By Stacie Bauer

Ungerboeck, the world’s event software, is further expanding their support to the industry by releasing a series of Reopening Solutions to help their customers welcome back face to face events with confidence. The technology provider has developed enhanced features for their platform to facilitate visitor tracking, social distancing management, and venues sanitation.

“Now more than ever, Ungerboeck remains committed to serving our customers. Our team has been working hard to help venues and event professionals prepare for the new world and reimagine their events. Our Reopening Solutions suite has been developed to assist answering government regulations and ensure the safety of venue staff and patrons”, says Manish Chandak, CEO at Ungerboeck.

These new solutions are released less than 2 months after Ungerboeck announced the launch of their new Certification Program available on their Learning Center, where over 7,000 event professionals are already taking advantage of the free educational platform to upskill and enhance their professional development.

“These new solutions are just the beginning and we’ll soon announce the release of a new platform, that will transform the way we deliver events in the digital age,” adds Mr Chandak.

For more information about Ungerboeck’s Reopening Solutions, visit https://go.ungerboeck.com/reopening

Stacie Bauer is Event & Sponsorship Coordinator, Marketing for Ungerboeck.

By ISSA and R.V. Baugus

Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City kicked off the 2020 NFL season as a GBAC STAR Accredited Facility to Enhance Cleanliness. The stadium, home to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, has achieved GBAC STAR accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA. The stadium, which will welcome fans at a reduced capacity for its home games, has demonstrated that it knows how to prepare, respond, and recover from infectious disease outbreaks and biohazard situations. GBAC STAR also accredited 50 additional facilities this week, including Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, home to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Congress Centre in Toronto, and Hyatt properties around the world.

“More than ever, facility occupants are concerned about the quality and frequency of cleaning,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “GBAC STAR accreditation provides added assurance that an organization truly understands the why and how of cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention.”

To achieve GBAC STAR accreditation, facilities must demonstrate capability and compliance with 20 key program elements, including personal protective equipment, personnel training, emergency response, and more. With seating for approximately 73,000, Arrowhead Stadium will host approximately 16,000 fans and conduct pre- and post-game cleaning and disinfection to provide the safest environment possible. The University of Kansas Health System Training Complex, the Chiefs’ practice facility, has also achieved GBAC STAR accreditation.
The following facilities have earned GBAC STAR accreditation this week:

Arenas/Stadiums
· Arrowhead Stadium & The University of Kansas Health System Training Complex in Kansas City, Mo.
· Banc of California Stadium, home to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC, in Los Angeles
· DC Armory in Washington, D.C.
· Entertainment & Sports Arena, home to the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, in Washington, D.C.
· Honda Center, home to the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, in Anaheim, Calif.
· Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland
· Spectrum Center, home to the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, in Charlotte, N.C.
Commercial Office
· Servi-Tek, Inc. in Encinitas, Calif.
Convention Centers
· ASM Global – Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico
· Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City
· Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas
· Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington
· Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah
· Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Calif.
· The Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City
· Toronto Congress Centre in Toronto
Government Facility
· Independence Visitor Center Corporation in Philadelphia
Hotels
· Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort in Wailea, Hawaii
· Diamonds Athuruga Maldives in Athuruga Island, Maldives
· Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas
· Grand Hyatt Bali in Bali, Indonesia
· Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa in Kauai, Hawaii
· Grand Hyatt Xi’an in Xi’an, China
· Hotel Le Negresco, a Leading Hotels of the World member property, in Nice, France
· Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall Boston in Boston
· Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
· Hyatt Centric Park City in Park City, Utah
· Hyatt Herald Square New York in New York City
· Hyatt House Austin/Downtown in Austin, Texas
· Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai, China
· Hyatt Place Delray Beach in Delray Beach, Fla.
· Hyatt Place New York City/Times Square in New York City
· Hyatt Place New York/Midtown-South in New York City
· Hyatt Place San Jose Airport in San Jose, Calif.
· Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center in Denver
· Hyatt Regency Liberation Square Chongqing in Chongqing, China
· Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago
· Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
· Hyatt Regency Seattle in Seattle
· Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa in Honolulu, Hawaii
· Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle in Zurich, Switzerland
· Le Sirenuse, a Leading Hotels of the World member property, in Positano, Italy
· LEVEL Furnished Living Vancouver in Vancouver, B.C.
· Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.
· Park Hyatt Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand
· Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono in Hokkaido, Japan
· Parker Palm Springs, a Leading Hotels of the World member property, in Palm Springs, Calif.
· Sheraton Dallas Hotel in Dallas
· The Legian Seminyak, Bali, a Leading Hotels of the World member property, in Bali, Indonesia
· The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Industrial
· United Scrap Metal in Charlotte, N.C.

By Jennifer Norris, CVE, MFA

Join the Northern California Chapter of IAVM for a virtual education conversation with Metallica Production Manager, John “Lug” Zajonc, and San Francisco Giants Executive Vice President of Administration, Alfonso Felder, on Tuesday, September 29, from 3:30-4:30 PST.

After countless calls of ever-changing information and hypothetical situations planning for our return to events, we’re excited to bring you a session focused on lessons learned from unique “events” that have actually been hosted during the pandemic.

From Metallica’s secret concert filming for release in drive-ins throughout the country to the Giants’ modified baseball season, our esteemed speakers will share their experience planning and executing events these past few months. We’ll hear about what worked, what didn’t, insights on the future of our industry, and other valuable information relevant to all venue types.

*Registration is complimentary. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting.

Following the session, there will be an optional social happy hour to help bring our Nor Cal community together.

To register for this informative and entertaining conversation, click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jennifer Norris, CVE, MFA, is Assistant Managing Director of the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center in San Francisco.

By Paul Meena

I wanted to share a recent accomplishment of our Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, as it relates to continuing to be relevant during a pandemic. I believe that other performing arts centers will find this information useful for their own venues (especially the 5-minute “Making of” video).

This summer, our 6th annual Dr. Phillips Center Applause Awards honored excellence in high school musical theater and engaged 500 students representing 30 schools from throughout the region. The program normally culminates in a live performance showcase with presentation of top awards, including the selection of one lead actor and actress to participate in the national Jimmy Awards® competition in New York.

When COVID-19 canceled plans for the national and regional programs, we worked to keep those dreams alive and created a safe, reimagined ceremony. The performance included 120 top-scoring student nominees, scholarships for 42 college-bound seniors, extraordinary performances and Broadway actor cameos. Most of all, everyone remained healthy throughout the entire production: colleagues, crew, and students.

We give special thanks to our sponsor, AdventHealth, and additional supporters: TD Charitable Foundation, Chesley G. Magruder Foundation, Winter Park Publishing Company and SunTrust Foundation. We also had several generous donors contribute to scholarships for seniors whose last year in high school was impacted so greatly by COVID: Florida Theatrical Association, Publix Super Market Charities and Ernest Hardy, a founding donor of the arts center.

We have three videos to share with you …

Applause Awards trailer or sizzle reel (46 seconds)

Behind-the-scenes look of “The Making of the Applause Awards” (4:58)

Full Applause Awards performance (59:40)

Paul Meena is Vice President, Production, at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, Florida.

The Placer Valley Event Center, the centerpiece of the $47 million transformation of @the Grounds in Roseville, Calif., will become the Roebbelen Center under a naming rights sponsorship with the largest general contractor based in the Sacramento region.

Roebbelen Contracting Inc. was the general contractor for the 160,000-square-foot center that opened in February. The newly named Roebbelen Center – one of the largest meeting places in the Sacramento region – can accommodate major amateur sports competitions, large meetings, trade shows, concerts, and other events.

“We believe in the community and the center,” said Kenneth Wenham, President and Chief Executive Officer of Roebbelen Contracting in El Dorado Hills. “We greatly appreciate the special relationship that we’ve built with the community and Placer Valley Tourism, and we didn’t want it to end with the ribbon-cutting.”

The company’s name and logo – which incorporates a compass, trowel and broadax – could remain on the building and throughout @the Grounds until 2040. Financial terms of the sponsorship were not released.

“We were looking for a very special long-term relationship,” said David Attaway, Chief Executive Officer of @the Grounds and Placer Valley Tourism. “Roebbelen is a huge part of the community and has a tremendous sense of pride in the event center. They know the building better than anybody.”

Only a couple of the more than 400 arenas, stadiums and event centers nationwide have naming rights sponsorships with companies in the construction industry, let alone a general contractor. Sponsorships from banks and financial-services companies – such as the Golden 1 (Credit Union) Center and the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District in downtown Sacramento – are much more common.

Roebbelen Contracting’s high-profile sponsorship in the recently opened $34 million event center is a “good touchpoint” to connect with the fast-growing South Placer community, said Pat Nieser, Vice President of Corporate Partnership and Development for The Superlative Group Inc. The Cleveland-based company helped @the Grounds market the event center to potential sponsors nationwide. “The event center makes a lot of sense for Roebbelen – they put their name on their work.”

The Roebbelen Center will bring more attention to the company that has been the general contractor for dozens of major projects in the Sacramento region – including at Folsom Lake College and the recently completed renovation of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) headquarters. The Roebbelen Center will also help the 350-employee company connect with job-seekers looking for new opportunities, Wenham said.

“It will lend some familiarity, and they can learn more about us,” he said. “With the sponsorship, we’re sending a message: we’ve been here for 60 years and we’re going to be around for many more.”

The Roebbelen Center is the latest major sponsorship for @the Grounds, formerly the Placer County Fairgrounds. In March, Consolidated Communications became the exclusive broadband provider, offering visitors and employees a high-speed connection from anywhere on the 61-acre campus. Consolidated Communications’ name can be found throughout @the Grounds, including on the digital marquees at the main entrance, in front of the ticket booth near the Roebbelen Center, and on Washington Boulevard.

The corporate sponsorships allow companies to connect with the estimated 160,000 people who will attend events held @the Grounds every year, from large sports tournaments and concerts to the annual Placer County Fair.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many events to be canceled or postponed since March. But Attaway said organizers remain interested and are scheduling events at the Roebbelen Center, which can accommodate as many as 12 full-length basketball courts or 24 volleyball courts.

“The demand keeps going up,” said Attaway, adding extensive cleaning efforts and safety protocols are in place @the Grounds. “Organizers can’t wait to hold events here.”