By Maren Dougherty

The San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) is the first of Centerplate’s North American venues to achieve the Rise SAFE hygiene verification label for food and beverage services. Rise SAFE is managed by Centerplate’s parent company, Sodexo, and Bureau Veritas, an independent world leader in testing, inspection, and certification.

To earn the label, General Manager Bobby Ramirez and his team passed a site audit and protocol review covering 36 checkpoints in four core areas: process, people/training, facilities, and hygiene/cleaning. The team demonstrated 100% compliance across these areas.

“We’ve been preparing and serving food seven days a week throughout the pandemic to support Operation Shelter to Home. Through this steady operation, we have fine-tuned our measures for staff training, physical distancing, cleaning, and PPE. Consequently, we had all necessary requirements in place well before going through the Rise SAFE review and site inspection,” Ramirez said. “We are confident in our ability to safely cater corporate and private events as soon as that activity resumes.”

The Rise SAFE label follows an accreditation SDCC received in July from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC). SDCC was among the first convention centers in the United States to achieve the GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation, which requires a stringent program for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention. Centerplate’s protocols also contributed to this third-party process.

“Centerplate has been an incredible partner throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Their success in meeting or exceeding all standards of this Rise SAFE program is just one more demonstration of their thorough and careful commitment to safety,” said Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe, CVE, SDCC’s President and CEO.

Maren Dougherty is Director, Marketing & Communications for the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

By Kristi Mexia

Willow, the world’s leading provider of digital twin technology, is partnering with Hollywood Park, a new, nearly 300-acre sports and entertainment destination in Inglewood, California, being developed by Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. The agreement stretches across SoFi Stadium, which will be the first major stadium to implement digital twin technology in the U.S. Using big data gathered from every aspect of the stadium and surrounding development, Willow will create a virtual copy of the facility to deliver an unprecedented level of analytical insight to create a truly world-class fan, resident and guest experience along with optimized levels of sustainability and future-proofing.

Digital twins, first developed by NASA for space exploration, are a bleeding-edge technology that converts all quantifiable aspects of physical buildings into living, learning and evolving virtual replicas. It is the most intuitive way to store, organize and access the incredible amount of data generated by complex smart buildings, allowing owners, facility managers and built environment professionals real-time insights to strategize and optimize every aspect of a building’s operations. Importantly, the system becomes more robust over time with the addition of new data.

“Our goal is to deliver a new type of fan and visitor experience, and to do that, we need a comprehensive, data-driven view into how all the pieces of this project connect,” said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “For such a large-scale and complex asset like a stadium, this is a pivotal undertaking. Willow’s Digital Twin will enable us to collect and analyze real-time big data across the lifecycle of the development, from construction to ongoing operations.”

SoFi Stadium is setting a new bar for smart buildings in the sports and entertainment sector. Designed to be a sustainable, future-forward facility for years to come, the venue is the new, joint home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams and will also host a variety of events throughout the year. Willow’s comprehensive solution, used by some of the world’s most prominent real estate owners, will enable SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park’s operators to gain complete transparency and a single source of truth on data from across the facility’s complex systems. By accessing this data, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park will be able to solve problems before they happen, manage risk and identify previously impossible integrated strategies.

“By accessing data that was once lost between project phases or in multiple systems, Willow can assist SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park in identifying opportunities they never knew they had,” said Shaun Klann, President and Global Head of Real Estate at Willow. “Stadiums are an amazing opportunity to apply the lessons we have learned in commercial real estate, but on a much larger scale. It’s an incredibly exciting project and we are honored to partner with the ambitious and innovative team at SoFi Stadium.”

At present, SoFi Stadium is slated to host Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the College Football Championship Game in 2023 and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Located on the site of a former racetrack, the approximately 70,000-seat stadium will serve as the centerpiece of the state-of-the-art, reimagined Hollywood Park, featuring a full live-work-play experience, from retail, offices, hospitality, residential units and outdoor park spaces.

SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park was represented by Legends Global Partnerships division, which sourced, negotiated and represented SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park in securing this partnership.

Kristi Mexia is Director, Corporate Communications for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

By Tyler Koonce

Henderson Engineers, a national building systems design firm with more than 800 employees nationwide, welcomes Chris Constant, PE, as director of code consulting within Henderson’s fire and life safety group. Constant is a fire protection engineering veteran with more than a decade of industry experience.

“Chris brings a wealth of knowledge from his involvement on a wide variety of complex projects,” said Paul Villotti, Henderson’s director of fire protection engineering. “He will continue to expand the services and direction of the fire and life safety team by providing the best solutions to challenging building and fire code problems.”

Constant is a licensed fire protection engineer with expertise in code analysis, fire and smoke modeling, egress modeling, fire resistive analysis of structure steel elements, and developing building code variances for alternate design approaches.

“We are excited that our great clients will now have access to the knowledge and problem-solving abilities Chris features to solve life safety and code issues on their projects,” said Chris Culp, Henderson’s director of fire and life safety.

Constant earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering at Kansas State University, where he was a member of the Society of American Military Engineers, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Architectural Engineering Institute. Clients can reach him at chris.constant@hendersonengineers.com.

Henderson’s fire and life safety group is one of the largest in the industry with more than 50 engineering experts. Henderson fire protection engineers know design, life safety technology, and construction. Our diverse group of fire protection specialists includes licensed engineers with backgrounds in fire protection, mechanical, chemical, civil, and architectural engineering; NICET certified technicians; and fire service professionals. We provide thought leadership and expertise on multiple code and standards technical committees for the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other national organizations.

Tyler Koonce is Communications Manager for Henderson Engineers.

By MLB.com

Major League Baseball and RB, the makers of Lysol, today announced a new multi-year partnership to help reinforce and promote healthy habits and disinfection protocols for the league’s players, staff, and fans. The partnership will leverage Lysol’s 130 years of germ kill expertise and innovation to help maintain a high standard of healthy habits and hygiene for MLB personnel across the league, during both games and training sessions.

As MLB concludes its 2020 season and looks toward the first pitch of the 2021 campaign next spring, disinfection and germ prevention will continue to be top of mind to help protect those in ballparks across the league. MLB’s partnership with Lysol will include multiple touchpoints and areas of focus over the coming seasons, including:

• Disinfecting Protocols, Best Practices and Germ-Kill Expertise: Microbiologists and germ-kill experts from Lysol will work with MLB to reinforce ongoing protocols for disinfection in ballparks, with a focus on high-touch germ hotspots, to be put in place for the 2021 season.

• Lysol Professional Solutions: Starting with the 2020 Postseason, Lysol has begun to provide Professional grade disinfection solutions to MLB, to be made available to players and staff in dugouts, bullpens and clubhouses as well as in fan areas. Lysol products are also included in Postseason hotel welcome kits for players, staff and their families.

• Community & Outreach Initiatives: MLB and Lysol will work to identify opportunities to provide Lysol product and educational materials to schools across the country, engaging with young fans and promoting healthy habits in the classroom.

The US Environmental Protection Agency recently approved both Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfecting Wipes among the first to test effective against the novel coronavirus when used as directed on hard, non-porous surfaces.

“The addition of Lysol’s expertise and disinfecting products will help further strengthen efforts to create a safe environment to play Major League Baseball,” said Jon Coyles, MLB Vice President, Drug, Health and Safety Programs. “As a brand that is synonymous with cleanliness, the Lysol brand will be an important partner in our management of the evolving pandemic as well as in amplifying health and safety messages around baseball.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with MLB to help support and promote hygiene in some of the world’s most iconic sporting venues,” said E. Yuri Hermida, EVP North America Hygiene for RB. “At Lysol we also understand that one of best weapons against the spread of germs is knowledge, and we look forward to helping MLB develop an even higher-standard of cleanliness and disinfection.”

Lauren Falco has worked at El Paso Live for over 6 years, currently overseeing social and web content creation and management to promote events and all seven venues under the El Paso Live brand. After earning her degree in Media Advertising at the University of Texas at El Paso, Lauren harnessed her love for live music and Broadway, earning her a spot at El Paso’s premiere entertainment group. She spends her time exploring El Paso’s local food scene, playing music, relaxing with her dog, and showcasing her city to the world.  

“I was honored and excited to received IAVM’s 30 Under 30 Award in 2020, as it shows my commitment to the industry, my enthusiasm, and ranks me among some of the young leaders in venue management..”

Join your Foundation in congratulating Lauren 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!