Even at the young age of 31, Trent Merritt’s career with Spectra Venue Management has left a lasting impression of cooperation and whip-smart strategy spanning the United States and Canada. After cutting his teeth in the venue industry at Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he studied sport recreation management, Merritt has worked for Spectra in both countries before coming to his current roles as regional vice president for Spectra and general manager of Sun Dome Arena at the University of South Florida, Tampa.
Merritt’s talents did not take long to be recognized by those around him, many of whom helped elect him as a 2016 Venues Today Generation Nexter. Tim Murphy, regional vice president for Spectra Venue Management, first met Merritt when the latter was working on the part-time staff at Liacouras Center. The impact he left was easy for Murphy to recall even today.
“You can always tell, in our business, not only bright people, but people who really like the business,” said Murphy, “and you can tell they’re excited to work in a place like an arena and do the job. You could tell he really liked the business right off the bat.”
After working at so many different locations, Merritt has found much to value about the expansive experience he has obtained through taking responsibilities with different venues, accounts and co-workers. Becoming well-rounded has been one of the major takeaways, he said, as well as the chance to find his particular strengths.
“From a personal or professional development side, it gives you an opportunity to figure out what you enjoy doing,” Merritt said of the different positions he has moved into, “and it gives you an opportunity where you appreciate the good opportunities that you have and you don’t take them for granted.”
One of these specific lessons has been a need to be “aggressive” on the booking side.
“If you’re going to come in and run a place, and you’re not the 20,000 seat NBA or NHL arena, or you’re not the LiveNation or AEG theater, you’re going to have to be aggressive,” Merritt said. He shared that this approach can lead to finding some unexpected partners, in which, “a lot of times you end up working with your competitors, and that can be a tough balance to strike at times,” Merritt said. “But, I think as long as you treat people right and you develop the key relationships the rest will take care of itself.”
The fruits of these labors have been obvious to those around him. When Merritt was sent by Spectra to WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Brian Ohl, regional vice president at Spectra Venue Management and food services and hospitality and general manager at Budweiser Gardens, said the change was significant.
“He turned that thing around,” said Ohl. Where the facility had struggled before in terms of attracting events and promoters, Ohl said that Merritt, “came in and made great strides at bringing that venue up to the level we expect out of our venues.” He attributed Merritt’s success to not just his ability to build relationships, but also “roll up the sleeves and get after” deals that makes sense for everybody.
At the Sun Dome, Merritt used these abilities to handle everything from consulting on renovations to the stadium to keeping costs at a fiscally responsible level. Merritt said that the University of South Florida has been an ideal partner in giving Spectra the freedom it needs to excel in their space.
Merritt also shared that the business model is not one looking to cash in on quick gains, but a long-term relationship that he hopes will last long into the future.
“We hope we are here for the next 25 years,” Merritt said, “when we are hopefully going to build another arena.”
Handling the responsibilities of a regional vice president and general manager presents myriad challenges, and Merritt said that prioritizing and organizing himself is by far the biggest challenge for him. Even so, Merritt attributed much of his success to the people around him, from those he has hired to his mentors.
“If you’ve got good people it makes your job a lot easier,” Merritt said. “You have to hire good people, you have to set the expectation level, and then you’ve got to let them do their job.”
With the special requirements that the venue industry demands of its members, Merritt made it clear that appreciation and respect are critical to this “people business.”
“We’re not asking people to work nine to five,” Merritt said, “we’re asking people to work crazy hours for a lot of the entry level and some mid-level positions…. So you have to treat people right, whether they’re your partners, employees, clients, whatever it is.”
Merritt said that he found the Generation Next Award itself to be representative of Spectra’s culture in how it fosters future leaders by giving people new opportunities to grow with the venue industry.
“Just a big congratulations to everyone,” Merritt said to his fellow winners, “because there are a lot of people who work really hard in this industry and don’t get recognized like this. I think this really does recognize a lot of those people that have worked just as hard and just as long and just as many hours.”
Hank Abate, senior vice president at Spectra Venue Management, said that Merritt’s future looks more than bright, saying that he, “will be among the industry leaders, if he’s not there already.”
Interviewed for this story: Trent Merritt, (813) 974-8922; Brian Ohl, (519) 667-5732; Hank Abate, (215) 389-9468; Tim Murphy, (215) 952-5466