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Dzeko & Torres played Event Center at San Jose (Calif.) State University during Winter White Tour with Steve Aoki, Jan. 30, 2014. (Photo by Joey Vitalari)
Though overall grosses were down compared to last year’s University Top Stops, facility
managers seem optimistic. The top 20 venues still grossed a combined nearly $100 million. Some have looked into co-promoting or producing their own events, which can be tricky using university funds. It hasn’t been a year without drama, either. One facility experienced a power outage while doors were opening for an event, while another dealt with a national news event less than 10 miles away that impacted its marketing reach.
Do It Yourself
Presenting in-house has added more events to a busy roster
GM Ty Sutton and the team at Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center in Midland, Texas, wear a lot of shoes for a lean staff. “We are basically very tired all the time,” said Sutton.
The venue had 97 shows on the books in this year’s University Top Stops, up from 78 last year. The increase is at least partially attributable to the university’s willingness to present shows, with its first full presenting series this season.
“We don’t sell it as a full six series where we give you the same seat, but instead as a discount package where the more shows you buy, the more of a discount you get,” said Sutton, who added that the series brings more diverse events to the facility.
“Promoters are only going to bring you certain types of shows, so if you’re sitting back relying on that you’re only going to get what’s popular and profitable for them,” he said. In February, the venue will present 2 Cellos, a Croatian cellist group. Sutton didn’t go into the event thinking it would be a sellout but, as of press time, only about 100 tickets were left with a month to go.
Contact: (432) 552-4433
Annual Vegas Events
Annual events attract crowds at both UNLV facilities
The top two facilities in our largest category both lie on the campus of University of Nevada—Las Vegas. Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium hosted a combined 71 nonresident events. “Obviously we have a great relationship with our annual events,” said Michael Newcomb, executive director of both facilities.
National Finals Rodeo and the yearly NBA Las Vegas Summer League were both up this year.
“Summer league probably grew this year by 30 percent attendance due to the fact that we had eight out of the top 10 NBA draft choices,” Newcomb said, adding that the event first started at the arena with six teams 10 years ago and has grown to 24 teams.
“When people come here for these annual events they’re usually witnessing the culmination of a season or a type of championship and that really puts an exclamation point on things,” Newcomb added.
Thomas & Mack Center broke ground on a long-planned renovation in October that will replace flooring, seating, and take care of a lot of deferred maintenance. The 33-year-old facility will stay open during the majority of the $70-million renovation. Sam Boyd Stadium isn’t being left out, with a new, versatile green turf scheduled to be installed this summer.
About $47 million of funding comes from a state slot tax, with fundraising accounting for the other portion.
Contact: (702) 895-1003
High-Energy Events
A power outage won’t stop the show
Wright State University’s Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, is heading into an exciting time under the leadership of Jim Brown, who’s been at the helm for nearly five years. In December, the facility will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
It hasn’t always necessarily been smooth sailing, but it’s always been exciting.
Nutter Center has hosted Trans-Siberian Orchestra annually, but the 2014 show had a different sort of buzz with two shows in one day.
“Right before we opened the doors for the second show we lost power, so we just changed out the hamsters and put them on new treadmills,” said Brown, who added that the power substation about a quarter-mile down the road got power back up after about 40 minutes. “We had generators so the necessary things all worked, but obviously the generator isn’t going to get us to full show production level, it’s just there for emergency situations.”
Contact: (937) 775-4670
Extending Event Types
Unique events shine at university facilities
Event Center at San Jose (Calif.) State University more than doubled the number of shows this year to 25. The venue said yes to more types of events, hosting the Northern California regional Crossfit Games May 30-June 1.
“It was a very different type of event for us and took over the venue completely,” said Aisah Gemora, Booking/Event Operations coordinator at the facility. The venue also hosted a speaking engagement with Hilary Clinton in the spring as part of women’s speaker series.
Event Center at San Jose has actively tried to book more events that cater to the student demographic, hosting a two-night EDM festival over Halloween. With the reputation of EDM shows, facility staff made sure to over prepare. “The university police do due diligence and contact past venues and municipalities,” said Gemora, who added that the facility does a lot themselves to ensure the safety of its patrons. “We put up money to hand out extra water free all night.”
Electronic music is the most popular event type in the region.
Contact: (408) 924-6360
Seeing the Light
A revamped website and new lighting brightens the facility
In order to be easily and comfortably viewed on multiple devices, Morrison Center for the Performing Arts in Boise, Idaho, revamped its MorrisonCenter.com website to a responsive WordPress format.
“With 80-90 percent of our sales being secured online, it was essential to upgrade the website,” said Executive Director James Patrick. The ticket purchasing portal is now more easily accessible on mobile devices.
From an operations and upgrade standpoint, the facility converted about 1,200 lighting fixtures and lamps to LEDs last year at a cost of around $150,000. An incentive grant from Idaho Power, which will cover about 10 percent of the cost, is pending approval. With the new lighting, the venue will go from using 188,000 kwh to 28,000 kwh.
Contact: (208) 426-4020
The Frozen Phenomenon
One facility adds performances
“This was a remarkable, once-in-a-career event,” said Barry Geisler of Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., of Disney On Ice Frozen. Normally the facility hosts nine performances for a Disney on Ice show. For Frozen, the venue added four additional shows, selling out 11 total and coming close with the final two.
“This was an event that probably grossed three times more than it normally does,” he added. “It seems like every mom wanted to make sure they took their daughter — they were buying tickets as soon as we could release them.”
“I wish we could get one of those every year, but they come along only once in a small while.”
Contact: (703) 993-3009
Expanding Contacts
Arena brings in new promoters
Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo., worked with a record number of promoters this year to bring in everything from country to rap, EDM to comedy.
“You try to be inclusive with promoters,” said GM Jim Wynkoop. “The key is to keep the ones that you work with then pick up a couple more.”
Wynkoop faced a challenge this year when events in nearby Ferguson, Mo., resulted in riots making national news headlines.
“The reality was that we had shows on sale at the time and it was very difficult to get advertising to be heard or seen on TV as there were constant news updates and preemptions,” he said. Though the issues, including police use of force and race relations, continue to be a point of discussion, the immediate impact has been reduced enough that the facility can now market shows through the din of news.
Show attendance, and even performances, were affected, with Hunter Hayes canceling after the governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency.
Contact: (314) 977-5001
Decades in the Making
Lubbock, Texas, secures a Beatle
For Kent Meredith, director, United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, the Paul McCartney date in 2014 really stood out. He had been pursuing a date with the artist since 1999.
“With Lubbock being the hometown of Buddy Holly and the influence Buddy had on the Beatles, folks in Lubbock have been working on getting Paul McCartney here for literally decades,” he said. “Barrie Marshall with Marshall Arts came down in early 2014 for a tour of the arena and he, along with John States, Louis Messina and AEG all made this incredible show happen for Lubbock.” Barbara Hubbard also raised money for her ACTS scholarships during the event.
Contact: (806) 742-7362
Going Portable
An overcapacity show entertained outside
Having too many people turn up to an event isn’t the worst problem to have, but Steve Tadlock of Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., didn’t want to turn anyone away during Premier Productions’ Winter Jam.
“We were actually over capacity and had about 1,000 folks who couldn’t get in, but we anticipated that potential and are really happy with how it worked out,” he said. Working with show production, the facility built a portable stage outside near the box office. “Many of the bands, including the headliner, did a couple of songs, so these people who couldn’t get in ended up getting this sort of free show up close and personal.”
“Those were great problems to have when you fill the place to capacity and beyond but leave people not being disappointed,” he added.
Contact: (559) 347-3410
All About Timing
Strategic onsales help move tickets
For Colonial Life Arena, it was good news that Bruno Mars was playing the 2014 Super Bowl halftime show. The arena had a date with the artist scheduled for June 13 and took advantage of the buzz.
“We went on sale the morning after he played the halftime show,” said facility GM Lexie Boone. “The on sale just blew up that morning,” with the show eventually selling out. In December the arena completed its suite renovation project that touched all 41 suites.
It’s a time of change at the facility, which is in the process of transitioning from private management with Global Spectrum to in-house management.
Contact: (803) 777-4202
Country Calling
An inaugural event starts strong
Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, hosted the inaugural iHeartRadio Country Festival in March 2014, contributing to a total Top Stops gross of more than $6 million. The festival will return to the facility in May. In other country successes, George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away farewell tour kicked off 2014 with a sold-out performance at the venue.
The facility has put an increased emphasis on the fan experience, working with the Disney Institute on the ‘Transforming Texas’ initiative, “which is an effort by Texas Athletics to create a customer service environment that is unmatched by any other collegiate athletics program in the nation,” said the venue’s Laura Bennett.
Contact: (512) 471-3678
