FIRST LOOK: MARK JAN KAR

As the world recovers from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and organisations up and down the live events supply chain are aiming to recover, rebuild and, ultimately, return to normal operation. Like all venues, Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena has been hit hard by the pandemic, however, as restrictions in the UAE begin to ease, it seems there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Following a restructure, the man who is now tasked with guiding the arena towards a return to live events is General Manager, Mark Jan Kar. Taking the reins from departing CEO, Guy Ngata, Kar – who worked closely with Ngata in his previous role as the arena’s Director, Commercial and Live – is looking to build on his predecessor’s legacy. Here, the new General Manager explains the reasoning behind the restructure, speculates on what his biggest challenges will be, and provides an update on how Coca-Cola Arena will be working with promoters and suppliers to aid a much-needed recovery of the industry.

Can you explain the circumstances around the restructuring at Coca-Cola Arena? I have worked closely with Guy Ngata and the executive team since I joined the arena as Head of Commercial in October 2018. In that time, we worked together to open the building, with the main remit being securing naming rights within the building – which we did with Coca-Cola.

Guy did a fantastic job in the pre-opening phase of the building, as well as the first nine months of operation until COVID-19 hit. From then, we’ve all been on a long road to recovery. It’s been an incredibly tough 18 months or so for everyone, and Guy recently got the opportunity to return to New Zealand to be with his family – something that we all know the importance of after the difficult period we’ve faced.

Having worked very closely with Guy and been part of the arena’s senior leadership team, I was given the chance to explore the new role of General Manager, and with the blessing of ASM Global and the full support of our owner, Dubai Holdings, here we are.

“We need to understand how as an industry, we can bring life back to live events – and that includes everyone from promoters to suppliers, to attendees to artists. ” Coca-Cola Arena General Manager, Mark Jan Kar.

What kind of a legacy has Guy left? Guy has been a sensational leader. I come from a sporting background, so, the fact that he identified the similarities between sport and entertainment and gave me that opportunity showed great vision. It was very much Guy’s management style to allow me to grow and prosper. He wasn’t a micromanager. He was there as a support network, but he always had full belief in me as I grew from a commercial space into the commercial and live space. He was the one who consistently pushed me to develop.

When Guy mentioned that he would like me to put my name forward for the General Manager role, that was a real milestone moment for me – the man you’ve been working for, mentored by, and followed to the tee is now passing on that torch, so to speak. His are giant shoes to fill and it’s impossible to truly fill them. However, we are in a different period now and as we look to return to full-scale live events, it’s a great opportunity to take all the learnings and leadership that Guy had and put my stamp and style on to it.

What kind of a style will that be? Everyone has their own style. I’m very lucky that the core executive team that has been with us since the opening has remained and we’ve been able to retain their services throughout the pandemic. I’m walking into the role with the full confidence and support of my colleagues.

First and foremost, we need to understand how as an industry, we can bring life back to live events – and that includes everyone from promoters to suppliers, to attendees to artists. It’s a case of going back to basics. We are the biggest and brightest venue in town, but we are here to work with everyone to ensure that we can bring this industry back. It’s about applying humility and focusing on relationships. ASM Global operates 321 facilities around the world, and we are the only ASM facility in Dubai. I also aim to educate our suppliers and promoters more about the ASM brand and encourage more integration as the market begins to rebound.

How are you working with promoters and suppliers to aid the recovery of the industry? We as a venue need to concentrate on pricing; we need to be a much more competitive option. In a reduced-capacity landscape, the promoter has a much greater choice of facilities. In the current climate, we are competing with an exhibition hall, an opera house, a theatre in a shopping mall… Firstly, we need to understand and accept what space we are operating in, and once we’ve done that, we need to engage promoters and suppliers and explain why an arena would be advantageous to their show – if that is the case, of course.

At the same time, we need to be honest. Based on certain budgets and capacity restrictions, as much as we want to welcome

every show to Coca-Cola Arena, if you take all these restrictions into account then in some cases other venues would suit certain shows better. If that is the case, we have a duty to advise that fact – that way, at least the promoter can regain customer confidence and build some traction, ultimately planning for future bigger shows here at the arena. The plan is all about reconnecting with everyone and explaining what we as a facility are doing to be more competitive and less rigid than in the past.

What will being less rigid involve? We need to understand and work with everyone, from artists to suppliers to promoters, to find a way of making events work for all parties in the current conditions. The solution must come from all sides. If we as a venue are going to operate from an almost cash neutral perspective to help bring the industry back, then we expect others to do the same.

We appreciate that it is a promoter’s business to sell tickets and generate revenue, but that can’t ever come at the expense of fans. We don’t dictate to the promoter what ticket prices should be, but we have a large influence to make sure that fair pricing is maintained.

At the same time, we’re working with the government and stakeholders to push for higher capacities when it’s safe to do so, which will enhance our ability to host all kinds of live events. We understand that you can’t suddenly open with 100% or even 70% – it’s going to be a gradual build up to that. We plan on delivering a couple of great shows at the current 1,500 capacity, then taking it from there.

It sounds like quite a challenge… As challenging as the scenario is, the UAE and in particular Dubai, thanks to its phenomenal leadership, has positioned itself throughout this pandemic as the place to be. We’re very fortunate that Dubai Expo 2020 is set to take place in October, and the city is on a full-on drive to succeed in every way possible.

Expo will be a big boost to the entire city. Of course, the masterplan has changed somewhat due to COVID-19, but we see silver linings in that. For example, while certain pavilions were previously planning to deliver all their content inside the Expo 2020 site, there’s now the possibility of more citywide activations. We’re very excited to explore that possibility further.

What are your short-term goals? I recently had a meeting with the executive team where I said, ‘irrespective of what we do, we will be judged on our results in the next 100 days.’ What are our key objectives and deliverables? What are the threats that could stop us from delivering those objectives?

Our mission is to reconnect with the industry, return with some live shows, communicate the importance of health and safety to our number one clientele, which is ticketholders and fans, and bring back that desire for live experiences. We see live experience taking place on a smaller scale already in cafes, bars, and hotels, but how do we elevate that to an arena-level show? Ultimately, everything is judged by the content. We have all the best facilities at our disposal, but if we don’t have the right content, the building will remain empty.

What are your long-term plans? We want to really engage with our commercial partners further – especially Coca-Cola. We have some phenomenal ideas about how we can bring the arena to life not just as a home of live entertainment, but also as an experience on none-show days. We have a prime location in Downtown Dubai and the question we need to ask is, how do we bring more life to the community? It could be anything from community sports to market fairs and graduation ceremonies. We want to effectively ingrain this building into the community as close to 365 days a year as possible.

It’s going to be a long road ahead and there will be trials and tribulations along the way but, building on the fantastic foundations that Guy has laid, with my unbelievable executive team and the full support of ASM Global, I look forward to the challenge. Photos: Coca-Cola Arena www.coca-cola-arena.com