Pentatonix performs at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
It’s been a solid year for Southwest venues. Profits are up and attracting top name talent
hasn’t been as tough as it’s been in past years; venue managers agree there have been a healthy number of shows to book.
Big, brand name stars are in, and family shows, country stars and residencies continue to pull in the crowds. Top Stops saw $232,836,355 in revenue for the 12 highest grossing Southwestern venues in the year ending May 31, 2016. Comparing the revenue of the nine venues that appear on both this year’s chart and the 2015 chart, revenue is up 37%; mostly thanks to Celine Dion.
NEVADA
Celebrating 15 years of Celine Dion
The Colosseum at Caesars Place, Las Vegas, did stunning business this year, putting on an impressive 155 shows and nearly tripling 2014-2015 revenue. The reason for the dramatic increase can be summed up in two words: Celine Dion.
“Celine has been the number one tenant in the arena since 2001,” said John Nelson, senior VP for AEG Live, Las Vegas, which runs the Colosseum. “It was built for her. In 2015 Celine took a leave of absence for personal reasons (Dion’s husband of 21 years, René Angélil, passed away Jan. 14, 2016) and that effected business at the Colosseum for the first half of the year. “We didn’t have time to fill those dates with another show,” said Nelson. “Celine has been the best partner in the world for 15 years. She’s back now and going as strong as ever; her last series of shows sold every seat at every show for the entire run.”
There are five resident artists at the Colosseum. Rotating with Celine at Colosseum are Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey and the two-headliner show with Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn. “1+1=5,” Nelson said, laughing, about McEntire & Brooks & Dunn who are selling briskly. “We’d sign them for 20 years if they’d go for it.” The artists are in for three weeks at a time.
Ticket prices vary depending on the artists; generally they run from $49-$250 for the VIP package. Another big part of The Colosseum business model is the ‘Colosseum Boutique,’ where the venue sells merchandise themed around their resident artists. It’s open every day of the year. Here fans can buy high-end items like two models of custom guitars autographed by McEntire and Brooks & Dunn ($1,000 for a string guitar and $1,500 for an electric one); premium framed lithographs and Celine Dion designer handbags (the highest priced handbag retails for $2,995 and is the highest priced item in the boutique); a collection of Celine Dion jewelry by Roberto Coin (earrings, $1,295; a bangle, $2,160; pendants $1,950 and $2,595), and Jeff Dunham signature wine.
The revenue from the boutique goes straight to the Colosseum bottom line the artists have unique contracts with allowances for the merchandise already in the deal.
Nelson did stress that Las Vegas is unique because as a vacation destination it sees 42 million new visitors a year, 700,000 new faces a week. “There’s been a fundamental change in economics in Las Vegas,” said Nelson. “There is less and less money being spent on gambling and more and more going to entertainment and shopping.”
“Business has been phenomenally strong this year,” said Nelson. As if anyone needed more proof that Las Vegas is hot and ripe for concert revenue, Nelson pointed out that the airline companies have had to change their schedules to accommodate all the people that want to visit Las Vegas. “Air traffic have made seasonal changes depending on who is playing; Air Canada added routes because of all the business Celine does.”
Bringing the Inside Out
Las Vegas, newest venue, T-Mobile Arena, opened on April 6, with shows by hometowners The Killers, Wayne Newton and Shamir. The project is a 50/50 partnership between AEG and MGM Resorts International. “It’s going great,” said Mark Faber, senior VP, AEG Global Partnerships. “We’re getting terrific feedback on the building; it’s a fabulous design and has exceeded our expectations. It’s one of the finest facilities we have in our portfolio.”
Faber said that so far it’s great content that has made T-Mobile Arena shine. “Starting with the great local flavor we had when we opened T-Mobile Arena has had a great honeymoon run. We’ve had Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande and classic acts like Guns N’ Roses, who did their first arena show in 23 years, and Billy Joel.”
Country artists are the big trend according to Faber. “We have a heavy booking in country,” said Faber. “Country legend George Strait is in a residency and he’s sold out every show he’s played. Garth Brooks did six sell-out shows. The Dixie Chicks, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban all did really well for us.”
Tickets range from $85 for a concert to $1,000 for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and boxing. Faber expects 100 ticketed events by the end of the year. “That’s without a sports tenant,” said Faber. “But that’s going to change; we’re getting a hockey team.”
Faber said the unique food & beverage is trending really well. “We brought in great national brands like Shake Shack and Pizza Forte, which is a well known local brand. We also have unique cocktails like the magenta-colored Atomic Fizz, specially designed by top mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim. The specialty drinks run $10-$18.
Faber said security is their number one priority. “When we designed the building we took security into account,” he said. One of the ways the design took security into account was to have only one entrance to get on to Toshiba Plaza, the entertainment district that surrounds T-Mobile Arena. “There are cameras everywhere and we monitor guests as soon as they enter Toshiba Plaza. We have a command center inside the building and keep aware of everything going on before people even get to our doors.”
Faber was also excited by the T-Mobile concept of having free events at Toshiba Plaza that give potential ticket-buyers a taste of what’s to come. “For a recent boxing match, we had the weigh-in outside on the plaza and then an undercard boxing match in a ring we temporarily set up,” said Faber. “We also often have the warm-up acts for the headliners play outside, free to anyone who comes.” Faber thinks the free outside events are a new trend and something he expects other venues to copy.
Interviewed for this story: John Nelson, (702) 650-8401; Mark Faber, (702) 692-1301
ARIZONA
A Dog Named Jack Guards Phoenix Arena
“Overall we had a pretty amazing year,” said Ralph Marchetta, general manager of Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix. “Business in general has been really good. Ticket sales are good and people are coming out to see shows.”
“Without a doubt, six Garth Brooks shows were our best selling shows this year,” Marchetta said. “21 Pilots did very well, Bruce Springsteen was awesome and the family show business has been really good this year. We had Ringling Bros. Circus, Disney On Ice and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the family crowd, and they all performed extremely well.”
Ticket prices range from $50-$200 for VIP platinum packages. “There is definitely a market for premium experiences,” said Marchetta. “People are willing to pay for it. Customers for both sports and concerts are embracing it; whether it’s early access to a club or all-inclusive food and drink.”
Marchetta said he feels better about the live entertainment business than he has for quite a while. Marchetta credits the uptick in quality and quantity of acts available to the realignment of the music business since the advent of easy music file sharing. “Artists don’t make their money from recorded music anymore so they have to tour to keep income coming in. While it’s a lot more work for the artists, it’s great for everyone else who works on the tour side and, of course, it’s great for venues.”
Marchetta estimates Talking Stick Resort Arena annual operating budget to be $10 million. Marchetta said he is looking at making major improvements to the building. “Both the city and the team (Phoenix Suns) have set aside funds for us to renovate the building. Nothing is concrete yet, it’s a moving target, but we hope to have improvements done by the start of the season in November.”
Marchetta said they’ve done quite a few new things surrounding security, namely purchasing their own bomb dog. “When we looked at the cost of bringing in a dog for each event we quickly realized that getting our own dog would be more cost effective.” The dog’s name is Jack; he’s “nicely spoiled” and lives with the director of security. Jack is on duty every day.
Changes Afoot with New Management
Dale Adams has been in his new position as general manager of Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz., for AEG Facilities only a short time; he started July 1. He had worked for AEG Facilities in Los Angeles. Luckily, Adams loves it in Arizona. He’s even getting used to the 108-degree heat. “My goal is to ramp up the shows and take the building to the next level,” said Adams.
In the next few months, Gila River Arena will host big names Coldplay, Duran Duran and Amy Schumer. Adams is planning on bringing in more family shows like Professional Bull Riding, Harlem Globetrotters and WWE. “There were 50,000 people here for a Westgate (the entertainment district next to Gila River Arena) outdoor fireworks show on July 4th in 108-degree heat,” Adams said. “Most of those were families. It’s a no-brainer to program more family oriented shows.”
Another change Adams has made is to lower the facility fee from $6.50 to $4.75. “We want to be more friendly to our guests and be more competitive.”
“This place is LA Live! on steroids,” said Adams. “We have Westgate next to us, Dave & Busters, a new casino and a Tanger Outlet Mall. It’s an unbelievable opportunity.”
Adams believes the location is essential to driving business their way. “We are 20 minutes outside downtown,” he said. “We are by major highways and one really great advantage we have are huge parking lots that spill right onto the highways. Getting out of a downtown event can take hours while we can clear out the parking lot in 15 minutes.”
Adams estimates the operation budget to be $9 million per year. TV and radio ads are in the works and Adams is looking at a new front marquee to help sell the building and he’s looking at sponsorship to help pay for it. He’s also going to use the complex around him to generate interest in the arena. The city has agreed to put $2 million into the venue and Adams and his team are looking at improving the infrastructure and upgrading all the general areas. “The building has been taken care of pretty well,” said Adams. “We’re taking a hard look at the premium areas because I think that’s a demographic currently underserved. We’re also looking at replacing seats and making the backstage more efficient.
Interviewed for this story: Ralph Marchetta, (602) 379-2049; Dale Adams, (623) 772-3293
NEW MEXICO
Country Rocks Las Cruces
Scott Breckner, Pan American Center, Las Cruces, N.M., has been with the venue for eight years. “We just had a great year,” said Breckner. “The best year we’ve ever had.”
Breckner credits four “huge shows” for the breakout year. “We had Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and Jeff Dunham,” said Breckner. “We are the country music destination in the Southwest,” he said. “Carrie, Luke and Jason all sold out.” WWE did very well for Pan American Center, as did Christian shows. “We had 8,000 people here for Rock & Worship.”
Tickets prices run from $70-$90. The operating budget is $1.5 million. With venue revenue in mind, Breckner said that he has “a lot of flexibility on our staff and operations side.”
Food and beverage and merchandise sales are up. “We’ve had an increase in concession sales because of the strong shows and amount of traffic,” said Breckner. He also attributes the revenue bump to “booking the right shows, understanding the benefits of a lengthy show with numerous opening acts and distributing the breaks within the shows to maximize sales opportunities.”
Pan American Center has upgraded their security, using walk-through metal detectors and bag searches.
Nightly Food Specials Resonate in Rio Rancho
“We did a three day BBQ festival over 4th of July called ‘Pork & Brew’ that attracted 14,000 people,” said Shane Cadwell, general manager, Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, N.M. “Disney Live did really well for us, as did Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Chance the Rapper and Christian show Winter Jam.” Professional Bull Riding Championship, Monster Trucks, Harlem Globetrotters and indoor football team New Mexico Stars round out the roster.
Santa Ana Star Center’s operating budget is $2 million per year. Tickets range from $25-$50. Concessions are doing well this year and Cadwell credits that to a novel idea and new technology. “We run a different food and beverage special for each show,” said Cadwell. “We also have new technology that allows us to know when each guest has entered the building and we then notify them of the food and beverage special, which concession stand they should go to and the prices. This is all done through email; Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement supplies the software. It’s really helped with per caps and getting the concession revenue up.”
Unlike his venue big brothers, Cadwell’s seen a slight decline in 2016. He believes that the downturn is because the bigger venues are getting the best acts and that smaller venues are paying the price for their success. “There were less shows touring for secondary-sized markets,” said Cadwell. He’s not too worried though. “It’s the cyclical nature of the beast. Some years are stronger then others.” He’s heard from other venue managers in smaller sized buildings who have seen similar results for 2016. “It could be a regional thing; the Southwest is a tricky market.”
His view for 2017 is optimistic. “We’re seeing a really positive outlook for 2017,” said Cadwell. “We’ve got a lot of great acts coming our way; six shows of Disney On Ice; Sadie Robertson’s Live Original Tour; Christian rock band Casting Crowns; Switchfoot and Monster Trucks. Fiscal year 2017 looks promising.”
Interviewed for this story: Scott Breckner, (575) 646-4413; Shane Cadwell, (505) 891-7330
UTAH
Live Trending in Salt Lake City
“Business has been great,” said Mark Powell, general manager, Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City. “We had Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks back-to-back to kick off the year. Garth sold over 76,000 tickets. It’s hard to not have a good year with that kind of power to start it off. We had Coldplay, Maroon 5, 21 Pilots, Justin Bieber and the Nick Jonas/Demi Lovato tour.”
“Live entertainment is really hot this year,” said Powell. “With all of the new digital platforms, and social media, and all of the stuff going on in the world, people are starting to really crave that live, face-to-face experience and get back to the old times.” Powell said his live entertainment business was up 25 percent from 2015, and 35 percent from 2013.
Last year Vivint Smart Home Arena did 40 family shows with Feld Entertainment. “It was an all-time record for us,” said Powell. “That included two runs of Disney On Ice, Ringling Bros. Circus and Monster Trucks.” They also hosted 41 Utah Jazz National Basketball Association games. Ticket prices range from $30-$189 for the live music events; basketball tickets can go as high as $1,000.
Concession sales are just as strong. Powell estimates concession profits to be up 20 percent. Vivint Smart Home Arena is also planning a $125-million upgrade. “We’re going to shut down for four months starting the end of May 2017. We’re rebuilding the entire place. We’re going to redo all the concessions; bring in high-end, healthy food and add standing room only areas and club areas.
Interviewed for this story: Mark Powell, (801) 325-2012