By Ian Cox

Kentucky Venues, which operates the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center, announced a new partnership with Spectra to expand sponsorship and client-building opportunities across the state and generate new revenue sources.

Spectra Partnerships – a major division of Spectra, an industry leader in live events and entertainment – will serve as KY Venues’ sales consulting agency. The team will be responsible for identifying and cultivating naming rights and corporate sponsorships for the sixth largest convention center in the U.S. – Kentucky Exposition Center, and one of North America’s newly renovated and LEED Silver – Kentucky International Convention Center to generate new revenue sources.

“Kentucky Venues is in the business of generating economic impact for our city and state. We want to use our resources wisely to attract new clients and build partnerships with sponsors,” David S. Beck, president and CEO of Kentucky Venues, said. “We’re excited to work with the professionals at Spectra, leaning on their expertise and experience to help improve events and generate revenue at both of our facilities.”

Spectra Partnerships will also focus on six annual, signature events that are owned and produced by Kentucky Venues: the Kentucky State Fair, World’s Championship Horse Show, National Farm Machinery Show, Championship Tractor Pull, North American International Livestock Exposition, and North American Championship Rodeo.

“We are thankful that the State of Kentucky has entrusted Spectra to represent the commonwealth throughout this important campaign, as well as offered the opportunity to work with a visionary leader like David Beck,” Bryan Furey, senior vice president, Spectra Partnerships, said. “With two major venues and six quintessential events, Kentucky Venues engaged Spectra to evaluate the available assets and outline a far-reaching strategy for building meaningful, long-term partnerships. We’re eager to begin identifying potential naming rights partners in Louisville, regionally and across the state who recognize the value of this remarkable compilation of venues and signature events.”

Spectra Partnerships – which has secured more than 40 naming rights partnerships in the last 10 years, more than any other company in the space – is a leader in sales representation and strategic consulting for convention centers, sports facilities, and entertainment properties across North America and globally. Its experienced sales team drives revenue via the marketing and sale of naming rights, corporate partnerships, advertising, premium seating, and hospitality initiatives. Spectra provides a blend of management, hospitality, and partnerships services for top-tier clients like the City of Miami Beach and Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, as well as more than 150 properties, such as Navy Pier, Duke Energy Convention Center, Owensboro Sportscenter, and the Iowa Events Center complex.

Ian Cox is Executive Director of Communications for Kentucky Venues based in Louisville.

IAVM is please to announce Trudy Bourgeois, Founder and CEO of the Center for Workforce Excellence, as this year’s ENCORE keynote speaker!

Trudy is one of America’s leading experts on transformational leadership and a highly regarded leader in the field of leadership and diversity and inclusion and will be speaking at ENCORE on understanding and overcoming unconscious bias. An expert at developing managers and leaders on how to unleash the greatest potential of every employee, she and her firm are known for building inclusive leaders that can create inclusive cultures, leading to better business results.

Named “Best and Brightest Women Leaders” by Dollars and Sense Magazine, Trudy has a rare ability to tackle very difficult subjects such as race and bias without triggering negative emotions. Drawing on her own life’s experience of being born into segregation, she operates from a principle that “everyone has something to learn” on the journey to accepting each other across differences and building workplaces that are truly inclusive.

ENCORE, IAVM’s new annual virtual conference and trade show, will be held Oct0ber 5-6, 2021.  Registration is now open, so save your spot today!

Recently, a Shuttered Venue Operator Grant (SVOG) survey was sent to members who identified as the primary contact for their venues.  We received almost 100 replies.  Thank you to the members who responded. 

We were asking a few questions for all members who applied for SVOG in order to better help members who were writing appeals or asking for budget reconsiderations.  We were looking for similar venues, organizational structure and venue ownership so we could match up venues in need of assistance.

Now, we need this information to help TwinLogic Solutions (TLS) advocate for our members with the SBA and congressional offices on two fronts: 1) those who were declined and 2) advocating for excess SVOG funds to stay with those eligible for this program as the delta variant is becoming an issue with tours being postponed/cancelled either nationally or locally due to the inability to mandate vaccinations or masks.  If there are excess funds, we want to keep them in SVOG instead of going to other places.

Data is very important for our advocacy efforts.  TLS uses this information (anonymously unless we have your permission) to advocate for our members with congressional offices and federal agencies.

If you did not fill out the survey OR if your status has changed since you filled out the survey the last time, please click this link and complete this quick survey. 

Tammy Koolbeck, CVE

Advocacy/Industry Affairs Committee

By 313 Presents

KultureCity, an organization recognized nationwide for using resources to revolutionize and effect change in the community for those with sensory needs, has named Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena the 2021 Sensory Inclusive Venue of the Year. The award was presented at the KultureBALL in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, August 21.

All events hosted at Little Caesars Arena are sensory inclusive, and promote an accommodating and positive experience for guests and fans with sensory needs. Sensory sensitivities or challenges with sensory regulation are often experienced by individuals with autism, dementia, PTSD and other similar conditions.

In addition to Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, Fox Theatre, DTE Energy Music Theatre, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre and Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre are all KultureCity certified.

“Providing a comfortable and inclusive experience for fans and guests is a top priority at all of our venues,” said Chris Granger, Group President, Sports & Entertainment, Ilitch Holdings, Inc. “We support KultureCity’s tremendous mission and look forward to partnering with them for years to come.”

Through the certification process, event staff are trained by leading medical professionals to recognize guests and fans with sensory needs and how best to handle sensory overload situations. Those overwhelmed by the environment may be provided with sensory bags equipped with noise canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and weighted lap pads. Access to quieter and more secure environments are also available.

“Our communities shape our lives and it’s been so enlightening to see Little Caesars Arena go the extra mile to ensure an inclusive and adaptable environment,” said Uma Srivastava, Executive Director of KultureCity. “We’re honored to partner with Olympia Entertainment, and are excited that Little Caesars Arena is the honoree of the 2021 Sensory Inclusive Venue of the Year.”

Former Sensory Inclusive Venue of the Year award winners include Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in 2019, Orlando’s Camping World Stadium in 2018 and Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena in 2017.

By Chrissy Deal

Raleigh Convention Center and its in-house caterer, Centerplate, have introduced “A Seat at the Table: Southern Cuisine Featuring North Carolina’s Women and BIPOC Farmers and Food Producers,” a new menu featuring products grown and raised by small-scale farmers in North Carolina.

Phil Evans, executive chef at Centerplate, spent a portion of the last year sourcing ingredients from farms across the state, selecting foods that not only enhance the menu, but also help tell the story of farmers historically underrepresented — those who are female and belong to BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). This marks the first time every menu offering features something produced at one of those farms.

No other convention center menu in the U.S. is known to have prioritized female and BIPOC producers in this way.

As he put the finishing touches on the new menus, Chef Phil spent three weeks personally visiting the farms represented. They include:

America’s Best Nut Co, which offers gourmet peanuts roasted in Rocky Mount;

Hines Family Farms, growing fresh vegetables in Jacksonville;

Fogwood Farms in Reidsville, producing mushrooms and other produce;

Pine Knot Farms, a certified organic farm in Hurdle Mills;

New Ground Farms, growing heirloom and hybrid vegetables in Pembroke;

Paradox Farms, a creamery making cheese outside of Carthage;

Peggy Rose Pepper Jelly from Wake Forest;

Grass Grazed Farms, livestock raised in Northern Durham using ethical practices and regenerative grazing;

Sweet Pea Urban Garden, growing microgreens and vegetable shoots near downtown Raleigh; and

MG3 Farms, a hydroponic farm in Prospect.

“This isn’t simply delicious food — it’s food with a story,” said Kerry Painter, CVE,executive director of Raleigh Convention + Performing Arts Complex. “As visitors continue to return to downtown Raleigh, we’re excited to offer a first-class menu that sets us apart from other venues, of course. But we’re especially proud to be able to introduce those visitors to the people behind the flavors. Chef Phil chose products from small, family farms where quality is more important than quantity. The love and care they put into their products comes through with every bite.”

“I grew up working in the dirt, gardening with my mother,” Chef Phil said. “The vegetables we grew in our backyard were infinitely more delicious than anything we could have purchased from a large-scale store. And during my time in the restaurant industry, I’ve seen too often how smaller farmers — especially women and BIPIOC farmers — are repeatedly overlooked. I’ve met some incredible people across North Carolina who are producing amazing foods. They deserve to be showcased, and our guests deserve to taste the best of the best.”

The “A Seat at the Table: Southern Cuisine Featuring North Carolina’s Women and BIPOC Farmers and Food Producers” menu is the latest in the Convention Center’s efforts to bring more sustainable and socially conscious practices to its operations. The Center is home to gardens that are irrigation- and pesticide-free, and feature beehives and native grasses and perennials. Honey produced by the bees is already incorporated in drink and food offerings. By composting with Raleigh-based CompostNow, the Center has a 40 percent average landfill diversion rate, keeping more than 150,000 lbs. of food out of the landfill since 2017. That compost is then donated to the Camden Street Learning Garden operated by the Inter-faith Food Shuttle.

Chrissy Deal is Communications Director at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Pictured: Sue Hunter of Paradox Farms Creamery; Donald Hines of Hines Family Farm