Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

152 Madison Avenue, Room 802 New York, NY 10016

FACILITIESONLINE.COM

2013-2014

Facilities &Event Management TM

Booking Guide 5 Digital Marketing Maxims 22 IEBA Updates From Executive Director Pam Matthews 28

For Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent Buyers, Special Event Planners & Venue Managers

Hartman ArenA At the Heart of Wichita’s New Live Events Industry 30

Spotlight: Ontario 58

Wink Hartman Owner

6

Facilities &Event Management TM

Booking Guide

For Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent Buyers, Special Event Planners & Venue Managers

28

Prime Site Awards Ballot….......................................................................................20 Columns Viewpoint.............................................................................................................................2 Caffin’s Corner .............................................................................................................. 4 Promoter Perspectives Marketing Maxims, by Jennie Smythe....................................................................22 Booking Perspectives In-House Production: Often Misunderstood, by John Regna.................. 24

30

Upfront Venue Watch, Technology Watch, F&B Watch, Heard on the Street, Concert Watch............................................................. 6-20 Leading Edge: Scott Schutt, Sales Supervisor, MTS Seating..............................12 In Conversation With ...

Raymond Castoldi, Director of Music, MSG Sports…........................................ 26 Pam Matthews, Executive Director, IEBA…........................................................... 28

50

Cover Spotlight Hartman Arena: At the Heart of Wichita’s New Live Events Industry..30 Photoview 2013 IAVM VenueConnect Conference & Tradeshow.................................... 66 Hot List Five Performing Arts Centers................................................................................ 68

58

Spotlight: Ontario..................................................................................................57-65 Air Canada Centre.......................................................................................................60 Budweiser Gardens....................................................................................................... 61 Canadian Tire Centre, Copps Coliseum...............................................................62 General Motors Centre, Hershey Centre........................................................ 63 Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall........................................................................... 64 Facilities Directory A-Z Index........................................................................................................................... 35 Booking Guide Directory ...................................................................................36-57

68

Ad Index............................................................................................................................. 56 Facilities & Destinations 2013-2014 Planner Guide

1

FACILITIES : E SSENTIAL T OOL ViewpointFOR W ORKING S MARTER IN ‘09

C

ompared to other industries, the live entertainment and event business was robust in 2008 and, according to most industry observers, ticket sales and audience attendance showed little-to-no decline from the previous year. However, this assessment came with a qualification that many of the tickets had been purchased and the events had been held before the more dire economic news came to the forefront in the 4th quarter of 2008.

Even after this relatively strong year, the live entertainment and event industry will not be able to rest on its past achievements. Our industry doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Rising unemployment, decreasing disposable income and lack of consumer confidence have the potential to negatively impact ticket sales and the size of the audience. Filling seats with effective entertainment during a time of economic uncertainty is causing anxiety among venue managers and bookers. Two things are for sure: (1) Without question, 2009 will be challenging; n our lastandBooking Guide Evansville, IN’s 11,000-seat Fordand Center, (2) in order to meet we this featured challenge, everyone in the industry, from venue managers their staff to the a relatively newAgents, arenaPromoters, that is going strong, welcoming itshave one-millionth Booking Talent Buyers andrecently Special Event Planners, will to work smarter—which means holding costs while enhancing audience that experience. customerbasically (see page 8). Wedown highlighted severalthe aspects make Ford Center Viewed through this work smarter prism, the 2009 Facilities SuperBook is more critical than ever. The cenpart of the “new generation” of mid-market arenas, from top-quality acoustics terpiece of this issue is the Annual 2008 Prime Site Awards (listed on page 16). Every year, the Facilities Media to the Bypass Lane concession-ordering system to LEED Silver certification.

In Group bestows the Prime Site Awards. This special designation—voted on by the readership (Booking Agents, this issue wePromoters, look atTalent another sports and entertainment venue in the a criteria that Buyersmid-sized & Special Event Planners) of Facilities—recognizes Venue Excellence, includes the structuralHartman dynamics of aArena, building,an the up-and-coming level of technology of routing its sound, lighting, Heartland, the 5,000-seat choicestaging—and in the the quality With of the venue staff. Allfueled these components are integral to theExecutive success of theDirector performanceAran and audience Wichita market. bookings by its new, dynamic experience. The Prime Site Awards acknowledge those venues that have work smarter.

Rush, HartmanThe Arena has a variety of features that also make it “next generation” other content in this issue—a regionalized directory of North American venues, a Product & Services among mid-market as detailed in our coverformer storyChair (page Directory, aarenas, spotlight interview with Greg Diekroeger, of the30).

Board of the National Association for“mid-sized” Campus Activities, and Industry columnsfeature on customer service andconcert event service—are all focused But being itself may bePerspective a welcome in today’s on enablingtickets industry to members to work smarter. industry, where fewer acts are selling enough fill the major arenas, In addition to print, facilitiesonline is the fastest growing website in according to Mark Hogue, Tour Manager for The Moody Blues.

Hogue is the industry. Facilitiesonline features news, industry links, a fun-to-readenthusiastic about Hartman Arena, where the venerable British rock band stopped blog, and the industry’s most extensive online database of Arenas, on its latest U.S. tour, and he sees the arena strong business in thePACs, coming Theaters,doing Coliseums, Theaters, Civic Centers, Amphitheatres, Convention Centers and Special years given that “the global average forUniversity concertVenues, ticketFairgrounds, sales is about 5,000 tickets.

Event Venues. Thousands of Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent While you’re always going to have about 12 big acts a year who play the major Buyers and Special Event Planners use Facilitiesonline every week to arenas, all of these arenas now have a stay theater setabout upindustry because everyevents act can informed issuenot and specific sell 18,000 tickets. So I think we’ve seen aThe paradigm in our industry over the The 2009 way to meetshift the challenges of 2009? Work Smarter!

Facilitiesmodel SuperBook Facilitiesonline) has been designed last five to six years. And the shed business is (and changing; whereas acts wereto be your first essential tool in achieving that goal.

A ‘Paradigm Shift’ in Venues, and a Needed Shift Toward Better Customer Service

I

Facilities

®

Facilities &Event Management 2009

Volume 18 No.1

TM

Editorial Director Booking Guide Timothy Herrick

2013-2014

For Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent Buyers, Special Event Planners & Venue Managers

Volume 21 No.2

Associate Publisher Chief Operating Michael Caffin Officer

David Korn Associate AccountPublisher Executives Michael Caffin Andrew Reeves Editorial Director Harry Mark George Seli Creative Direction & Design Creative Direction & Design Scott-Goodman Associates Lester Goodman Circulation Manager Winny CheungManager Circulation Business ThereseOperations Langer Nadia Derelieva Business Operations

© Copyright 2013 by Bedrock Communications, Inc. Oh Opinions expressed in by-lined All Leo rights reserved. articles and advertising copy are not necessarily those of the publisher. Advertisers are responsible for all costs, Research Manager damages and claims regarding advertising insertions.

Amber Tavarez

Facilities & Event Management is published twice a year

by Bedrock Inc., 152Inc. Madison © CopyrightCommunications, 2009 by Bedrock Communications, All rights Avenue, Suite 802, Opinions New York, NY 10016.

(212) 532reserved. expressed in by-linedTelephone: articles and advertising copy not necessarily those of the publisher. Advertisers 4150.

Fax:are(212) 213-6382. are responsible for all costs, damages and claims regarding

advertising insertions.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Facilities, is published three times 802, a year New

by Bedrock 152Facilities Madison Avenue, Suite York, NY 10016.

Communications, Inc., 6 East 46th Street, Room 301, New York, Printed in U.S.A. NY 10017. Telephone: (212) 532-4150. Fax: (212) 213-6382.

POSTMASTER: send address changes to Facilities, 6 Cover ad spacePlease is available by contacting a Facilities East 46th Street, Room 301, New York, NY 10017. Printed in advertising account executive at (212) 532-4150.

U.S.A. Cover ad space is available by contacting a Facilities

MEMBERS advertising accountOF: executive at (212) 532-4150, ext 103 MEMBERS OF:

doing 30-60 shows per summer, many now are down to a dozen.” The combination of these factors, Hogue predicts, will mean that a certain type of venue will rise to prominence. “Fifteen years from now, you’re very likely to see the shed business Herrick model turn Timothy into 5,000-seat, year-round venues,” he maintains. “There are a number Editorial DirectorTheatre in L.A., Oakdale Theater in Connecticut and Bellco of them now, like Nokia Therrick@facilitiesonline.com Theatre in Denver.”

Hogue, a 40-year veteran of the entertainment industry who has worked with classic and modern groups from Aerosmith to Matchbox Twenty, also notes a trend ONa growing THE COVER that needs reversing: disconnect between the concert industry and its clientele. “I contend that our industry has sort of lost its way and forgotten who (Clockwise) A) Charleston Civic Center; our customers are,” says Hogue. “They are working-class people, and we’ve made B) Giant Center (interior); the concert experience one C) Coliseo de that’s Puerto not Rico;particularly positive for them. It starts with overcharging on tickets, and then let’s do the charge for parking and the service D) Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza; fees on the tickets, beer and hot(interior); dogs, long lines for bathrooms, and so E)overpriced River Center/Adler Theatre and Toyota Center. on. We’ve kind of F) forgotten what customer service really is.”

At F&EM, we certainly don’t forget who our readers are, and we know they enjoy commentary from industry peers. In this issue, learn what top promoters have to say about 2 Facilities SuperBook 2009 Ontario’s fine portfolio of venues in our spotlight ON THE COVER on that province, and look for guest columns by Kansas’ light has been shining brighter in the live digital marketing guru Jennie Smythe and veteran entertainment industry since local diversified promoter John Regna. business owner Wink Hartman opened the eponymous 5,000-seat venue in Wichita five years – George Seli ago. Featuring innovative amenities and services for Editorial Director, Facilities Media Group customers and performers alike, the arena has shifted gseli@facilitiesonline.com into high gear for 2014 with VenuWorks’ appointment of Aran Rush as the facility’s Executive Director.

2

Facilities & event management 2013-2014 booking Guide

2872 grip n’ grins, 1,239 events and it still... feels like the first time.

Share the excitement at MTS Centre.

BOOKING INFO: 204-926-5503 MTSCENTRE.CA KEVIN DONNELLY KDONNELLY@TRUENORTH.MB.CA WINNIPEG, CANADA

Caffin’s o We need r your votes! n hile this is not an election year, e we at The Facilities Media r Group are asking for your votes:

W

• Nominations for our annual Prime Site Awards recognizing the top entertainment venues in North America. See our awards ballot on page 20, and let your voice be heard. All Prime Site Awardwinning arenas and theaters will be saluted in our 2014 SuperBook issue, publishing in late spring.

• And votes for our new ELITE Awards (see ballot below). We want to know who you feel deserves to be recognized for helping to create better live entertainment experiences. Please take time to nominate individuals in one or more of the categories below. Winners will be announced and featured beginning in our 2014 SuperBook issue, as well as on Facilitiesonline.com.

In the meantime, enjoy this issue, which is loaded with great content in UpFront, and throughout in Q&A’s, features, guest columns and our Booking Guide Directory.

Let us know what you think, and don’t forget to VOTE! – Michael Caffin Associate Publisher, Facilities Media Group mcaffin@facilitiesonline.com Arena Executive of the Year Name:________________________________________________ Company:____________________________________________ Theater Executive of the Year Name:________________________________________________ Company:____________________________________________ Booking Agent of the Year Name:________________________________________________ Company:____________________________________________ Promoter of the Year Name:________________________________________________ Company:____________________________________________ Talent Buyer of the Year Name:________________________________________________ Company:____________________________________________ Nominated By: Name, Title:___________________________________________ Organization:_________________________________________ Phone:_______________________________________________ Email:________________________________________________ May we contact you? Yes____ No____ Please Fill Out Form & Mail Your Vote To:

Facilities & Event Management Elite Awards 152 Madison Avenue, Suite #802, New York, NY 10016 or Fax to: (212) 213-6382 or email ballots@facilitiesonline.com

4

Facilities & event management 2013-2014 booking Guide

We Buy TalenT SMG promotes world-class talent at our venues.

Contact: Jim McCue Senior VP of Sports & Entertainment 610.729.7910 jmccue@smgworld.com smgworld.com | 1.866.BOOK.SMG

Up

Front

Venue WATCH

AEG and MGM Resorts International are jointly developing a 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas.

Scheduled to break ground in April and open in early 2016, the sports and entertainment venue will be located near the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and adjacent to the I-15 corridor. Designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards for LEED Gold Certification, the arena will feature a variety of premium seating offerings, hospitality areas for entertaining and private events, multiple bunker clubs, bunker suites, in-bowl sponsor zones, VIP drop-off zones with private lobbies, as well as an 85 ft.-high atrium and an array of exterior balconies.

6

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

• Full Seating Capacity: 22,000 • End-stage Seating Capacity: 14,000 • Under Curtain Seating Capacity: 7,000 • Special Events Center Capacity: 5,000 • War Memorial Auditorium Seating Capacity: 2,516 • White Oak Amphitheatre Seating Capacity: 7,061

Play Central North Carolina CSA: Greensboro | Winston-Salem | High Point The Piedmont Triad of Central North Carolina CSA Population: 1,611,243 Ranking: 33rd largest CSA Metro in the USA 20 Colleges & Universities in 12 Counties

• Full Seating Capacity: 14,800 • End-stage Seating Capacity: 10,900 • Theatre Seating Capacity: 5,600 • BB&T Field Seating Capacity: 29, 246 plus field seating For booking information on the Greensboro Coliseum and Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, please contact: Scott Johnson • Phone: 336.373.7449 • E-mail: Scott.Johnson@greensboro-nc.gov, or Gerry Duncan • Phone: 336.373.7459 • E-mail: Philip.Duncan@greensboro-nc.gov Web: www.GreensboroColiseum.com & www.WakeForestSports.com/ljvm

Up

Front Venue WATCH

Dove Wedding Photography (2)

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has opened its new expanded event spaces, including the new 10,000-sq.-ft. Event Hall with a sweeping view of the downtown Nashville skyline, as well as the connecting outdoor Carlton Terrace and new 800-seat, state-of-the-art CMA Theater (right).

The expansion, due to be completed in March, will increase the museum's size from 140,000 sq. ft. to more than 350,000 sq. ft. The new building will feature the Taylor Swift Education Center, the ACM Gallery, an expanded retail site and more.

(L-r): Terry Dederich, Associate Director, Ford Center; Sharon Williams, One-Millionth Customer; Scott Williams, husband of Sharon; and Scott Schoenike, Executive Director, Ford Center.

8

When Sharon Williams walked into Ford Center in Evansville, IN, on Dec. 5 for an IceMen hockey game, little did she know she was the venue’s one-millionth customer. VenuWorks, which manages the 2-year-old Ford Center and Victory Theatre, soon made her aware of the distinction by awarding her an oversized commemorative ticket, customized Ford Center photo chair, four free tickets for any event each month for a year at Ford Center, four free tickets to an IceMen regular season home game each month for the 2013-2014 season (provided by the IceMen), and four free tickets to a Men’s Purple Aces regular season home game each month for the 2013-2014 season (provided by the University of Evansville), along with other gifts. According to Executive Director Scott Schoenike, Ford Center’s economic impact on Evansville has been calculated to exceed $82 million in its first two years.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

Up

Front Venue WATCH

For New Yorkers, the only downside to the grand reopening of the transformed Madison Square Garden on Oct. 24 was the Charlotte Bobcats’ 85-83 preseason victory over the New York Knicks the following night. “The completion of this transformation will allow The Garden to offer even better service to its fans, athletes, and performers and help the venue continue to drive economic growth and job creation here in Manhattan,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at an Oct. 24 press event.

The historic arena’s three-year, $1 billion transformation project was completed in three phases; following are some of the highlights of each: Phase 1: New Lower Bowl seating with larger, more comfortable seats; an expanded SAP Madison Concourse; 20 new Nespresso Event Level Suites; new Knicks and Rangers locker rooms and star dressing rooms.

Phase 2: New Upper Bowl seating with significantly enhanced sightlines; an expanded Garden Concourse; new Lexus Madison Suite Level with 58 suites.

Phase 3: A transformed Chase Square 7th Avenue entrance; two new Chase Bridges with panoramic views of the action; a state-of-the-art GardenVision center-hung multimedia display; a Signature Suite Level featuring 18 completely transformed suites with center-stage views for concerts; restoration of the iconic Garden ceiling.

10

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

Rebecca Taylor/MSG Photos

Overview of the completely transformed Madison Square Garden Arena bowl.

Cedar Rapids

• $35 Million renovation ovation opened in November of 2012 • Completely renovated and restored to 1920’s glory

Paramount Theatre

• State of the art rigging systems, lighting, video & EV X-Array speaker system • Expanded stage, orchestra pit and reception spaces

CONTACT JASON ANDERSON 319-286-5343 • J.ANDERSON@PARAMOUNTTHEATRECR.COM 123 3RD AVENUE SE • CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 52401 • WWW.PARAMOUNTTHEATRECR.COM

Up

Front Technology WATCH

OrdrIT, a mobile concession-ordering platform, is making strides with increased functionality and new partnerships with facilities. Patrons at entertainment venues can use OrdrIT’s iOS and Android app to order concessions right from their seat, whereupon a stadium employee will deliver the order to them; payment is also made through the app.

Thus, fans can stay in their seats and not miss the action, and avoid peak wait times such as halftime at a sporting event. According to OrdrIT, no extra staff needs to be hired by facilities utilizing the service. Chris Behrens, VP of Sales & Marketing, notes that “we recently introduced ‘E-hawking,’ which is a tablet version of our app that allows venue employees to take orders from spectators in luxury boxes and have the orders sent and processed by their existing POS system.”

OrdrIT’s “predictive analytics” engine has also been enhanced, and can “provide insight through the transaction data and metrics we process. We have also built out our in-venue marketing platform to more effectively market and advertise to spectators through their phones and purchasing habits,” he adds. OrdrIT has most recently partnered with the CAJUNDOME in Lafayette, LA; Sanford Center in Bemidji, MN; and Hickory Crawdads Minor League Baseball team.

Leading Edge: Scott Schutt Scott Schutt has enjoyed a 15-year career with Temperance, MI-based MTS Seating, a leading manufacturer of quality seating for the hospitality market for over 50 years.

He recently moved into a marketing role and shares his thoughts on trends in the company’s industry niche and product innovations.

Style and comfort: Fifteen years ago, banquet seating was very utilitarian. Everyone was producing the same, traditionallooking, steel-framed stacking chairs. But today, more and more venue managers want something with style and comfort.

Gone are the days of hiding the seating with chair covers. The banquet chair has become a selling feature that helps venue managers book their space.

Seating technology: We have continually expanded our banquet seating line to now include both steel and lightweight aluminum framed seating in many different styles so that the customer has options. Comfort is a big advancement as well.

Over the years we have added our COMFORTflex® seating system option to many of the lines we offer. This allows the seat and the back to flex in unison, which gives customers a high level of added comfort. We also offer a proprietary support system that is called ProBax®. This medically proven system in12

Sales Supervisor MTS Seating

creases blood flow and alertness to the seated guests. These are just two of the many advancements that we’ve brought to the industry over the years.

New partnerships in 2013: Last year was a banner year for MTS in terms of sales to entertainment venues. We sold over 50,000 chairs to convention centers such as the new Music City Center in Nashville; Cobo Center, just up the road from MTS in Detroit; and many others. We also recently received a very nice order from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. Hard Rock is such an iconic brand and we are honored that they chose MTS for their banquet seating.

Plans for 2014: Without going into too much detail, I think the industry is going to be blown away by what they see from MTS this year in terms of branding and new product offerings.

Moving into marketing: Over the last few years, I assisted in a handful of marketing projects at MTS. I think it has brought out a creative side in me that I didn’t even know existed, and that makes me very excited to be in this role at MTS. I look forward to expanding our brand into new areas of the hospitality market and internationally as well. Most people look at MTS as a company that distributes only domestically, yet our seating can be found all over the world.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

Up

Front

Food & Beverage WATCH

The 11,000-capacity Echo Arena, now serviced by Centerplate.

ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, has entered into a seven-year catering and hospitality deal worth approximately $74 million with global hospitality service provider Centerplate. The venue will be Centerplate’s flagship location in the UK and European market; the company will assume responsibility for all onsite public and hospitality catering services at the venue’s existing facilities, along with the option to service the new Exhibition Centre Liverpool, which is due to open in 2015 as part of the expansion of the ACC Liverpool complex.

Last summer, Centerplate partnered with the UK team to develop and re-launch the concourse catering services and facilities at Echo Arena. New menus and catering units were rolled out under the locally inspired ‘Mersey Eats’ and ‘Mersey Drinks’ branded retail concepts. The concepts made their debut at the Rod Stewart concert in September and generated a 32 percent sales increase compared with catering revenue generated at a concert by the same artist and with the same attendance levels last year.

14

SAVOR, the food and beverage division of SMG, crossed the $3 million threshold in revenue after just three months of operation in Lincoln, NE’s 15,900-seat Pinnacle Bank Arena, home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Fans are spending an average of $19 on food and beverage at Pinnacle Bank Arena events. SAVOR treats fans to local craft beers and local favorites such as in-house Smoked Pulled Pork Nachos and classic Fairbank’s “red” hot dogs. SAVOR at Pinnacle Bank Arena also provides food and beverage services for all retail food outlets as well as all suites, club and catering services.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

When stars take the stage, our fans come out to play.

Verizon Wireless Arena continues to be the place that fans choose to play. Our audiences find the Verizon Wireless Arena to be the perfect venue to let loose and have some fun at concerts, sporting events and shows. As a result, they’ve helped us shine with a top 5 ranking in the Americas from a leading industry magazine, for arenas of 15,000 or less seats. They also ranked us within the top 10 in the world. Verizon Wireless Arena, 555 Elm Street Manchester, NH 03101 603-644-5000 verizonwirelessarena.com

New Hampshire’s premier sports and entertainment facility is conveniently located in Manchester, halfway between Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine. Before your next concert season, plan on spending time with the fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Up

Front

HEARD ON THE STREET Florence, SC

The Prime Site Award-winning Florence Civic Center’s General Manager Kendall Wall (right) and Senior Marketing Manager Nick Hooker (second from left) pose with Tyler Hubbard (left) and Brian Kelley (third from left) of Florida Georgia Line after presenting the band with a commemorative plaque celebrating both a sold-out show in Florence on Nov. 7 and the two CMA Awards that the duo achieved the night before.

Grand Rapids, MI

SMG Regional General Manager Richard MacKeigan (left) and the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority’s Birgit Klohs (right) present singer-songwriter John Mayer with a certificate of donation to The Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE) and local organization “Kids’ Food Basket” on Nov. 27 at the Prime Site Award-winning Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI.

Indianapolis, IN

Trans-Siberian Orchestra and a faithful Prime Site Award-winning Bankers Life Fieldhouse audience braved freezing temperatures as The Lost Christmas Eve Tour visited Indianapolis on Dec. 12. Prior to the show, members of the orchestra and tour group posed with local hosts from Live Nation and Bankers Life Fieldhouse — with cold-weather attire provided by the Indiana Pacers. (L-r): Roddy Chong, TSO; Marc Elfenbaum, Production Director, Live Nation; Chris Caffrey, TSO; Autumn Guzzardi, TSO; Tom Mendenhall, Vice President, Live Nation; Erika Jerry, TSO; Dan Kemer, Vice President, Live Nation; Jeff Plate, TSO; Joel Hoekstra (with guitar), TSO; Elliot Saltzman, Tour Director, TSO; Derek Wieland, TSO; Rick Fuson, COO, Pacers Sports & Entertainment; and Aaron Frank, Nightcastle Management.

16 16

Facilities Destinations201 2013-201 Planner GUIDE Guide 3-20144BOOKING Facilities & EVENT&MANAGEMENT

Northern Minnesota’s Preferred Venue For Sports, Family Shows, Concerts & Entertainment!

Flexible Configurations & Easy Routing Seating Capacities from 2,000 to 5,800 Full-Service Marketing & Advertising Department Wide Range of Rental & Co-Promotional Opportunities www.TheSanfordCenter.net FOR BOOKING INFO

Curtis Webb, Executive Director 281.441.4001 CWebb@TheSanfordCenter.net

1111 Event Center Dr. NE, Bemidji, MN 56601

Up

Front

HEARD ON THE STREET

Ontario, Canada

Igor Vidyashev/Air Canada Centre

Bon Jovi holds the record for the most shows played at the Prime Site Awardwinning Air Canada Centre (featured in the Ontario Spotlight; see page 58), totaling 17, most recently Nov. 1 and 2. In celebration, the band was the inaugural inductee into the Air Canada Centre Hall of Fame. (L-r): Tim Leiweke, President and CEO, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment; Bon Jovi Band members David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres; Randy Lennox, President and CEO, Universal Music Canada; Randy Phillips, President, AEG.

Wisconsin Center District

Milwaukee, WI

At the Nov. 1 opening night of Hello Dolly! at the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, Wisconsin Center District President and CEO Richard A. Geyer (left) shares a laugh backstage with Hello Dolly! star Sally Struthers and WCD Sports & Entertainment Sales Director Tony Dynicki.

South Bend, IN

18

The Cake Boss Buddy Valastro’s eye-catching tour bus at the backstage dock of the Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend, IN, Nov. 15.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

We host meetings, wedding receptions, conferences, sporting events, concerts, rodeos and so much more!

We have over 40,000 sq feet of space; this includes the arena, banquet rooms and meeting rooms.

We are full service. We provide set up/tear down of tables, chairs, audio visual equipment and we clean up! We also provide Swiftel Center catering and offer a full liquor license.

For all your entertainment needs...

824 32nd Avenue • Brookings • swiftelcenter.com For booking information call or email us at:

605.692.7539 • swiftelcenter@swiftelcenter.com

Up

Front CONCERT WATCH

Tony Apuzzi (3)

REO Speedwagon (above), America (top right) and LeAnn Rimes were some of the featured artists that performed during the 2013 Empire City Summer Concert Series at Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, NY. The outdoor venue's 2014 concert season kicks off in June, while the complex hosts meetings and events year-round.

Name of Prime Site Award Nominee(s): Please consider the __________________________________________________________________________ following Criteria when voting: __________________________________________________________________________

● Location/Market

● Flexibility __________________________________________________________________________

Booking agents, ● Seating promoters, Configurations Name, Title:_______________________________________________________________ talent buyers ● Ticketing Organization:______________________________________________________________ and special ● Lighting, Sound, Staging event planners:

VOTE

for the top Entertainment Venues (Arenas, Theaters, Stadiums; facilities you have booked in the last three years)

Phone:____________________________________________________________________ ● Food & Beverage ● Interaction with

Email:_____________________________________________________________________ venue staff

● Dressing Rooms,

Describe the Event

Backstage ● Access/Egress

__________________________________________________________________________ ● Promotion/ Marketing

__________________________________________________________________________ May we contact you? Yes____ No____ Please Fill Out Form & Mail Your Vote To:

Facilities

152 Madison Avenue, Suite #802, New York, NY 10016 or Fax it to: (212) 213-6382; or email ballots@facilitiesonline.com

20

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

The Facilities Media Group Essential Industry Tools

Facilities & BEDROCK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

152 Madison Ave, Suite 802, New York, NY 10016

2010 2009 DIRECTORY

Event Management

Buyer’s Guide

For Public Assembly Facility Managers

20 09 DI RE CT OR Y

Facilities &Destinations

Conference SuperBook

TM

For Corporate & Association Meeting Planners

Essential Venue Products & Services

Ogden Eccles Conference Center Spotlight: Page 4

Bringing Venues to the Meeting & Events Market Since 1988

Promoter Perspectives

Marketing Maxims

The digital age has brought some new twists, but certain ‘golden rules’ remain

By Jennie Smythe

A

s a digital marketing firm that frequently represents artists and festivals while handling the responsibility for live event marketing, not a single day goes by when we aren’t expected to stay on top of the latest digital trends and measure the effectiveness of our campaigns.

While trends can be important, we have found that observing a few “golden rules” will further the success of any marketing campaign:

Don’t talk all the time. Take time to listen and respond. l Properly invite people to your promotional event and thank them for attending. l Don’t get caught up in how many social media friends/followers you have. Be more concerned with the quality of those connections. l Once you have these basics down, here are five other marketing maxims to keep in mind, whether you are promoting an artist, a live event or a venue. l

communicate with them effectively. If the user is already a paying customer or an event attendee, are you segmenting your data to ensure you are communicating fresh, new information that is relevant to them? Nothing is worse than getting a sales call about the same service you just bought, right? Consider this when you acquire a new communication channel to your audience. Their lives are busy and they have many options. When they see your name, they should be excited to hear what you have to say.

2) Reward Loyalty The practice of giving something of value for a user’s information is at an all-time high. What have you done this week to reward past customers t can be very damaging or attendees? When when people are constantly was the last time receiving messages that you recognized your top followers and aren’t relevant to them. provided additional If you have the ability to value or thanked them? Rewarding geo-target or segment your and providing further audience, do it.” incentives for that loyalty is paramount to your digital strategy.

“I

1) Value Customer Information Every piece of data is another chance to learn more about whom you are connecting with. You aren’t entitled to their information, and you are lucky to be trusted with it. So if you do get someone’s email address or mobile phone number, you should make a conscious decision to use the data collected to 22

3) Target Your Messaging It’s easy to broadcast a social-media message to your entire audience or send an e-newsletter to all of your subscribers, but it’s not always effective. It can actually be very damaging when people are constantly receiving messages that aren’t relevant to them. If you have the ability to geo-target or segment your audience, do it.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

4) Monitor Feedback In this technological age, technology is bound to break. Website servers crash and links get broken.

Are you paying close attention to monitor when this happens? Beyond that, your Websites and social networks are the first place people are going to visit when they have a complaint. Are you addressing these complaints and giving customers an email or contact form to further vent their frustration and clean up the issue? If not, there’s no time like the present to get started. If your network is big enough and people are complaining enough with no acknowledgement, the effects can be incredibly damaging.

5) Use Engaging Content We have all been using the Internet for many years now and are accustomed to its abundant content.

But are you researching to find the best pieces of content and using trial-and-error to find what resonates with your audience? For example, if you are a venue manager, feature the music videos, past performances and interviews with the upcoming acts visiting your venue. Can’t find the good stuff? Ask where it is, or what they would like you to feature. When you post about said upcoming

performance, always include a direct ticket link so people can click to buy right then and there. Have an in-house videographer or a camera phone?

Capture snippets of the fun happening at your venue and use it!

Launching all your initiatives with these basic principles in mind will get you moving in the right direction. But it’s also important to remember that no two audiences, or objectives, are ever really the same. Constant research, trial-and-error and creativity are imperative to keep people coming back for more.

Jennie Smythe is the founder and CEO of Nashvillebased digital marketing agency Girlilla Marketing, launched in 2008. She has served as Director of Marketing and Promotion for YAHOO! Music and Senior Director of Content and Marketing for Clear Channel Communications. In 2009, Girlilla Marketing was acquired by Beverly Hills-based ROAR, LLC, and is now home to a diverse roster of clients such as Zac Brown Band, Ben Rector, Live Nation, Sugarpova, Nickelback, Premiere Global Incorporated, Jennifer Nettles and Green Apple Restaurant Group.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

23

Booking Perspectives

In-House Production: Often Misunderstood

Get clear on its limitations before signing the contract with the venue

By John Regna

I

ncreasingly we are seeing small- to medium-sized venues around the world — most commonly clubs, listening rooms, small theaters and casinos — building an inventory of in-house production elements. The hope is that more artists and show producers will look favorably at offers to perform at these venues.

“The inability of the

artist and purchaser to agree on the production elements of riders is the single largest cause of problems during the advancing stage of live shows.”

In actuality, while many shows can be presented with some minor augmentation of in-house production resources, most performing artists and production managers have very specific needs and will require that venues add a substantial amount of rental gear. This situation can create tension between the purchaser and the artist’s team because oftentimes the agent or booker of the event does not carefully convey those needs before the offer is accepted and the contract drawn.

The inability of the artist and purchaser to agree on the production elements of riders is the single largest cause of problems during the advancing stage of live shows. All too often, a show is advanced in small- to medium-sized venues in the weeks before the show, despite the fact that the contract may have been signed three or four months earlier. This means tickets have been sold, advertising has been done, the venue has set its costs for that night’s event and the artist expects a certain fee with all other costs being paid for by the purchaser. By the time the parties realize they disagree about the production elements, chaos ensues. Often the same question comes from the purchaser to the artist’s team: “Who is going to pay for the extra gear you need, but which 24

I clearly did not offer?” Anyone who has been in the live performance business for more than one year is familiar with this type of situation.

Avoiding that discord between the parties, and preserving the agreement, is often crucial. In today’s stressful financial climate, agents, managers and artists don’t want to lose dates in cities that serve two important needs. The first is to have a properly routed tour that maximizes the return on their travel and payroll dollars. Showing a profit is the primary reason for touring. Poor routing and too many days off eat up those profits, which can already be marginal if there are not enough shows booked.

The second need is to play primary markets, which naturally are much more important than playing tertiary markets. In addition, reaching demographic and geographical pockets where disposable income flows is key to selling tickets at meaningful prices, and building a fan base to purchase both digital and physical products.

There is no question that rental costs can be prohibitive in many situations based on locale, type of venue, number of performances, cartage and

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

What are the real solutions? There are a few obvious ones. The first is that if the agent and purchaser iders cannot agree on the production are the most rider requirements in the initial negotiations, they should not move valuable tool forward. A second recommendation there is in is to have the production manager, bandleader or technician for the show costing out review the in-house production specs a show.” once the negotiations start to focus on budgeting production. Immediately it will become evident whether or not the venue is the right one for Of course, some types of performers, such as acoustic the performer. The third suggestion: Before even artists, solo artists and small-format bands, will opening a negotiation, make it a policy to give the always have an advantage in settings where in-house venue the rider and put the onus on the venue to production exists. The same will hold for comedy and begin the process of production refinement. Riders certain forms of theatrical presentations with small are the most valuable tool there is in costing out casts. However, when entering the zone of hard rock a show. or progressive rock, or even large-format bands such as R&B and Latin artists with multiple singers, brass Orlando-based John Regna has been a promoter players and large percussion rigs, augmentation could since 1971 and is known as one of the founders of the range from $500 to $5,000 per show. Costs can be like North American “classic rock” touring tradition. a runaway train. many other factors. And these costs can seldom be avoided, since there will almost always be a need for gear augmentation to in-house systems. Bear in mind that technology starts to work against certain in-house rigs every year as more and more software and hardware are redesigned and updated. So, while an in-house sound and lighting rig can be cutting edge in early 2014, it can certainly be the case that by the end of 2015 it no longer fits the specifications required by a number of performing artists.

“R

Available on

Search Keyword: Facilitiesonline

Facilities

TM

FREE

Download all our publications NOW

Go to m.issuu.com on your phone’s browser to Get started.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

25

behind the scenes

In Conversation With . . .

Raymond Castoldi

Director of Music, MSG Sports

! y a R , n i a g A t re a u Play I q S n o s i d a n at M a g r o e h t d t n i h The man be res his approach to the craf Garden sha

L

W T

ike many musically inclined hat is the thinking kids, Raymond Castoldi behind the music you grew up playing classical play at games? piano recitals, and then ventured he whole key is to really pay into other genres, specifically rock attention to the flow of the and jazz. He became proficient game and the mood of the crowd. at the organ and synthesizers, You’re rooting for the home graduating from Boston’s Berklee team along with the crowd, and College of Music in 1986. Three if the team is doing really well years later, he auditioned with you can play things live that are Madison Square Garden to play very sprightly and fun. And if “Maestro” Raymond Castoldi at the at sporting events. “They were you’re DJing you’ll be playing organ during a Knicks game. looking for someone who could very celebratory songs, things both play the organ and mix people can dance and clap along to. If the team is music, and I had been working struggling, then you press the keys a little harder have to be as as a DJ,” Castoldi relates. “It and up the tempo a little to draw everybody in sounded like something I could ‘in the moment”’ because there is concern. do, and I figured I’d do it for a as possible and year or two. But it really turned t sounds like you’re trying to capture the into a big career step.” think, what am emotions of the game, or even augment them.

Indeed it did. Castoldi’s t’s a little like doing live film scoring since I feeling and how musical career at the Garden has you’re watching the event unfold. Some of the can I express spanned more than two decades. improvisation might be in the selection of pieces, During the Rangers and Knicks’ that through a and other times in the dynamics with which you summer offseason, he plays play the piece: You’ll play it at a different tempo musical choice?” organ for the Mets at Citi Field or with a different emotion attached to it. (previously Shea Stadium). To his credit are the “soundtracks” to s it part of your job to stay up to date on seven Super Bowls, seven NFL Pro Bowls, nine NHL All trendy songs?

Star Games and three NBA All Star Games. And he has es, because I play a mixture of tried-and-true classics taken his talents overseas, serving as Music Director that you know will work with a large group of people. for NBA events in London, Paris and Milan; NFL events But then I also bring in new songs that will become the at Wembley Stadium; and three Winter Olympics, classics, so that the presentation doesn’t get stale. including this February’s games in Sochi, Russia.

“I

I I

Y

26

I

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 booking guide

C

winning the Stanley Cup in ‘94; that ompared to when you started was an amazing night. The Rangers at Madison Square Garden, he sound system hadn’t won in 54 years. We pulled would you say that sporting events [at MSG] was changed out all the stops [musically] until today need more or less musical accompaniment? quite dramatically; we the last seconds of Game 7 when they won the Cup. We were all just efinitely more. The style of now have a great new so elated that I almost forgot I had mixing has really changed to house audio mixer, and to play the Rangers victory song! I reflect that short attention span had played it many times before, but we generally have, apparently the new effects. And the never under those circumstances. way film editing has changed. I room acoustics have would also say that in the world hat makes your job of sports the presentation has been improved.” rewarding? developed so that there’s more video love that when I go to work I content, more live shots of people don’t really know what’s going in the stands, more presentations to happen.

If you’re working Broadway, for instance, on the court or on the field. It just seems like the you hope it goes the exact same way every night whole presentation keeps moving, and you have because that means nothing went wrong. I may think to [continually play music behind each part of the the Knicks are going to have an easy win tonight presentation]. The technology is changing too, especially on the DJ side: All the music is on a laptop because the team they’re playing is terrible; but it might not turn out that way, it might be a very as opposed to crates of records or CDs. So you can challenging game. So I have to be as “in the moment” very quickly queue songs, whereas before you had to as possible and think, what am I feeling and how can find them in your pile and actually put them on the I express that through a musical choice? The players turntable. are obviously the ones who are making the crowd go crazy, but if I can take that energy and amplify it, then ow, if at all, has Madison Square Garden’s it becomes even more powerful.

—George Seli recent Transformation [see page 10] impacted the work you do? he sound system was changed quite dramatically; we now have a great new house audio mixer, and new effects. And the room acoustics have been improved so the sound has much more presence without being louder, because it’s clearer. It’s a completely distributed system, so there are small speakers in all different sections of the stands, as well as the big speakers on the ceiling. Like a lot of the older venues, the room was very “live,” very echoey, which didn’t do that well for concert sound.

“T

D

W I

H T

H I

ow can facility management make your job easier? think that being paired with a house audio engineer is a great benefit. The engineer controls not only the music that I’m playing on the organ or sending down from the DJ position, but also tunes all the microphones and handles the sound that’s coming down from the video scoreboards.

W I

hat events would you cite as career highlights? ’ve played two Winter Olympics: Torino, Italy in 2006 and Salt Lake City, UT in 2002. The atmosphere at those international competitions is just stunning; it was definitely a great experience to be at an event of that scale. As far as Madison Square Garden highlights, I’ve got to go right to the Rangers Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 booking guide

27

State of the Industry

In Conversation With . . .

Pam Matthews

Executive Director, International Entertainment Buyers Association

Pam Matthews (front and center, in black and pink dress), IEBA Executive Director, together with the organization’s Board of Directors.

Not Quite Business as Usual IEBA’s latest leader discusses what’s new at the 44-year-old trade organization

By George Seli

P

am Matthews became Executive Director of the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) last February, bringing more than three decades of experience in the entertainment business to the Nashville-based organization. She is certainly no stranger to Nashville’s live entertainment scene, having served as General Manager of the historic Ryman Auditorium from 2000 until 2007. In the late 1980s, Matthews worked for The Judds’ in-house booking agency, Pro Tours, Inc., which promoted 95 of the 110 sold-out concerts on The Judds Farewell Tour, the highest-grossing North American tour in 1991. She then held the position of Vice President and Treasurer of Wynonna, Inc. and J2K, Inc. until Gaylord Entertainment selected her to manage Ryman Auditorium.

28

IEBA’s 43rd Annual Conference, held Oct. 1922 at the Omni Nashville, was the first one with Matthews at the helm, and she “was involved in every little detail. The location was already set, but beyond that I did everything from serving as the facilitator for the showcase submission committee to choosing what we served for breakfast and lunch,” she relates. The turnout was strong, with registered attendance up 11 percent and overall attendance up 17 percent, Matthews notes. There are always new acts being showcased at the conference, and there are exciting new initiatives for IEBA itself this year, including a Young Professionals membership bracket and informal networking events held for members.

Matthews describes these programs as well as a few entertainment industry trends in what follows.

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

D Y

first quarter of 2014, we’ll go to New York and Las Vegas. id you feel comfortable moving into your executive position at IEBA? hat were some highlights of the annual es, I had been involved with IEBA for a long time. conference for you?

The first annual conference I remember attending think our breakout sessions were particularly strong this was in 1989, and I was very familiar with the organization year. For our independent showcases we had everything when it was run by Cathy Gurley [executive director from from an 18-piece Mexican band to a fire-juggling 1987-‘89] and Dean Unkefer [1989-‘95]; those were the comedian on a unicycle to magicians to a Rat Pack-style years that I worked for the Judds and Wynonna. Actually, crooner. The entertainment has always has been very in 1989, the Judds had some time off in October, and our team produced the IEBA showcases that year, because we diverse. We’ve had everything from the Peking acrobats to Moscow ballet to Garth Brooks and disco. owned our own sound and lights and trucks and busses in those days. One of the reasons I remember it is because he program included a “marketing case study” our in-house graphics team designed the program, and of one of IEBA’s sponsors, the Houston Livestock in that year we showcased, among other folks, both Vince Show & Rodeo. What makes that show a model for Gill and Garth Brooks. And Tiffany Davis [who resigned similar events? as IEBA executive director in October 2012] was a good friend of mine even before she moved to Nashville to take he shows are not state or county fairs, festivals or this position. So it’s the same agents, the same people I concert events. They stand on their own as unique would see at Pollstar and Billboard every year, the same events, and Houston is just the granddaddy. They’ll draw promoters that I did business with.

2.5 million people across two weeks It’s actually a pretty small circle of to a rodeo. It’s extraordinary, and people. e had everything from they just do it right, from booking the acts, to choosing entertainment, an 18-piece Mexican band to the way they market the event, to as IEBA grown steadily since the late 1980s? to a fire-juggling comedian how they treat their patrons when they get onsite. It’s just an amazing ts membership has waxed and on a unicycle to magicians job from start to finish. waned over the years. Current to a Rat Pack-style membership is at one of its highest he conference’s panel on in the association’s 44-year history. crooner. Our showcased casino entertainment seemed very timely given the strength of entertainment has always ou’ve focused on developing that market segment. the Young Professionals has been very diverse.” segment of IEBA’s membership. he casino business fell off just How is that progressing in its a little bit during the recession, first year? but it still showed a 4 percent increase year to year. Indian gaming in particular is a huge business. And nongaming he membership has grown from 30 to 110. Young revenue exceeds gaming revenue now: off-floor spending Professionals must be 29 or younger, and you can be a Young Professional member for three years; so if you get on spas, dinners, hotel rooms as well as concert tickets. in at 28, you can stay in that membership class until you’re They have world-class restaurants and spas. So people will come to a casino for the entire experience, not to just 31, for example. [Ed. Note: Young Professional members gamble and leave. can vie for the newly created Rookie of the Year award, which will be presented during the annual Honors and s there greater prestige in playing casinos for Awards Dinner at the annual conference.] artists these days? ave you helped to launch any new member s a former artist manager, I don’t think there was ever events this year? any stigma to playing casinos. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, all the great acts played casinos. And if you think e now have membership mixers in the different about it, Cher, Shania Twain and Elton John [all have cities; heretofore the focus really has been on done casino residencies]; there’s no shame in that. the conference in Nashville. The mixers are wonderful because there’s really no agenda. So far this year we’ve hat can IEBA members look forward to for had membership mixers in Nashville, Atlanta and next year’s conference?

Chicago — three in eight months. In Atlanta we went to a little cabaret comedy club, in Nashville we were e will return to the Omni Sept. 27-30. We will also at the Bama House (which houses both Dale Morris & be utilizing some of the space at the Country Music Associates offices and AEG Live/The Messina Group Hall of Fame; they just went through a major renovation offices), and then in Chicago we were at Joe’s Bar. In the and they’ll be open for us next year [see page 8].

W I T T

H I

“W

T

Y

T

T

H W

I A

W W

Facilities & EVENT MANAGEMENT 2013-2014 BOOKING GUIDE

29

Hartman Arena is a beacon for booking agents looking for a midsized arena in Wichita.

30

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

At the Heart of

Wichita’s

New Live Events Industry Five years after its construction, Hartman Arena continues to break ground

By George Seli

T

he Moody Blues marked a rock ‘n’ roll milestone for Wichita, KS, on Oct. 16 when the legendary British band sold out VenuWorks-managed Hartman Arena on their “Timeless Flight” Tour. It’s been a long flight for the Moody Blues, who are soon to celebrate their 50th anniversary, but a relatively short one thus far for Hartman Arena, which opened about five years ago. Before the arena’s debut, “there had never really been great places to play in Wichita,” according to Mark Hogue, Moody Blues tour manager. “The Century II performing arts center was problematic and badly designed; it was a 1960s building. INTRUST Bank Arena was built within the last five years, but it’s too big for many artists. And the Wichita market has traditionally been, shall we say, ‘difficult,’ depending on the economy. So when [Wink] Hartman came in and

built his arena, he was seriously ‘rolling the dice.’”

But the risk was based on a sound appraisal of Wichita’s infrastructure.

“I was truly inspired by the potential I saw in Park City/Wichita and the easy access to the site [directly from I-135],” says Hartman, a locally based diversified business owner. “The spirit of the people here and the business opportunities motivated me to build. I wanted to give something back and create a unique venue for Park City/ Wichita to enjoy great sports and entertainment in the home of the Wichita Wild Arena Football team. And we felt as though 6,000 seats was perfect for most acts routing through the area.”

The arena has hosted performances by Alan Jackson, Slipknot, New Kids On The Block and Earth Wind & Fire/Chicago, among many others.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

31

most important things in the To an extent, each of Wichita’s building: content, content, live entertainment venues “I was truly and content. I am aiming to has its own market niche. The always have a steady pace 15,000-seat INTRUST Bank inspired by the of shows on the calendar.

Arena hosts acts that match potential I saw On Jan. 1 we switched to that capacity, such as WWE, Ticketmaster, which is part Lady Antebellum and George in Park City/ of our ticket sales initiative.

Strait, while “the Century II Wichita. The If we’re going to book more focuses on Broadway and spirit of the shows, we need to sell performing arts, and The more tickets, so we want to Cotillion has the club circuit,” people here and make the guest experience observes Aran Rush, Hartman the business opportunities is easier, from buying Arena’s new Executive tickets to coming out here Director. “Some acts are just motivated me to build.” to having fun.” One type on the verge of breaking – Wink Hartman, Owner of entertainment content out of that circuit, and we’re Rush will try to develop is sort of the next level up. And Hispanic programming. “I think there’s a big potential there are many new venues in town, including a new for it,” he adds. casino that opened up half and hour south, so I think Wichita is trying to find its balance. There will be a lot of Classic rock acts are a natural fit for this Heartland experimentation, and that’s going to be the fun part, to venue, and Rush notes that while VenuWorks National see what works.”

Programming staff booked the Moody Blues, he did help ensure the show sold out. The Beach Boys also VenuWorks hired Rush as Executive Director in sold out on Dec. 19. “Since I began in August and August. He was coming from Sioux City, IA, where he hit the ground cold, we’ve been able to book and was Executive Director of the city’s Events & Facilities Department. As such, he oversaw Tyson Events Center, have had three shows in the last four months, which is kind of hard to do,” he points out. “The one that I Orpheum Theater, Sioux City Convention Center, was especially impressed with is the Fox TV show So IBP Ice Center and the CVB. In this new stage of his You Think You Can Dance. It was unique because the career, he is focusing on ensuring the success of one winner of the show is from Wichita, and it fit in nicely.” venue, and toward that end, he will stress “the three 32

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

More than 1,600 free onsite parking spaces are available.

“I think it’s a show that has done well for people in big and small markets, but it’s something that had an obvious promotional angle to it because of the TV identity,” says David Bucksner, President of Exceptional Artists, which brought in So You Think You Can Dance. “We were happy with the ticket sales. One thing that was especially satisfying about the response was that we sold more tickets than the capacity of the [Century II] performing arts center. A handful more tickets at least makes you happy you gave yourself the extra capacity.”

“I will focus on the three most important things in the building: content, content, and content. I am aiming to always have a steady pace of shows on the calendar.”

involved in running a building we find it to be easy to work with. We’ve also worked with Aran in the past, and one thing great about him is that he’s a building manager that really understands both the resources and the needs of concert promoters.”

“We make it easy for people to come in and do business here,” Rush maintains. “We’re working on new advertising deals to make it more – Aran Rush, Executive Director affordable to promote when you come to town, as well as expanding our outdoor promotional capabilities. In Wichita there are digital billboards everywhere; I haven’t seen any market with the quantity of digital billboards that they have here.”

In addition, the Fox show “fit very pleasantly in the space,” says Brucksner. “The load-in was easy, and the From Hogue’s perspective, customer service is what backstage setting was comfortable. It was set up so that the management had access both to the front of the house really makes Hartman Arena a standout in the industry.

“The thing that impressed me the most about this and backstage.” In regards to co-promotion, the Hartman building was the management and operations team. team “has some good media relations, and this is a good For example, instead of having a security team running media market. The local TV and radio stations are really around with security shirts looking big and burly, Aran supportive, especially the Fox TV station; I think it was dressed everybody up for the Moody Blues in tie-dye one of the best Fox TV promotions we’ve ever seen. The other aspect is that we do shows with VenuWorks facilities T-shirts that said ‘Staff.’ He put greeters at the front of the building, high school- and college-age women and men all around the Midwest, and whenever VenuWorks is Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

33

“We have a lot of diehard fans that go to several of shows, and a number of them came to me and said that it was the nicest they were treated on the entire tour.”

The arena offers 5,000 fixed seats, 6,500 capacity.

– Mark Hogue, Moody Blues Tour Manager

dressed up in the uniform simply greeting the audience.

We have a lot of diehard fans that go to several of shows, and a number of them came to me and said that it was the nicest they were treated on the entire tour. The operations team even has staff in the parking lot helping patrons find a space, and they’re not charging for it. That’s groundbreaking customer service.”

“The load-in was easy, and the backstage setting was comfortable.

It was set up so that the management had access both to the front of the house and backstage.”

– David Brucksner, President, Exceptional Artists

A recent innovation at the arena that makes it easier on customers to get through security is a bag-free express line. Once they’re inside, they’ll be able to order a Shock Top, which the arena recently added after learning that it was the Park City/Wichita area’s most popular beer.

And next year, the venue will be upgrading its sports club to a martini bar. “We also have a hospitality tool chest for the incoming road crews and entertainers, which we call the Hart Cart. It has anything your grandma’s medicine cabinet would have,” Rush quips.

“It’s the sum of all of the little details that make the 34

overall experience better for everyone on the front of the house and the back of the house.” Hogue cites “good power; lots of dressing rooms; spotless, well maintained [facilities]; and great food. They have all the little things that make a difference to a touring production pretty well taken care of.”

Hartman Arena has 5,000 fixed seats (6,500 capacity), 20 Loge Boxes and 138 Club Seats. Concertgoers can expect a fine auditory experience at the venue, despite its functionality for indoor sports. “The arena has a great reputation for its acoustics,” Hartman says, and Hogue confirms that claim: “The acoustics are very good, and the Moody Blues is a show where it matters. We have a very good engineer, and a band that plays at a level that exposes the inadequacies of various sound systems and buildings.” In addition, the 75,000-lb. rigging capacity is “among the best in the country,” Rush notes. “We have an amazing mother grid that lowers all the way down to the floor. It means lower stagehand bills, with easier load in and out.”

Even after five years, the arena still has “untapped potential,” Rush feels, and promoters share that sentiment.

Brucksner is looking into the possibility of bringing in The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, while Hogue believes Hartman Arena could be attractive to bands that are even bigger draws than the Moody Blues. “We know that the Moody Blues are good for 3,500-5,000 tickets in any market in the country, but you could put an Aerosmith in there and have an intimate setting. There are a number of artists that really enjoy playing a smaller venue.”

Indoor sports are another source of optimism for the arena’s performance this year. “Our arena football team won the CPIFL Championship,” says Hartman. “We have great momentum going into 2014. We have a great team in place and the calendar is filling up nicely.”

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

Facilities A-Z Adler Theatre/River Center.................................................. 38

Laredo Energy Arena................................................................46

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum............................ 38

Lloyd Noble Center...................................................................46

Blue Cross Arena........................................................................ 38

Morris Performing Arts Center............................................46

Bridge View Center.................................................................... 38

MTS Centre....................................................................................46

Burnsville Performing Arts Center..................................... 38

Paramount Theatre/U.S. Cellular Center.......................46

Chesapeake Energy Arena..................................................... 38

Racine Civic Centre...................................................................46

Clay County Regional Events Center............................... 38

The Sanford Center...................................................................46

Dunkin’ Donuts Center............................................................. 42

Swiftel Center...............................................................................46

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre............ 42

Topeka Performing Arts Center..........................................50

Florence Civic Center.............................................................. 42

Toyota Center...............................................................................50

Ford Center................................................................................... 42

United Wireless Arena.............................................................50

Greensboro Coliseum Complex......................................... 42

Verizon Wireless Arena............................................................50

Hartman Arena............................................................................. 42

Victory Theatre.............................................................................50

Hoyt Sherman Place.................................................................. 42

Wright State University’s Nutter Center.........................50

Facilities &Event Management TM

Booking Guide

For Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent Buyers, Special Event Planners & Venue Managers

What the industry is saying about us: “Facilities has always been a great resource for our venue and also provides news and a wealth of information about industry trends.”

Cheryl Cohen, SMG Director of Marketing, Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, RI

“The Facilities publications that we showcase our venues in get the job done for us. We see results on the client side and with promoters, show producers and agents.

Facilitiesonline.com keeps us up-to-date on industry happenings and gives VenuWorks a vehicle to get our news out across the industry as well.”

Tammy Koolbeck, Senior Vice President, VenuWorks

Be a part of our upcoming issues Call or email Michael Caffin, Associate Publisher (212) 532-4150 mcaffin@facilitiesonline.com

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

35

INDIANA

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

T

he Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is one of only a few facilities in the United States to feature two arenas under one roof. The Coliseum Arena has a seating capacity of nearly 13,000 with deluxe suites and club seats, while the multi-purpose 108,000 sq. ft.

Expo Center has a potential seating capacity of 8,000.

Located in Northeast Indiana, Fort Wayne is the state’s second-largest city, easily accessible from some of the Midwest’s major markets, including Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus and Cincinnati.

The Memorial Coliseum’s non-metro location offers affordable local media, yet more than 55 million people live within a day’s drive.

During the summer of 2013, the Memorial Coliseum Arena underwent a $4 million expansion and renovation of its main 200-level concourse, widening portions of the hallway to 100 feet and adding three new fresh concessions concepts. Several restrooms were also renovated. During the summer of 2014, a renovation of the Arena’s 100-level concourse and restrooms is planned.

Arena ; The Memorial Coliseum is home to the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) and

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA D-League). It features a four-sided, center-hung video scoreboard and nearly 360 degrees of LED ribbon board. A scaled down arena setup of 4,000 seats is also available, with a customized curtaining system.

Expo Center: The Coliseum Expo Center is 152,000 sq. ft. of multi-purpose space

with two portable walls and flexible telescopic seating. The main Expo Center room can be used in its entirety of 108,000 sq. ft. or in increments of one-third or two-thirds. Ample loading docks and drive-through bays facilitate easy load-in and load-out. A 44,000-sq.-ft. lower level can be used separately or for those events that require more space.

36

4000 Parnell Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46805 (260) 482-9502; Fax: (260) 484-1637 memorialcoliseum.com

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

IOWA

RiverCenter / Adler Theatre N

estled along the banks of the Mississippi River, the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre is indeed a “center of exceptional events� in the Midwest. The RiverCenter/ Adler Theatre staff takes pride in providing clients with everything they need to ensure an event that meets objectives and exceeds expectations, with personalized event coordination, exclusive catering, show decorating and more.

Meeting and event planners find the light and industrial feeling of the RiverCenter immediately appealing. Whether a board meeting for 15 or a convention of 3,000, the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre is ideal for meetings, conventions, consumer shows and an array of special events, offering 100,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting and event space to meet the needs of any group.

Originally an RKO movie theater that opened in 1931, the Adler Theatre boasts seating for 2,400 in a beautiful, historic art-deco style that reopened for live performances in 1986. Recently updated again with an expanded backstage to accommodate bigger shows, other improvements were also made to the sound system and lighting and rigging capabilities, as well as improved heating and cooling.

The Adler Theatre perfectly complements the RiverCenter, providing distinct but separate entities adjacent to each other for multiple-layered functions and meetings. Any event can be enhanced with the use of the Adler Theatre, and conventions, tradeshows, or annual events at both the Adler and the RiverCenter are always accompanied by uncompromising service.

The RiverCenter/Adler Theatre is managed by VenuWorks (formerly Compass Facility Management), the thirdlargest facilities management company in the United States. VenuWorks is well known for its success in providing full management services for arenas, theaters and convention centers, which are primarily under the governance of municipalities, counties, colleges and universities. It also manages food and beverage operations, performs feasibility studies, does consulting work and provides event booking and promotion services.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

136 East Third Street, Davenport, IA 52801 (563) 326-8500; Fax: (563) 326-8505 adlertheatre.com riverctr.com

37

iowa

indiana

Adler Theatre/RiverCenter

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

136 East Third Street, Davenport, IA 52801 (563) 326-8500; Fax: (563) 326-8505 adlertheatre.com • riverctr.com Executive Director: Rick Palmer, CFE A historic, Art Deco yet also state-of-the-art PAC, the RiverCenter Complex offers 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting, exhibit and event space, 2,411-seat Adler Theatre (renovated 2006); and Great River Hall – seats 3,200 for general admission/2,500 reserved. Mississippi River Hall can host 1,400 general admission/1,100 reserved.

Backstage: two production offices, 800-sq.-ft. wardrobe room, eight dressing rooms, two star dressing rooms and soloist room. Facility is key anchor for live entertainment and cultural enrichment in downtown Davenport, serving the greater Quad Cities area and its population base of 400,000. Reach also extends out to a PAGE 75-100 mile radius on both sides of the Mississippi River.

37 New York

A multi-purpose complex, the tri-state area’s leading sports, entertainment and event venue serves Northeast Indiana, Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan. With an MSA population of 411,000, Ft. Wayne is the state’s second-largest city, within a day’s drive of 55 million.

Seating capacities: End concert-180: 8,843; End Concert-240: 10,006; End Concert-270: 10,297; End Concert-360: 12,045. Hockey/indoor football: 10,495; basketball: 11,083. 24 luxury suites, one super suite, 318 club seats. 148,000 sq. ft. of multi-purpose exhibition space, capable of hosting concerts up to 8,000 seats, as well as basketball and motor-sports PAGE events, with telescopic seating and floor chairs.

C4 iowa

Blue Cross Arena

Bridge View Center

1 War Memorial Square, Rochester, NY 14614 (585) 758-5300; Fax: (585) 758-5327 bluecrossarena.com SMG General Manager: Jeff Calkins Serving the Rochester market since 1955, the SMG-managed Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial has hosted acts as diverse as Ringling Brothers, Barry Manilow, Harlem Globetrotters and Monster Jam. The arena offers seating for 12,428 (upper bowl, 6,052; lower bowl, 4,696; floor, 1,680) and has a maximum capacity of 14,000 for general admission.

Rolling 80 ft.-by-80 ft. StageRight concert stage with adjustable 4 ft. to 6 ft. height. Backstage areas include three locker rooms, four dressing rooms, an officials room and a green room. A promoters’ office of about 10 ft. by 25 ft. is available. The Blue Cross Arena is also known for the War Memorial shrine, accessible to the public, and the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza PAGE overlooking the Genesee River.

25 Minnesota 23-46

4000 Parnell Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46805 (260) 482-9502; Fax: (260) 484-1637 memorialcoliseum.com General Manager: Randy L. Brown

102 Church Street, Ottumwa, IA 52501 (641) 684-7000; Fax: (641) 684-6305 bridgeviewcenter.com Executive Director: Larry Gawronski Where Great Events Create Lifetime Experiences Fast becoming the premier destination in southeast Iowa for concerts, theatrical events and conventions, The Bridge View Center opened in 2007, nestled on the banks of the Des Moines River. This 92,000-sq.-ft. complex features an Expo Hall (reserved seating – 2,617; festival – 3,000; boxing/mixed martial arts – 1,800; floor events – 1,500), adjoining conference/meeting space (7,000 sq. ft., divisible into five rooms), 655-seat theater and a Grand Lobby (accommodates 2,500). Two star dressing rooms; choir dressing room with lockers and showers; 40 ft.-by-40 ft. studio adjoining theater, accommodatPAGE ing up to 100 persons. Regional MSA 150,000 (75-mile radius).

39 oklahoma

11/10/08

5:28 PM

Page 29

Burnsville Performing Arts Center

Chesapeake Energy Arena

MEETING & EVENT PLANNERS...

Opened in January 2009, the Burnsville PAC features two theaters: a 1,014-seat Proscenium Stage andNEED intimate 150-seat black box. The lobby is two stories tall, all MARKET DATA? glass; 2,000-sq.-ft. art gallery; multi-purpose room (1,196 sq. ft., divisible into two spaces). Additional space for banquets, special events and receptions. Stage dressing rooms, shared make-up area, separate star dressing room, 630-sq.-ft. green room. Presentations at the Burnsville PAC include cultural events, dramas, comedies, dance and musical acts from local arts organizations and national touring artists. Full-service in-house advertising agency. Part of Minneapolis/St. Paul metro region/Suburban Burnsville – 60,000 PAGE residents, including affluent families and growing boomer population.

40

Attracts more than one million guests per year, conveniently located near the junction of I-40 and I-35 in downtown Oklahoma City, a metro area with a 1.2 million+ population. Seating capacities: 4,000-18,000. Concert (center stage) – 17,932; concert (endstage) – 16,698; concert (theater) – 3,736; basketball – 17,404. Arena floor – 34,074 sq. ft. Backstage – four dressing rooms, three locker rooms, two production offices, press lounge and green room with 906-sq.-ft. lobby and a 1,576-sq.-ft. pub. Recently renovated main concourse; 36 suites, two lounge areas, seven bunker suites, two VIP dining areas. Full-service, award-winning marketing staff.

12600 Nicollet Avenue, Burnsville, MN 55337 (952) 895-4685; Fax: (952) 895-4688 burnsvillepac.com Executive Director: Brian Luther

100 West Reno, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 (405) 602-8700; Fax: (405) 602-8505 chesapeakearena.com General Manager: Gary Desjardins

PAGE C3

iowa

Clay County Regional Events Center

800 West 18th Street, Spencer, IA 51301-3156 (712) 580-3000; Fax: (712) 580-3003 spencerevents.com General Manager: Scott Hallgren Delivering Outstanding Experiences Complex opened in 2003, featuring a 2,664-seat arena; 7,600-sq.-ft. Grand Ballroom, divisible into six individual meeting rooms; and a 24,000-sq.-ft., column-free exhibit hall. Boardroom, FOR YOUR NEXT CONVENTION OR MEETING, LOOK TO THE CIT Y event office, dressing rooms, private green room are also available. Seating capacities: full THAT IS THE NBA’S NEXT JEWEL IN THE CROWN. concertA STREAMLINED – 2,664; wrestling/boxing 2,700;OFtheater – 2,160; open floor – 1,572; banquet – WHERE AIRPORT AND–LACK TRAFFIC YOU’RE FAST. Ballroom: AND WITH 750 THE BEST 1,400MEAN (Exhibit Hall).INGrand theater style; 504 rounds; 450+ classroom style.

RESTAURANTS A FEW MINUTES’ WALK two dressing rooms. Co-promotes Backstage: AND greenNIGHTLIFE room withJUST private bath and shower; FROM YOUR HOTEL, YOU’RE OUT EVEN FASTER. events; full marketing services; group sales.

Spencer is the regional hub in northwest Iowa, IT’S OUR MEET & GREET, OUR NICE & EASY. OUR serving a broad geographic region across NW Iowa/SW Minnesota.

PAGE

THE #1 SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS OF CONVENTIONS, MEETINGS, ENTERTAINMENT & SPECIAL EVENTS.

A F G M L

Need to research venues for your event or meeting?

Facilitiesonline has the most up-to-date news, information and listings available.

The best part is, it’s all on a user-friendly, easily accessible website.

The #1 News & Information Sourceneeds!

One-stop shopping for all your market research

for Booking Agents, Promoters, Talent Buyers, Special Event Planners & Venue Managers

Facilities & Destinations 38

CONFERENCE

41

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

Comprehensive Directory of Conference Centers,

rhode island

Ontario

Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre

1 LaSalle Square, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 331-0700 dunkindonutscenter.com Executive Assistant/Booking: Debra Polselli The 14,000-seat Dunkin’ Donuts Center, part of the Rhode Island Convention & Entertainment Complex, offers 31,000 sq. ft. of arena space with a ceiling height of 86 ft., a 25,000-sq.-ft. concourse, 20 luxury suites, and 11 permanent and 24 portable concession stands. Offers a 60 ft.-by-40-ft. Stage Right portable stage and 200-ft.-by-85-ft. ice rink (7,000-11,000+ capacity for ice shows and ice hockey). Backstage areas include six dressing/locker rooms, two media rooms, and two production offices. The Dunkin’ Donuts Center attracts more than one million visitors annually, and caters to a large college population, with more than 38,000 students within a five-mile radius to PAGE downtown. One quarter of U.S. population lives within 500 miles of Providence.

43 south carolina

189 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 1M4 (416) 325-4144; Fax: (416) 314-3583 heritagetrust.on.ca/ewg Manager of Bookings and Events: Kevin Harris

v1 this 1/13/09 Originally built in 1913 for VaudevilleMidwest and silent films, multi-use 8:25 AM Page 59 complex contains two distinct and separate theaters, one sitting atop the other, and hosts musicals, dramas, comedies, dance, operas, family shows, concerts and other events. Capacities: Elgin Theatre – 1,561; Winter Garden Theatre – 992.

Cascading reception lobbies range from small intimate gatherings to 900. “Dinner on Stage” events – 80. Plentiful dressings rooms, stage management offices, crew rooms, wardrobe room, rehearsal studios, kitchen.

Toronto is the largest city Exhib IOWA PAGE colum in Canada – 2.5 million+, Greater Toronto Area – five million+.

57 indiana

Florence Civic Center

3300 West Radio Drive, Florence, SC 29501 (843) 679-9417; Fax: (843) 679-9429 florenceciviccenter.com General Manager: Kendall Wall Celebrating 20 Years of South Carolina Events!

The SMG-managed Florence Civic Center is Northeastern South Carolina’s largest convention and entertainment venue, featuring 50,000 sq. ft. of multi-purpose space including: 10,000-seat arena (backdrop scaling 2,500-7,500 capacity), 15,000-sq.-ft. grand ballroom (1,400 theater, 800 banquet) and the well-appointed Pee Dee, Santee and Waccamaw meeting rooms (combines 5,250 sq. ft.). The creative design incorporates all spaces to flow together under one roof and form multiple combinations to accommodate events of all sizes and requirements. Fiber-optics and Wi-Fi throughout. New staging and barricades.

PAGE Generous supplemental marketing efforts. 15K+ Facebook fans; 18K+ email club.

13 north carolina

Greensboro Coliseum Complex 1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro, NC 27403 (336) 373-7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Deputy Director: Scott Johnson

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is a multi-building facility hosting athletic events, concerts, theater, fairs and more. It consists of Greensboro Coliseum (with seating capacity over 22,500), the 2,400-seat War Memorial Auditorium, the 300-seat Odeon Theatre and the 167,000-sq.-ft. Special Events Center that includes three exhibition halls. The Complex is one of the most actively booked facilities in the country, hosting more than 1,000 events on an annual basis. City leaders recently authorized $24 million in improvements, including new, upholstered arena seating, widening of the Coliseum’s upper-level concourse, addition of new concession cooking stands PAGE and a new, larger, higher-resolution video scoreboard.

7

Ford Center

1 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Evansville, IN 47708 (812) 422-8000; Fax: (812) 436-7001 thefordcenter.com Ford Center Executive Director: Scott Schoenike

CLAY COUNTY REGIONAL EVENTS CENTER

800 West 18th basketball, Street The region’s center for sports and entertainment is designed to host hockey, IA 51301 concerts, exhibitions and shows for audiences as largeSpencer, as 11,000.

The multi-purpose facility (712) 580-3000: Fax: (712) 580-3003 works with downtown attractions to create a vibrant www.spencerevents.com atmosphere for sports fans, music lovers and conventioneers. Seating capacities: basketball – 9,800; hockey – 9,100; concerts – 10,500 General Manager: Scott Hallgren total (9,066 permanent seats and 1,700 floor chairs); half-house – 3,500-5,700. Exhibition “Delivering Outstanding space: 20,468 sq. ft.; two star dressing rooms, two locker rooms, green room, multi-purpose Experiences” room; 137 high-definition flat-screen televisions throughout; high-definition video board PAGE with upper and lower displays and ribbon board. Snapshot: The Clay County Regional 45

Events Center, which opened in November 2003 and is managed by VenuWorks, includes an 2,664-seat kansas arena; 7,600-sq.-ft. Grand Ballroom, divisible into 6 individual meeting Hartman Arena 8151 Hartman Arena Drive, Wichita/Park City, KS 67147 rooms, and a 24,000-sq.-ft. arena/exhibit hall. Boardroom, Event (316) 744-8880; Fax: (316) 683-2805 Office, Dressing Rooms, private Green hartmanarena.com Room are also available.

Executive Director: Aran Rush Seating Capacities: Full concert set – Opened in 2009, the Hartman Arena serves the Wichita Metro Area. Managed 2,664; Wrestling / Boxing by (in the round) VenuWorks, it is an ideally sized, modern venue for –concerts, sportingset events, family shows, 2,654; Theater – 2,160; Open floor set (Circus, Bull Riding, Lipizzaner motorsports and more. Seating capacities: 5,000, football and soccer; 6,500, end-stage conStallions) 1,572; Banquetft.–floating 1,400. certs; 7,000, festival; 3,300, half-house; 1,200, theater.

Features– an 80 ft.-by-90 grid suspended with 30 two-ton motors monitored by load cell system, and a 26,000-sq.-ft.

Grand Ballroom: Theater style – 750; Rounds – 504; Classroom style – pro450+ arena floor. Stage: 40 ft.-by-60 ft. capacity. Up to seven dressing rooms; four additional

moter and production offices; locker rooms. Onsite parking, livestock friendly, easy highway access. Twenty loge boxes with in-seat service, two premium lounges/bars. Full PAGE in-house marketing agency; can promote in-house or co-promote.

C2

IOWA

iowa

Meetings/ Tradeshows/ Exhibitions/ Convention Centers/CVBs/ Hotels/ Resorts/ Conference Centers FACILITIES MEDIA GROUP ESSENTIAL PLANNING TOOLS 42

Hoyt Sherman Place

1501 Woodland Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50309 (515) 244-0507; Fax: (515) 237-3582 hoytsherman.org Executive Director: Carol Pollock Originally a grand manor home circa 1877, Hoyt Sherman Place opened as a theater in 1923. A beautiful and acoustically sound performing arts center, it is Central HOYT SHERMAN PLACE Iowa’s only mid-sized live event facility. Recent 1501 $5.5 Woodland million renovation Avenue included updated sound, lighting and technical capabilities.

Year-round venue hosts 280+ Des Moines, IA 50266 (515) 237-3582 events annually. Theater – 1,250 fixed seats (38(515) box 244-0507; seats); artFax:galleries accommowww.hoytsherman.org date up to 250 for receptions, meetings, etc. Large chorus with bathroom attached; Executive Director: Carol Pollock medium-sized chorus room; three star dressing rooms. Full-service marketing departA grand manor home built ment. The capital of Iowa, Des Moines is visitedSnapshot: by 2.9 million+ each PAGE in 1877 by prominent businessman Hoyt year – 562,000+ within 40-mile radius.

48 Sherman; the structure, managed by VenuWorks, is a world-class performing arts center, Booking located at the cornerstone Guideof Des Moines’ historic Sherman Hill. The Hoyt Sherman Place Theater opened in

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014

Stagin concer build Sound on eas 50,000 lbs. pe config 3-pha service camlo Backs with p ing ro room showe Food catere kitche Parkin al park Mark marke Demo hub in graphi Minne Event within

See ad

Capac Stage Prosce 52’; Pr 8’; Pro Prosce Dress room room; Sound and SL All Q and H beta sm 1 3rd Light dimm and ke (on sta stage) stage) stage) circuit to 30

rhode island

Dunkin’ Donuts Center P

rovidence mixes the urban sophistication of a big city with the graceful charm of a small town. At the heart of Providence’s bustling downtown is the Dunkin’ Donuts Center (DDC), part of the Rhode Island Convention & Entertainment Complex, which also includes the Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC) and The VETS. The 14,000-seat DDC offers 31,000 sq. ft. of arena space with a ceiling height of 86 feet, a 25,000-sq.ft. concourse, a 9,000-sq.-ft. lobby, 20 luxury suites, and five additional meeting/hospitality rooms. Other amenities include a pedestrian bridge connecting the arena to the RICC, a state-of-the-art video scoreboard, and concession and restaurant facilities. There are 5,500 hotel rooms in the Greater Providence area, 1,800 located within walking distance of the Center.

The Center’s Marketing Department staff is comprised of advertising, marketing, group sales, and public relations’ specialists, who in turn operate a fullservice in-house agency. This in-house agency affords complete professional coordination of event marketing campaigns including advertising production and placement, media and retail promotions, sponsorships, group sales, public relations and publicity.

Providence is known for its thriving arts scene and is recognized as one of the nation’s hottest culinary destinations. There are nine colleges and universities located in the Providence market, most of which are within a five-mile radius of the Center — Brown University, Johnson & Wales University, RI School of Design, and Providence College, just to name a few. The students at these local colleges and universities add to the diverse population of the city.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

One LaSalle Square, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 331-0700; (401) 621-5987 dunkindonutscenter.com

43

south carolina

Florence Civic Center

T

he SMG-managed Florence Civic Center is the hub for entertainment in northeastern South Carolina. Nestled at the crossroads of Interstates 95 and 20, the facility has grown tremendously in its 20-year existence, resulting in an economic boom and development of the Florence Hospitality District.

Once surrounded by merely forest, the venue now centers conveniently within the District, including dozens of national chain hotels, a variety of award-winning restaurants, and Florence’s premier shopping plaza, located just across the street. Visitors to the Florence Civic Center receive the area’s finest amenities and enjoy simplicity in travel as the venue sits just off two major highway arteries and just a few miles from the regional airport.

The year 2013 marked the 20th anniversary benchmark for Florence’s premier venue and a bright future for growth and expansion. At the forefront of the region’s entertainment industry, record-selling concerts, conventions and community outreach, the Florence Civic Center is shining as one of the leaders among South Carolina entertainment and convention facilities.

Currently the venue is exploring options for future expansions. With an increase in attendance, annual events and rental demand, the time has come to elevate venue potential. Many aspects are under review, including vast meeting space expansion, parking deck installments and an attached hotel, among other improvements. The Florence Civic Center is eager to better compete nationally for larger conferences and conventions through this potential expansion.

There is no better time to begin the upgrade process than now, as the Florence Civic Center celebrates 20 years of success in South Carolina events. The flourishing complex continues to gain momentum while publicizing the 20th anniversary benchmark. The Center has already introduced several new self-managed exhibitions and is in the midst of producing additional center-managed shows and productions, while balancing an array of rentals and co-promoted engagements.

“We have come a long way and are very optimistic on our future outlook,” General Manager Kendall Wall says. “Over the years we’ve hurdled many obstacles, but we’ve always remained focused on our mission to provide excellent service, professional event planning and quality entertainment to the area. We have grown as a facility, as a staff and as a community. Attendance is up, our calendar is stronger than ever and the community response lately is exceptionally positive. Patrons are supporting the venue, and the more support we get the more we’re able to provide. We’re excited about potential expansions. We have our beloved community to thank for that,” finishes Wall.

44

3300 West Radio Drive, Florence, SC 29501 (843) 679-9417; Fax: (843) 679-9429 florenceciviccenter.com

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

EVANSVILLE’S CENTER FOR SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Located in Evansville, Indiana, the

Our staff is committed to providing the

Ford Center is a beautiful, exciting,

highest standard of service and to

multi-purpose 11,000-seat arena and

ensure the best possible experience

is the region’s center for sports and

during each event.

entertainment. The 290,000 square

managed

foot facility is home of the NCAA

management

Division I University of Evansville Aces

arenas and convention centers. In

Men’s and Women’s basketball and the

addition to its facility management

ECHL Evansville IceMen. The arena

service, VenuWorks manages food and

floor has over 20,000 square feet of

beverage and operations, as well as

usable space and can be modified for

performs

basketball,

consulting work and provides event

hockey,

concerts,

conventions, rodeos, expos and a

by

Ford Center is

VenuWorks, service

feasibility

to

a

full

theatres,

studies,

does

booking and promotion services.

variety of other events.

FOR BOOKING INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Schoenike 812.436.7151 SSchoenike@thefordcenter.com

thefordcenter.com fordcenterevansville

@thefordcenter

oklahoma

texas

Laredo Energy Arena

Lloyd Noble Center

The Laredo Energy Arena is a state-of-the-art, 178,000-sq.-ft. facility with a 10,000-seat capacity. Now in its 11th year of operation, it offers a diverse mixture of world-class entertainment for the region of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico. There are approximately 320’ of in-house pipe and drape. Brand-new house curtain that is 120’ wide and 50’ tall. StageRight staging system; maximum of 72’ x 40’ and between 4’-6’ high.

The Laredo Energy Arena is equipped with 3 large team locker rooms with restrooms and showers, 1 Home Team Locker room with adjacent Training and Equipment PAGE Manager Rooms, 4 dress rooms, 1 green room and 1 show office.

9

Multi-purpose facility serving University of Oklahoma and surrounding community, Lloyd Noble Center is 20 minutes from downtown Oklahoma City, with one million+ within an 80-mile radius. Capacities (including floor seating): in-the-round – 11,205; full arena – 8,519; expanded theater – 4,516; theater – 2,848. Six locker rooms; 850-sq.-ft. catering/ media room; 1,140-sq.-ft. Media Work Room. House stage – 40 ft.-by-60 ft.-by-40 in.

Stage area ranges from 48 sq. ft. to 2,400 sq. ft., made up of 8 ft.-by-4 ft. sections whose configuration can be customized for each performance. 12 fixed concession stands operated by OU concessions. State-of-the-art retractable center-hung scoreboard and PAGE sound system features four high-definition video boards and four video boards.

27

2900 South Jenkins Avenue, Norman, OK 73019 (405) 325-4666; Fax: (405) 325-4583 lloydnoblecenter.com Director of Events: Loida Haffener-Salmond

6700 Arena Boulevard, Laredo, TX 78041 (956) 791-9192; Fax: (956) 523-7777 learena.com General Manager: Xavier Villalon

indiana

Manitoba

Morris Performing Arts Center

211 N. Michigan Street, South Bend, IN 46601 (574) 235-9190; (800) 537-6415; Fax: (574) 235-5604 morriscenter.org Executive Director: Dennis J. Andres The Magnificent Morris Has The Hottest Tickets in Town!

State-of-the-art PAC ($24.3 million renovation in 2000) originally opened as The Palace Theater in 1921 with a design that replicated Italian Renaissance, Spanish Revival and Baroque architecture. Seats 2,560. Backstage areas: eight dressing rooms, two chorus rooms in Lower Level Hair/Wardrobe Room (30 ft.-by-18 ft.); catering room. Brand-new stage, 45 ft. deep by 103 ft. wide, with a 72-ft. fly height and 70 fly lines. Expanded orchestra pit; full Wenger symphonic shell; fully updated utilities and HVAC system. One million within 40-minute drive; PAGE venue hosts 125+ events per year, attracting 156,000+.

49 iowa

300 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3C 5S4 (204) 987-7825; Fax: (204) 926-5555 mtscentre.ca Senior Vice President/General Manager: Kevin Donnelly

The geographic center of North America, Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba, a province of 1.1 million+. The MTS Centre accommodates 3,500 (RBC Theatre the Page 63 Midwest v1 1/13/09 8:27 atAM MTS Centre) to 15,000. Excellent sight lines, superb acoustics, the best amenities for events of all kinds. Hosts events ranging from hockey and other sports to the music industry’s biggest-name concerts. Backstage – four premier artist rooms, six team dressing rooms, catering room and offices. Valhoffer stage – 60 ft.-by-40 ft., combined with scaffolding – 56 ft.-by-72 ft.-by-5 ft. high. Standard arena house lighting as well as six Xenon 2K supertroopers available. Concessions; PAGE full-service tour; other catering by Centerplate; WISCONSIN onsite restaurant.

Park is 3 Wisconsin

Paramount Theatre

Racine Civic Centre

123 Third Avenue NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 (319) 398-5226 paramounttheatrecr.com General Manager: Jason Anderson Located downtown in the heart of Cedar Rapids’ entertainment district, this completely restored and renovated historic 1928 movie/vaudeville palace re-opened in November 2012 after a $35 million renovation that included new dressing rooms, state-of-the-art rigging systems, lighting, video, EV X-Array speaker system, plus expanded stage and reception spaces. The Theatre houses 1,699 seats with the pit, 1,673 without; seven dressing rooms all with private showers and restrooms; three chorus rooms; and up to five portable concession stands. High-tech features include Tessitura ticketing software, a leading enterprise-wide, fully integrated PAGE 11 software system. minnesota

The Sanford Center

1111 Event Center Drive NE, Bemidji, MN 56601 (218) 441-4000; Fax: (218) 441-4099 thesanfordcenter.net Executive Director: Roger Swanson Located on beautiful Lake Bemidji, managed by VenuWorks, The Sanford Center is northern Minnesota’s premier venue for sporting events, concerts and family shows, and offers high-tech meeting and ballroom space for conventions and conferences. Seating: 4,000 hockey, 5,500 for end-stage concerts. Exhibition space: 10,000-sq.-ft. ballroom (divisible three ways), 24,000-sq.-ft. arena/tradeshow floor; four breakout meeting rooms, pre/post reception area. Industry standard portable arena concert staging with risers. Two star dressing rooms, green room, meeting room, four locker rooms, production office. Twenty-five suites, 200+ club seats, state-of-the-art press box; in-house PAGE marketing department; 200,000+ residents within 75-mile radius of Bemidji.

17 46

MTS Centre

5 Fifth Street, Racine, WI 53403 (262) 636-9229; Fax: (262) 636-9290 racinecc.com Executive Director: Rik Edgar Lake Michigan’s Best Kept Secret RACINE CIVIC Features Historic Memorial Hall (1,556-seat auditorium), 17,000 sq. ft.CENTRE of meeting 5 Fifth St space comprising seven other rooms on three levels: Aquamarine Room – 3,000 sq.

Racine, WI 53403 ft., Crystal Room – 1,290 sq. ft, Diamond Auditorium – 8,400 Fax: sq. (262) ft. (sits 1,350 the(262) 636-9229; 636-9290 www.racinecc.com ater style), Sapphire Hall – 2,400 sq. ft, Topaz Room –1,290 sq. ft., Ruby Red Room Executive Director: Jim 1,050-sq.-ft.

Walczak – 4,900 sq. ft., and Festival Hall (seats 1,800/15,700 sq. ft., including Michigan’ Best Kept Secret Conference Room). Five-acre Lakefront FestivalLake Park hosts up to s12,000.

Racine population: 130,425. Milwaukee metropolitan area population: 1,773,519, Snapshot: Managed

by VenuWorks, the PAGE which rounds out the north side of Chicagoland,Racine population 9.7 million+.

Civic Centre venues sit on the 51

beautiful shores of Lake Michigan in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. Racine south dakota Civic Centre (Memorial Hall is a Historical landmark was opened in 1924 Swiftel Center and was renovated in 1998 consists of a 1,556-seat auditorium and 7 other rooms 824 32nd Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006 on three levels; Festival Hall and Park (605) 692-7539; Fax: (605) 697-6393 opened in 1987 and consists of a 17,000swiftelcenter.com sq.-ft.-Hall and a Five acre Festival Park Executive Director: Tom Richter which can host up to three different Treat yourself to Midwest Hospitality at its best stages.

A multi-purpose facility: configurations range from 4,300 basketball,Memorial 5,600 end-stage Capacities: Hall concert Auditorium (reserved), 7,000 end-stage concert (festival). 15,000 sq. of banquet space, divisible intoconcert four canft. seat up to 1,556 guests for rooms. Six dressing rooms. Full-service in-house catering and concessions.

StageRight stage performances; Festival can seat up to 1,800sound guests and Festival can host – 40 ft.-by-60 ft., adjustable height from 4 ft. to 6 ft. House system is a BOSEPark Quality to 12,000 the whole System, center-hung powered by Crown Amplificationup throughout theguests facility.when Full rigging grid

Exhibi 25, 995 Hall 15 10’ by kitchen Stagin proscen Hall ut Food & portabl includi Parkin two blo Demog tion of ing 51 suburb with a Milwa rounds Chicag popula includi ern W Indian

See ad

and Daktronics Galaxy Message Center. In-house marketing department is full-service agency, specializing in creating customized marketing campaigns for events. The Center serves PAGE the tri-state region – South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa.

19

WISCONSIN

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

11,119; Open f 8,910.

Exhibi

north carolina

Greensboro Coliseum Complex

T

he Greensboro Coliseum Complex is a multi-building facility designed to serve the citizens of Greensboro and the surrounding area through a broad range of activities, including athletic events, cultural arts, concerts, theater, educational activities and fairs. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex consists of Greensboro Coliseum (with seating capacity over 22,500), 2,400-seat War Memorial Auditorium, 300-seat Odeon Theatre, the 167,000-sq.-ft. Special Events Center that includes three exhibition halls, a 4,500-seat mini-arena and eight meeting rooms, and the 30,000-sq.-ft. Pavilion, located adjacent to the Special Events Center.

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is one of the most actively booked facilities in the country, hosting more than 1,000 events on an annual basis. With its incredible versatility, the Complex has gained worldwide acclaim from promoters, producers, event planners and patrons.

The Complex expanded dynamically in 2011 with the addition of four new, unique venues: The ACC Hall of Champions, an 8,100-sq.-ft. museum; the Greensboro Aquatic Center; the White Oak Amphitheatre, an outdoor venue with a seating capacity of over 7,600; and The Terrace, a 12,900-sq.-ft. banquet facility.

City leaders recently authorized $24 million in improvements so that Greensboro’s greatest economic generator can continue to thrive. The upgrades include new, upholstered arena seating, widening of the Coliseum’s upper-level concourse, addition of new concession cooking stands and a new, larger, higher-resolution video scoreboard. These changes are critical as the Coliseum Complex, with its incredible versatility, continues to pursue bringing the most prestigious sporting events and biggest names in live entertainment to Greensboro.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

1921 West Lee Street, Greensboro, NC 27403 (336) 373-7400 greensborocoliseum.com

47

48

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

Indiana

THE MORRIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Designed to combine many different eras in architectural history: Italian Renaissance, Spanish Revival and Baroque.

T

he MORRIS originally opened as The Palace Theater in November, 1921. The building was designed to combine many different eras in architectural history: Italian Renaissance, Spanish Revival and Baroque.

Architect J.S. Aroner of Chicago hoped that a trip through the theater would make patrons feel like they had just made a trip through Europe.

The opulent interior décor was designed by Marshall Fields of Chicago.

Patrons of the Palace enjoyed a magnificent ballroom and a theater that boasted the largest stage in the state and luxuries of the time such as a supervised nursery, a sitting room for women complete with an attendant, and a smoking room for men.

In August of 1959, with the advent of television causing low attendance records, the theater was almost demolished. Mrs. Morris purchased the theater for an undisclosed sum and sold it for $1 to the city, which then renamed it the Morris Civic Auditorium in her honor.

The MORRIS in February 2000 completed extensive $24.3 million renovation (soft and hard dollars) and was renamed THE MORRIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. The MORRIS reopened boasting upgraded technical equipment, enlarged performance and backstage spaces, as well as a completely restored interior.

The MORRIS CENTER offers the best of the old and new, a combination of opulent decor and rich history with upgraded technical equipment and expanded space. The MORRIS CENTER now hosts over 125 events per year including pops concerts, national Broadway tours, dance, symphony, comedians, rock concerts and ballroom events. The MORRIS CENTER welcomes over 156,000 guests yearly and has an economic impact of $5.9 million on the City of South Bend.

The MORRIS is the best-kept “touring” secret in the Midwest: a lowcost showcase for rehearsals and early performances of a tour.

In 2003, the MORRIS Bistro Restaurant opened on the lower level as “The place to go before the show.” Seats up 100, available for private parties.

211 North Michigan Street, South Bend, IN 46601 (574) 235-9190; (800) 537-6415; Fax: (574) 235-5604 morriscenter.org

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

49

es Media Group

s Guide

washington

Kansas

Toyota Center

S e r vTopeka i c e sPerforming R e s o uArts r cCenter e

l

7016 West Grandridge Boulevard, Kennewick, WA 99336 (509) 737-3700; Fax: (509) 735-9431 yourtoyotacenter.com Executive Director: Corey Pearson

214 SE 8th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603 (785) 234-2787; Fax: (785) 234-2307 UrbanRide tpactix.org 421 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001 Executive Director: Jan Zarr (800) 525-5750; Fax: (212) 202-9638 Entertaining, Enriching & Educating through the Arts www.urbanride.net State-of-the-art facility accommodates Chief Executive Officer: Jeremy Milikow all events and functions – theater, dance, musical well as meetings, Senior Vice concerts President:asMitch Bornstein, SVPbanquets and special events. Seating capacity – 2,546; main floor seats 1,168. TPAC also has a 2,000-sq.-ft. black box theater ‘Leading Global Meeting & Event Transportation’ that seats 120.Provider Exhibitionofspace: 6,500-sq.-ft., carpeted banquet facility, as well as a 1,000-sq.-ft. foyer.

Both areas can and have been used as exhibition space.

UrbanRide is a global provider of ground transportation for meetings & events, and Backstage areas: 1,975-sq.-ft. dancevans, studio; 800-sq.-ft. room; a 1,260-sq.-ft. uses the top-of-the-line sedans, SUVs, minibuses and green motorcoaches.

We provide and twoIMS, 600-sq.-ft. roomsthat available.

– planners Topeka MSA ourroom clients with our software enablesMarket meeting to better manage PAGE transportation for – their meetings, conferences, conventions, tradeshows & other events. (five counties) 233,870; in-house marketing department.

52

We work exclusively with meeting & event planners and our customer service is the best in the business. UrbanRide is a one-stop solution for meeting & event transportation.

Kansas

Formerly known as the Tri-Cities Coliseum, this 7,500-seat multi-purpose facility annually hosts 180+ concert, sporting and other events. Seating features: three full sections Northeast v1 facility 1/13/09 with padded Broadway seating. 11 Executive Suites; full lounge upstairs.7:52 Eight AM Page concession stands. Complex includes The Three Rivers Convention Center with 75,000 sq. ft. of meeting/exhibit space, 13 spacious meeting rooms, 21,600-sq.-ft. Great Hall (accommodates 2,100), 14,000-sq.-ft. pre-function space. Tri-Cities MSA is fourth largest in the state with a population of 248,400. Marketing personnel assist with local media; Insider Data Base (15,000+) for event announcements; busy highway PAGE NEW HAMPSHIRE marquee; third-party advertising opportunities.

53 5,400; T

Exhibit booths i

new Hampshire

United Wireless Arena

Verizon Wireless Arena

4100 Comanche Street, P.O. Box 1516 Dodge City, KS 67801 (620) 371-7390; Fax: (620) 371-7393 Executive Director: Ralph Nall

555 Elm Street, Manchester, NH 03101 (603) 644-5000 verizonwirelessarena.com

Keppler Speakers

Opened in 2001, the Verizon Wireless Arena is versatile enough to accommodate a center-stageVERIZON concert of more than 11,000 WIRELESS attendees as well as a theater-style performance ARENA for 2,500. Hosts shows including 555Jam, Elm Street Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Monster Keith Urban, American Manchester, NH Idol Live! and New Kids on the Block. Features a 60 ft.-by-48 ft.03101 Stageright stage, (603) 644-5000; Fax: (603) 644-1575 six dressing/team locker rooms and five productionRegional rooms.General Arena offers clubTimand Manager: Bechert www.verizonwirelessarena.com suite seating that allows access into a private lounge.

Four permanent F&B stands, 12 portable. Promotional services and features include to as300,000+ data- & New eblasts Hampshire’ Premier Sports Entertainment base, texting program, in-house video, exterior marquee and lobbyFacility display.

4350 N. Fairfax Dr., $40.3 Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22203 State-of-the-art, million arena opened in 2011 featuring a U-shaped seating (703) 516-4000; Fax: (703) bowl, 4,000 fixed seats,516-4819 5,200+ for concerts and other events (half-house: 1,800 www.kepplerspeakers.com with curtaining system). 12 suites plus 12 Club Seating sections; in-suite catering Senior VP for Sales and Marketing: John Truran

available; VIP level includes a walk-out balcony, tables and seating, large plasma

TVs,Keppler lounge Speakers, furniture andcreating fully stocked and serviced Backstage areas: fourover team With memorable meetingsbar. never felt so easy.

With 25 years of experience, provide youArena solid, floor: seasoned expertise, exhibition/conference making speaker selection locker rooms, twowe green rooms.

20,000-sq.-ft. stress-free by managing all of the details. Keppler Speakers saves you precious time by space; 6,700 sq. ft. in attached Magouirk Conference Center. Kansas has a populamatching you with speakers who are right on target. From proven performers to dynamic tionstars, of three venue draws from Colorado rising ourmillion; speakers bringalso fascinating, realOklahoma stories andand a gift for inspiring audiences.

PAGE markets. In-house marketing staff.

PAGE

Snapshot: New Hampshire’s premier15 sports and entertainment facility, the Verizon Wireless Arena, managed by SMG, has attracted more than 4.4 million indiana people, hosted more than 830 sports and entertainment events, including more than Victory Theatre 120 sold out shows, since opening seven 1 SE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard years ago. The arena was designed to Evansville, IN 47708 accommodate a wide variety of events— (812) 422-8000 including concerts, wrestling, figure skating, hockey, basketball, family shows, as victorytheatre.com well as convention and trade shows.

The historic Victory Theatre, located in the heart of downtown, offers unique and affordCapacities: Center Stage in the round able entertainment to the city of Evansville and the region. hasEnd –11,700;The End1,950-seat Stage (360)theater – 10,655; increased its concert events by 80 percent within theStage past (270) year while – 9,337;also Endexpanding Stage (240) – its genres of events to include comedians, country concerts andStage rock (180) bands.– 8,536; Major 8,931; End Stage Summer – 6,700; House Stage – events from the past year include: Old Crow Medicine3/4Show, Country Nights

54

ht ul

e

Concert Series with Tyler Farr and Charlie Worsham, The Price is Right, Live! stage show and Grammy-winning country group Little Big Town. Victory Theatre is the home of PENNSYLVANIA Evansville’s Philharmonic Orchestra and offers a Banquet Hall, Conference Room PAGE and second-floor Mezzanine, which can accommodate up to 180 guests.

55

l

s.

ohio

Wright State University’s Nutter Center

3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435 (937) 775-3498; Fax: (937) 775-2060 nuttercenter.com Executive Director: Jim Brown, CFE

Don’t Get Stuck in a Fishbowl!

Don’t Get Stuck in a Fishbowl!

The Facilities Media Group

WACHOVIA ARENA AT CASEY PLAZA 255 Highland Park Blvd.

Southwest Ohio’s premier sports and entertainment complex.

Market 1.7 Wilkes-Barre, PA population: 18702 million; within a one-day drive of 60 percent of the U.S. population; 20,000+ (570) 970-7600; Fax: (570) college 970-7601 www.wachoviaarena.com students in area. Capacities: 11,500 – in-the-round/end-stage; 2,000-7,500 – half-house; General Manager: Rebecca Bonnevier 9,500 – basketball. 70-ft. curtain and truss system. Total available flat space: 85,000 sq. ft. (main arena floor – 28,000 sq. ft.). Eight dressing roomsDescription: and production room.

Facility The Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza openedft.inwings; the fall of StageRight stage – 32 in.-by-8 ft. decks; 60 ft.-by-40 ft. stage with 12 ft.-by-24 and isF&B underprovider; the management of adjustable height from 48 in. to 84 in. Ovations is the1998 exclusive SMG. With over 8,000 permanentPAGE seats seven permanent stands.

4 and a capacity of nearly 10,000 for con-

The Facilities Media Group Facilities & Destinations Facilities & Destinations SuperBook Facilities • Conference • Planner Guide Facilities & Destinations Mid-Market Review Facilities & Destinations Planner Guide Facilities LIVE • Booking Guide Facilities Destinations Conference Facilities && Event Management Facilities & Event Management SuperBook www.Facilitiesonline.com Facilities & Event Management Booking Guide Facilitiesonline.com

93

50

certs, this horse-show configured arena has played host to some of the biggest Booking Guide names in entertainment, including Elton John, Cher, Neil Diamond, Janet Jackson, The Eagles, and Simon & Garfunkel. The

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014

Backsta auxiliary room, 2 3 produ Staging ft. deep X 24 ft. front of ft. wide stage ed Food & stands; 1 Lounge level; Fu stage an Amenit Exclusiv Wireles through Market Marketi Buying; Relation Demog mainly f MA, M

concert Center Backsta rooms ( Lounge Tourna 18’6”x2 A-24’6” and pre Exhibit exhibiti Lightin 4 porta Food & on the catering hold up

Audien club sea level VI menu, t atmosp

Parking Market in datab scorebo Demog

(262) 636-9229 ● www.racinecc.com

COME TO THE LAKE!  Located on Lake Michigan in downtown Racine, WI.  Access to 10 million patrons within 100 miles.  Three great venues to choose from: • Festival Hall: 15,700 sq. ft. hall, seats 1,200 • Festival Park: Lakefront venue with 8,000 GA capacity • Memorial Hall: 2,100 GA seating capacity

washington

Toyota Center & Three Rivers Convention Center

T

hree Rivers is the confluence of everything that makes for great events, from the versatility of the Toyota Center to the distinctive Three Rivers Convention Center with our dedicated staff serving you all along the way. Centrally located between Seattle, Portland, Spokane and Boise in the Tri-Cities community of 250,000, Three Rivers is surrounded by world-class wine regions, top-rated golf, miles of riverfront parks and trails, and abundant dining, shopping and accommodation options.

Seating Capacity: 7,200 Exhibit space: 27,000 sq ft Banquet space: 3,000 sq ft Dressing rooms: 5 VIP suites: 11 Ice rink Xenon Supertrouper spotlights: 4 Rigging & staging Full Broadway Rigging Grid Windermere Theatre: 2,100 guests Banquet room

Total space: 75,000 sq ft Great Hall: 21,600 sq ft Foyer: 14,000 sq ft Meeting rooms: 13 Latest A/V Technology Programmable lighting In-House caterer On-site managers and staff Flexible restrooms by group Wi-Fi Internet Attached Hotel 2014

Toyota Center Comfortably seating 2,100 to 7,200 in multiple configurations ideal for concerts, comedy, Broadway, sports, tradeshows, and meetings. The facilities concourse provides access to concessions and amenities, with private suites providing exclusive viewing for VIP guests. A separate banquet room accommodates groups up to 250 and features a private entrance and full-service bar.

Three Rivers Convention Center The 75,000-sq. ft. convention center is ideal for meetings, tradeshows, and conventions. The great hall provides 21,600 sq. ft. and is easily transformed into a ballroom accommodating 2,000 or subdivided into smaller spaces.

The convention center also features additional meeting rooms, a soaring glass foyer, private boardroom, and Cyber CafĂŠ. A new attached SpringHill Suites by Marriott will open December 2014.

The Three Rivers Campus is managed by VenuWorks. VenuWorks provides full management services for arenas, theaters, and convention centers to more than 30 venues across the country.

Making everyday events Springhill SuiteS by Marriott opening 2014

|

7016 W. Grandridge Boulevard Kennewick, WA 99336 (509) 737-3700; Fax: (509) 735-9431 yourtoyotacenter.com threeriversconventioncenter.com

unforgettable

Tri-CiTies, WAshingTon

Co m e

for the events.

Stay

for the amenities.

r.com threeriversconventioncente yourtoyotacenter.com

com yourtoyotaarena.

7016 W. Grandridge Blvd, Kennewick, WA 99336 phone 509.737.3700 email sales@3riverscampus.com

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

53

indiana

VICTORY THEATRE

T

he historic Victory Theatre, located in the heart of downtown, offers unique and affordable entertainment to the city of Evansville and the region.

Victory Theatre has substantially increased its concert events by 80 percent within the past year while also expanding its genres of events to not only include theatre classics, but also comedians, country concerts, rock bands, as well as an assortment of philanthropy and community events.

Major events from the past year include: • Old Crow Medicine Show • Summer Country Nights Concert Series with Tyler Farr and Charlie Worsham • The Price is Right, Live! stage show • Grammy winning country group, Little Big Town • Victory Theatre continues to be the home of Evansville’s Philharmonic Orchestra.

• 1,950 seat theatre • Victory Theatre continues to grow usage of its Banquet Hall, Conference Room and second-floor Mezzanine, which can accommodate up to 180 guests.

1 S.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Evansville, IN 47708 (812) 422-8000; Fax: (812) 436-7001 victorytheatre.com Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

55

advertiser index Adler Theatre/River Center...................................................37

Laredo Energy Arena...................................................................9

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum................Cover 4

Lloyd Noble Center....................................................................27

Blue Cross Arena.........................................................................25

Morris Performing Arts Center............................................ 49

Bottoms Up Beer..........................................................................23

MTS Centre.......................................................................................3

Bridge View Center.................................................................... 39

Paramount Theatre........................................................................11

Burnsville Performing Arts Center.....................................40

Racine Civic Centre.....................................................................51

Chesapeake Energy Arena......................................... Cover 3

Sanford Center...............................................................................17

Clay County Regional Events Center................................ 41

SMG......................................................................................................5

Dunkin’ Donuts Center............................................................. 43

Swiftel Center................................................................................ 19

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre.............57

Topeka Performing Arts Center...........................................52

Florence Civic Center................................................................13

Toyota Center............................................................................... 53

Ford Center................................................................................... 45

United Wireless Arena............................................................. 54

Greensboro Coliseum Complex............................................ 7

Verizon Wireless Arena..............................................................15

Hartman Arena................................................................. Cover 2

Victory Theatre..............................................................................55

Hoyt Sherman Place..................................................................48

Wright State University’s Nutter Center............................4

URGENT! FAX BACK FREE SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL

Return the form below now to renew your FREE subscription to:

Facilities &Event Management

Please complete this form and return it by mail or fax (212-213-6382) or email (subscriptions@facilitiesonline.com).

❑ YES! I wish to receive/continue to receive Facilities FREE.

❑ NO

Name, Title ____________________________________________________________________________ Company _____________________________________________________________________________ Street Address (City, State, Zip) ___________________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________________________________________________________ Email _________________________________________________________________________________ Which of the following categories (I, II, or III) best describes your business classification?

Please check the one box that applies.

I. Facilities ❑ 1AR Arena/Stadium ❑ 1CC Convention/Expo Center ❑ 1CI Civic Center ❑ 1HO Hotel/Conference Center ❑ 1PA Performing Arts Center ❑ 1FG Fairground ❑ 1AM Amphitheatre ❑ 1EH Exhibit Hall ❑ 1TH Theatre ❑ 1MP Multi-Purpose ❑ 1OT Other (please specify) ____________________

56

II. Entertainment Management ❑ 2A Concert Tour Promoter ❑ 2B Booking Agent ❑ 2C Business/Personal Manager ❑ 2D Talent Buyer ❑ 2E Special Event Planner ❑ 2F Sports Agent ❑ 2G Other (please specify) ____________________

III. Others Allied to Field ❑ 3A Architect ❑ 3D City Manager/Government ❑ 3F Exhibit Designer/Producer ❑ 3M Independent Meeting Planner ❑ 3Pv Show/Event Production Company ❑ 3X Other (please specify) ____________________

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

ontario, Canada

THE ELGIN AND WINTER GARDEN THEATrE CENTRE HISTORY Toronto’s historic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, is a Canadian National Historic Site and the last operating double-decker Vaudeville-era theater in the world. Originally built in 1913 by Marcus Loew, it contains two distinct and unique theaters, one sitting atop the other.

Both theaters operated together for 14 years, but, with the coming of “talkies,” the Winter Garden closed its doors in 1928 and remained boarded up for more than 60 years.

RESTORATION The ensuing years brought many changes to the building but it gradually fell into disrepair. It was purchased by the Ontario Heritage Trust in 1981 and underwent a major restoration between 1987 and 1989 at a cost of $29 million (Cdn). A total of 65,000 sq. ft. of new space was added including ample lobbies, lounges and an eight-story backstage addition housing spacious dressing rooms, crew rooms, a loading dock, freight elevator and two enormous rehearsal studios. The Elgin now sparkles with its gilded plaster details, rich damask wall coverings and domed ceiling. The Winter Garden Theatre, with its canopy of 5,000 branches of real beech leaves, painted sky and lit moon, is a dream fantasy come to life. The 1,561-seat Elgin and the 992-seat Winter Garden can operate simultaneously with services to patrons in the six separate bars and adjoining lounges.

RENTAL OPPORTUNITIES A multi-use complex, the center is able to accommodate a diverse range of presentations and events. The building can host live performances including everything from musicals, dramas, comedies, dance and opera to concerts, lectures, book signings and television broadcasts. The center also hosts film premieres complete with red carpet ceremonies as well as corporate and special events, one-night presentations and long-running engagements. Thanks to its meticulous restoration, combined with modern technologies and patron amenities, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre is a perfect venue for any presentation and ensures an enjoyable experience for patrons and performers alike.

189 Yonge Street Toronto, ON (416) 325-4144 heritagetrust.on.ca/ewg

Musicals | Dramas Concerts | Film Premières Town Halls | Product Launches

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

57

Ontario

By Anthony Bilden

Canadian pop rock group Hedley performs at the Hershey Centre.

Roy Thomson Hall (right), home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

58

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

B

oth the Canadian capital of Ottawa and the major metropolitan area of Toronto are located in Ontario, making it the most populous of Canada’s 10 provinces, with more than 13 million residents. Toronto, home to Canada’s busiest airport and serviced by the massive King’s Highway 401, is nothing if not an accessible market for touring acts. But there are many other towns in Ontario that are vibrant scenes for live entertainment, from London to Oshawa to Hamilton.

As such, Ontario is a de rigueur routing choice on many North American tours for top artists. Examples from last year include Paul McCartney at the Canadian Tire Centre (formerly Scotiabank Place), Carrie Underwood at Copps Coliseum and Dixie Chicks at General Motors Centre. Historic examples also abound, such as Bob Dylan’s 1980 performance at Massey Hall as part of his Third Gospel Tour, and Genesis at Hamilton Place in 1976.

While Hamilton Place and Massey Hall are themselves historic — the former debuted

in 1973 and the latter is well over a century old — Ontario is not short on new arenas.

A prime case in point is Citizens Business Bank Arena, which opened in October 2008 and is going strong with concerts such as Lady Antebellum and Cher upcoming in March and July of this year, respectively.

The centerpiece of the mixed-use project known as Piemonte at the Ontario Center, the arena offers 9,500 fixed seats with additional seating risers to accommodate capacities of 11,089 for concerts, 9,736 for ice hockey and 10,832 for basketball. Several of the venues featured below are also evidence that Ontario’s live events market has been investment-worthy in the last 15 years, with the General Motors Centre opening in 2006, Budweiser Gardens in 2002, Air Canada Centre in 1999 and Hershey Centre in 1998.

Indeed, Live Nation Canada stages hundreds of shows annually in Ontario, as company Chairman Riley O’Connor points out, and these relatively new, cutting-edge arenas are a major reason for that business.

Stephen Chung

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

59

Paul Mercs Paul Mercs Concerts • Vancouver, BC

Paul Mercs Concerts has handled promotion for shows such as Pearl Jam and Willie Nelson at Air Canada Centre, as well as smaller concerts in the theater configuration.

How would you describe your experience working with Air Canada Centre?

One of the things we appreciate about it is that the service is really good through the whole spectrum, from the venue administration to the box office to the backstage production folks who do a really good job and treat us very well.

Air Canada Centre

Toronto www.theaircanadacentre.com

Consistently ranked among the top sports and music venues in the North America and the world, Air Canada Centre has hosted more than 36 million fans at 2,500 events, including concerts, family shows and festivals. The Centre is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club (NHL), Toronto Raptors basketball club (NBA) and the Toronto Rock Lacrosse team (NLL). Two years after the project broke ground in February 1999, the Centre hosted its first hockey game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.

CAPACITIES: Basketball, 18,639; hockey/lacrosse, 17,372; theater, 5,996; concert bowl, 8,607; 180 mode, 13,412; center stage, 18,959.

STAGING: StageRight system with 34 4 ft.-by-6 ft. adjustable height supports, 95 4 ft.-by-8 ft. reversible decks, 15 8-ft. stage railings, six 4-ft. stage railings and three sets of adjustable stage steps with railings.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: Dressing rooms, catering, and media rooms.

OTHER FEATURES: Two levels of seating in raked rows separated by a ring of private suites; JBL/ Klipsch audio system (all public address speaker management, bowl and back of house are powered by 52 Crown MA and CTS amplifiers – HiQnet Network Protocol); Mitsubishi 6mm center-hung LED videoboard; five restaurants and bars; over 13,000 parking spaces available within walking distance.

60

Do you use their promotional services?

They help us with some marketing outreach with the resources they have. They’re very proactive and get very engaged, which is something that we really look for in venues nowadays, especially when we’re here [in the office] and doing shows out there, wherever that is. We want the local venue to be supportive, and these guys really are.

How have your shows at Air Canada Centre performed in terms of ticket sales?

Very well. We’ve been bringing shows there since it opened in 1999, and we’ve had one show in a concert bowl [configuration] that didn’t really live up to expectations. But that’s been it.

EVENT PROMOTION: Event Marketing team strategically and cost-effectively selects and places local and national media. Internal assets include digital signage, Websites, HD TV stations and outdoor videoboards. Air Canada Centre owns an e-mail list of 35,000 Live Insiders that receive announcements, pre-sale and contest information on a weekly basis LOCAL MARKET: Toronto’s metropolitan setting boasts five million potential ticket buyers. One quarter of Canada’s population lives within a 100-mile radius of the Greater Toronto Area. More than 90 different ethnic groups live in the GTA, with over 80 languages spoken and a population representing 170 countries of origin.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

Budweiser Gardens London www.budweisergardens.com

Built in 2002, this Global Spectrummanaged arena is a multi-purpose venue that houses the London Knights Hockey Club of the Ontario Hockey League and the London Lightning Basketball Club of the National Basketball League. A 2012 Canadian Venue of the Year award recipient, Budweiser Gardens exceeded budget expectations for the 2012-2013 fiscal year and hosted the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in March 2013. The venue recently installed a LED 360 Power Ring.

CAPACITIES: Hockey, 9,090; theater productions, 3,000; concerts, up to 10,000.

STAGING: Capable of theater mode with 30-line fly grid; hybrid stage set up and full end-stage show; 360 mode.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: Five dressing rooms, media room, production office, referee locker room, security office, back-of-house storage.

OTHER FEATURES: Full-service Talbot Bar and Grille restaurant, King Club lounge, 10+ concession stands plus individual vendors; 38 luxury suites, five group sales suites, two hospitality rooms; premium seating department with 1,000+ waiting list.

EVENT PROMOTION: Global Spectrum’s marketing department at Budweiser Gardens handles media buying, advertising plans, grassroots promotion, third-party partnerships, interactive marketing and social media. Over the past five years, Budweiser

Riley O’Connor Chairman Live Nation Canada

Live Nation Canada produced the debut show, Our Lady Peace, at Budweiser Gardens when the venue opened in 2002, and has staged hundreds of shows since then.

What makes London a strong market and desirable tour stop?

It’s one of the major markets that we tour into. London is a big city with 500,000 people and then the region itself is well over a million. So it’s a strong center with a very diversified economy and it’s very tapped into the rural community in terms of the farming community to the north and to the south. Just about every major act has played the market. Elton John’s coming up in February, Michael Bublé is coming up later in the year. We just finished Brad Paisley and Matchbox 20.

How did Budweiser Gardens impact the local economy when it opened?

It’s the best thing that happened to the revitalization of London’s downtown. It brought all sorts of businesses into the downtown core and gave people a sense of purpose. The city has never really had any proper, multipurpose entertainment venues; the arena there was very small, dilapidated. So the new arena for the hockey team has done exceptionally well since opening, consistently drawing 9,000-10,000 fans every day.

What would you highlight about the operations and the physical facility?

Since day one it’s been very well managed, very oriented toward the fan base coming in. We work locally with Global Spectrum in terms of tapping into the marketing on a deeper level. It’s a well-designed arena that’s very intimate; everybody has a great seat and it’s one of the more fun venues to watch a show in.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

61

Gardens marketing has executed publicity initiatives for Walking with Dinosaurs, Skate Canada, the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and a variety of major concerts and family events including several Cirque du Soleil productions.

halide (125-ft. candles); EAW four-way eight-cluster system with automated signal processing; half-house curtain system is available, 300 ft. wide by 64 ft. high; catering by Aramark Sports and Entertainment and full-service restaurants onsite along with one VIP restaurant; 6,500 public parking spaces, with public transportation available to the building on event nights.

Copps Coliseum Hamilton www.hecfi.ca

Canadian Tire Centre Ottawa www.canadiantirecentre.com

Canadian Tire Centre is a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment facility within the National Capital Region and City of Ottawa, conveniently located just off the Trans-Canada Highway 417 at Terry Fox or Palladium Drive exits. Among the major acts hosted in 2013 were Justin Bieber, The Eagles, Paul McCartney, Motley Crue, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, Eric Church and Disney On Ice.

Copps Coliseum is located on the edge of Hamilton’s arts and culture district, near the Hamilton Farmer’s Market on York Boulevard. Home to the Hamilton Bulldogs, the venue has hosted a diverse group of local and international artists, including U2, Aerosmith, Rush, Bruce Springsteen, Britney Spears and Elton John. Country acts Tim McGraw, Reba McIntyre and Carrie Underwood have also performed at Copps Coliseum, and the Juno Awards have been held at the venue numerous times.

CAPACITIES: Seven different seating configurations; hockey, 17,500; concerts, approximately 19,000.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: Dressing rooms and locker rooms on the Arena and Exhibition Hall level; eight large dressing rooms and a catering room.

OTHER FEATURES: Arena has 200-ft. candles (FC), metal halide with 50 FC quartz; Main Concourse and Exhibition

CAPACITY: 3,999-20,000 STAGING: StageRight ME 500. Maximum size: 80-ft. wide by 48-ft. deep, adjustable from 48 to 78 in. Three sets of adjustable stairs, 175 linear feet of toe rail and handrail.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: All dressing rooms are located on the Arena level. One star dressing room, one production office, four smaller star dressing rooms, two large pro locker rooms, media workroom, two small photo workrooms with dark area.

OTHER FEATURES: Halogen sports package (150-ft. candles), dimmable quartz, metal 62

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

e

Hall each have 50 FC metal halides; 12 permanent F&B stations, 11 on the Main Concourse and one in the Exhibition Hall; one onsite restaurant/bar; computerized ticketing, 10 windows; more than 8,400 parking spaces within a 15-minute walk to Copps Coliseum.

and have private washroom and shower facilities.

OTHER FEATURES: Two standard-sized loading docks with dock levelers and one loading bay with a 14-ft. bay door, with ample show vehicle parking and show power available upon request. Back of the house is spacious and a short push to the west-end stage location and approximately 140 ft. to the theater (half house) location. Twentythree licensed Private Suites; each with a maximum capacity of 18 guests.

EVENT PROMOTION: The Centre is very active on social media and is constantly looking for new ways to engage with its fans. Currently the Centre has over 7,700 likes on Facebook, more than 4,600 followers on Twitter and over 70,000 YouTube views.

General Motors Centre Oshawa www.generalmotorscentre.com

The General Motors Centre is a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment facility that opened its doors in November 2006. Managed by Global Spectrum, the facility is home to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League and the Durham TurfDogs of the Canadian Lacrosse League. The Centre has also hosted major concerts and events such as Elton John, KISS, The Tragically Hip, Alan Jackson, Selena Gomez, Cirque du Soleil and Disney Live!.

Special sporting events include the Canadian Hockey League’s Top Prospects game, the Canadian Hockey League’s Canada vs. Russia series, the Skate Canada BMO National Synchronized Skating Championships, 2011 BDO Canadian Open Curling Championships and two IIHF World Junior Hockey Pre-Competition games featuring Canada vs. Switzerland and Kazakhstan vs. Russia.

CAPACITIES: Hockey, 6,017; basketball, 6,417; 360 mode, 7,700; 270 west end stage, 5,717; 180 west end stage, 5,383; theater mode, 3,616; mini theater, 2,090; mini hybrid theater, 1,500.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: Seven full-size dressing rooms and two showrooms. All rooms can be fully furnished

LOCAL MARKET: The Region of Durham is one of the fastest-growing regions in Canada, with a population of more than 630,000, all within a 30-minute drive of General Motors Centre.

The City of Oshawa is the largest city within the region of Durham, boasting a vibrant population of more than 156,000 and anchored economically by such employers as Lakeridge Health, The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Durham College and General Motors of Canada.

Hershey Centre

Mississauga www.hersheycentre.com

Opened in 1998, the Hershey Centre has made a name for itself as a premier sports and entertainment facility in the Greater Toronto Area. The facility has hosted well over 2,000 event days and welcomed more than 3.5 million patrons. Averaging more than 140 event nights per year, Hershey Centre is home to many boxing events, the Mississauga Steelheads (OHL team) and Mississauga Power (NBL team). The venue has seen performances by Green Day, Hedley, Kardinal Offishall, Jay Sean and The Tragically Hip. The Hershey Centre’s suites were renovated in 2010 and it now offers an onsite sports complex, “SportZone.” It is also the model venue for Pan American Games 2015.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

63

OTHER FEATURES: Two VIP Lounge areas, three fully operational concession stands with satellite stands available, large kitchen with diverse menu capabilities, Pizza Delight franchise in house, 24 VIP suites, 2,000 unmetered parking spaces.

EVENT PROMOTION: Large network of photographers available, full range of media contacts at all major radio stations and TV broadcasts on hand for higherprofile events, social media promotions to more than 4,000 Facebook fans and 1,400 Twitter followers.

The Main Bowl at Hershey Centre

CAPACITIES: 5,500 seats; 7,000-seat capacity for concerts; three additional NHL-sized community rink ice surfaces; indoor soccer field; triple gymnasium; portable FIBA-size basketball court.

STAGING: StageRight ME 500; maximum size 60 ft. wide by 40 ft. deep, adjustable from 48 in. to 78 in.

BACKSTAGE AREAS: Two 10 ft.-by-12 ft. star dressing rooms, 50 ft. to rear of the stage; one 10 ft.-by-12 ft. star dressing room, 50 ft. to rear of the stage; one production office; five team rooms; one 15 ft.-by-25 ft. media workroom.

LOCAL MARKET: Mississauga has more than 700,000 residents (sixth-largest city in Canada) and is the ethnic melting pot of Canada.

ROY Thomson Hall Massey Hall Toronto www.masseyhall.com www.roythomson.com

Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall are two of the most renowned venues in Ontario. The former was a gift from the Massey family to the City of Toronto in 1894. Gracing the hall’s stage over the decades have

Ricky Ka Suen Chan

Chairman, Inetwork Entertainment • Ontario Inetwork Entertainment stages concerts in Canada for singers who are primarily from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. They are high-caliber artists with strong fan bases in their home countries and generally also in Canada. Ricky Ka Suen Chan has brought George Lam, Raymond Lam and Eason Chan to the Hershey Centre.

How has the Hershey Centre’s local market responded to the acts you represent?

I think the artists we have been bringing, that is, popular artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, are what our audiences are really attracted to. While the genres for these artists vary, the events our local community seems to prefer are concerts held inside as opposed to outside live events.

Are there any physical features of the facility you would highlight?

The Hershey Centre is a very good venue for staging concerts for a particular volume of attendance. This venue comfortably seats 2,000 to 5,000 people, and the arena is just the right size to allow everyone to enjoy their seats.

Can you relate any examples of how the staff goes the extra mile for you?

The staff often ask us if there are little things they can do to help — simple things like helping to find extra extension cords, helping to move chairs or tables to rooms that need to be set up — and their overall polite and pleasant demeanor have made working with the Hershey Centre a pleasure. They are very well organized and communicate well, a big part of why we enjoy working with them so much.

64

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

Stephen Chung (2)

been artists as diverse as Enrico Caruso, George Gershwin, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Massey Hall is beginning an $8 million renovation that proposes to add space for performers, multiple elevators and new patron facilities, including washroom and lounge/lobby areas. Roy Thomson Hall, located in the heart of the King Street West Theatre District, opened in 1982.

Roy Thomson Hall is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and is the premier venue for the Toronto International Film Festival gala screenings. The hall features a newly installed Meyer sound system and upgraded supplementary PA system throughout the auditorium.

CAPACITIES: Massey Hall, 2,753, theater; Roy Thomson Hall, 2,630, theater.

STAGING: Massey Hall: 60-ft. wide upstage, 65-ft. wide downstage between stairs, 35-ft. deep at center,

Roy Thomson Hall (above), and the historic Massey Hall

58-ft. height clearance. Roy Thomson Hall: 45-ft. wide upstage, 62-ft. wide downstage, 82-ft. wide downstage (full apron), 41-ft. deep at center, 28-ft. height clearance.

OTHER FEATURES: The underground garage at Roy Thomson Hall is convenient, clean, brightly lit and well signed. There are two levels with combined capacity for 377 cars.

Facilities & Event Management 2013-2014 Booking Guide

65

otoview Photoview Photoview Photoview P HPhotoview O T O Photoview V I E W Photoview Photoview PhotoviePhotoviewP

I AVM Ve nueCo n n ec t Snapshots from IAVM VenueConnect, July 27-30, 2013 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans

Steve Luttazi (left), VP of Sales, Clarin by Hussey Seating, poses with Oscar McGaskey, Jr., Executive Director, Kansas City (MO) Convention Facilities.

IAVM Past Chairman Randy L. Brown, CFE, Executive VP and GM, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Ft. Wayne, IN, and incoming IAVM Second Vice Chair Karen Totaro, Assistant GM, Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, lead the Mardi Gras parade around the tradeshow floor at the opening of VenueConnect.

VenuWorks executives John Siehl and Tammy Koolbeck pose for our cameras.

(L-r): Jim Finch, Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center; Lionel Dubay, University of Florida, Gainsville; and Joe Floreano, Executive Director, Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

(L-r): Kevin Twohig, Executive Director, Spokane Public Facilities District; Jim McCue, Senior VP Entertainment, SMG; Cory Meredith, President/CEO, Staff Pro; and Chuck Rogers, Director of Business Development, Staff Pro.

66

Facilities & event management 2013-2014 booking Guide

wPhotoview Photoview Photoview Photoview Photoview Photoview Photoview Photoview PhotoviePhotovie

VenuWorks President Steve Peters (left) and Terry Dederich, Associate Director of Ford Center and Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN, hold their favorite portable chair, made by Clarin by Hussey Seating.

Industry veterans Bill Holmes (left), Executive Director of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center, and John Christison, President, BCI+ Network.

Megan Tatch (left), National Sales Manager, Commercial Seating Products, South Hackensack, NJ, visited with Alissa Roberts, Director, Business Development, Sports Center of Excellence, Skansa USA, at her neighboring booth.

(L-r): Michael R. LaPan, CFE, Executive Director of The Lakeland Center, Lakeland, FL, visited with Randy Ziegler, Executive VP, and Matthew Cronin, Business Development/ Marketing Assistant of Owens Facility Services, Orlando, FL.

Facilities & event management 2013-2014 booking Guide

Glenn Walinski (left), Manager, Tyson Events Center, Sioux City, IA, with Terry Dederich, Associate Director, Ford Center and Victory Theatre, Evansville, IN.

67

1

Fort Lauderdale, FL

5 4

Miami, FL

2 3

Portsmouth, VA

Spokane, WA

Elkhart, IN

F& E M

Hot L ist

Status: Hot category: PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS FYI: Several

improvement projects highlight this collection of PACs, including two renovating venues that are making South Florida more attractive for incoming performers: the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale and the historic Gusman Center in Miami. Also recently renovated is Indiana’s Lerner Center, which hosted the Moody Blues’ “Timeless Flight” tour in October (the tour also stopped at Hartman Arena in Kansas; see page 32).

Center 1] Broward for the Performing Arts •

Fort Lauderdale, FL www.browardcenter.org This multi-venue arts and entertainment complex features the 2,700-seat Au-Rene Theater, the intimate 590-seat Amaturo Theater and the flexible 250-seat Abdo New River Room. The Broward Center is currently in the midst of a $56 million renovation and expansion that will add new spaces and experiences for patrons and artists this year, including the Huizenga Pavilion, with the Porter Riverview Ballroom and the New River Bistro, and the Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center.

The new Club Level opened last year with a popular all-inclusive “sky box” experience for live performances including touring Broadway, opera, ballet and concerts.

Arts Center 2] INB Performing •

Spokane, WA www.inbpac.com Formerly the Spokane Opera House, the 2,700-seat INB Performing Arts Center dates from the city’s 1974 World’s Fair and is adaptable for symphony concerts, ballet, grand opera, road shows, country and rock music spectaculars, musical stage productions and lectures. Features include a Wenger Diva shell with 7-32 ft. walls, 60-ft.-wide orchestra pit (15 ft. deep at center), three truck loading bays, Meyer Self Powered MSL-4 based audio system, eight dressing rooms (including two star and two chorus), green room and a 2,700-sq.-ft. Music Room.

68

Arts Center 3] Lerner Performing •

Elkhart, IN www.thelerner.com The Lerner Theatre completed an $18 million renovation in 2012 with the installation of a fully restored pipe organ dating from the theater’s opening year, 1924. The entire project encompassed two buildings: the 2,000-seat Lerner Theatre and the new Crystal Ballroom. Major acts this fall at the Lerner include Kris Kristofferson and the Moody Blues. Among many high-tech features, the Lerner offers Harman audio, a 17 ft.-by-28 ft. screen with digital projector, and an ETC Express 72/144 Lighting Console. Four dressing rooms, a crew room, kitchen and green room are available.

Theater at the Gusman 4] Olympia Center for the Performing Arts •

Miami, FL www.gusmancenter.org Opened in 1926 as a silent movie palace, the Olympia Theater has hosted performers ranging from Elvis Presley to Pavarotti.

The 1,567-seat theater, noted for its Moorish architecture under a simulated night sky, recently completed a multimillion-dollar restoration and boasts high-tech features such as an audio console with Meyer M1D array and 10,000-lumen Barco video projector. Nine private dressing rooms and two large choral dressing rooms are available, along with a quick-change room and dressing room paging system.

Hall 5] Willett Performing Arts Theater •

Portsmouth, VA www.willett-hall-portsmouth.com Situated in a quiet residential community, Willett Hall Performing Arts Theater seats 2,000 and is so intimate that the last row of seats is only 175 feet from the stage. Known for its excellent acoustics, the facility hosts concerts, guest speakers, theatrical performances, musicals and dance performances. In addition to very competitive rental and labor rates, Willett Hall also offers the opportunity for co-promotion and assistance with marketing and advertising. The staff at Willett Hall is also to assist with clients and performers’ special needs, including catering, limousine service and more.

Facilities & event management 2013-2014 booking Guide