The Miller Lite Vibe Room at Verizon Arena has provided “a nice little bump.” (Courtesy Verizon Arena)
The 5,000-square-foot Miller Lite Vibe Room, an upsell for ticketholders at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., has generated about $100,000 in new revenue for the 20-year-old arena since opening in March 2017.
The challenge for an older arena that has lost its sports teams and maxed out with concert lineup is creating new revenue, said Jared Lillard, arena director of finance. Inspiration comes in part from the club and lounge experiences that are built into the new major league sports arenas, but accomplishing the feat requires some creative thinking.
The Vibe Room was carved out of concourse space that was backstage real estate during end-stage shows, Lillard said.
Turning it into a sellable space involved pipe and drape, a portable bar, TVs, tables and chairs, Miller Lite signage and creative use of old hockey glass to install a 120-foot-long bar with LED lighting along the back wall. “No one sits there, but it looks cool,” Lillard said. He estimated the entire project cost between $25,000 and $30,000.
“Our per caps in this space are 40 percent higher than anywhere else,” Lillard said. “We’re not picking up a huge amount of money, but when you’re doing 15 shows a year, it adds up.”
“Through the first six months , we made more than we did all last year,” Lillard said of the learning curve. “It’s a nice little bump for us.”
Ticket Tap is a repurposed box office and team store, about 700 square feet. Again, they decorated with the old hockey glass, Lillard said.
Ticket Tap features 10 craft beers on tap, a couple of TVs, tables and chairs.
“We added windows on the back wall, with wraps made of old tickets from shows we had in the past,” Lillard said. Now they’ve opened up those windows to sell to ticket holders outside preshow, before doors. It’s called the Ticket Tap Terrace and doubles as “our biggest smoking lobby” during intermission, complete with patio furniture and the opportunity to buy a beer while you smoke.
Next up is Legends Lounge, which is similar to the Vibe Room but with a higher ticket price and upscale food. It is being created out of what had been the interview and media room, plus three dark rooms, which have been used as closets. It’s only 1,800 square feet and will open in November. The budget for this buildout is $50,000.
“We used those rooms regularly when we had tenants,” Lillard said. “When we first opened, we had arena football, hockey and men’s and women’s college basketball. We had a lot of media. But they all built their own venues or moved on.”
Legends Lounge will be sold as early entry with private bathrooms and a meal before the show. Beer and wine will be included in the ticket price. “We’ll start at $50 and end up at $75,” Lillard said. “We expect it to bring in another $75,000-$100,000 a year.”
The big lesson learned? “People want to feel special. They want to be a VIP,” Lillard said.