major sense of stability to have our future secured for at least the next 10 years and possibly the next 20,” added Nocek.
Contact: (916) 560-3040
Going Country in Columbia
Darius Rucker fans follow him to country
It was a first for Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Darius Rucker “went to college here and has had a huge following since the Hootie & the Blowfish days, but never played Colonial Life Arena,” said GM Lexie Boone, who added that the venue went really over the top on its ‘welcome back’ theme.
That started with a welcome wall on the hallway leading back to Rucker’s dressing room. The wall was covered with photos of local fans posing with a Darius Rucker life-size cutout.
“His show was like he was playing a private show for 12,000 of his closest Gamecock friends and family,” said Boone. The Feb. 21 performance also featured Eli Young Band and David Nail.
Boone said that it’s a great time for live music in Columbia, which has evolved in a positive way over the last few years.
“It’s becoming a market where you can follow artists from their beginnings, from playing in clubs like the new Music Farm that just opened up this fall, to theaters like Township Auditorium, and eventually Colonial Life Arena,” he said. A suite renovation project began in September to completely upgrade all 41 suites with new carpet, furniture, TVs, and remodeled cabinetry.
Contact: (803) 576-9050
The Fabulous Knight Returns
Elton John returned to Philips Arena to huge crowds
Though he opened the facility Sept. 24, 1999, and has played several times since, Sir Elton John still brings in a crowd at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
“It was the highlight of our year, as is the case every time he has performed here,” said EVP & GM Trey Feazell.
The Nov. 16 performance drew nearly 15,000 attendees, with ticket prices ranging $45-$165. John’s Live Nation-promoted show grossed more than $1.1 million.
Just a couple of months later, chaos hit the city in January and February, with ice and snow causing gridlocks and road closures.
“Several of us, including myself, got stuck in the arena overnight when we realized the roads were closed,” said Feazell of the first storm, adding that staff members slept in offices, lounges and suites.
The second ice storm came in February the week that Philips Arena was hosting 12 performances of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
“After the last ice storm, we knew the roads could be dangerous and the city might shut down again,” said Feazell, adding that the arena ended up closing the office for three days and canceling two of the performances, Feb. 12-13.
“Fortunately, most of our team had power and were able to work together remotely and update employees, media, ticket holders and the general public,” added Feazell.
Contact: (404) 878-3005