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That's a Wrap

2006-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

After four busy days of meetings and informational sessions, IAAM’s Arena Management Conference has come to an end. About 200 attendees visited the Gibson Guitar Lounge near Beale Street to take in the end of the week festivities.

For those who didn’t participate in the golf tournament Tuesday, the half-day was supposed to be a chance to check out Memphis and enjoy the city’s rich display of cultural offerings. Here’s what a few of the attendees did:

• Charlie Williams of TicketPop.com made his way out to Tunica, Miss., to hit the Indian casinos. He said it was pretty unique seeing a house of gambling rising out of a barren cotton field. It was kind of neat for him seeing cotton in bloom for the first time, but he wasn’t that impressed by the casinos. Maybe he’s just a little bummed because he lost 20 bucks at the black jack table.

• Barb Borer and Lyn Creaser of the Lipizzaner Stallions were said to be perusing Graceland with a large contingent of IAAM attendees. Apparently the pair had about six hours to kill before heading back to the airport — that’s a lot of time to spend with Elvis, but hey — they didn’t call him The King for nothing.

• Monty Jones of the Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C., had planned to visit the Civil Rights Museum — but he laid down on his hotel bed for a quick break, and didn’t wake up until two hours later. Maybe next time Monty!

Rendezvous at the Rendezvous

2006-09-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last night’s party at the Rendezvous was so much fun — everyone definitely got plenty to eat at this barbeque staple. Thanks to Feld Entertainment for throwing such a fun bash. Here are a few pictures from last night:

Jochi Davila of Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, talks tickets with Charlie Williams of TicketPop.com. Williams’ company is responsible for doing the ticketing at the facility.

Staff writer Dave Brooks is starting to worry about all the barbeque he’s eaten on this trip.

From left, Joe DeGeorge of Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Ark.; Eric Granger of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio; Wesley Holmes of Alltel Arena and Bill Dutcher of MetraPark in Billings, Mont., take a break from eating to smile for this shot.

Fun at FedEx

2006-09-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here a few shots from last night’s party at the FedEx Forum:

They don’t call it the Good Ole Boys network for nothing. If you ever had any doubt, check out this picture of Steve Zito, from left, from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Bill Waldo from the Irwin Telescopic Seating Company, Lee Zeidman from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Chuck Rogers from Staging Concepts.

Wasn’t the blues and rock and roll theme at the FedEx Forum really cool? From the gold record placards in the club suites to the Blue Beat Bar and Grill’s Elvis Chocolate Martinis, everything at the arena just screamed rock and roll. As you can see, even the bathroom placards capture the spirit of Memphis.

When Holly Weckwerth of IAAM is not running around trying to organize the attendees, she takes a break for this sketchy moment.

Thanks to the FedEx Forum for their true Southern Hospitality. Pictured above are FedEx family members Maegan Holland, Megan George and Paul Richmond.

Advice from William Morris and Live Nation

2006-09-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

There’s been a lot of good informational sessions over the last two days, but the two most highly anticipated meetings were those with the representatives from William Morris and Live Nation. William Morris brought out all the top agents from its Nashville office, while Live Nation introduced six regional Vice Presidents, excluding representation for the West Coast.

So what did we learn? Well one thing we didn’t hear much about were upcoming tours for 2007 — the agents were still pretty tight about releasing too many names. But arena managers didn’t walk away empty-handed. Folks from William Morris and Live Nation had some good advice to offer about how to get more shows at their buildings. Here are three good tips we liked. If you want to hear more, check out our e-newsletter on Sept. 20 for a full report.

• Make the phone calls and keep the availability sheet open. Mark Roeder of William Morris said venues shouldn’t wait around for the phone to ring. Managers must now be proactive in developing relationships with booking agents and promoters, often selling their own shows.

“We got a lot of people to remember, and it’s not always easy to remember who people are,” said William Morris’ Roeder.

• Know your customers and sell your fan base like you sell your building. Develop marketing tools that allow you to automatically tap into your customer base through targeted email, web marketing and mailing lists.

“It helps if you’ve got a built-in population that you can automatically hit back,” Lane Wilson of William Morris said. “That’s who you have to keep developing, the one percent of the population you know is coming.”

• Develop your promotions and sales strategies for the pre-sale and on-sale dates. Customers are savvy enough to realize that promoters are running desperate when they start marking down prices or trying to give tickets away.

“The consumer is pretty savvy and can see a fire sale,” said Mark Campana of Live Nation “If you don’t put it out on the front-end, you’re dead.”

Jerry Speaks

2006-09-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Jerry West chats with Ken Kuhl of the American Airlines Center, Dallas.

For those of you who missed Memphis Grizzlies GM Jerry West’s motivational opening address on leadership, here are a few memorable quotes from the NBA Hall of Famer and eight-time champion:

“Good recruiting is a huge part of making your organization better.”

“One of the biggest wastes in life are people with good skills that don’t have the resources or know-how to put those skills to good use.”

“[When Jerry West first arrived at the Memphis Grizzlies] this was a place where losing was acceptable. No one was taking responsibility, and everyone was afraid of losing their jobs. I was horrified. It’s not okay to accept losing. It’s okay to compete and lose, but it’s not okay to open every game looking for a way to lose.”

“Mentors are the greatest people to have in your life. Do not be afraid to find someone out of your realm to seek for help.”

“Opinion makers are not very valuable. Results are what count.”

“Never underestimate how important these jobs are that belong to people you don’t pay much attention to.”

AMC Begins

2006-09-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

The 17th annual IAAM Arena Management Conference has officially begun, with informational sessions, speeches and plenty of networking. IAAM President Larry Perkins, RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C., estimated that over 300 members were attending this year’s conference. Most were looking awake and eager to interact — unfazed by the 2 a.m. evacuation of parts of the nearby Marriott hotel.

On Sunday morning (Sept. 17), the bulk of the excitement took place around the registration table, as attendees filed into the Memphis Cook Convention Center to grab their badges. Oddly, the National Hair and Nail Show is in town, but it’s pretty easy to tell the difference between the two groups. Venues Today caught up with a few of the early birds this morning — here’s who we recognized.

David Skinner of the Bancorp Center, Tupelo, Miss., enjoys a cup of java with Kentucky concessionaire Larry Lemke of FAME. The pair said they were excited to hear a speech from keynote speaker Jerry West of the Memphis Grizzlies.

After a rousing IAAM conference in San Antonio, past president David Ross, center, Show Me Center, Cape Girardeau, Mo., said he’s looking forward to keeping a lower profile at AMC. He’s pictured here with his marketing director Shannon Buford, right, and IAAM Executive Director Dexter King.

When it’s time to register, don’t expect a free moment with IAAM’s Brenda Pennington, center. Here she is, busily handing out badges to those in attendance.

Current IAAM President Larry Perkins, RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C., scribbles a few notes before giving the opening address at AMC.

That's a Wrap

2006-08-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

The IAAM show has come to an end, wrapping up with a series of facility tours to some of San Antonio's most famous venues including the Alamodome and the AT&T Center.

According to IAAM outgoing President David Ross, the event was a great success, bringing in over 1,600 attendees and 333 exhibitors to this year's sold out tradeshow.

The staff at Venues Today would like to thank everyone who visited our booth, took the opportunity to pick up a copy of our magazine and enjoyed a cupcake. We will keep this blog up for several weeks so attendees can relive the fun time they had at the convention. Feel free to leave comments on our page.

Thanks for making this year extra special and we look forward to seeing you next year in Salt Lake City.

VT

A few faces around IAAM

2006-08-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who missed it, Marco Perez, Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, caught the University Venue Management Conference attendees up to date on reconstruction at his arena post-Katrina. He's shown here with Lionel Dubay, O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla. Renovation will be done no earlier than January or February and will cost $20 million. They've already spent $3 million on a new roof and $3.5 million on a new exterior. The RFP for 8,800 new chairs goes out soon, then it's on to mechanical, electrical and plumbing, including replacing the HVAC system. Just about the only thing that isn't being replaced or refurbished is the toilets, Perez said. Meanwhile, his fulltiime staff of 35 is employed throughout the university, some working in the arena, some helping manage FEMA Park, which consists of 1,000 trailers in the arena parking lot and boasts a population of 2,500 (see photo). That's a whole different type of management. Perez is keeping in touch with his 300 event staff, hoping some of them will be available when the arena opens again.

Dennis Andres, Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, Ind., and Keith Baulk, City Hall, Kitchener,Ontario, were admiring Quanah Parker, the last great Comanche war chief, whose statue resides in the convention center hall of fame. Andres said his marquee from Daktronics has helped increase business 60 percent and he even managed to sell four hours of time for $1,500 for a wedding, a nice piece of profit.

More photos from IAAM

2006-08-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

David Ohlmeyer, left, Janel Ricca and Chris Moore, all of the Houme-Terrabonne (La.) Civic Center enjoy a few drinks at the Tickets.com party.

Scott Sloyer, left, of Tickets.com, Cindy Kamrade of the International Facilities Group, and Patrick Leahy of the Venue Management Recruiting Group take a few moments for a photo during the Tickets.com party.

Derek Palmer of Tickets.com, left, and Andy Donkin also of Tickets.com, flank Scottsman Don Cameron of Mobiqa.

The most popular party of the night was the Live Nation shindig. Pictured is Atlanta rigging contractor Dave Gittens, right, Billboard advertising representative Stephanie Horts and Larry Otto of the Wachovia Center, Philadelphia.

Carl Au Martin from Cahm.uk, left, and Guy Dunstan from the NEC group enjoys a few laughs with VT staffer April Stroud.

Time to Eat!

2006-08-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

There is so much good food to eat at this yeat's trade show. Besides VT's delicious cupcakes, we've found a few other places to eat.

RK Group

Perhaps the best margaritas at the show. Yesterday's bacon-covered dates were great too!

Monterey Foods

There's just something about these rollups that are so delicious. And they come in multiple flavors � my favorite is apple cobbler,

Popcorn Indiana

This kettlecorn tastes great! Make sure you stop by and get a bag.

Pepsi Booth

Don't by fooled by the simplicity of this booth. They have everything a famished IAAM goer needs.

CUPCAKES ARE HERE!

2006-08-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Nuff' said.

All in the Family

2006-08-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Notice that a lot of this year's attendees look like outgoing IAAM President Dave Ross? That's because he invited his whole family to the event. It seemed like they were having fun when they stopped by the booth —— we heard they like the free hotdogs.

VT

The numbers are in!

2006-08-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

What a successful year for IAAM. Event registration said that 1,552 people have registered for this year's conference. The sold-out show had 333 companies exhibiting in the main hall.

In total, the conference grossed $1,633,000, while it costs about $1,138,000 to put the event on.

Congratulations to everyone for making this year's event so successful!

Photos from Saturday Night

2006-08-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

What a great opening to the IAAM convention Saturday night! We hope you had as much fun as we did. Here are some photos from last night.

Keynote Speaker Robin Roberts of Good Morning America helped open the evening. What a pleasure it was to hear her inspiring story.

For more information on Robert's interesting life, click here.

Keep your eye on these three ladies, they have their sights on the industry, and they'll be running things soon! From left, Jessica Hernandez, Nicole Brian and Danielle Payne of Northwood University's Entertainment and Sports Promotion Mgt.

Could Venues Today be any luckier? We just happen to have a booth next to the Irish pub, sponsored by Diageo North America. Pictured is Lou Chatey, offering one of Ireland's best imports. Erin Go Braugh!

Outgoing IAAM president David Ross shares a few laughs with VT staffer April Stroud.

Chaeli Prichard and Robert Pearson of Tickets.com

Dave Furano has the coolest booth at IAAM.

Barb Borer, left, enjoys the Ticketmast afterparty with Lyn Creaser. Both ladies work for the Liizzaner Stallions.

Bonnie Rocha, Leticia Canchola, Danica Salamenta and Nydia Navaez take a moment during the AmericanBank Center afterparty.

Quote of the Day

2006-08-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

"If you have a critical mass of venues with incentives, you can change your destiny. Don't sit around and wait for the agents to call you. We need to know when you're available, what you're doing, and where you're at."

-- Steve Moore, AEG Live, Nashville.

New Members You Should Know

2006-08-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

IAAM sponsored the new member breakfast this morning, bringing in a whole new generation of assembly managers hoping to take advantage of IAAM's networking and educational opportunities. There are plenty of new faces to meet this year, and here are five incoming members that you should try and get to know:

Michael Savaya

LOCATION: San Antonio Convention Facilities
POSITION: Director of Convention Facilitiles
WHY HE JOINED: Savaya comes from nearly a decade at the San Antonio Omni Hotel. He already knows a lot of folks in the local industry, but he wants to reach out to other convention facility managers across the country.

Wesley Hooks

LOCATION: Fort Smith (Ark.) Convention Center
POSITION: Operations Manager
WHY HE JOINED: After managing facilities in Pine Bluff, Ark. for ten years, Hooks decided it was time to hop on board and join.

Heather Morris

LOCATION: Ohio University
POSITION: Faculty Member for Sports Administration and Facility Management Program
WHY SHE JOINED: Wants to offer her services for facility research and network with venue managers to develop internship opportunities for her students.

Kory Wilcox and Amy Douglas

LOCATION: Missouri State University
POSITION: Students
WHY HE JOINED: Both are volunteering at this year's convention. Keep your eye on these two; Kory is planning a career in the music business and Amy is hoping to break into theme park and arena management.

Photos from the President's Gala

2006-08-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

The opening President's Gala and Jazz Party presented by Daktronics was a success. The numbers aren't in yet, but it appeared that hundreds of people were in attendance. Here are some of the photos from the party.

Heather Tousignant, left, and Kate McMullen from University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

Daktronics staffers Penny Skouly, from left, Eric Erickson and Christi Bjerke.

Pat and Hugh Austin from the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, VT Staffer Sue Nichols, Tammy Turnipseed from the City of San Jose (Calif.) and Mark Metters of the Herberger Theater in Phoenix

Lee Esckilsen, left, and Robert Castronovo of consulting firm Entertainment & Sports International

Outgoing IAAM President David Ross

Jason Popoe, left, from the University of Connecticut, Chris Corl, of Penn State University, Al Karosas of the Bryce Jordan Center, Doug Boucher of Indiana University and Jon Larkin of Indiana University.

Notes from the Field

2006-08-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

The convention has begun and VT staff is already on the ground collecting important news and tidbits. Here are some of the things we've already uncovered:

From left, we have Carol Roberts-Spence, University of Texas, El Paso; Anne Palmer, San Jose; and Kim Cook, IAAM. Roberts-Spence has just announced a Rolling Stones concert, with opening act the Dave Matthews Band, for Oct. 20, sure to sell 50,000 seats. Tickets are $350-$60. Shakira just soldout her opening tour date, also at UTEP. Needless to say, the month has been HUGE at UTEP.

The big question each convention is, what color will Brenda Pennington's hair be? Here she is, almost natural. No more blond, blue, green or red for awhile, she said. Pennington can be found registering attendees at the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center.

Global Spectrum held a preconvention convention. The Aug. 2-3 conference drew 78 people, according to Terry Butler, right, Ryan Center, Kingston, R.I. With him are fellow Global Spectrum-ites, Mike Fryling, left, Constant Center, Norfolk, Va., and Rodney Reese, center, UCF Arena, Orlando.

Glen Menard, left, SMG, Louisiana Superdome, and Michael Taormino, right, Cobb Energy Center, Atlanta, graduated in the same high school class in New Orleans. Richard Simmons was also a class mate. Small world, eh?

The Industry Affairs Council, which met Friday for five hours, includes, from left, Turner Madden, IAAM lobbyist; Rodney Smith, University of Denver, chair; Gina Brydsen, IAAM; Bob Mayer, retired, Tulsa, Okla.; Shura Lindgren, St. Charles (Mo.) Convention Center; Linda Deckard, Venues Today; Mark Mettes, Herberger Theater Center, Phoenix, Ariz., and Kim Cook, IAAM.

Guess who forgot to preregister. Larry Perkins, right, RBC Center, Raleigh, IAAM incoming president. Harold Hansen, left, DHS Grant Coordinator for IAAM, admitted he, too, did not pre-register for this convention. Oops.

Linda has entered the Building

2006-08-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

Linda is the first to arrive in San Antonio for Venues Today. The flight on United out of Orange County was delayed due to weather in Denver. How many times will we hear similar stories in the next few days? Waiting in Denver, she met Grant Smith, who is now filming documentaries but used to be a promoter and knows Mike Kobluk and Kevin Twohig from Spokane, Wash. It is a small world.

When we landed in San Antonio, Michael Enoch, Coors Amphitheatre (House of Blues/Live Nation) was at baggage claim, having arrived from San Diego via Phoenix. Mike has had quite an eventful few days, including a 92-minute Ticketmaster brownout July 22 when he had Rascal Flatts about to go on stage and 4,000 will call and walk up ticket buyers at the box office. Mike and staff were selling roll tickets for cash as they waited for the problem to be fixed. It was a time to trust the will call clients and just let them in. The brownout effected the entire West Coast, Enoch said.

Upon reaching the Hotel del Palacio, Venues Today headquarters for the next few days, Linda was checking in behind Ron Woodbridge and Dan Brockett of AMP Live Events. Woodbridge said the newly formed firm will produce and promote 100 events this year, from motorsports to Professional Bull Riders. They even have a Mike Tyson tour coming up.

And then it was midnight.

Top Five Things VT Staff Has to do Before San Antonio

2006-08-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

5.) Buy a ten-gallon hat, a six-shooter and some spurs.

4.) Finish e-newsletter article on Live Nation purchase of Music Today.

3.) Look at a map of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and find emergency Starbucks locations.

2.) Sell some ads for our upcoming September Arena Spotlight issue.

1.) Get lots of beauty sleep.

Can you guess who these guys are?

2006-08-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken in 1986 at the International Association of Assembly Managers convention in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The man on the left is Scott Williams and Mike McGee on the right. Williams who is with the Delta Center in Salt Lake City will be hosting the convention in 2007 and is recipient of IAAM's McElravy Award in 2006. McGee has just joined Ticketmaster. Who are the guys in the middle? If you know respond via this blog site or visit our booth, 736, in San Antonio.

We have plenty more black and white photos from past IAAM conventions at our booth. Come look at our collection, and if you spot yourself in one of the photos, we'll let you take it home.

VT

Meet the Venues Today Staff

2006-08-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

It takes writers from all over the world to help compile Venues Today each month, but our home office in beautiful Orange County, California is run by a small staff of dedicated individuals.

Come into our office most days of the week, and you'll likely run into this cast of characters:

Linda Deckard, Editor and Publisher

The Nashville transplant and former Amusement Business Managing Editor is the woman in charge around the office. Each week Linda oversees the production and editing of Venues Today's weekly e-newsletter, as well as the monthly magazine. Accompanying her in this picture is her loyal companion Ginger -- now we know who really writes the "Letter From Linda" each month.

April Stroud, Account Executive and Production Manager

April is the big money maker over at Venues Today, selling ads and signing up subscriptions so everyone can take home a paycheck. She also oversees a lot of the ad-layout and design. Notice the Taco Bell bag on her desk — if it wasn't for fast food, Venues Today would only come out three times a year!

Dave Brooks, Staff Writer

The former LA Times staff writer is a bit of a vagabond around the office, but hopefully he'll finally straighten after getting that new hairdo. Dave will be running the blog this week, so if you want to get on his good side, mention surfing or carne asada. He is a California boy after all.

Rob Ocampo, Hot Tickets and Top Stops Data Manager

Besides compiling the ever-popular Hot Tickets and Top Stops, Rob is the glue of Venue Todays, holding everything together from payroll to inventory-managment. Need an expense report? Go ask Rob. Need subscriber info? Go ask Rob. Need someone to complain to? Go bug someone else, Rob is busy.

Venues Today joins the blogosphere

2006-08-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

We’ve entered into a new arena here at Venues Today with the creation of our new blog. And what better place to test pilot the application than the IAAM Conference and Trade Show in San Antonio!

Staff writer Dave Brooks will do most of the posting on the blog, submitting photos, articles and interviews from the convention floor. If you would like to be part of our blog, come vist booth #736 and we'll try to post you online. We want this to be an interactive experience for everyone.

Oh, and don't forget to plug us into your RSS reader. Drop our URL in your subscription form, or simply click the orange RSS icon underneath the link section.

See you soon and happy blogging.

VT