Newly-promoted President Lee Zeidman overlooks Staples Center and Nokia Theater, L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif.
With growth comes division of responsibility and sometimes duplication of effort, which has led to a major reorganization in Los Angeles. Lee Zeidman has been promoted to the newly-created position of president, Staples Center, Nokia Theater L.A. Live and L.A. Live for AEG. Hired in 1998 as Staples Center’s first full-time employee, Zeidman will oversee all aspects of operations and business development of each of the venues, making it one-stop shopping for staff and tenants, including the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Sparks franchises, and events like The Recording Academy, ESPN, The NBA, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), Dick Clark Productions and 19 Entertainment. Zeidman talked with Venues Today about the significance of his promotion.
You were SVP and GM of Staples Center and Nokia Theater. How is this promotion going to change your job?
As we developed the campus and as we’ve moved into the realm of looking for big events and bringing big campus-wide events, there were a lot of dotted-line relationships as it related to the employees at L.A. Live and myself, such as marketing, ticketing and PR. This allows us to speak with one voice, interconnect all three venues and capitalize on the synergy of all three staffs.
For example, with the ESPY Awards, how would this promotion make a difference?
In the past, they would deal with L.A. Live as it related to a red carpet on the street and in the plaza and a party in the event deck, and then with Nokia Theater staff as it pertained to doing the awards show in the theater. Some of those areas would report to me and others would come to me on a dotted line as it relates to security, parking and some of the operations. But I wouldn’t negotiate the deals with the staff and it would cross over in union jurisdictions. We felt by putting it under one hat and capitalizing on one management for all three staffs, we could meet together and wouldn’t duplicate or sometimes triplicate efforts and we would speak with one uniform voice.
Will someone else become SVP, your old job?
No, I have VPs who oversee Nokia Theater, Staples Center and L.A. Live. I’ve consolidated all the VPs so we work together and meet on a regular basis to discuss events and projects. Instead of two or three approvals as it relates to what we want to do on the property, there is one approval.
Will your promotion change anyone else’s job or add jobs?
Not today. Now one of my tasks is taking a look at how we’ve structured Staples Center, Nokia Theater and L.A. Live as it relates to moving some of the different buckets into different areas. I’m streamlining everything now. For instance, sales and marketing teams for L.A. Live reported to AEG corporate. Now they’ve moved under the Staples Center hat, which makes more sense. We still have the ability to sell various events for AEG corporate, but now it all falls under me.
How do you have time to do that?
I’m a great time manager. I’ve been blessed with the greatest staff in this business for 14-15 years now. I have 8-10 people who work with me who could be general managers throughout the AEG Facilities network. It’s not going to get harder for me, it’s going to get easier. It’s cleaned up a lot of ambiguity and made the reporting structure much easier, which will allow us to create content much more easily.
You are creating content? Doesn’t AEG Live do that?
We’ve always created content, beginning with the X-Games to create extra content. Now I will work much closer with AEG Live and our resources and event personnel to help produce additional content, i.e. fashion shows, different types of action sports because we no longer have that here, different festivals like a Hispanic festival. We will work with AEG Live as it relates to assisting us in booking talent.
Is there a first event where the new structure will become evident?
It was evident during the BET Fest (Black Entertainment Television Network) three weeks ago. We were able to create in year two a better festival, awards show and concert series at Staples Center, utilizing all of our assets here without bringing half a dozen people to the table to push it forward. We’re also talking about bringing additional awards show content to Nokia Theater and a big concert series with AEG Live for next year at Nokia Theater after spending additional capital resources to make it more industry friendly to entice more agents and managers to come to the venue. We’re taking our VIP areas and lobbies and upgrading them to make them more artist-, agent-, fan- and manager- friendly and move us away from the rap of looking more corporate as it relates to Nokia Theater. We’re looking at major movie premieres, festivals and content-driven events.
Should other venue managers be looking at this as their future, more properties to oversee?
There aren’t a lot of entertainment districts – though Detroit and Orlando are going to build them. There is a great opportunity for venue managers like myself who started out venue-specific to branch out and take over different aspects of a complete entertainment district. If you have the big beast, the tentacles will branch out and everything will feed into each other. It’s the one-stop shopping concept, which has now come into fruition in our company.
How did this change come about?
I’m on AEG’s Executive Committee formed by President and CEO Dan Beckerman last year. From that came this concept of synergizing the entire campus. Only the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton don’t report to me, but we meet frequently to assist each other, like selling out the hotel when there is not a citywide event. I’m the landlord for retail at L.A. Live, but that reports directly to our Real Estate Division. I am not proficient in leasing properties, but I do hold 23 leases over there.
Will you tease us with one new event coming up?
We’re taking a good look at the potential of some type of major fashion event in downtown Los Angeles. And as you know, it’s down to a couple of cities as it relates to the NFL Draft next year — Los Angeles or Chicago. We believe L.A. Live, Nokia Theater and downtown would be a great location for the NFL Draft. We’re also talking to various networks and we’re working with the Emmys to create a different atmosphere for the Emmys this year, including involving Staples Center because it’s dark that night. We have the potential of creating awards shows or taking existing awards shows and moving them to downtown L.A. because we are wired for that. Once you get here, with our restaurants, hotels and various venues, we’re a campus where you don’t need wheels.
You’ll be in Portland at IAVM’s VenueConnect, where you’ll become an IAVM Foundation trustee?
I’ve always been a strong supporter of IAVM. That not only helped me when I started working at the Forum to get educated, but showed me how to give back and participate. I’m going to assist the Foundation in fundraising and programming. I’m excited to sit on a board with my peers and help influence what the Foundation does in IAVM.
What is the highlight in your climb to top so far?
In 25 years, I’ve been part of nine NBA finals, three Stanley Cup finals and WNBA finals where the teams have won 11 times. And being able to work with great ownership groups and being surrounded by great full- and part-time people. Of 2,000 part-time employees here, 50-70 percent have been here since Day One. It’s the same for 300 full-time staff – 60-70 percent of those people have been here since Day One. It’s a great company, great environment and we promote from within.
If Farmers Field, the proposed NFL stadium at L.A. Live happens, is that yours, too?
It’s going to be connected to Staples Center. They’d be hard-pressed not to have me involved.
What is your best advice to others in the industry?
Learn everything you can. Ask questions. Be a sponge. Understand the tenants’ businesses. You never stop learning and asking questions. Don’t check out or think you know it all.
Contact: Lee Zeidman, (213) 742-7255