Troy Thorn, CVP, CTA, CPMM, has accepted the job of Assistant Director of Events and Operations at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. With nearly 30 years of venue management experience, Troy has had executive stints with the Dallas Convention Center, Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium and Chesapeake Conference Center. Troy is a past Region 6 Director and has served on the IAVM Foundation Board of Trustees.

As one of the industry’s forward-thinking executives, Thorn is a proven venue executive, event producer and public administrator. He draws upon knowledge gained through the diversity of challenges he has overcome, and the successes achieved by his team. From the local Rotary luncheon to Super Bowl XLV NFL Experience, Thorn has managed venues that have hosted thousands of live events with positive economic impacts on the communities he has served.

Always willing to give back, Thorn currently serves on the Grand Prairie (TX) Forum Estates Public Improvement District Board. He has served on the IAVM Board of Trustees and the Diversity and Inclusive Leadership Committee. Prior to his recent relocation to North Texas, he served on the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Board; Chesapeake Parks, Recreation & Tourism Advisory Board; Tidewater Community College Business Management Advisory Committee; and Chesapeake Sports Club Board of Directors and Scholarship Committee.

By Paul Pettas

Sodexo Live!, the hospitality partner to the world’s most iconic venues, has partnered with innovation specialist L Marks to launch the Sodexo Live! Accelerator for North America.

The Sodexo Live! Accelerator will be the first program of its kind in North America. For the delivery of this program, Sodexo has partnered with L Marks, an innovation specialist with experience in running over 80 innovation initiatives with some of the world’s leading, most well-respected companies.

Sodexo Live! was launched last year by Sodexo Group, reaffirming its expertise in sports, events and hospitality. Sodexo’s Accelerator innovation program has already seen success in China, Brazil, India, France, and Sweden, and partnered with L Marks for the UK and Ireland market in 2021.

“We are never comfortable with the status quo,” said Steve Pangburn, CEO North America, Sodexo Live! “What makes this program different is the incredible engagement and buy-in that company founders will gain access to at the highest rungs of our organization, as we ideate our offerings for some of the globe’s biggest upcoming entertainment spectacles. This collaboration will drive tangible value for the selected companies and will help Sodexo Live! keep its finger firmly on the pulse of today’s solutions for tomorrow’s live events.”

Three opportunity areas have been identified that align with core business goals of delivering first-class service to today’s fans and guests, and exceeding client partner expectations. Starting immediately, L Marks is kick-starting its scouting campaign to find start-ups and scale-ups with innovative and scalable solutions that address these three themes:

Service Excellence: At the heart of every great event are great employees. We are looking for solutions to help internal staffing requirements: attract the best talent, provide consistent training, and retain our incredible staff.

Guest and Fan Experience: Sodexo Live! creates exceptional moments. In order to better serve our guests, we are looking toward more personalization of event experiences, digitization of touchpoints, ease of service, and future-forward virtual expansion.

Operational Optimization: As a large organization providing a wide variety of services, we constantly seek to innovate our internal operations. We hope to improve cross-venue interoperability, better utilize our public and transactional data to provide key customer insights and develop predictive analytics for our guests. We are also interested in ways to optimize the use of our spaces on days without programming, to offer additional revenue to our clients and services to our guests.

“We’re excited to announce our new partnership with Sodexo Live! in North America and launch the first Sodexo Live! Accelerator,” said Daniel Saunders, CEO, L Marks. “Sodexo Global has proven its commitment to innovation and through this program we will combine global entrepreneurship with Sodexo Live!’s expertise in sports, events, and hospitality, powering the events and venues of the future, and creating exceptional moments and lasting memories.”

In addition, the program encourages Wildcard entries, welcoming out-of-the-box solutions to match their wide array of services and venue partners.

Applications close on September 12, 2022 and selected applications will then be invited to pitch their innovative solutions to Sodexo Live! management in mid-October.

Successful start-ups and scale-ups will then be offered the chance to work with industry-leading mentors and subject matter experts and business leaders over a ten-week period to trial and fine-tune their solutions in a live customer environment.

Companies can apply though Sodexo Live!’s website: https://us.sodexo.com/industry/sodexo-live/accelerators.html

Paul Pettas is VP Brand and Communications for Sodexo Live!

From StadiumBusiness.com

A night club and a sports betting area are among the additions under consideration for the renovation of Paul Brown Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.

Local TV station WCPO has revealed details of documents from Ohio’s Hamilton County architecture firm Gensler, which list a number of options for the proposed redevelopment of the stadium. Hamilton County hired Gensler in September 2020 to assess the state of the stadium, which opened in August 2000, ahead of the Bengals’ current lease deal expiring in 2026.

Other aspects of the renovation could include cascading balconies, rooftop experiences, a “sky bridge” connecting upper concourses, and a larger scoreboard in the north end of the stadium. Plans are still at an early stage, with renderings for many of the proposals are not yet available.

The documents also include more points of sale, seating options and sponsorship opportunities. A new market-style experience, named after Cincinnati’s Findlay Market, has also been proposed.

In a statement to WCPO, Hamilton County spokesperson Bridget Doherty said: “The Gensler presentation is a conceptual outline of ideas guiding the overall master planning process. None of these ideas are final. We expect the final master plan by the end of this year that incorporates the capital plan that was released publicly in April.”

In April, Gensler released the findings of a study which determined that Paul Brown Stadium is suitable to remain the long-term home of the Bengals but will require a minimum of $493 million in upgrades.

Gensler’s report found that unlike other NFL venues that are currently in the process of being replaced, Paul Brown Stadium is suitable for redevelopment. The firm looked into 15 different areas of the stadium and provided a suggested priority list and timeline for repairs.

Demetra Thornton, principal for Gensler, said at the time that Paul Brown Stadium was designed with improvements in mind – unlike Riverfront Stadium, the Bengals’ former home.

Paul Brown Stadium is one of three NFL venues without a naming-rights partner but reports last month suggested that the Bengals were close to signing a sponsor.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the Bengals are working to sell the naming rights and have informed city and county officials to be prepared to move quickly on approvals, should they be needed.

Since opening in 2000, the stadium has been named in honor of the Bengals’ founder, Paul Brown. Should a deal be agreed, only the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field and Chicago Bears’ Soldier Field will remain as NFL stadia without a naming-rights agreement.

By Celebrity Access

AEG Presents has named New Orleans-based Reeves Price as the new Vice President (VP) Festivals.

Before AEG, Price was a founding partner at Winter Circle Productions, an indie promotion and production house in New Orleans. Price will continue to be based out of that office. With Winter Circle, he co-founded the BUKU Music + Art Project, a boutique event held at Mardi Gras World each year.

In 2015, when AEG Presents acquired Winter Circle Productions, Price was appointed VP of operations for both Winter Circle Productions and AEG Presents’ Gulf Coast Region, positions he will continue to hold alongside his new role. Price will also act as producer for Hangout Music Festival in Alabama.

Price will oversee the company’s portfolio of festivals and will report to Goldenvoice COO and COO Festivals, AEG Presents Melissa Ormond.

Price said, “I’ve really enjoyed working with Melissa on BUKU and Hangout and am looking forward to working closely with her and the company into the future.”

Ormond said, “I’m thrilled that Reeves is expanding his role with the AEG Presents Festivals team. His operational expertise will be of tremendous benefit to the shows in our portfolio.”

Reeves Price (Image: AEG)

The Lynnwood (WA) Public Facilities District, owners of the Lynnwood Convention Center (LCC) and OVG360, the contracted operators for the LCC, announced the appointment of Erin Jepson, CVP, CMP as the LCC’s new General Manager as of July 11, 2022.

Prior to joining the team at the LCC, Jepson was Director of Events and Guest Services at the Oregon Convention Center, and Director of Events and Patron Services at the Walton Arts Center in Arkansas. She was also the Customer Success Manager with Ungerboeck, an event management software company. With over 16 years’ experience in event production/management and venue operations, Jepson brings extensive skills in team leadership to the table.

Originally from Houston, Jepson studied at the University of Texas – Austin and quickly moved into a professional career in event management. She graduated from IAVM’s (International Association of Venue Managers) Venue Management School in 2013, attended the Venue Management School Graduate Institute in 2016, and received her Certified Meetings Professional (CMP) certification in 2015 from the Convention Industry Council (CIC). Recently, she earned IAVM’s Certified Venue Professionals (CVP) certification, another major designation for industry professionals in venue management. Jepson is also a member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

“The puzzle behind building great events and experiences for our audiences drives me to put out the very best product I can,” Jepson said. “I am excited to bring my broad-based industry experience to the LCC and the Lynnwood Community. Every detail of venue management excites me, all the way from designing security plans for events to opening the doors for a comic con boasting an attendance of over 25,000 people.”

“Recently we developed an expanded approach to our key performance indicators to better fulfill our mission of driving economic impact and increasing public benefits for the community,” said Janet Pope, Executive Director of the Lynnwood Public Facilities District. “We are focusing intently on increasing sustainable practices and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our work. Erin is just the right person to help in implementing these plans. She will be an integral part of our team and a big part of our property’s bright future.”

Dave Anderson, Regional Vice President of OVG360 added, “We could not be more excited to welcome Erin to the team as our new General Manager of the Lynnwood Convention Center. Her leadership experience and entrepreneurial spirit will play a key role in bringing high impact business to the convention center and local community.”