By R.V. Baugus

Sam Dores, CVP, Director, Business Operations, Strategy and Development at ExtraMile Arena in Boise, ID, and one of IAVM’s hardest-working and most dedicated volunteers, sent an email the other day to share how the weekly IAVM blogs as well as the social media ask-and-answer VenueNet, has come to his aid recently. We will let Sam take it from here:

“I wanted to share a success story from the IAVM blogs. We found out late yesterday that we’ve been tasked with hosting a food distribution site in our parking lot in a few short days. Scrambling to find some ideas on how to run an event like this, I Googled, ‘IAVM food distribution site’ and had several IAVM blog stories come up – Berry Center, Alamodome, Fair Park, etc. I blindly reached out to each and Beth Wade (Berry Center) responded in minutes and then both Steve Zito and Eric Blockie from Alamodome gave me 10-15 minutes of their time. Couldn’t have done it without the original blog stories pointing me in the right direction (not to mention the always generous industry colleagues!)!

“I would also add that the outpouring of information provided on and off VenueNet has been tremendous as well! A lot of great responses and in-depth information both on the board and directly to my email.”

Don’t miss out on what Sam is talking about. As we all continue navigating through the pandemic and with 2021 looming around the corner, VenueNet is the go-to forum to ask your questions to your industry colleagues and peers. Many a testimonial has been shared about the value of VenueNet, so if you are not acquainted with it then by all means make it one of your 2021 resolutions.

As Sam mentioned, our weekly blogs will continue to tackle the news within our industry and especially how our valued IAVM members continue making huge differences in their communities.

Thank you, Sam, for the nice email to help us bid adieu (finally!) to 2020 and look with great optimism and anticipation toward the new year.

As a proud Alumna of the University of South Carolina, Brittany Martin is an ambitious and dedicated Event Professional with experience in conventions, large galas, and concert productions. Being detail oriented, embracing new and creative ideas, and bringing people together for life changing experiences is what drove her to the Event and Entertainment Industry. She is currently employed as an Event Manager at the Georgia World Congress Center. 

Join your Foundation in congratulating Brittany on being honored as one of the 30|UNDER|30 Class of 2020 and don’t forget to come back each Thursday as we spotlight another honoree!

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) has spent the past eight months working diligently with partner TwinLogic Strategies to advocate on behalf of all public assembly venues for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief, as well as expansion of the Save Our Stages Act to include a wider range of venues and venue operators, including government-owned venues.

The $900 Billion in new COVID relief funding passed by the House and Senate this week will include the much-needed subsidies and financial relief for which IAVM advocated.

“First, thank you to Congress for inserting our language into the bill and offering relief in the form of PPP to many of our public venues that are in dire need of financial support,”. stated Brad Mayne, CVE, IAVM President & CEO. “It’s certainly a step in the right direction, and we look forward to additional legislation to assist the professionals that serve their communities in these troubling times.  We urge President Trump to sign the current relief package without delay.”

Mayne further noted that public venues have served their communities during the pandemic as hospitals, homeless shelters, logistic hubs, polling locations, and more. “We are thankful for their continued service in these troubling times. Thank you to the many volunteers, staff and leadership who have been working diligently to secure some stimulus from Congress.”

IAVM leadership, members and staff conducted countless conversations and letter writing campaigns with congressional members, Treasury, and other federal leaders to urging modifications to the PPP to allow quasi-governmental live event venues to qualify for the program and secure a new covered category of Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) for nonprofit entities that are a State, or a political subdivision of a State (including any instrumentality of such entities), engaged in and deriving the majority of their operating budget from revenue attributable to, providing live events.

“At a time of so much upheaval in our venues with doors closing overnight, staff members being furloughed or laid off, show cancellations for the next 12-18 months and the uncertainty of the cost of the modifications needed to our venues when we re-open, we are gratified that many of our member venue types are included in this new stimulus package passed by Congress,” said Tammy Koolbeck, CVE, IAVM Past Board Chair.  “IAVM members have spent the last 8 months reaching out to congressional delegations in their states.  We want to thank the over 100 congressional staffers that participated in calls with our members so they could hear first hand the depth of our daily realities of the pandemic impact.  We were the first to close and will be among the last to open.  Publicly created venues were left out of the CARES Act so the funding provided in this stimulus package will provide some relief to those venues.  There will still be work to be done in the new year so that we leave no one behind.  Thank you to Congress for recognizing the value of the live event industry to our communities and our impact on the economy.”

IAVM will aid its members with the relief application process, and continues to advocate for the public assembly venue industry regarding all legislative actions.

For more information, please contact Amy Fitzpatrick, IAVM Director of Marketing, at (972) 538-1006 or by email at amy.fitzpatrick@iavm.org.

About IAVM: Representing public assembly venues from around the globe, IAVM’s more than 7,200 active members include managers and senior executives from auditoriums, arenas, convention centers, exhibit halls, stadiums, performing arts centers, university complexes, racetracks, and amphitheaters. IAVM’s mission is to educate, advocate for, and inspire public assembly venue professionals worldwide. More information about IAVM is available at www.iavm.org or via @IAVMWHQ

Ungerboeck has unveiled ‘We Will Event Again’, a powerful video campaign that reflects on the challenges faced by the event industry over the past 12 months.

The video opens with the difficulties venues and event professionals have experienced since the beginning of the global pandemic, before highlighting how the event industry adapted and innovated to create and deliver new event experiences.

“Never has our industry lived through such challenging times. Event professionals have had to be resilient through 2020 and we are proud to be part of such a strong community; one which we have belonged to for over 35 years. With virtual events getting tired, there is a significant pent-up demand for in-person events. The bounce back will be huge, and we will be there to support the industry and help our customers make up for the lost revenue, lost time, and lost connections,” says Manish Chandak, President & CEO of Ungerboeck.

Through this campaign, the technology provider recognizes the hard work and effort the industry has invested to reimagine events; sharing a reassuring statement that “we will meet again, we will exhibit again, we will conference again, we will cheer again, and we will event again.”

By Mary Klida

Earlier this month the naming rights sponsor for TCF Center, TCF National Bank, announced an anticipated merger with Huntington Bank. Once the merger is completed, TCF Center will bear the Huntington name along with a few other Midwest venues. The naming rights contract for the center will stay the same, only the name will change.

“The merger of these two partners will strengthen every community they call home, including Detroit. Together, they have pledged to bring jobs and programs that drive economic inclusion to Detroit,” said Claude Molinari, general manager of TCF Center/ASM Global. “We will welcome the Huntington name on our center.”

TCF paid $33 million over 22 years for the naming rights of the Detroit convention center in February 2019, making it the largest naming rights deal for a convention center at the time. With the removal of the TCF branding, the TCF Center — recently renamed in late 2019 — will be rebranded with the Huntington name. The merger is expected to close in the mid-2021.

“We are delighted by the news of the merger agreement between Huntington and TCF Bank and congratulate them.” said Larry Alexander, Chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA). “They are remarkable community partners. We look forward to a stronger future together.”

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated — the parent company of Huntington Bank — and TCF Financial Corporation — the parent company of TCF National Bank — announced Dec. 13 that the companies would combine in an all-stock merger, with a total market value of about $22 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, TCF will merge into Huntington sometime in mid-2021, and the combined holding company and bank will operate under the Huntington name and brand following the closing of the transaction.

“This partnership will provide us the opportunity for deeper investments in our communities, more jobs in Detroit, an increased commitment in Minneapolis and a better experience for our customers,” said Gary Torgow, executive chairman of TCF Financial Corporation. “We will be a top regional bank, with the scale to compete and the passion to serve. Merging with the Huntington platform will be a great benefit to all of our stakeholders and will drive significant opportunities for our team members.”

As the launch of the venue rebrand approaches in 2021, the TCF Center sales and events team will be in close conversation with customers. Rebranded materials will be sent prior to their events, as was done in 2019 with anticipation of the name change to TCF Center.

Mary Klida is Senior Marketing & Communications Manager at TCF Center.