By R.V. Baugus

July 21, 2021 marked the return of the first live World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW since March of 2020. In the interim, WWE bounced around locations in Orlando and Tampa where it held matches under the heading of the Thunderdome with fans shown virtually watching the action. But let’s face it, there is nothing like the real thing.

With that, I asked lifelong friend Max Fincher to join me in taking in that first action right here in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. It would be my first attendance at a live event the size of what the crowd would be in Dallas that night. The buzz in the arena was palpable as fans for the first time in months got to actually see their favorite (and non-favorite) wrestlers up close and personal.

Prior to the matches, Max and I grabbed a seat at the bar at the Hero restaurant and bar located just outside the arena’s south entrance. Across from us, a gentleman was waxing, well, not so eloquently, about the card for that night’s matches as well as asking anyone within earshot to name their favorite wrestler. He and his lady friend were like most of the crowd wearing WWE swag. I felt out of place in a rather tame and non-descript short sleeve shirt.

We met up with the two on our way out the bar where again he asked me to name my favorite wrestler while also telling a buddy of his that I knew more wrestling names through the years than his buddy, which I am still trying to decide was a compliment or insult.

First thing you obviously notice in our “new normal” of spectating at live events happens upon entrance. Say goodbye to hard tickets, which I have a very hard time saying goodbye to, as witnessed by ticket stubs I still have from as early as the 1980s. If one does not have a grasp on phone technology and how to present an “admittance stub” via phone, one is basically out of luck and needs to get some fast training because this is how it is going to be going forward.

The entrance lines moved rather slow as folks were still figuring out the technology and how to present their ticket, but I anticipate over time that will dissipate as fans become familiar with all the nuances.
At first, I thought that Max and I were heading to the world’s longest concession line, until I realized it was actually a massive throng gathered to buy more swag of their favorite grapplers at the merchandise stand. Being away from live action for months encouraged people to open their wallets, as that line snaked quite a way on the concourse.

But find a concession stand we did. It was already in the making, but concessions are another part of the live venue experience turning fully to payment by card. The pandemic only rushed the process. I am proud to share as I always proclaim that American Airlines Center serves the best popcorn anywhere, and they still do. There is one difference, however. The popcorn is already bagged and placed in a bucket for the consumer to then open the bag and pour into the bucket, thus cutting out the middle man. Think of the ads on pizza boxes saying sealed by the pie place and opened by the purchaser. It’s the same principle.

The arena was packed for the show, and like any wrestling event I have been to included people of all ages, races, and ethnicities. It is one of the great happenings of attending a live event where people from all backgrounds come together to cheer or jeer their protagonist or antagonist.

A glance around the arena revealed most elected to not “mask up” than to mask. A feature that ran in our own Venue Professional magazine months ago was written by an architect that included diagrams of how venues in the future would have seating “pods” to accommodate social distancing. The distant future, perhaps, for on this night it was impossible to socially distance with a capacity crowd. The more I think about it, the only thing fit for a pod is peas. Lighten up, folks, I have my two vaccines and adhere to the rules and regs of where I am. I hope and pray we never have to get to a point to sit in pods, but if we do … I am
good with it.

When one is at a pro wrestling match and has the appropriate food and drink de jour of beer and popcorn, one has the need to visit the men’s room. Nothing really different happening in there, either, other than some short lines in front of the sinks for guys waiting to wash/sanitize their hands. This is obviously a good thing.

All felt safe and secure throughout the night. The fans had a raucous, good time, and got to get back out and experience the bond of live entertainment.

Oh, as for the matches (and you will just have to trust me on this), the show ended as Nikki A.S.H. (stands for Almost a Super Hero) in her costume get-up, cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to enter the ring and defeat “Queen” Charlotte Flair (yes, the daughter of the one and only Nature Boy Ric Flair) to capture the RAW Women’s Championship. She celebrated with the fans around ringside, who were totally down with the win.

It was also great to see the return of clever signs in the stands. A guy named Rick that I met in the past is often seen seated ringside with the greatest of signs. He was there for the matches, of course, and was ready to hold up a sign when villain Jinder Mahal was blathering on in the ring accompanied by his evil henchman Veer and Shanky. It was obviously Jinder’s birthday, because Rick’s sign read “Happy Birthday Jinder. You still suck.” Such love in the crowd.

Then there was the one held by a fan that stated simply “Boogs = Ratings.” OK, I know what you gutter minds are thinking, but rocker Rick Boogs comes out to strum a mean guitar before introducing his friend, Shinsake Nakamura. Listen to it sometime. You’ll be humming it trying to go to sleep.

In all, an evening not to be forgotten, and further demonstration to the value of live events as we try our best to return to some semblance of normalcy in a still ever-evolving pandemic world.

A big shout out to our friends Dave Brown, Ken Kuhl, and others over at the AAC for not only being the chosen site for the first live RAW in months, but for the great work they did on that night to make the evening safe, secure, and pleasurable for every person who entered through the doors. You all are the true pros.

The University of West Florida in Pensacola announced that Gil Fried has joined the faculty in the College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS), starting in the fall 2021 semester. Professor Fried will not just teach sport management courses, but will also Chair the Administration & Law Department, which includes sport management, construction management, public administration, and legal studies.

Professor Fried Joins UWF after spending 22 years at the University of New Haven (UNH). While at UNH, Professor Fried became a major national figure in the sports safety area working on topics such as foul ball safety, crowd management best practices, and buffer zone safety in various sports. He has taught thousands of students in classes such as sport law, sport facility management, sport finance, and event management.

Professor Fried is also a prolific author, including contributing to Venue Professional magazine in the Venue Doctors column. He has written over 12 textbooks on topics such as sport law, sport facility management, sport finance, sport analytics, and even Esport business management. His textbooks are currently used at over 140 universities throughout the United States as well as being translated into various language such as Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

While Professor Fried has had a strong academic focus, he is often best known for his work outside the classroom. He has served on various boards both with for profit corporations and nonprofit organizations. For example, he is on the Executive Board of the National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS) where he helps lead over 60 million young Americans who participate in youth sports. He also has worked on some of the most important sport law cases over the last 30 years ranging from deaths at stadiums to nationally regarded cases involving assaults and injuries at both major and minor sports, entertainment, and recreation venues.

“I am so happy to be part of a team where I can leverage not just my sport management background, but also my legal background with UWF’s nationally ranked legal studies program, my facility management background with our construction management program, and my experience working with cities/counties for UWF’s public administration degree,” said Professor Fried.

CEPS Dean, Dr. William Crawley said, “[W]e are so excited to have someone with Professor Fried’s knowledge, experience, and background joining us. He can leverage our existing resources and faculty, and help grow stakeholder engagement and partnership opportunities to help our students and the programs thrive.”

For additional information or to reach Professor Fried directly you can reach him at gfried@uwf.edu or 850-474-3246.

Zachary Sloman has been promoted to Director of Booking & Marketing at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, an ASM Global managed facility. In his expanded role, Sloman will lead all booking and marketing efforts at Virginia’s largest arena located on the campus of University of Virginia. “I’m elated to continue to bring world-class acts to Central Virginia and the University of Virginia” Sloman said. “John Paul Jones Arena has been my home for the past 6.5 years and I’m excited to perpetuate its already stellar reputation.”

Sloman, a member of the IAVM 30|Under|30 Class of 2018, has been with ASM Global/John Paul Jones Arena for the past 6.5 years playing an integral part of the arena’s record-breaking 2019 which brought in various acts including Mumford & Sons, Ariana Grande, Panic! At The Disco, Cardi B, Twenty One Pilots and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Prior to ASM Global, Sloman was with FELD Entertainment as well as Orlando Venues.

ASM Global is the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences. It is the global leader in venue and event strategy and management – delivering locally tailored solutions and cutting-edge technologies to achieve maximum results for venue owners. The company’s elite venue network spans five continents, with a portfolio of more than 325 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centres, and performing arts venues.

By CEIR

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released two additional case studies from its Global Virtual Event Trends series, sponsored by Swapcard, that examines insights among organizations that traditionally run or manage in-person business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions that pivoted to producing virtual events due to constraints and regulations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The newest additions to the series, Case Study: North Star Travel Group and Case Study: Auto Care Association provide real world examples of how each organization adapted its events to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of their strategies and valuable lessons learned throughout the process.

“Both case studies offer unique perspectives,” said CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “Northstar Travel’s CEO discusses the organization’s multichannel product mix and how it has been used to strategic advantage. The Auto Care Association’s approach was intentionally narrow, generating positive benefits for future attendee acquisition efforts, impactful product demonstration opportunities for exhibitors and strengthening member connection with the organization.”

Reports in the series include:

Report One – Anatomy of Virtual Events and Financial Outcomes, which details extensive baseline data on elements that are typically included in a virtual event, as well as performance outcomes regarding participation and financially.

Report Two – Lessons Learned To Date and Technologies Used synthesizes open-ended comments shared by executives on lessons learned and technology to run their virtual events.

Previously released case studies detailing real world applications and findings include:

Case Study: School Nutrition Association
Case Study: Radiological Society of North America
Case Study: Macgregor Communications
Case Study: North American Veterinary Community (NAVC)

Through the generous financial support from Swapcard, CEIR’s Global Virtual Event Trends series reports are available to the industry at no cost from CEIR’s website. The survey for the series fielded in October 2020. It was multilingual, giving respondents the choice of completing the survey in English, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic.

“This research was made possible through the collaboration and support from over a dozen organizations who produce B2B exhibitions and/or represent the global B2B exhibitions industry,” noted CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “CEIR is grateful to all who participated for enabling us to provide insights based on objective, unbiased research that will help members of our industry confidently move forward with their own strategies.”

The sample was generated via the participation of multiple organizations globally, which invited qualified members and contacts to participate in this initiative. A total of 463 executives responded to the invitation to participate in the study, of which 346 were qualified to participate and completed the survey. The response rate is seven percent, and total percentage results provide statistically reliable results of plus or minus five percent or better, at the 95% interval.

To download the reports at nost cost, click here.

From JacksonvilleIcemen.com and R.V. Baugus

The Jacksonville Icemen, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, are pleased to announce today that the team has named Nick Luukko as the team’s new Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.

If the name is familiar, Nick is the son of venue management icon Peter Luukko, who currently serves as executive chairman with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League and serves on their Board of Governors. Luukko is most known in the industry having served as president and chief operating officer of Comcast Spectacor, Luukko was the long-serving president of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, a position he held until December 2013. In February 2014, Luukko accepted a position on the board of Pointstreaks, a sports technology company. He then joined the Florida Panthers as executive chairman in February 2015.

Nick Luukko, 29, becomes the second head coach in Jacksonville Icemen history, after serving the past two years as an assistant coach with the Reading Royals (ECHL). Luukko helped guide the Royals to an impressive 37-17-6 record during the 2019-20 regular season.

“I am extremely honored to be the next head coach of the Jacksonville Icemen,” Luukko said. “The passion and commitment that Andy Kaufmann and Bob Ohrablo have for building a successful franchise is extraordinary. I would like to thank the Icemen Family for providing me the opportunity to lead Jacksonville to future successful seasons and the ultimate goal of winning a Kelly Cup. I would also like to thank the Reading Royals and Kirk MacDonald for giving me the opportunity to be a player, captain and assistant coach in the organization. Their support over the last six years has led me to where I am today.”

As a player, Luukko played four seasons as a defenseman with Reading totaling 87 points, the most all-time by a Royals defenseman. Luukko showed his leadership capabilities as he served as an alternate captain for the Royals for two seasons before being named the team’s captain during the 2018-2019 season. He also made seven American Hockey League (AHL) appearances with the Leigh Valley Phantoms. during his career. Luukko won Clark Cup Championship with the Dubuque Fighting Saints during the 2010-2011 season.

Luukko joins the Icemen after the team’s previous head coach Jason Christie accepted an assistant coach position with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres in late July after four seasons in Jacksonville.

“We are through the roof excited to welcome an up-and-coming coach in the hockey world to our Icemen Family,” said CEO of Zawyer Sports Andy Kaufmann. “During our search, Nick’s name kept coming up in the hockey world as a strong coaching candidate. Nick is as excited about our organization as we are about him. This is the next step for us to in becoming a perennial force in the league and for our quest to bring a Kelly Cup to Jacksonville.”

The West Chester, PA resident, Luukko, was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In addition, he played four seasons at the University of Vermont from 2011-2013.

“Nick has been a consummate professional over his six years as a Royal,” said Reading Royals Head Coach Kirk MacDonald. “From a rookie pro player to a trusted staff member and friend, he has been integral part of our organization on and off the ice. His detailed knowledge of the game and ability to relate to players will serve him well in his new role as head coach. We are excited to see him take the next step in his coaching career, and wish him nothing but the best!”