UN-CONVENTIONAL CENTER

Tucked inside the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, is a 5,700-capacity venue called Bellco Theatre.
“When that space is not being used for conventions, we sell it for entertainment shows,” said Rich Carollo director of sales and marketing for SMG at the venue, about the theater that, all by itself, would be a Top Stops chart disruptor. “It’s a great way to make money when otherwise the space would be empty.”
  Perfect for comedy shows, this year saw Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Steve Martin & Martin Short at Bellco.
“We added a new curtaining system that allows us to change the manifest at will and make the space any size an artist wants,” said Carollo. “This allowed us to expand the reach of the theater.” The curtaining system cost around $125,000.
As for the convention center itself, “we’re doing quite well,” said Carollo. “We just landed a three-date convention for the SIA ski show.” The outdoor retailer will hold a summer and winter show with 18,000 attendees and a fall show with 21,000 expected. “It’s a big coup for us,” said Carollo.
Other big conventions this year included American Society of Safety Engineers, Society of Nuclear Medicine, Government Finance Officers and College Nursing Society. Occupancy has been at 70 percent. They did about 213 events in 2017.
Comic Con brought its own challenges. “In past years Comic Con was fairly loose about prop weapons, which made our security staff concerned,” said Carollo. “Some of them look very real.” He said he had a quiet word with organizers about it; this year Comic Con changed its policy and the fake-weapons were banned.
Carollo’s best day was the day he started. “I had come to Denver without a job and it took some time to find the right fit,” he said. “I remember riding the train in, which goes under the convention center, and thinking I had finally found what I was supposed to be doing here.”
Carollo’s worst day is any day when he’s unable to get something resolved. “Whether it be shifting a space or agreements with contracts or if I get off a call feeling beaten up, there are some days you think, ‘what am I doing with my life?’”
Colorado Convention Center usually “runs on a small deficit” but is a “loss leader for the rest of the city. We bring in a lot of people to the area,” he said. “Over a million people came through our doors last year.”
Carillo’s favorite achievement is a small one: he took old counters and turned them into charging stations. “Not a big deal but the clients love it,” he said. “It’s amazing how such a small thing can delight the clients and make them want to come back.”