The International Entertainment Buyers Association is coming up Oct. 19-22 and the association has announced its 2013 Honors & Award Nominees. The winners will be announced at a dinner during the 43rd annual conference. Five facility executives were nominated for Venue Executive of the Year.
David Farrar, Asst. GM and director of Events at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo. for Global Spectrum, said he first found out about his nomination during a congratulatory call from a Global Spectrum GM.
Farrar.
“My wife just had a baby, so I thought he was congratulating me for that,” said Farrar, who added that his nomination came as a total surprise.
It’s been a busy year at Budweiser Events Center, which had Batman Live, Cirque du Soleil, and Celtic Thunder. Farrar has been at the facility for two-and-a-half years, with this year being the building’s 10-year anniversary.
Though Farrar won’t be able to attend this year’s IEBA conference due to a conflicting meeting, he said the conference is one of the better meetings he attends each year in terms of networking and getting face-time with promoters.
“I’m flattered that I was nominated,” said Farrar. “I’ve always prided myself on building good relationships and this nomination sort of shows that.”
Bredan Buckley, director of Booking & scheduling for Value City Arena at Jerome Schottenstein Center and also Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, said he sees the nomination as recognition of being able to bring both arena assets together and cross-utilize marketing.
“Between the databases in both buildings and electronic mediums, people in the market are getting used to being able to look at an event advertised at Nationwide Arena that’s being held at Schottenstein Center, and vice versa,” Buckley said. “It really broadens the amount of eyeballs on our events.”
Buckley tries to get to Nashville at least twice a year for networking, with IEBA standing out as a highlight.
“Those guys do such a great job, and the ceremony is something I always look forward to and try not to miss — especially this year,” he added.
Michael Marion of Verizon Arena.
Michael Marion, GM at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., heard about his nomination almost by accident.
“It’s funny, because I got the email from IEBA saying it was time to vote for all the categories, so I was flipping down and, all of a sudden, there was my name,” Marion said, adding that his nomination probably stemmed from the fact that he’s survived working at the arena for 15 years.
Booking this year has been especially lucrative, with a George Strait farewell gig that brought out more than 17,000 attendees, a Fleetwood Mac date for the first time in 20 years, and a Bon Jovi performance for the first time in 15 years. Also, Verizon Arena started the year with a Justin Bieber performance and also had a date from Pink.
“It’s probably a strategic hope to have this kind of variety,” said Marion, who added that this year he’s worked with all of the major country music promoters. He likes the IEBA conference and Nashville because, not only can he drive there, but it’s also a compact city that makes it easy to see everyone in just a few days.
Steve Kirsner, director of Booking and events at SAP Center at San Jose, Calif., said that he received the email ballot and was getting ready to call and congratulate his friend Steve Bogdanovich from Romeo Entertainment Group, who was nominated for Fair Buyer of the Year, when he kept scrolling and saw his name as one of the Venue Executive of the Year nominees.
SAP Center at San Jose has had a number of country music shows this year, including Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban, and is looking forward to hosting George Strait and Zac Brown Band.
“We try to be as active with country music as we can and keep very close contact with the Nashville agents,” said Kirsner.
Steve Kirsnerof SAP Center
The venue will occasionally partner with the only country music radio station in town, KRTY, to promote shows and get opinions about up-and-coming artists. Kirsner said the radio station has a small club up the street that they use for artist development, with acts such as Justin Moore starting at the club before graduating to SAP Center at San Jose.
Though Kirsner won’t be able to attend IEBA this year due to a Kanye West concert at the facility, he said that it’s one of the best networking conferences — not to mention a good time.
“I love IEBA and Nashville,” said Kirsner. “There are so many little bars and clubs that there’s always live music. It doesn’t even matter if it’s nighttime, there are people playing all the time.”
Allan Vella of Fox Theatre in Atlanta got an email from friend John Bolton with the BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.
"He congratulated me on the nomination and I said, 'Oh, you mean the Fox was nominated for something?' His reply was something like, 'No, dummy, it's for you.'"
Fox Theatre has received several accolades in the last few years, including Venues Today's #2 Top Stop of the Decade for its capacity category, and Vella said the theater's changeover to Paciolan's ticketing system has been hugely successful.
"We continue to bring great events and great entertainment to Atlanta, so I'm proud and pleased that the industry is taking notice," he added.
Nominees for Festival Buyer of the Year include Wade Asher from Chippewa Valley Music Festivals in Cadott, Wis.; Bob Babisch from Summerfest in Milwaukee; Ashley Capps from AC Entertainment in Knoxville, Tenn.; Gil Cunningham of Neste Event Marketing in Brentwood, Tenn.; Huston Powell from C3 Presents in Austin, Texas; and RJ Romeo of Romeo Entertainment Group in Omaha, Neb.
Fair Buyer of the Year nominees include Bogdanovich; Tom Fohn of Northwest Events & Marketing in Salem, Ore.; Ethan Hirsch of Wilson Events in Petaluma, Calif.; RJ Kaltenback of Kleins Attractions in Harvard, Ill.; and Pat Powelson of Jayson Promotions in Hendersonville, Tenn.
There are seven nominees for Promoter of the Year, including Amy Corbin of C3 Presents in Austin, Texas; Larry Frank of Frank Productions in Madison, Wis.; Ali Harnell from AEG Live/The Messina Group in Nashville, Tenn.; Darin Lashinsky of NS2 in Nashville; Louis Messina from The Messina Group in Austin; Brian O’Connell from Live Nation in Nashville; and Jason Wright from Live Nation in Chicago.
During its 2013 Honors & Awards, IEBA will honor three more industry icons. George and Nancy Jones will be inducted into IEBA’s Hall of Fame, joining inductees Dick Clark, Charlie Daniels and Johnny Cash. Also, Charlie Daniels’ long-time manager, David Corlew, will receive this year’s Career Achievement Award.
For a complete list of nominees, click here.
Interviewed for this story: Bredan Buckley, (614) 688-3939; David Farrar, (970) 619-4120; Steve Kirsner, (408) 977-4714; Michael Marion, (501) 975-9030; Allan Vella, (404) 881-2127