By Julian Bowman

The Dallas City Council approved referendum language to increase the Hotel Occupancy Tax by two percent. If approved by voters in November, this referendum will fund an expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison
Convention Center and upgrade six important venues at Fair Park.

“We are grateful for the work and support of dozens of diverse organizations who formed a coalition to advocate for the vote today,” said Brian Luallen, CEO of Fair Park First. “We are also grateful for the bold leadership of our city council. We now look to the citizens of Dallas to vote for this much-needed investment in our history and tourism economy come November.”

The expected $300 million investment in Fair Park will renovate Cotton Bowl Stadium, Fair Park Band Shell, Fair Park Coliseum, Music Hall, the Automobile Building, and Centennial Hall. These six venues were approved by the Dallas Park and Recreation Board earlier this month.

Fair Park First has engaged Overland Partners Architects to conduct a facility needs assessment. Overland has worked in seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, received more than 200 international, national, regional, and local design awards, and published in numerous national and international publications. Plans based on the assessment will be released in the coming weeks.

Julian Bowman is Sr. Director of Marketing for OVG360 | Fair Park | Cotton Bowl® Stadium.

ASM Global has claimed a first for the live events industry with the launch of a facial verification network in partnership with technology provider PopID.

The network was rolled out at Pechanga Arena (pictured), as the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls faced off against the Abbotsford Canucks.

The deployment comes following a multi-year investment by ASM Global to “redefine” the return of live events by creating seamless and secure experiences.

PopID’s network will form part of a digital transformation taking place across ASM Global’s more than 300 arenas, stadiums, theatres, and convention centers around the world. As part of the rollout, ASM Global will also provide premium ticket holders with benefits and amenities to deliver an enhanced VIP guest experience.

PopID’s unique connected infrastructure, which includes payments, terminals and point-of-sale integrations, is designed to streamline consumer transactions, irrespective of the payment method or network they cross.

The technology will soon begin verifying payments and authenticating tickets via a fan’s face at numerous other venues. Upcoming deployments include the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California; Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai; and Toyota Arena in Ontario.

Ron Bension, chief executive and president of ASM Global, said: “The deployment of this technology in our venues represents the beginning of a revolutionary change in the entertainment world.

“The PopID platform will allow us to eliminate the dependence on cards and phones at our events and ensure that every guest interaction is secure, speedy, and seamless.”

John Miller, chief executive of PopID and chairman of Cali Group, added: “We are excited to partner with ASM and take the initial steps to truly revolutionize the event experience of the future with highly secure, phoneless entry and digital payments.

“When customers opt to enroll in our platform, they’ll be able to enter the venue by requesting facial verification at the gate – instead of having to rely on a QR code on their phone.

“The seamless experience will continue at concession stands, where a guest can choose to ‘check in’ with facial verification at the point of sale, enabling them to instantly see personalized food and beverage recommendations and order and pay without the need for IDs, credit cards, or phones.”

ASM Global has appointed Charles Beirne as general manager of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. Beirne has worked at the company since 2006, most recently as general manager of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in California.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center is undergoing a $1.3 billion expansion project. Improvements include an extension of the main exhibit hall for a total of 350,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, a new 65,000-square-foot ballroom facing the Intracoastal Waterway, an additional 50,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and an 800-room connecting upscale headquarter hotel operated by Omni Hotels.

“After overseeing a $60 million capital improvement project at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Charlie is the perfect candidate to manage the exciting new expansion at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center,” said ASM Global Executive Vice President, Convention Centers, Bob McClintock. “He also led the opening of the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas, so he is uniquely qualified to bring his expertise to this vital development project in Broward County.”

Beirne has 16 years of experience and also served as the general manager of the Atlantic City Convention Center, a position he held from 2006 to 2012. As general manager of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center since 2012, he spearheaded an expansion project that featured the renovation of the center’s 13,500-seat arena.

“I am deeply honored for this next-step opportunity in my ASM career, one that will allow me to move back to the East Coast where I started my career,” Beirne said. “I look forward to working closely with our clients and municipal partners in Broward County to support the hospitality community and provide customized solutions that are the hallmark of ASM. I’m excited to work with Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, and our convention center leadership team to leverage ASM Global’s industry-leading innovations to deliver exceptional experiences for organizers, attendees, and exhibitors.”

“Our convention center expansion makes Greater Fort Lauderdale highly competitive in the national meetings landscape, and we are delighted to be working with Charlie as we move toward the project’s completion in 2025,” Ritter said. “His experience with expansion projects and openings of major convention centers is the perfect complement to our sales and marketing teams, and we’re all excited to welcome him to the destination.”

By NBA.com

Nic Barlage has been named Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and Rock Entertainment Group. Barlage formerly served as the President of Business Operations for the organization and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Entertainment Group.

Barlage replaces former CEO, Len Komoroski, who stepped away from his role following the conclusion of the Cavs’ 2021-22 season following 19 years of leadership with the organization.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a Chairman in Dan Gilbert and a Family of Companies that have created and support an inspiring culture that embraces innovation, imagination, curiosity, the value of people, and decision making always focused on doing the right thing. Collectively, we can make the greatest impact possible within the communities that we serve,” Barlage said. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to have the opportunity to lead the business operations for a dynamic organization that shares such a special bond with our community and partners. We look forward to an exciting future and building on the strong foundation that Len Komoroski and all of our hard-working team members, past and present, helped establish. We will continue to strive for outcomes that make our team, fans, and partners proud.”

“We are excited to elevate Nic to CEO and for him to lead the Cavaliers business operation and our great team of people across our organization,” said Cavaliers Chairman Dan Gilbert. “The Cavaliers are in excellent position for high-level success both on and off the court. This is in large part due to the caliber of people like Nic that are leading, collaborating, and growing our relationships and business across every aspect of Rock Entertainment Group and the Cavs organization. Nic is both an exceptional, community-minded leader, and a great teammate. For several years now, he has been at the core of decision-making, innovation and growth for the Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and we are very pleased to have him at the helm of our business operations group while we all look forward to continuing the great momentum that has been established.”

Barlage rejoined the Cavaliers in 2017 as President of Business Operations and was named COO for Rock Entertainment Group when that entity was established in 2021. He was previously part of the organization for five seasons starting in 2008 and continuing through 2014 when, as the Vice President of Sales and Service, he departed to join the NBA’s Phoenix Suns for three seasons as their Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer.

Rock Entertainment Group is the umbrella entity of the teams and venues that are part of Cleveland Cavaliers Chairman Dan Gilbert’s Rock Family of Companies. It includes the NBA Cavaliers, the AHL Cleveland Monsters, the NBA G League Cleveland Charge and Cavs Legion of the NBA 2K League; and the operation of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Legion Lair Lit by TCP home of Cavs Legion in Cleveland and Cleveland Clinic Courts – the Cavaliers’ training and development center in Independence, Ohio.

By Emily Eades

As the largest in-person tradeshow hosted at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) since the onset of the pandemic, Design and Construction Week, held Feb. 8-10, 2022, left a lasting impact on a local non-profit agency.

The co-located National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show® (IBS) and the
Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), owned by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), featured
1,200 exhibitors, occupying 750,000 net square feet of exhibit space and 70,000 energized attendees and
provided $180 million in economic impact in the community.

The co-located tradeshows generously donated $13,300 in kitchen, bathroom, living room, and outdoor
furniture to West Orange Habitat for Humanity. The OCCC is collaborating with West Orange Habitat for Humanity to ensure the donations go towards building stronger and more sustainable neighborhoods for families in Orange County.

The donations consisted of gently used household goods and building materials from exhibitors and booths on display during Design and Construction Week, which were sent to the ReStore in Winter Garden.

Trade shows held at the OCCC this year provided nearly $250,000 worth of donations to West Orange Habitat for Humanity.

For organizations like West Orange Habitat for Humanity, trade shows and conventions are traditionally a
reliable source of donations. Items donated by events like Design and Construction Week are used in the
construction of local homes to benefit the organization’s mission of building decent and affordable housing in Orange County.

The Center of Hospitality continues to support local organizations to benefit the local economy and remains committed to doing Business Better than Usual.

Emily Eades is Public Relations/Information Officer | Marketing & Communications for the Orange County Convention Center.