Los Angeles Clippers premium pop-up lounge.
Indoor pop-ups have fast become a staple of how to maximize both venue space and revenue; their outdoor cousins are quickly catching up. Both versions have the same goal: to create usable premium space out of nonincome generating space.
“Operators are looking to create revenue any way they can,” said Eric Geisler, Shawmut Design and Construction, Las Vegas. “Venues want to provide fans a new experience and anything that can be changed into something that enhances the fan experience and produces new cash streams is being looked at by most venue managers today. No one wants to leave money on the table, and almost any corner or storage closet or hallway can be turned into a pop-up.”
Geisler estimates that pop-up spaces can range in price anywhere from $75,000 to $1 million depending upon what atmosphere the venue wants to provide.
Geisler used the pop-up his company built for the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center as an example of why a pop-up is needed and the process of putting the activation up. “They had no space for a premium club,” he explained. “And they wanted a place for their high-end clients to go."
MEIS Architects, Staples Center managers, AEG Facilities and the Clippers' management team identified the space. "We found a service-level space we could transform temporarily into a premium club," said Geisler. The service area we commandeered opened up 2,000 sq. ft. of space."
When the Clippers' pop-up is not active it’s still a service space. "The space is bare concrete with mechanicals running overhead, and this one has Zambonis usually stored in it," said Geisler. "The physical furniture is stored in a storage unit on site. Some of the furniture is actually folded up and placed in pockets that can’t be seen. Carpeting gets taken out; light fixtures stay in place; things that won’t affect the operations of the club stay. It goes up for an hour and a half before the game and pulled down right after the game. Setup takes an hour to put up and an hour to take down."
Geisler said that he works with the owner's budget to price out options that hopefully conquer the unique challenges of creating something permanent that is temporary. There are also space challenges he needed to consider. “When you operate a club like that, you need power, water and connections. At Staples Center we have quick-disconnect cabling mounted throughout the space so things can be wheeled in and connected quickly. There were height restrictions because of the forklifts and vehicles driving-around space. Proper lighting had to stay within parameters. We also had the challenges of making things removable. I needed to find a way to delineate the space; make it feel like a luxury club and then pull it apart quickly. We came up with a track solution with mesh."
Geisler said that the process relied on constant communication. "We had to collaborate with three partners who all had a very high interest in the outcome," said Geisler. "Everybody has ideas about how things should be and how they should operate, and we’re there to facilitate the communication and get everyone on the same page. AEG was very much hands-on. We encouraged it," he said. "Our goal was to make sure they could operate their arena just like before we activated."
Geisler estimates the Clippers pop-up to have cost in the mid-six figures. "That minimal investment got them an atmosphere they couldn’t get before," said Geisler.
John Truong, MEIS Architects, Venice, Calif., said, “We got involved with the Clippers courtside pop-up early. We designed Staples Center long ago and have been working with Staples Center on and off since they opened. They came to us and said they needed something besides the regular club suites. Permanent suites would not work because the real estate is very expensive inside Staples Center, so a pop-up was determined to be the best solution.”
Truong described the challenges. “One of the challenges is to make it look like it's been there a long time," he said. "Another challenge is the time factor. Everything needs to be moved somewhere in the arena and then moved back two days later. It needs to be easily put up and down. It needed to look permanent and not look flimsy like someone just put up some wall.”
Truong said that the design challenge was working around the current space usage, determining the occupancy load and exiting and keeping up with the fire codes to be sure to get approval from the Fire Marshalls. He also said what he has to constantly keep in mind is that "projects can take up to two years. It’s difficult because stadium owners want to keep it fresh and current. By the time we get to implementation we often have to change it.”
MEIS is currently working on a new pop-up for Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati. “The design is done; we are waiting on approval by the Paul Brown people," said Truong. "Today everything is changing so fast and this project has to be used for different games. The project will be a 'tailgate' outdoor project."
Tailgates are usually a number of pop-ups used in an outdoor space to create a village of pop-ups. "A food truck is not a pop-up," said Truong. "The tailgate should feel like you are in a private home. This requires a lot more thinking because we have to coordinate with traffic.”
There is a big difference between the traditional indoor pop-ups and the outdoor version in that the indoor pop-ups tend to be permanent-temporary, meaning that they don’t move location and aren't just used once or twice a year. "Permanent-temporary means it’s a long-term solution," said Geisler. "It’s not just an experience that may be up for one game, or one season, and then gets moved away. It has physical attributes that don’t get moved. When you talk about pop-ups for an outdoor event, it’s a different world than for the indoor spaces we do. We make true luxury clubs for inside spaces; outdoor spaces tend to be less high end.”
"Everyone is used to the suite experience inside the venue; they are not used to the suite experience outside the venue,” said Truong.
Block Party Suites, which provides decked-out outdoor pop-up suites, has been in the game only two years. “Pop-ups are big and getting bigger," said Adam Ward, founder of Block Party Suites. "My partner and I started this company in 2014 because we were avid sports and music festival fans and saw a need for more than a tent." Block Party Suites didn’t get the first trailer out till 2015. By the middle of this year (2016) they've seen six-to-eight times the growth.
“We married shipping containers and outdoor entertainment," said Ward. “We take a 20-foot shipping container and modify it into a portable hospitality suite. We put in 55-inch flat-screen TVs, five speaker surround-sound systems, hardwood floors, 14-piece furniture sets, satellite TV service, a rooftop deck and track lighting. It’s essentially a pop-up living room. Or we can turn it into a bar. Or it can be a VIP lounge.”
The containers come from China. "We buy the container once it hits port," said Ward. It’s sent to Block Party Suites' shop in Austin where it is stripped, painted and outfitted with all its electric connections. "Then it comes back to Dallas where we put in the signage and all the finishings. It leaves ready to go.”
Block Party Suites have two different revenue models. The first is a leasing model. In this scenario, the suites typically lease for $3,000 to $3,500 with logistics built into the price. Custom signage is extra; a vinyl package costs $1,500 and a premium dibond package costs $2,700.
The second pricing model works on a revenue share. Often the venues put zero dollars down. "This model is popular with sports teams," said Ward. “Sometimes it’s a 50/50 split; sometimes its an 80/20 split." The split is accounted for after operating expenses have been taken out.
“We found in sports that we’re a new product category." said Ward. "Venues are looking for partners who are experts who can execute all aspects of the pop-up. They have enough to do running the venues. We design, deliver and produce the product as well as handle logistics and operations. We manage everything from marketing to building websites. We conduct fan surveys and provide data collection. We create brochures, digital ads and send email releases."
"Ward is gearing up for the second year of a three year contract with Mustang Sports Properties which is the marketing arm for Southern Methodist Athletics, Dallas (SMU). "It's a tailgate village outside Gerald Ford Stadium and has six luxury suites," said Ward. "It was a huge success last year."
Binkley Avenue pop-up, SMU, Dallas.
After SMU went up last year, Ward was flooded with calls. "We’ve done a Jägermeister lounge that went to five states on a five festival tour," said Ward. "We did a Red Bull lounge for Circuit of Americas MotoGP, Austin, Tex., a pop-up lounge at the Travelers Championship, Hartford, Conn. and a pop-up park at TBC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
Ward has several concepts ready to go that are in final contract stages, one for a “big Bowl Game” and one for a “major festival”.
Mike Sage is the general manager of Mustang Sports Properties. “We’ve had a partnership in place since last summer with Block Party Suites to provide the suites for our tailgate village,” said Sage. “We did this because it created new enhanced corporate hospitality suites and a new revenue stream."
SMU sold out the entire tailgate village for the upcoming 2016 season in a few weeks. "A couple of the colleges within the university rented out everything," said Sage. "The pop-up will be in place every game day for the whole season. There are six trailers. Block Party Suites takes care of all the logistics, loading, setup and loadout."
The trailers rent for $7,500. "This will include the food and beverage," said Sage. "We have catered meals, sodas, waters, beer and wine." Sage anticipates 1,000 people on a typical game day. "Special tickets are issued which get the premium guests into the tailgate park, once inside, the fans can go into any trailer they want."
Sage is quite happy with the pop-up, "and so are the fans." Sage predicts SMU will continue the pop-up program for a long time to come.
Interviewed for this story: Eric Geisler, (702) 898-4119; John Truong, (310) 392, 3249; Adam Ward, (972) 882-6784; Mike Sage, (214) 768-2879