The Broadmoor World Arena Board of Directors announced that Dave Namesnik has been selected as the new General Manager of the Broadmoor World Arena, Ice Hall, and the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, effective May 23, 2022. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of all three venues and continue to bring world class entertainment to Southern Colorado. He will also maintain an active role in the community as a collaborator, resource and contributor.

Dave most recently served as Assistant General Manager of the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland, Colorado and brings over fourteen years of experience in the entertainment and facility management industry.

He replaces Dot Lischick, who completed her 24-year tenure as General Manager on May 20, 2022. For more on the industry icon’s retirement, click here.

“Dot has set a very high-performance bar and leaves the Broadmoor World Arena Sports and Entertainment Venues on very firm footing as we emerge from COVID restrictions,” said World Arena Chairman Pete Susemihl. “We are convinced that Dave is the person to pick up the leadership reins of southern Colorado’s go to place for live entertainment and take us to even greater heights.”

By Stacie Bauer

Ungerboeck announced that it has acquired the products developed by risk management agency Reliance Risk and will be debuting an industry-first application for mitigating risk to events and venues.

Risk management is an essential part of venue management and event planning. As the industry continues to be impacted by major shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, accidents, and severe weather incidents, Ungerboeck is committed to helping its customers better manage risks of all kinds.  

The acquisition of both Reliance Risk products, RiskSense101 and VRM360, gives Ungerboeck the power to offer a valuable new solution: Risk Manager by Ungerboeck. The new application is specifically designed to give venue and event organizers a better understanding of threats and help them be proactive instead of reactive in the face of potential issues.

“The unique nature of events dictates the need for a customized, simple, but powerful technology solution to help mitigate and monitor risk,” said Wayne Middleton, founder of Risk Sense Technologies and co-developer of the new application. “We have built this into Risk Manager by Ungerboeck and are grateful for the shared vision, passion, and global reach that Ungerboeck brings to help our industry manage risk.”

Steve Mackenzie, Executive Vice President of Ungerboeck, said the new application fills a void in the market.

“Over the past few years, several events have become major headlines for all the wrong reasons,” he said. “Think of the Manchester Arena bombing, the shooting in Las Vegas, or the Astroworld crowd incident. By offering this tool, we are ensuring venue and event operators are equipped to identify potential risks and produce the necessary tasks and reports to back up the process.”

Before joining the Ungerboeck family, Middleton’s risk management software was already used in venues across the Asia Pacific Region. Now thanks to Ungerboeck’s global reach, thousands of additional organizations will benefit.

“Qudos Bank Arena, along with the larger ASM Global operated venues throughout Australia, have held a license to the software for over seven years. It has been an important tool in helping us understand the risks that our venues encounter and ensure that we have taken appropriate measures to mitigate them,” said Steve Hevern CVE, General Manager of Qudos Band Arena. “We congratulate Wayne and Ungerboeck on this global partnership and look forward to more innovative technology that will help us continue to host safe and successful events.”

Middleton will continue in his role as Managing Director of Reliance Risk, and as a risk management consultant, setting the benchmark for best practices across the industry.

“We’ll build on the unique system that Wayne, a world-renowned risk management expert, has developed over the past decade,” Mackenzie said. “This is incredibly exciting for the market to finally have access to a dedicated risk management software.”

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

Pictured: Steve Mackenzie and Wayne Middleton

Jolene Herz has been named vice-president of booking for the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

Her role has been expanded to overseeing all live events at the venue and she will continue to report to Geni Lincoln, general manager and senior vice-president of live events. Herz has worked at the Kia Forum since 2016, when she was named booking manager, and was promoted to booking director in 2018.

“I’m honored to be recognized by my colleagues at the Kia Forum and couldn’t ask for a better team to work with,” Herz said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to expand the impressive list of artists and events we’ve brought to the venue and build upon the strong community we’ve created thus far.”

Herz started her live entertainment career as a booking assistant in the Los Angeles Live Nation office in 2000 before moving to Nederlander Concerts. She worked at the Kia Forum from 2007 to 2010, then returned to Live Nation before rejoining the Kia Forum in 2016.

“We are thrilled to announce this well-deserved promotion for Jolene as Vice President of Booking for the Kia Forum,” venue GM and SVP/Live Events Geni Lincoln said in a statement. “We are grateful for her many years of hard work and dedication to this iconic venue and are confident that she will bring her continued enthusiasm and diligence to the new role.”

Marquette University in Milwaukee has sold an 11-acre parcel of land to Bear Development, which plans on building a new sports and entertainment district that will be anchored by an 8,000-seat soccer-specific stadium.

Bear Development will serve as the master developer for the project and will work alongside Kacmarcik Enterprises on the plans. The land was purchased by Marquette University in 2014 and 2015 and is located to the northeast of the Marquette Interchange.

The new stadium will serve as the home of a professional soccer club, with Jim Kacmarcik, owner of Kacmarcik Enterprises, planning on launching a team in the city. The stadium will also be used by the University’s soccer and lacrosse teams.

The wider complex will include an indoor concert venue, a full-service hotel, multi-family residential housing, retail spaces, and food and beverage outlets. It is hoped the development will play a key role in linking Marquette University with downtown Milwaukee, with the district projected to create hundreds of new jobs and draw a million annual visitors.

Developers will demolish a vacant hotel building which currently sits on the site. Marquette Today, the university’s student newspaper, said that Marquette would have no financial or controlling interests in the sports and entertainment district, and will instead be a lessee in the stadium.

The indoor arena will have a capacity of 3,500 and will be operated by Pabst Theater Group, which manages a number of local concert halls. Kacmarcik Enterprises said that Pabst Theater Group will be joined by “one of the world’s premier concert promoters”.

Marquette University president, Michael Lovell, said: “This new development reimagines and promises to bring new life into a highly visible strategic corridor, presenting an exceptional opportunity to connect the Marquette University campus and Westown neighborhood with the Downtown Milwaukee renaissance.

“The economic revitalization and community pride this multi-purpose development will catalyze is something I am proud Marquette can help facilitate through the strategic sale of this important parcel of land. I look forward to cheering on our men’s and women’s lacrosse and soccer teams in their new competition venue.”

More details on Milwaukee’s planned soccer team are set to be released soon. Kacmarcik serves as the lead owner of Forward Madison FC, a USL League One franchise based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Kacmarcik added: “Milwaukee is one of the great sports cities in the United States, and we are excited to bring professional outdoor soccer to the community.”

By thestadiumbusiness.com

Global technology company JMA Wireless has acquired naming rights to the Carrier Dome, home of Syracuse University’s sports teams.

The 10-year deal rebrands the stadium as the JMA Wireless Dome, or the JMA Dome for short. It marks the first time the Carrier Dome’s naming rights have changed hands since the venue opened in 1980, with the university’s 40-year partnership with Carrier coming to an end last month.

Syracuse University said that JMA Wireless will support the Dome’s digital infrastructure transformation

by establishing “advanced connectivity offerings” for fans and other guests.

JMA Wireless was recently appointed to provide 5G equipment for SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. The company is also opening a new 5G campus in the City of Syracuse.

The university announced last month that it will embark on the next phase of its work to enhance, elevate and expand the experience at the Dome, which has a capacity of around 50,000 for football games.

The latest phase of renovations will build on the recently completed $118 million transformation of the stadium, which was funded entirely by the university and private philanthropy. These renovations included a new fixed roof, the largest vertically hung scoreboard in college sport, the installation of air conditioning and state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems.

The next phase of the renovations includes a complete reseating of the entire venue and the construction of an on-site and publicly accessible event facility.

Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud said: “This is an exciting moment for Syracuse University, Syracuse Athletics, and the broader Central New York-community. With JMA Wireless as our new naming partner, our campus community, student-athletes and fans alike can expect a world-class event experience, unlike anything they’ve ever seen before at Syracuse University.

“I am grateful to JMA founder and CEO John Mezzalingua for his partnership and vision. His investment in the City of Syracuse and Central New York will pay dividends for years to come in the form of economic vitality, career opportunities for local residents and cutting-edge technology innovation taking place in our region. We share JMA’s commitment to the City of Syracuse and Central New York and look forward to seeing the positive impact our partnership will have on our local community.”

Mezzalingua added: “Our company’s ties to the city and university run deep. I remember when Syracuse redefined college athletics with the Dome, a unique venue that ushered in a period of unprecedented success for Syracuse sports. With this partnership, we have an opportunity to lead once again.

“The Dome will have the most advanced 5G network of any collegiate stadium, connecting fans as never before. It will also enable powerful new augmented reality training systems, advanced coaching tools and sensor-based performance optimization to attract elite athletes and help Syracuse win. The JMA Dome has an incredibly bright future ahead, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”