Venues worldwide are experiencing an uptick thanks to a recovering economy bringing more tours on the road. Not only are tours more willing to travel to less than top-tier markets, but they’re also willing to travel longer distances, braving freight expenses to hit venues in New Zealand. The top 10 venues in the 15,001-30,000-capacity range for Mid-Year Top Stops grossed more than $417 million combined between Oct. 16, 2013 – May 15, 2014. Key decision makers at some of the venues told Venues Today how they made it happen.
The Edge of the World Not So Far
Vector Arena brought more than 50 shows to New Zealand
Hard work and some convincing from Director and Shareholder Stuart Clumpas has brought Vector Arena in Auckland a more than $10-million increase in gross sales over this time last year, as well as about 10 more shows. Relationships with promoters have helped increase the numbers, as well as a willingness to promote shows in-house.
“We’re on the edge of the world, but we’re not difficult to get to,” said Clumpas, who added that he had to have a sit-down talk with promoter Paul Dainty, who was a reluctant visitor to New Zealand until about six months ago.
“I sat down and told him that New Zealand has changed and it isn’t what it once was,” he said.
Most recently, Dainty Group brought in a Lionel Richie and John Farnham date on March 23 that grossed more than $700,000. Vector Arena works with several promoters including Frontier Touring Company, which brought in Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, and Live Nation, which promoted four Beyoncé dates, Oct. 16-19, for more than $7-million gross.
The venue can support high ticket prices, with seats for the Beyoncé shows ranging about $80-$210 and Taylor Swift tickets starting at $99.
Before getting into the arena management business, Clumpas had a long history as a promoter and manager, as well as running a radio station. Because of his experience and relationships in the industry, he’s not afraid to promote a show in-house that he thinks needs to be at Vector Arena.
“Sometimes people can’t really be bothered to come the 1,400 miles over the ocean from Australia to New Zealand, so I’ll ask if they mind if I put in an offer for the show,” said Clumpas, who added that he’ll also look for things that the arena hasn’t had in awhile and put in a pitch.
His experience on tour has also made Clumpas keenly aware of the crew, who he tries to keep entertained. For multinight tours, the crew is treated to three hours of harbor yacht racing on one of the America’s Cup vessels.
“Instead of somebody who’s a production manager and sees Auckland as just being a schlep to get to, it turns from a negative into the positive experience,” said Clumpas. “People will say ‘they’re only the bloody crew,’ but you’d be surprised how much crew have influence over an artist.”
Contact: +64 9 358 1250
London’s Entertainment Destination
The O2 Arena works on being more than just the world’s top arena
Though the facility has consistently grabbed the top spot on charts mapping arena grosses since its opening in 2007, The O2 Arena General Manager Rebecca Kane said that she’s not content to fall back on rankings.
“We’re not complacent and we don’t sit on our laurels,” said Kane. “We’re not happy to be known as the number one concert venue, we want to be the number one entertainment destination.”
To that end, The O2 Arena launched a new website in May that focuses on telling the story of the complex. It not only highlights events at the arena, but also puts a spotlight on the 27 restaurants at the property, as well as its movie theater, bowling alley and roof walk.
“We have a hell of a lot more going on than concerts, and it’s important for us to tell that story instead of people thinking of us as a place to come when they want a ticket for Beyoncé,” added Kane.
Speaking of Beyoncé, a six-show residency by the artist, Feb. 28-March 6, brought the arena its highest gross of the time period with nearly $11.4 million. SJM Concerts promoted the shows.
The O2 Arena worked with SJM Concerts to develop a new annual event in 2013. The two-day Country 2 Country Festival launched March 16-17, 2013, grossing more than $1.4 million.
“It sold out every single ticket for both days,” said Kane, who added that the company is looking to expand the festival to AEG buildings in Dublin and Scandinavia.
The facility works with many different promoters, with Live Nation bringing in many multiple-date shows including comedian Mickey Flanagan Oct. 16-19 with additional dates Dec. 2-4, Drake March 24-26, and Justin Timberlake April 1-2.
Justin Timberlake grossed more than $4.3 million in his two dates at the arena.
The Brit Awards, Feb. 19, was the arena’s ‘buzziest’ event. Though it had modest sales of $56,000 with just 519 tickets, the show was televised and received a huge social media response with more than 4 million related tweets.
Contact: +44 (0) 20 8463 2301
Rehearsing Success
CenturyLink Center has kicked off several tours to brighten up its dark days
The venue in Bossier City, La., jumped to the 11th position on this year’s Mid-Year Top Stops chart, up from 20th the previous year. Part of the climb is due to several artists using CenturyLink Center as rehearsal space before kicking off their tours at the facility.
Director of Sales & Marketing Jake Wood said the most notable rehearsal guest this year was George Strait, who rehearsed for and began the second leg of his final tour at the facility Jan. 9. He rehearsed at the venue for three days before the sold-out show, which brought in nearly 14,000 attendees for a gross of more than $1.3 million.
“It was actually our first major event of 2014, so we kicked the year off with nothing shy of one of the biggest parties that we’ve ever thrown,” said Wood, who added that tickets sold out within 45 minutes of going on sale.
Cirque du Soleil and Jason Aldean have both used CenturyLink Center for rehearsals in the past.
Wood credits the arena’s success to its community, which is becoming accustomed to the idea that if they continue to support the arena, it can bring in bigger and better acts.
“When we receive accolades like this from Venues Today, we’ll send out press releases to local publications and let them know that it’s not just because of us, but it’s because the community has shown its support of what we’re bringing in the facility,” said Wood. “It’s instilled within the community that they know it’s a success-begat-success industry — if we continue to prove success, we can continue to bring it.”
Contact: (318) 752-6731
PAC’s Promoting Success
Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center’s aggressive booking pays off
Jumping 10 spots into the top three on this year’s chart, Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center in Midland, Texas, has found its stride. The PAC, owned by University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, has begun presenting select shows in-house.
Before the addition of GM Ty Sutton in 2013, the facility hadn’t presented in-house at all. The original operating plan didn’t take into account that the facility would be as desirable as it is, so the staffing wasn’t in place to present shows.
“I think the original consultant plan said that a really good calendar year for us would be about 10-12 touring shows in the building, and right now that’s a good month,” said Sutton.
Some notable successes with in-house promotions include a Feb. 22 performance by Russ Hewett that grossed more than $77,000, and a Feb. 6 date of Girls Night: The Musical, that brought in more than $40,000.
Contact: (432) 552-4433
(Photo by Brilliance Photography)
Defying ‘Snowmaggedon’
Theater moves up the chart in spite of snow cancellations
It was a turbulent year for Fox Theatre in Atlanta. First, a long-time Broadway presenter at the facility, Theater of the Stars, went out of business in August. Fox Theatre lost about six weeks of programming overnight.
“Broadway usually has an 18-21-month lead time, so there wasn’t the ability to save those shows,” said venue CEO Allan Vella. “We tried to fill those dates, but we were left with quite a lot of holes.”
Luckily, Broadway Across America brought in a very strong season headlined by two of the biggest shows on the road: “Book of Mormon” and “The Lion King.”
The 23-performance, April 10-27 run of “The Lion King” brought more than 95,000 fans to Fox Theatre for a gross of more than $6.2 million. The show had been in the Atlanta market before, but not at Fox Theatre.
“We literally budgeted that we would sell about 90-percent capacity for ‘The Lion King,’ which I thought was rather aggressive, but we ended up selling about 99-percent capacity for the full run,” said Vella.
“Book of Mormon” brought in nearly $5 million in 15 performances, Jan. 30-Feb. 9. The shows at Fox Theatre set a record for the highest-grossing one-week production for any touring Broadway show ever recorded in North America. The record was based on the second week of eight performances.
Vella said that theater has a strong subscription base, but a younger audience than usual purchased individual tickets for the show.
Though the numbers tell one story, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Atlanta suffered a crippling ice storm during the first week of “Book of Mormon,” which the staff fittingly dubbed ‘Snowmaggedon.’ Two performances were canceled, with hundreds of people showing up for the first canceled date.
“The first thing we brought them inside to keep them warm and gave them coffee, then they were most concerned that they could reschedule, so we worked with them right then and there to find other dates in the schedule they could attend,” said Vella.
About 9,000 customers were displaced by the storm-caused cancellations, with about 80-90 percent accommodated by an added performance on a Monday night and other open inventory.
Through all the challenges, Fox Theatre was able to increase its gross on the Venues Today Mid-Year Top Stops chart by more than $6.5 million.
“Even a theater that is 85 years old can still be very relevant today,” Vella added.
Contact: (678) 866-3566
Arena Does Broadway
A strong Broadway season and country market help arena climb the ranks
Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, has risen up the ranks this year, with a gross of nearly $5 million more than at this point last year. Part of the jump is due to the amount of content, with 40 reported shows at the Global Spectrum-managed facility this year compared to 24 last year.
Other than one more than $1-million standout, the bulk of the facility’s success came from country music. Country has traditionally been a big draw in the London market, with this year being no exception. Brad Paisley and Reba McEntire both grossed more than $550,000 in October, with Keith Urban commanding the highest country gross at $655,000 in January. Dixie Chicks, Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum also entertained the venue’s audience.
“Some of the younger, emerging artists do very well,” said Chris Campbell, director of Marketing. “Jason Aldean sold out and he sold out very quickly. He’s a great example of an emerging artist that’s at the top of his game and has a huge career ahead of him.”
The strong country market has landed Budweiser Gardens Country Music Week and the Canadian Country Music Awards in 2016, which the facility bid for last year. The week of events will include an industry conference, concerts all around the area, and the first nationally broadcast award show at the venue.
Contact: (519) 667-5733
Staying Top of Mind
Though no longer brand new, Barclays Center is more active than ever
Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Barclays Center has leapt into the second position for its capacity category on this year’s Mid-Year Top Stops, compared with sitting at eighth this time last year. The arena’s 99 nontenant events have grown its gross to more than $49 million, compared to 28 events and $26.5 million last year.
According to Sr. VP, Programming at Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment Sean Saadeh, the venue continues to grow its success by being proactive.
“We’re constantly speaking to our programming partners, agents and managers — we don’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring,” said Saadeh.
And it’s not only about getting on the phone; sometimes Saadeh gets on the plane. In working to increase country music at the facility, Saadeh has flown to Nashville several times. His persistence has paid off with the first country show coming to the facility Sept. 14 with Luke Bryan.
Barclays Center is also preparing to bring in another tenant team, joining the National Basketball Association’s New York Nets. The National Hockey League’s New York Islanders will begin to call the facility home in 2015, bringing in 41 home games, plus preseason and potential playoffs.
“We’ve analyzed this a lot,” said Saadeh. “We don’t think it’s going to make a dramatic difference in our programming of other events, but we could potentially lose one or two because of a conflict.”
Contact: (718) 942-9533
Chart Debut
Sportpaleis Group’s venues grace two capacity categories
Belgian organization Sportpaleis Group manages three venues on this year’s Mid-Year Top Stops chart: Sportpaleis, in Antwerp, Forest National in Brussels, and Lotto Arena in Antwerp. Flagship arena Sportpaleis cracked the top 10 with a gross of more than $30 million.
According to the Sportpaleis Group’s Jan Van Esbroeck, responsible for management and event organization across the group’s venues, the facility’s success wouldn’t have happened without a $34-million renovation that was completed in September that nearly doubled its capacity.
“We are enjoying the benefits of a brand new, second-hand venue in terms of efficiency and capacity, which allowed us to realize top ticket sales on multiple sold-out shows such as Celine Dion, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake.”
Celine Dion commanded the highest gross at the facility, with two shows Nov. 21-22 earning more than $5 million.
It was the second time Celine Dion has been at the facility and, according to Van Esbroeck, her bilingual repertoire of both French and English pays off.
“That allows the promoter (C-Live) to focus on two markets: the French-speaking market as well as the Dutch-speaking market with her English repertoire,” he said. “She gave a breathtaking performance, equal to the breathtaking gross figures she presented.”
Due to the production’s sightlines, Sportpaleis lost a lot of sellable seats but was still able to host more than 15,000 fans each night.
Lotto Arena hosted the last week of Cirque du Soleil Alegria’s production, grossing more than $2.25 million in eight shows, Dec. 26-29.
“Apart from the fact that it was an emotional week for all of the acrobats, artists and staffing, we sold out all of the show,” said Van Esbroeck.
He said he is particularly impressed with the success of Forest National since Sportpaleis Group has secured management, with a Mid-Year Top Stops gross of more than $9 million. The venue saw particular success with French artist Patrick Bruel, who grossed more than $800,000 in two shows Dec. 4-5. French rock band Indochine posted a gross of more than $700,000 in two dates.
Looking forward, Sportpaleis Group hopes to continue the success of Forest National and create a relationship among the group’s seven venues.
Contact: +32 (0) 3 400 40 40