By David Ireland

It is with mixed emotions and heartfelt appreciation that the American Airlines Center is announcing the retirement of Senior Vice President Arena Programming, Ken Kuhl, after twenty-one years at the Dallas arena and nearly forty years in the industry. His duties included oversight of all event operational matters for the venue’s major tenants (Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars), legendary special events, and the overall management of the facility.

Dave Brown, COO of American Airlines Center, said: “Ken’s contributions to the success of the American Airlines Center have been enormous and invaluable. His determination to position Dallas as a must play destination for major touring entertainment has far exceeded expectations and his facility management acumen is second to none. We cannot thank Ken enough for his leadership over the past 21 years. He will be dearly missed.”

Kuhl has been instrumental in the management of many high-profile events at the American Airlines Center including opening the venue with the Eagles (who have grossed over $21,000,00 in revenue at the AAC and have their own banner hung from the rafters), three Big 12 Basketball Championships, 2002 & 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball, 2007 NHL All-Star Game, 1999 Stanley Cup, 2003 USFSA National Figure Skating Championships, 2017 NCAA Basketball Women’s Final Four, and the 2006 and 2011 NBA Finals in addition to the 2011 NBA Championship Celebration and Parade. In his 39 years in facility management, Kuhl has been involved with other large events such as the 1986 Super Bowl, 1987 NCAA Men’s Final Four, and the 1988 Republican National Convention. In 2007, he created and managed Big D NYE, a major New Year’s Eve celebration for the City of Dallas which acquired more than 35,000 attendees per year and brought families, friends, and loved ones together for eight years. He’s most recently been an intricate part of bringing the NCAA Women’s Final Four to Dallas in 2023, where he will remain on the management team as a consultant.

American Airlines Center has consistently been ranked as one of the top ten arenas in the world for tickets sold in live entertainment thanks to Ken’s persistence of bringing quality entertainment for the DFW metroplex. Since the opening of the American Airlines Center in 2001, Kuhl has facilitated and booked over 4,000 events that have touched over 40 million people.

Ken’s impact will continue through all of us that have had the honor to work with him. Although the industry is losing a legend, there’s comfort knowing that he has earned the right to turn in his badge and enjoy his time with his wife Becky, two daughters Brittany and Kortney, and his buddy Ruger. Congratulations Ken Kuhl on the unprecedented journey in the industry and hope your retirement brings you the joy you have brought all of us for 39 years!

David Ireland is Director of Marketing for American Airlines Center.

By Stacie Bauer

Ungerboeck, the global leader in event and venue management software, announced the appointment of Steve Mackenzie, CVE, as Chief Innovation Officer. In this newly created role, Mackenzie will advance Ungerboeck’s innovation pipeline and build on the company’s rich history of developing the world’s best and most versatile event management solutions. Mackenzie will also lead Ungerboeck’s newly launched Worldwide Innovation Lab which focuses on designing next generation event management capabilities.

Mackenzie brings decades of industry expertise to this role; he most recently served as executive vice president at Ungerboeck following its recently announced merger with EventBooking, where he served as President. Prior to this, Mackenzie has held leadership roles in event tech companies such as Oracle (Micros-Fidelio) and Aventri (etouches). Mackenzie is a Certified Venue Executive, serves as Adjunct Professor for Event Technology Management at Florida International University, and in 2022 was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award at Event Tech Live Awards and inducted to their Hall of Fame. Over the past 20+ years, Mackenzie has spoken in over 25 countries on topics related to the industry, with a focus on technology.

“We strive to make events easier, safer, and more profitable, and innovation plays a fundamental role in how we deliver that value on a global scale,” Mackenzie said. “I am thrilled to assume this new role and to formalize the launch of the Worldwide Innovation Lab as we write the next chapter of event management.”

Under Mackenzie’s stewardship, the Worldwide Innovation Lab will be Ungerboeck’s testbed for innovation to remain at the forefront of the event management industry by exploring, testing, and scaling future-ready products and technology for the event management market. Marquee venues around the globe trust Ungerboeck to deliver the world’s most reliable and advanced solutions; Mackenzie’s mandate will serve to strengthen, coordinate and accelerate this brand promise.

“At Ungerboeck, we believe the best way to lead an industry is not only to set the bar but to relentlessly raise it,” said Vic Chynoweth, interim CEO at Ungerboeck. “As venues and in-person events evolve and continue to transform digitally, our investment in innovation will open a new realm of possibilities fueling the next wave of growth. With the combination of Steve’s industry leadership position and the Ungerboeck product engine, we are in the best possible hands to push the edges of innovation and architect the future of our industry.”

Stacie Bauer is Event & Sponsorship Coordinator, Marketing, for Ungerboeck.

By Communications Department | Big Machine Music City Grand Prix

The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix announced a series of executive-level promotions to strengthen their
overall organization and support the growth of the event as they enter their third year in August 2023. The three-day festival of racing and music features the NTT IndyCar Series on the streets of Nashville and multiple concerts from many of music’s biggest stars.

Most notable of the executive changes, Jason Rittenberry will assume the additional role of President. Rittenberry has served as Chief Operating Officer from the inception of the event. In his new role as President & Chief Operating Officer he will continue to oversee all operations of the event and on track motorsports activity. A 22-year veteran of motorsports and entertainment, Rittenberry previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Circuit of The Americas overseeing the Formula One United States Grand Prix and Austin 360 Amphitheater. His career includes tenure as President & CEO of IRG Sports + Entertainment and President & General Manager of Memphis Motorsports Park.

Liz Allison has been named Executive Vice President. Allison, having served as Director of Partnerships, Client Services and Special Events since joining the team in January of 2021, will expand her responsibilities in this new executive role. Allison has over 25 years of motorsports client services, special events, and premium hospitality experience in NASCAR. Allison is the wife of the late Davey Allison and later a member of the sports media covering motorsports. As Executive Vice President, she will continue to oversee strategic and investor relations, partnerships, guest experiences, and premium hospitality.

Tony Cotman, the original course designer for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, has been named Director of Infrastructure in addition to his role as Track Designer. Cotman will continue to oversee the course design, work closely with motorsports sanctioning bodies, and manage the organization’s rapidly growing infrastructure inventory. Cotman has over 25-years of motorsports experience and also serves as President of NZR Consulting. He has a unique background in race course and track design, construction and operations and serves as the designer of multiple racing circuits worldwide. Cotman previously served as the Vice President of Competition for IndyCar, Vice President of Operations for ChampCar and as an IndyCar Steward and Racetrack Engineer and Designer. He currently serves as the US Representative to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

Brad Margolis has been named as Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Finance and Administration. In addition to finance and administration, Margolis will oversee the ticketing sales and operations for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Prior to the MCGP, Margolis spent the last 13 years working with a single-family office that built and invested in consumer businesses spanning media and entertainment, festivals, restaurants, sports, and technology. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

“I’m incredibly proud of this executive team. There is well over 100 years of motorsports and festival experience between this group of leaders,” said Matt Crews, CEO. “Dedication, hard work, passion, and leadership from this team is immeasurable and will be instrumental in our continued growth and position us as
one of Nashville and motorsports marquee events.”

In addition to these executive level changes, the organization announced the following senior management promotions: Charlie Legeman promoted to Sr. Director of Sales and Partnerships, Kent Russell promoted to Sr. Director of Ticketing, and Kristen Moser promoted to Sr. Director of Operations.

Tix Ticketing is rebranding as Tixly as it continues to expand its global operations Hrefna Jonsdottir will become Managing Director of Tixly – taking over from founder Sindri Finnbogason.

“With the goal of simplifying our brand and uniquely proclaiming our values of simply innovative software for culture ticketing, we are changing our name and will from today be known as Tixly,” said Hrefna Jonsdottir, who is ascending to role of Managing Director as founder Sindri Finnbogason shifts gears to become the company’s Head of Product.

The company also announced that it is adding to its board a Ticketmaster Inc veteran. Kjell Arne Orseth previously was an executive at Ticketmaster for 17 years, serving in various roles within the global ticketing giant, most recently as its Executive Vice President International. He will, effective on November 1st, be taking over the role of chairman of fast-growing Tixly.

“We believe that under this new global brand and leadership we are ready for the next chapter in Tixly´s evolution. “We believe no other company is adequately addressing the specific needs of cultural institutions and venues. This is the unique selling proposition that is fueling our growth within the cultural segment across Europe and our entry into North America,” said Jonsdottir, Tixly’s new Managing Director. Jonsdottir originally joined the company in 2017, having previously been on the client side as head of ticketing at Harpa Music Hall.

Sindri Finnbogason commented: “I am very excited about our current expansion, both geographically and of the product itself. There is still a lot of room to grow as more venues transfer to simpler ticketing and marketing solutions. The large number of customers in the cultural segment that have chosen Tixly, after diligently comparing our product to others, shows how a software solution that is both robust and offers simple intuitive design can gain a lot of traction in a relatively short period of time. In all the 20 years I have been in the ticketing software business I have never experienced such excitement for a product as I have for the current iteration of Tixly. I promise there is still a lot more to come as we continue to ship new modules and features all the time.”

“We want to stress that even though this seems like a lot of changes we are not changing our way of working, our service level, our focus or anything else,” said Aren Murray, Operations Manager – US. “We honestly believe that this change will make us even better. We will continue to be dedicated to performing arts venues and culture houses and we will continue to focus on providing exceptional service while growing our product with the vision of helping our clients achieve their own goals.”

Pictured from left: Hrefna Jonsdottir, Sindri Finnbogason, Kjell Arne Orseth

By Shay Strawser

Over 100 Green Sports Alliance (GSA) teams and venues lit their venues green on October 6 in observance of Green Sports Day to green light sustainable action across the globe.

The global sustainable sports community is coming together to leverage the power of sports to increase awareness and action on the most pressing environmental and social challenges our world faces. GSA is partnering with South Pole to offset the energy used to light facilities green.

“The Seattle Seahawks and Lumen Field are proud to support Green Sports Day and the Green Sports Alliance by coming together to raise awareness for the importance of sustainability,” said Christy Briggs, Logistics and Sustainability Manager for the Seahawks and Lumen Field and GSA Board Member. “We believe our impact on the environment is exponentially greater as we seek to educate and inspire our fans to implement the reduction strategies that we use in-stadium in their own personal homes and workplaces.”

The Green Sports Alliance is advancing its partnership with the Sanneh Foundation by gifting 200 reusable fabric bags to the kids and families in St. Paul, Minnesota (thesannehfoundation.org). Recycled from fabric signage at the 2022 Green Sports Alliance Summit, the reusable bags are given another life, rather than heading to a landfill, in partnership with The Vomela Companies (vomela.com). Vomela went above and beyond to ensure the circularity of signage at the Summit.

“Given the incredible honor and responsibility bestowed upon the sports industry by President Barack Obama on October 6th in 2016, we have the opportunity to leverage the power of sports to minimize the impact from emissions in stadiums, arenas, and communities where we live, work and play,” said Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance. “On this Green Sports Day in 2022, we wanted to inspire a just transition to a circular economy with renewable energy, water conservation, and waste diversion at the top of mind to ensure a healthy environment for our communities. Thanks to all who joined us in Playing for the Next Generation as we share climate awareness with sports fans and encourage sustainable action within the sports industry.”

Shay Strawser is Associate Manager of Communications & Events with the Green Sports Alliance.