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Rob Underwood Director of Entertainment Wings Event Center
Rob
Underwood says he has the coolest job in his whole company. That’s because he is responsible for all the events and shows at Wings Event Center. He’s the one booking bands, setting up expos and conferences and making sure the ice is ready for hockey. In addition, he oversees the millions of dollars of building improvements that are helping to rejuvenate the 41-year-old venue formerly called Wings Stadium. A trained chef (twice a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America) with some impressive credentials on his resume — (The Greenbriar, Great Wolf Resorts), Underwood is undaunted by the huge responsibilities on his shoulders. “I’ve helped raise six kids,” he says, “so I can juggle a lot of things.”
What do you do at Wings Event Center? I’ve got like 15 titles here. Basically I am general manager of the Wings Event Center and I oversee facilities, from housekeeping to renovations and concessions, security and parking. But at the end of the day, my drive is booking special events — sometimes they are big fun concerts and sometimes they are high school wrestling or inline roller hockey events. (continued on page 45)
Brian Powers
46 | Encore NOVEMBER 2015