Having started in the business at age 17 promoting concerts, Adam Armit, CVP, has transitioned happily to the venue side of things. His route is through marketing and, while quite content where he now is, his ultimate goal is to manage a venue.
This past week, Armit started his new job as senior director, marketing, of the brand new Hamilton (Ontario) Arena for Oak View Group. Armit was recruited by fellow Canadian and IAVMer Nick DeLuco, named SVP and GM of the $200-million Hamilton Arena in November 2024.
Armit has been with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), Toronto, for the last nine years. Most recently he has been director of Brands, including marketing MLSE’s Scotiabank Arena (formerly Air Canada Centre), Coca-Cola Coliseum (formerly Ricoh Coliseum) and BMO Field. He also worked in marketing MLSE’s live entertainment, food and beverage and retail divisions.
Reimagining his career trajectory was partially a result of COVID-19 and the impact that pandemic had on live entertainment. During the shutdown because of the pandemic, he was very involved in the use of that time to renew and improve Scotiabank Arena.
Adam Armit, CVP, Senior Director, Marketing, Hamilton (Ontario) Arena for Oak View Group
He started on the promoter/marketing side of the equation, a path which began when he was in high school and volunteered to book talent for the local festival, Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. That festival had the infrastructure and attendance but was not taking advantage of the potential for nighttime entertainment.
That’s when he formed Go Live Entertainment and started making phone calls. Because he had the backing of a major festival, agents took his calls. He remembers the budget that first year was $15,000 and the first band he booked was the Canadian classic rock band Trooper. He learned early that the devil is in the details and those are the details you only learn along the way. Show after show, tour managers would educate him with advice for the next time he settled a show.
He operated Go Live through his days at Fanshawe College, concentrating on DJ services and then concert promoting throughout central Canada. But he realized the concert promotion business is a bit on the risky side, so he decided to use his college degree and take a job at a marketing agency and work on their music portfolio instead. In 2015, he joined SDI Marketing, working his was up to account manager-entertainment.
He didn’t know a lot about the venue side until he joined MLSE, but he has jumped in with both feet. His first foray into trade associations was with the Event & Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC), of which he is vice president and very involved in planning the annual conference. EVMC meets in Atlanta June 4-6 this year.
IAVM has also been on his radar for several years. He has attended one year of Venue Management School and is hoping to get his second year under his belt soon. It conflicts with EVMC, which has been the deterrent so far. He did earn his CVP in 2024.
He’s also looking forward to attending VenueConnect (July 28-31 in New Orleans) someday soon. To date, he’s been too busy at MLSE that time of year to go.
It’s been a 15-year climb for Armit, and he is enjoying the process. As a young professional, his best advice to those coming up in the industry is “to grind, to put in the work that needs to be done, for sure.”
“I think building your personal brand is really important. Something I always try and preach to my team is that that personal brand is something that gets your foot in the door for conversations, and gets people to take you seriously.”
Beyond that, networking is key. “Build your personal brand and build those connections; those come back around,” Armit said.
