The crowd at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. rocks out to Marilyn Manson on July 9, 2013. (Photo by Brendan Donahue)
In a musically inundated market surrounding Nashville, Tenn., venues play up what sets them apart, whether it’s history, independent programming or sponsorships. Some of them also include different concepts as revenue generators apart from traditional concerts. Venues Today checked in with some of the 2014 Top Stops in Kentucky and Tennessee to learn more about the creative ways venues are continuing to make money and find success.
Unique Sponsorship Opportunities
KFC Yum! Center works with sponsors to offer more than just signage
2014 saw George Strait set a KFC Yum! Center record for most tickets sold for any event and a National Basketball Association exhibition game between the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans was a legitimate sellout. KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., has stayed busy with 30 concerts in the last calendar year. It has attracted 21 of the top 22 tours since its opening in 2010.
“We’re getting them because we’re selling tickets,” said GM Dennis Petrullo. “We haven’t seen the building slow down since it opened. Usually you have your two-year honeymoon period, but we’re still going strong.”
As a regular partner with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, perennially hosting basketball and volleyball games and tournaments, the arena’s reach expands beyond Louisville to the surrounding cities. There has been no pushback on pricing as Petrullo said they continue to market aggressively with an ear always to the pavement to stay on top of whatever is going on.
“There’s money in the market,” said Petrullo. “For Kentucky, it’s bourbon, horses and entertainment. They enjoy it all, and as long as we’re selling tickets, then we’ll get the shows.”
KFC Yum! Center does its part in spreading that money around as downtown Louisville experiences a sort of resurgence, and the shows attract people from out of town.
“It’s interesting because 35 percent of our tickets come from outside the Louisville area, which is a big number,” said Petrullo. “We’re drawing from Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Lexington. We’re seeing growth for hotel rooms and activity when we bring in shows. So the building has really been an economic engine for the city. There’s been so much development around the building and the TIF (Tax Increment Finance) district is growing every year.”
Petrullo said they are also changing the way they work with sponsors at the arena. With a Heaven Hill Distilleries contract that was recently extended another 10 years, the company paid to build a new bar area that makes some money for the arena while also acting as advertising for Heaven Hill.
“It’s more of a sponsorship element than a point-of-sale place,” said Petrullo. “The marketing elements that surround this location really define that company. The actual bar is only 1,000 sq. ft., but the sponsorship area is probably 3,000 sq. ft.”
In November 2011, KFC Yum! Center worked with sponsor Norton Commons, an all-inclusive housing community, to build a full-sized porch and model home on the main concourse. Pregame and postgame broadcasts are filmed at the house, a feature that appealed to Norton Commons’ creative marketing.
“The idea of a sponsor just wanting a sign doesn’t work anymore. We’ve been moving forward rather rapidly on engaging our sponsors with a little more meat in their elements.”
With all that went on in 2014, Petrullo is already excited for the new year and “booking another 30 shows.”
Contact: (502) 690-9011
Self-Sustaining Moves
TPAC becomes more independent while reaching the Nashville community
In a town inundated with musical talent and entertainment options, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville, Tenn., was still able to enjoy a record-breaking 2013-2014 season, seating almost 400,000 people and bringing in about $20 million in ticket sales with an economic impact of $64 million and an 8-percent increase over last year’s Top Stops gross.
Broadway continues to be a popular draw for TPAC, which curates a 10-12 week Broadway series each year. Four weeks of “Wicked” certainly contributed to the standout season, selling more than 70,000 tickets. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and “Jersey Boys” were also popular Broadway offerings.
In recent years, TPAC has moved to become more self-sustaining, seeking to have more control over its scheduling and fan interactions. After deciding to drop Broadway Across America as their presenter, leadership at TPAC has built independent relationships in the Broadway world to increase Nashville’s reputation after proving that audiences will respond to shows. These relationships allow TPAC to get shows during their first national tours, which is how “Newsies,” “Kinky Boots” and “Once” will all be part of the 2015 series.
With Broadway Across America, Tony Marks, director of Communications and Public Relations, said they had less control over how they marketed and sold the shows, which was hard not to have in a city like Nashville where timing is important, as you don’t want to be going up against some other major event.
“It’s a smaller city with the entertainment options of a much larger city,” said Marks. “It’s a tough town to sell a ticket. If you don’t have local control over how you target your show or who you’re reaching out to, you can miss the target.”
TPAC also dropped Ticketmaster and are now an independent ticketer. Marks said the move allows them to provide better customer service to their ticket buyers and engage them in what they do as a performing arts center.
Community outreach continues to play an important role in TPAC’s mission, first through five signature educational programs that have reached all 95 counties of Tennessee. Each year, Marks said their programs engage 30,000-35,000 kids of all ages, encouraging them to pursue their own artistic abilities. TPAC often acts as a place for new pilot programs for education and other community initiatives as well.
Another way TPAC involves the local community is through a new initiative called Review Crew. Each season TPAC invites 10-12 different people as community representatives. They are given tickets to opening night of certain shows then are asked to review them.
“They then take that content and their experience to their individual communities and advocate for the show and TPAC,” said Marks. “Each season has its own affinity group, and over time the community will hopefully become informed about what we do.”
Contact: (615) 782-4095
Expanding the Function
Looking beyond concerts to private events proves valuable for Palace Theatre
As a historical landmark in Louisville, Ky., Palace Theatre attempts to modernize history in order to keep the venue accessible to the public. With its Spanish Baroque style, the theater offers a unique experience to attendees with a painted midnight sky and spectacular architectural detail.
Originally opened in 1928 as a movie theater in the theater district of Louisville, the Palace Theatre is one of the only venues left from that era. Paying homage to its cinematic roots, the theater hosts a classic movie series every summer, once again lighting the silver screen with images it displayed at the beginning of its history.
As a Live Nation venue with a 2,700-person capacity, Palace Theatre hosts everything from rock to comedy to country. Counting Crows, Little Big Town, Lecrae, The Avett Brothers, John Mellencamp, 3 Doors Down, Chris Tucker and Impractical Jokers are just a few of the acts they’ve hosted in the last year.
“The Palace is very well known for the live concerts that we bring to Louisville,” said Sydney O’Bryan, director of Event Sales, “but trying to turn that leaf on the dark days that we don’t have shows means making sure that it’s also a special event destination.”
The large front of house space, along with upstairs and downstairs areas, make it possible for the venue to host corporate meetings, nonprofit functions and galas and be set up for receptions and dinner seating. This capability adds an extra 30-50 private events to the theater’s average of 100 concerts a year, ultimately contributing largely to the venue’s revenue.
Pro golfers and swarms of Secret Service agents filled the theater last August when former president Bill Clinton received the PGA Distinguished Service Award, and the ceremony was held at the Palace Theatre. Partnering with the Kentucky Derby, the Palace Theatre has also hosted the Mint Jubilee event, where a deck was installed over the seating to make the theater into one giant ballroom.
With its rich history and busy calendar, Palace Theatre is a major landmark for Louisville’s South 4th Street as the area goes through a period of rejuvenation.
“The Theatre itself is such a unique concert and private event experience,” said O’Bryan. “I just look forward to growing the business. The South 4th Street area goes through these transitions where it will be real lively. And in the past three years, they’ve really tried hard to grow this area again. We’re very excited to be part of the expansion. We bring in a lot of the community to the South 4th Street area. Never a dull moment here.”
Contact: (502) 883-5772
Shaking Up History
War Memorial Auditorium builds its new brand with a diverse calendar
A rich history, the Nashville music scene and an upcoming 90th birthday are all things that act as challenges to War Memorial Auditorium (WMA), while also setting it apart from other venues. With the 2014 season, WMA continued its mission of rebranding to get back on the Nashville radar with a diverse offering of acts from rock and metal to EDM.
WMA first opened its doors in 1925, acting as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1939-1943 and hosting many big rock acts during the 70s. As is common for historical venues, WMA has undergone recent renovations in an attempt to reduce production costs and keep up with technology, most notably installing a new sound system.
COO Brent Hyams isn’t afraid to rock the old building, aiming for a balance of edgy acts that appreciate the history of the venue. The balance is best illustrated through WMA’s new logo, which is a play on the statue of Youth built in the auditorium’s courtyard. In his left palm, Youth holds Nike who is lifting wreaths as a symbol for victory. The logo has Nike “throwing goats” instead.
“It’s a struggle to be presenting music entertainment in this town,” said Hyams. “It is a programming dilemma on a daily basis to try to get the right acts at the right time.”
But the history of the building can be felt through the halls, with framed photos of Martin Luther King Jr., J.F.K., Billy Joel and others lining the walls. History is important to Hyams and is something he wants to showcase and play up.
“I think the venue that you come to is almost as important as the artist you come to see,” said Hyams.
Besides programming, Hyams said they make a lot of their money off food and beverage sales. Because it’s an old building, there aren’t any built-in bars, so portable bars are installed around the venue during shows, then taken down during clean up.
“We just try to get the house full and make it easy for them to get a drink and have a good time,” said Hyams. “We make up the difference in food and beverage. You try to get the bar sales where they need to be to make it all worthwhile.”
With a birthday coming up, Hyams wants to work with the state of Tennessee, which actually owns the building, to install historical markers along the street outside the auditorium, since the area gets a lot of foot traffic and many people don’t know the history of the building right in front of them.
“It’s important for me to educate people without making them feel like they’re being educated,” said Hyams. “There are a lot of cool factors about our building and the history of our building. History is cool, and it’s an added benefit for people coming to our shows.”
Contact: (615) 782-4078