STEVEN ADELMAN
Founder
Adelman Law Group
Scottsdale, Ariz.
EAST COAST CONNECTIONS: I grew up about an hour outside of New York City and then went to college and law school and started practicing in Boston.
EAST VS. WEST: I like the West Coast a lot. It’s warm and sunny. I’m an East Coast guy getting to dial it down just a little and still I’m relatively energetic and keyed up compared to people who grew up on this coast.
FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB: One of the best parts of my job is that I get to go places ordinary people never see. I love the behind the scenes, operational perspective on things. My clients are all the operations people. I represent no talents at all. I’m all about how the show actually happens.
FREE TIME: I run every day. I’m a huge baseball fan. Really any sport. That’s one transition I never have made; I’m still a Boston Red Sox fan. Going to Fenway Park is a happening. Even if the game is bad, the venue itself is an experience.
LIVE EVENT EXPERIENCE: The event experience, which includes how the venue feels, what access you have to the event, the whole experience of going as opposed to watching on TV or listening through headphones is critical. That’s where all the action is, and experiencing the excitement of sports or music with thousands of other people who are enjoying the moment at the exact same time as you; that can’t be replicated in any other way. That’s why venues matter so much. It’s a collective experience that is memorable.
(480) 209-2426
CAROL POLLOCK
Executive Director
Hoyt Sherman Place
Des Moines, Iowa
HOMETOWN: Belvidere, Ill.
UNIVERSITY: Northern Illinois University. But actually, I didn’t graduate from there. I went there on a scholarship to become a P.E. teacher.
VARIETY OF VENUES: Hoyt Sherman Place is the smallest building I’ve worked at. The biggest was the Alamodome. But theater is my passion.
SPECIAL PEOPLE: If I were to name one thing that I like about this industry the best, it’s the people. I wouldn’t be where I am without a lot of help from people who were a little bit more knowledgeable than I was when I got my first building.
MENTORS: Doug Logan was the gentleman who hired me to work in this industry first. To this day I think he’s one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever known. Steve Peters, who runs VenuWorks, has been a dear friend of mine for years and is one of the kindest men in the industry. And when I was running my first arena, I was on the phone with Michael Marion every day.
IF YOU COULD ESCAPE FOR THE DAY: I would be on a beach in Maui with a great book, waiting for the sunset and watching the whales come in. It’s my favorite place to go.
FAVORITE LIVE EVENT: The building in Sunrise, Fla., opened with Celine Dion. We always kind of make fun of the groupies but, I have to admit, when she got up on stage and announced that there were some very important people that she was going to bring up on stage to help her sing the next song, and then she said, ladies and gentlemen the Bee Gees, I screamed louder than any groupie!
(515) 244-0507 ext. 206
GREG POOLE
Director of Facility Operations
Houston Toyota Center
UNIVERSITY: University of Southwestern Louisiana but then went into the military.
HOW YOU GOT YOUR JOB: I was an electrician in the Navy, and when I got out I started doing hotel show power hookups and maintenance and repairs at the Sheraton Astrodome. After about a year and a half, I went over to the Astrodome in the engineering department. Then the Astros moved downtown and I stayed and helped build the new football stadium, NRG Park. In 2003 I started working with Toyota Center when it was being built.
FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Houston Rockets
DAY OFF: I’d probably just play with my daughter. She’s four. In our business, we don’t have the typical 9 to 5, so I miss a lot of time with her.
FAVORITE LIVE SHOW: One of the most surprisingly good shows that I saw here at Toyota Center was Bette Midler. Not my thing, but she puts on a really good kind of USO show. You have the bands you love, U2 and Metallica and all those guys. But I think the surprising show was Bette Midler.
TOP SONG: I do have a four-year-old daughter, so Frozen is all over my iPod, and I know all the words.
(713) 758-7384