Florida had a rebound year in 2016 after a disappointing 2015. The venues on our Top Stops chart were up seven percent for the year, going from $192 million in reported gross ticket sales to $207 million. Many venue managers cite the strong line-up of touring talent, an improving economy and new found ways to manage the operating expenses and good marketing as reasons why 2016 was a step-up and most agree that 2017 is already off to a great start. Despite a series of unfortunate events, Floridians are a solid bunch and have expressed that they will not let the actions of a few take down the many.
It was good times and bad times in Orlando in 2016. While Allen Johnson, executive director, Orlando Venues, which run both Amway Center and Camping World Stadium, is happy to report that both venues were up about 10 percent in 2016, the tragic mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando where an unhinged lone-gunman killed 49 innocent victims, and the murder of singer Christina Grimmie at The Plaza Live by a deranged fan, all in one week, still weigh heavily on every Orlandian’s mind.
“As we approach the first anniversary of the unthinkable tragedy that occurred here, we reflect on those who were lost and those impacted while also how we, as a community, responded and continue to respond. We remain united in love, not hate," said Johnson.
Turning upbeat, Johnson said, “The number of shows we had in 2016 exceeded expectations. The market is extremely strong on sales and interest. We’re very pleased with 2016.”
Hot shows at Amway Center included four Garth Brooks shows, Barry Manilow, Nicky Jam, Justin Bieber and 21 Pilots. Over at Camping World Stadium the big sellers were Monster Jam, which had one of its highest grosses ever, 16 home games for Major League Soccer (MLS) team Orlando City, 10 games of the Orlando Pride, Copa América (COPA) and Guns N’ Roses.
Hurricane Matthew threatened to ruin all of Brooks’ shows, said Johnson. “It was nerve-wracking. We ended up moving Thursday night’s performance to Sunday afternoon and we moved a Friday performance to Saturday afternoon. We did two shows a day, flipped the building with sold-out crowds for a four-pack weekend, which is truly amazing.”
Food and beverage (F&B) was similarly up around 10 percent at both venues. Gross ticket sales reported to Venues Today at Amway Center were $16.8 million and at Camping World Stadium it was $11.8 million, for the period of Oct. 1, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2016.
At Amway Center they introduced new restaurants, Gringos Locos and Black Bean Deli. At Camping World Stadium they added a Little Caesars. The new concessions are doing really well at both venues, he said.
Ticket prices range from $60-$300 at both venues. Ticket prices were up five percent in 2016, said Johnson.
The operating budget at Amway Center was $16 million and at Camping World Stadium, $14 million.
Johnson is extremely optimistic about the rest of 2017. “We have great shows on hold and on sale,” he said. “At Amway, we have 30 shows scheduled this year which beats last year’s 26 shows,” he said. Despite losing the revenue from Orlando City Soccer, who moved into its own venue this year, Johnson is upbeat about the rest of 2017. “We’re the only stadium hosting three Bowl Games. We have the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Football, Electric Daisy Carnival and an International Champions Cup (ICC) International Friendly. It will be less busy because of the soccer team going to their new home but we’re still holding up well.”
Johnson wanted to mention that he appreciates the promoters, the patrons and the artists. “Without those three things I wouldn’t have a job.”
“We were up, way up,” said Kevin Preast, SVP, event management, Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, which runs Amalie Arena, the highest grossing venue on Venues Toady’s 2016 Florida Top Stops chart. “It was absolutely an amazing year. Everything we wanted to happen, happened.”
Hot shows included the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to play at Amalie Arena, the first-ever Barbra Streisand show to ever play in Tampa, Neil Diamond and Eric Church. Preast said hard rock and comedy were also in high demand at Amalie Arena. In total they hosted 36 concerts.
Preast lamented the end of Ringling Bros. circus. “We sent it out with style,” he said. “We set a record gross for the circus at Amalie and were up 25 percent in ticket sales. Feld announced the circus was closing about 10 days prior to our engagement. There was an absolutely overwhelming response to the news that this was the end of the line for the circus.”
Amalie Arena completed a $2 million renovation is 2016 to its Lexus Lounge. “We gutted it, redesigned it and rebuilt it from scratch. We wanted to make it bigger, better, faster and stronger,” he said. Lexus was so thrilled with the result they signed on as the sponsor of the premium lounge for another five years, said Preast.
F&B revenue has been “awesome,” up 22 percent according to Preast. “We have a great mix of national and local brands,” he said. Added in 2016 was PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality), a high-end quick-serve spot, Ford’s Garage, which serves gourmet burgers, and Rum Fish Grill. Preast credits the high volume of shows and better offerings for the 2016 increase.
Fans have embraced the full magnetometers that Amalie Arena installed, said Preast. “People want to come into a safe environment and feel good about the environment they are in. Things that happened in Orlando and Paris have made people say, ‘I’ll take the extra minute and go through a mag because I know everybody else is taking the extra minute to go through as well.’”
Preast said his outlook for the rest of 2107 is “absolutely amazing. We have Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga coming up. The amount of high quality tour acts out in 2017 is incredible.”
Bill McConnell, GM for SMG Jacksonville, the public facilities managers of EverBank Field, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (JVMA) and the new Daily’s Place among other venues, said that EverBank Field’s performance was “a success on multiple levels.” The venue did major renovations on their US Assure and East and West club level suites. “They were redesigned, reconfigured and introduced in the 2016 season.” Ninety million dollars was spent on the project, which included construction of Daily’s Place.
“We had to work around the construction,” said McConnell. “The cooperation and collaboration between the Jaguars, the city and SMG has been such that the venue has thrived.”
EverBank Field hosted a World Club qualifying match, a Navy-Notre Dame game, and, of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars football games.
A new concessionaire, Delaware North, took over from Spectra (concessions) and Levy Restaurants (premium) in 2016, the notion being to combine both premium and non-premium under one operator. “Operationally it is a nice improvement,” he said
JVMA also had “a terrific year. We like to say that Jacksonville punches above its weight here in Florida and the arena continues to show that.” JVMA broke its attendance record in 2014/2015, 549,000, again in 2015/2016 with 553,000, and McConnell said that they were on track to break it again in 2016/2017, but Hurricane Matthew wiped out six Cirque Du Soleil shows. “We were on our way to setting another record,” he lamented. The good news is that Cirque Du Soleil is coming back in August.
Hot shows included Earth, Wind & Fire, Pearl Jam, Amy Schumer, Miranda Lambert, Justin Bieber, Stevie Nicks and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Improvements to JVMA included new audio-visual equipment ($75,000), enhanced lighting including upper-fascia LED boards ($300,000), new video signage ($25,000), building automation ($100,000) and new point-of-sale (POS) systems ($40,000). “The city has been farsighted in allocating capital dollars for improvements,” he said.
McConnell said that JVMA tries to create specialness around big events to enhance fan experience by closing off the street and creating Block Parties that expand inside into the club and premium levels. They theme each night, dress up the suites and create photo opportunities with artists cutouts. “It gives people the sense of the big-event feel,” he said. Savor, the concessionaire at JVMA, also gets in on the action by customizing their offerings with specialty drinks and food.
Kathy Ramsberger, president & CEO, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando, said that the center had a great 2016. “We had 367 ticketed events and over 200 non-ticketed events,” she said. The venue is comprised of a 2,700-seat Walt Disney Theater, the 300-seat Pugh Theater, and a large rehearsal hall and they operate the Bob Carr Theater, which has been around since the 1920s and is about a mile away from the main complex.
“Our attendance was extremely high in 2016,” said Ramsberger. It’s only the second full year of operation for Dr. Phillips Center, which opened in December 2014. “We’ve definitely improved from year one. Big shows at Dr. Phillips Center in 2016 were “Wicked,” “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” Chris Rock and “Dancing With The Stars Live.”
F&B is currently self-operated, but a deal with Spectra is starting July 1. “People arrive about 90 minutes early,” she said. Taking advantage of the space and the early arrivals, Dr. Phillips Center is building a restaurant. “In putting a strong eating establishment in place, we thought we could use some help,” said Ramsberger about contracting Spectra. “We want this to be their premier venue nationwide; we’re bringing in key chefs and sommeliers.”
Addition of the restaurant plus a roof garden and construction of a third venue, Steinmetz Hall, a 1,700-seat acoustical theater, will cost $240 million. Another new space will be the Green Room, a cabaret-style music room. Completion of all the new projects is expected by the spring of 2020.
Security is important at Dr. Phillips Center where they “screen everyone entering the building at all entry points” and magnetometers were brought in following the Pulse nightclub shootings.
Dr. Phillips Theater has a partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, and an education program for children with autism. “We’re the first art center in the world to partner with a hospital (Florida Hospital),” she said.
GM Ben Weiss at the Spectra-managed Donald L. Tucker Civic Center at Florida State University, Tallahassee, said it was a strong year and that his venue was up 20 percent in 2016 because of more content and the facility being seen “as a viable option to promoters and some good marketing.”
Hot shows were Florida Georgia Line, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, R. Kelly and Daniel Tosh.
Family shows were also strong at Donald Tucker Center in 2016, including Sesame Street Live!, Disney Live, Harlem Globetrotters, Monster Jam, musical “Annie” and Garden Bros. Circus. “We’re a great family show market,” said Weiss, adding that he hopes Garden Bros. will fill the void left by the closing of Ringling Bros. circus.
Ticket range was $25-$100. “The shows we market to the students we try to keep as low as possible,” he said.
The in-house F&B was also up 10 percent, according to Weiss, who said they grossed $2 million in F&B in 2016. That’s pretty strong for a space our size, he said, referring to the 35,000-sq.-ft. exhibition hall and a 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting space that hosted 250 events, of which 85 percent were food related.
Weiss also believes the quality of the food offerings added to the good numbers.
“We’ve got a tremendous executive chef,” he said. The center introduced Sonny’s BBQ, a regional favorite, that did “tremendous business on our concourse,” and Outrageously Good Subs, and they created a craft beer corner that did “great, great business. The fans absolutely loved it.”
Building improvements included adding a new outdoor marquee with a large video wall on it and Florida State University accents and restrooms on the concourse. The budget was $100,000, paid for by the university.
In the wake of the May 22 Manchester (U.K.) Arena terrorist suicide bomber following an Ariana Grande concert, Weiss said they are “always looking at our security and looking at where we need to be. We work in tandem with the Florida State University Police Department and typically follow their lead.”
Robb Larson, GM, at SMG-managed Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, said that 2016 was “great” and the venue definitely was up over 2015. “It’s been an exciting year on all fronts. There is a lot of growth taking place in and around our area and it’s impacting our facility. We’re a unique location, about 20 minutes from Orlando, we have a lot of land and a lot of flexibility to the uses of the land. Flexibility is the name of the game.”
“We can handle all types of outdoor events, indoor-outdoor events and we can have multiple events taking place on the property at one time,” he said.
Osceola Heritage Park just completed a $20 million upgrade. “We added a lot of bells and whistles to make us more current,” said Larson. Improvements included a new center-hung scoreboard, LED Lighting, two new marquees to the front of the property, upgraded concession stands and upgrades to the wayfinding boards.
Another big enhancement is a new festival space. “We invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the festival space,” explained Larson. “We had to clear the space out, landscape and upgrade the area.” The results are already impressive — a 10-year deal has already been closed with Runaway Country Music Festival, which has already featured country heavy-hitters Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley and Eric Church. The festival brought in 40,000 in its first outing and Larson believes it’s still growing.
Telemundo Family Fest did well in 2016, bringing in 20,000 fans. Larson called Mecum Classic Auto Auction “our Poster Child event,” because it’s morphed into the biggest event they host over the 13 years it’s been at Osceola Heritage Park. “It started off in a corner of the property and it’s a perfect example of how our facility can operate. Now they set up 15 acres of tents and turn the arena into an auction-block TV studio.” Seventy thousand auto-lovin’ fans jam-packed the venue in 2016 for the event.
Larson also pointed out that Halsey did her tour rehearsal at the facility and a ticketed Tiny House event also did well.
Osceola Heritage Park also got into e-sports this year by hosted Smash the Record.
“That went well, we hope to do more,” he said.
Another event was the Ram Nationals Circuit Finals Rodeo. The facility just finished up year three of that 10-year deal. “It’s broadcast on CBS Sports,” he said.
F&B is doing great. We’re doing a lot of catering, we like to think we are the caterer-of-choice for the community due to our executive chef Tony Donnelly, said Larson.
SMG’s Savor is the concessionaire. They also just bought an $80,000 catering truck to move the food.
“The Grand Slam of politics” was held at the venue in 2016 when Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Barrack Obama showed up, on different days.
“Sanders was outside, Hillary was in our event center, two days later we had Trump in the arena, a couple weeks later we had Obama in the stadium. They each hit a different venue.”
Larson said dealing with Clinton’s Secret Service outfit and Trump’s team was “a challenge.”
The operating budget for the facility in 2016 was $8-$9 million. Tickets to events
ranged from $10 to $200.
“We’re excited about making a footprint in the indoor-outdoor space,” said Larson, about the rest of 2017. “We’re becoming more aggressive and we’re taking full advantage of the growth in our county. The future is very bright.”
It was “a huge rebound” year at BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla., according to Kevin Grove, VP, event programming, who said that they more than doubled their concert load from 2015 from 12 to 25. Family shows accounted for another 27 events.
“The 2016 touring cycle was great,” said Grove. “Agents and promoters all agree that the live-concert market is on an uptick.”
Highlights were Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Barbra Streisand and Billy Joel on the concert side and Frozen on Ice, Cirque Du Soleil Toruk and two runs of Disney on Ice on the family show side. Grove also mentioned newer artists like Twenty One Pilots and Sia helping grow the market.
Tickets ranged from $15 to $510 for a VIP experience.
F&B also had an enormous recovery from 2015 due to the increased attendance plus some new concession items brought by BB&T Center’s concessionaire Centerplate. New to the center is Chickie’s & Pete’s, which sells crab fries and chicken cutlets.
Also new are the redesigned premium clubs Corona Beach House and Lord Stanley’s Loft by Lagunitas Beer, both all-inclusive concepts with annual memberships.
Other improvements included a new POS system and roof resurfacing in 2016 and plans are in place for new retractable seating, a new building automation system, new LED lighting ribbons and improvements to the outside landscaping.
Grove said the venue relies on local enforcement, government agencies and Oak View Group’s Prevent Advisors for security advice.
Grove’s outlook for 2017 is equally upbeat. “The rest of the year looks great. We’re having Halsey play, who I expect to be big,” Grove said. “I also think 2018 is looking really strong. It’s all moving in the right direction.”
Event revenue was up 10 percent at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, said Kim Stone, executive director and GM. “We were down a little overall because the (Miami) Heat started the season 11/30. They ended it with a huge comeback, but the slow start hurt the building,” said Stone.
Hot shows included Drake, Kanye West, Maroon Five, Adele, Barbra Streisand and Latin shows featuring Marc Anthony and Maná. Another highlight was having Ringling Bros. circus at the arena just a week after Feld announced it was closing the show, said Stone.
The annual budget at AmercianAirlines Arena “hovers at around 10 million,” she said. “We have to buy our chilled water from the county water plant for the air conditioners so our utility bills are sky high.”
F&B is doing “extremely well” despite per caps being slightly down because of the Heat’s limp start. “We were pleased with where finished,” she said.
Stone said using “business intelligence” was a big help in operating more efficiently. “Adding science to the art saved us money,” said Stone. “We use data to help study our ingress patterns and we found out that most of our guests show up from 30 minutes before kick-off to 30 minutes after, so we staggered out staff start times, from ticket takers to chefs, and it saved us a bundle on labor costs and improved our fan experience.”
The biggest improvement to the arena in 2016 was the introduction of the $6-million 601Club event space, operated with concessionaire, Levy Restaurants. “The former tenant left, we took it over and it’s a great space now and a big hit,” said Stone. Other improvements include new paint, new lighting, a new exterior paver and other restorations that cost $3 million.
Stone is bullish on the rest of 2017. “We will have our busiest July in history,” she said. “With the Heat finishing so strong there’s lots of hope in the marketplace about next year’s team. We’re cautiously optimistic.”