Earlier this month, the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) joined ranks with local radios stations, major motion picture studios, online streaming services and music venues to file an amicus brief seeking to overturn a recent federal court decision involving the National American Concert Promoters Association (“Concert Promoters”) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”).

At the heart of the dispute was whether the licensing fees the concert promoters would be required to pay BMI for their use of BMI’s catalogue would be governed by the procompetitive principles contained in the BMI consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice or if BMI would be allowed to seek much higher royalties by relying on third-party licensing agreements with the newer and unregulated performance rights organizations who often utilize unfair pricing power.

The lower court unfortunately agreed with the latter concept, a decision that could generate much higher licensing fees for all entities (including IAVM members) who routinely license music from BMI.

“The consent decrees that govern ASCAP and BMI help ensure a competitive marketplace that the business events industry relies upon to license music for conferences, trade shows, and other in-person events,” noted Tommy Goodwin, FASAE, CAE, PMP, CMP, Vice President of Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA). “By ignoring years of rate-setting precedent in this case, the district court’s decision would unfairly raise licensing fees for event organizers, convention centers, and others going forward. That’s why ECA was pleased to join this important effort from a wide-range of respected stakeholders to overturn this flawed anti-competitive decision.”

The amicus brief filed earlier this month encourages the federal court of appeals to overturn the district court’s recent decision; thereby guaranteeing all venues will continue to have access to reasonable licensing fees going forward.

The IAVM Leadership Development Committee is seeking candidates who are well-versed in all areas of venue management, invested in their own professional growth and the growth of others, are dedicated to the advancement of the venue industry as a whole and have the demonstrated ability to lead the Association.

The application process and criteria are available here. The time frame to submit your application to Rosanne Duke, Director of Governance and Operations, begins October 10, 2023 and ends December 4, 2023.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must have attained CVP or CVE designation and maintain the designation throughout the term of office; CVE designation is preferred.
• Must be a dues-paying (either Individual or Group Membership), Professional Member of IAVM and remain as such throughout the term of office;
• Must have previously served at least one full term on one of the following: the IAVM Board of Directors, as a Region officer, Chair or Vice-Chair of an IAVM committee or the Foundation Board of Trustees;
• Must have served on at least 3 of the following in any combination (each Committee service counts as one):
  • IAVM Committees,
  • Board of Regents,
  • Board of Governors, or
  • Board of Trustees;
• Must have been employed in one of the 2 top levels of management in a venue for at least 10 years;
• Must have completed at least 1 of the following IAVM school programs:
  • Venue Management School
  • Graduate Institute
  • Senior Executive Symposium
  • Academy for Venue Safety & Security
• Must have attended VenueConnect at least 3 times, and any combination of at least 3 other programs (from the list below) in the previous 6 years:
  • Additional years at VenueConnect;
  • Other IAVM educational programs; (GuestX, Operations Summit)
  • Sector Conferences (AMC, ICCC, PAMC, ISMC, UVMC)
  • Region Meetings
  • Chapter Meetings

The nomination process is Member-initiated. The web site directs the interested members to review the criteria and utilize the online self-assessment tool to help determine their individual eligibility as a candidate for senior officer, and to ultimately submit an application form should they wish to be considered as a candidate.

The application is available online by clicking here.

Final reminder:  The application and supporting documentation is due by December 4, 2023.

“Create space. Be patient.”

That’s the advice Dominic Pavone, Senior Director, Event Services at Cleveland Cavaliers/Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio, has for any other venue lucky enough to book the brand-new Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth.

It is a 27-truck production, requiring 125 rigging points to handle 128,912 pounds of equipment. It’s akin to a Vegas-type rock show in load-in and load-out, night and day from the former Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus; number one, because the new Ringling has no animals.

Cleveland presented six shows Oct. 6-8 and had the distinction of being the first big arena to host Feld Entertainment’s reimagined Ringling. Therefore, Pavone couldn’t do a site visit and advance the show.

The veteran Feld team communicated very well, and he knew most of what to expect. He knew the show was very large, very spread out. It took three days to load it in, and the first two were 14-hour days each. The third day was 11 hours, including rehearsals and lighting focus, and went into overnight.

“We had 130 stagehands for the load-in on day one and another 71 we brought back for day two, so we were at 201 stagehands for the first two days,” he said. “For the out, we brought back 156 stagehands. That’s a huge number for an event.”

He was called down to the floor the first day of load in to find out the production required more floor anchors. “I said, ‘Okay, talk to me about what that looks like. What are they for? Can we pivot away, or is it mandatory?’ It was mandatory, or they would have to remove an act from the show,” Pavone recalled.

The marquee outside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland. (Photo Credit: Carrie Samek)

So, they brought in X-ray technicians who specialize in concrete to map out existing anchors, glycol lines for ice, and rebar that vein the concrete floor. “He could say, ‘you have a 2-inch by 2-inch square here you can hit if that anchor works for you.’ We let them do the drilling,” Pavone said.

“Everybody was on the same page. We understood the sensitivity to it – it was safety. It was meeting in the middle and everybody working together,” he said. There was an advance scout doing a site visit from Fiserv Arena in Milwaukee in the house that very day, and Pavone says she immediately homed in on the anchors issue, calling home to construction to prepare for the show there. Pavone shared the X-ray map.

Every arena that has hosted the circus, which left the road five years ago, still has floor anchors for the rigging and netting. But, this production is huge, spread out over a 200-by-85 foot wide hockey floor. “We were lucky; we didn’t have our ice in,” Pavone said, but even if they had, and even though Feld says it can perform over ice, he would have taken the ice out for this.

They ended up with 14 anchors on each side of the floor. In addition, to maintain integrity and hold those lines, they brought in another 8-12 concrete Jersey barriers to wrap those wires around before they were anchored, specifically for the safety nets of the trapeze artists and high wire acts.

This Feld show is different from a concert, which might have 20 trucks and 20 drivers on a show. The 27 production trucks are really trailers parked in a staging area the arena rented from the city down near Cleveland Browns Stadium. The trailers were dropped off and four drivers proceeded to hitch them to their cabs and bring them to the arena in a predetermined order for load-in.

“It was efficient. It did take some time, but because of the volume of stuff we were hanging, that time was built in. It helped soften the blow of constantly rushing. This was a methodical load-in,” Pavone said.

In addition, there are three merchandise trucks. Due to sheer volume of production trucks, the arena staff had to identify a secondary location off the street to load in merchandise because they were out of room and “we have quite a lot of room,” Pavone said. “We’ll load in 20 trucks and 12 buses on a rock and roll show like it’s no problem. The volume they had, we had to identify a second location for their merch.”

The show also required removing three rows of seats in two different sections to build audio and lights for front of house. “We knew that early on, so that was included in the on-sale map,” he said.

However, and this is just the nature of the beast when you’re hosting a show for the first time, there were quite a few relocations once production was in and up, due to obstructed sightlines. “They had the forethought to keep production holds in their pocket,” Pavone said of the Feld team. “They really did prep themselves putting veterans in charge.”

Pavone gives a lot of credit to the Feld team for splendid communications and to his own operations team for being flexible (knowing they had a hockey game in two weeks), as well as to everyone involved for being patient.

“It’s a long load in, long load out,” he said. “It’s easy to get frustrated when people are asking for more. You have to remain flexible and make sure it gets off on time and safely.”

There was a lot of pivoting, because Cleveland was the first show in such a large building. “Their team was fantastic. There were a lot of Feld veterans out on this run. We knew there would be pivots and patience needed in order to get something this size up for the first time. But then you have a deadline on the other end. Having to be ready for the show Friday.”

Pavone is going into his 17th year at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and knew a lot of the Feld production team because they have been through the building many times before. “They are all mild mannered, patient, and willing to work with us. We were lucky to have veterans on both sides,” including Feld’s Matt Gillet and Erick Del Castillo.

“When we got to load out, we did it in 10 hours. They expected 12. They overshot, so we weren’t startled. We were making ice the next day. It was efficient and awesome,” Pavone said.

Carrie Samek, senior director, event & media marketing for the arena, was tasked with educating the audience about the new Ringling. It’s been so long since the circus toured, people weren’t necessarily expecting the elephants. Feedback was positive.

She emphasized the visual, the spectacular performances, and the ticket price ($25-$95+) which is family friendly and loaded with discount opportunities. There were offers all summer long, including back to school and blood drive offers. “Feld is very good with all those opportunities for families to bring their kids,” Samek said.

She invited media outlets to come in and see rehearsals and did plenty of media drops, including cookies and cotton candy.

She had to explain the Greatest Show on Earth without the word “circus” and with no “clowns” (just comedian performers), but Ringling is still a very known brand, the famous “R” logo, and she could visually show what it would be.

In the end, 50 percent of ticket buyers had 1-2 kids and were young parents age 35-42. “I brought my own nieces and nephews. Under age eight was the hot spot for kids,” Samek said. Her nieces are in gymnastics and loved the acrobats. She worked with Cleveland Cavaliers lists for sports fans.

She also worked with local mom influencers, hosting an opening night party where a couple of performers performed for them. “They promote the show from the moment it’s announced,” she said. “Once here, they post how great it is, which is good for last minute sales.” Cleveland also benefitted from good timing — the fall season, when parents are looking for things to do with kids.

Feld’s new production has 75 performers from 18 countries. Plus crew, it’s a big stretch backstage, but Cleveland had another lucky break there. They had just debuted phase one of a $12 million renovation of the dressing and locker rooms. Feld’s cast and crew were the first beneficiaries and most complimentary.

It ended being a very good run for the new Ringling’s Greatest Show on Earth, all agreed, but how does it compare to the circus?

“Other than everything, nothing is different,” Pavone said.

Lead the conversation at VenueConnect 2024 in Portland by proposing a session today! Our sessions are interactive, full of relevant content, practical tools, and emerging best practices in venue management today.  

Becoming a presenter is a great way to expand your network, assist in the educational growth of our association, and share experiences.

Be bold and innovative!  This is your opportunity as a member to make an impact!

Submit your VC24 Session Topic here!

Deadline to submit is November 14, 2023.

TVS Sustainability Lead and Quality Principal, Paul McKeever AIA, LEED AP, BD+C, accepted the certification on behalf of the firm at this year’s WELL Summit.

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced TVS as the first organization to achieve both LEED Platinum and WELL Certification at the Platinum level through a streamlined pathway in their new Atlanta office. 

The USGBC and IWBI recently announced extensive interest and adoption of the streamlined pathway to LEED and WELL Certification. Since the launch of the streamlined certification pathway, 335 projects in 38 countries, accounting for 82 million square feet, have opted-in to the process.

TVS became the first organization to achieve both LEED and WELL Certification through the streamlined pathway. Its 33,000 square-foot office in Atlanta achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Certification at the Platinum level, the highest tiers for both certifications.

The dual achievement aligns with TVS’ belief that long-term gains in human health and a sustainable world rely on high performance design, as well as policies that drive thoughtful day-to-day strategies to support the health and well-being of the people inside the space. LEED and WELL, in combination, demonstrate leadership in both. As the design progressed, TVS prioritized actions that had the best long-term impact for its people and the planet.

“We challenged ourselves to achieve both LEED and WELL certifications in a fluctuating construction climate knowing that our budget was incredibly tight. We wanted to demonstrate to ourselves and to our clients that unwavering commitment and innovative thinking would lead to lasting positive impact for our people and the planet. We are enormously proud of the results and are re-inspired to carry this message to our clients,” said Janet Simpson, President and CEO, TVS.

Connection was of the utmost importance to the team at TVS, as the office provided the opportunity for all staff to meet in a single space. However, with the benefit of in-person interaction came concerns over sound and volume control – with the Sound concept of WELL becoming an area of special focus. According to the TVS team, WELL’s Movement, Nourishment and Water concepts also resonated, helping increase awareness and inspire new behaviors.

For more information on the LEED and WELL certification pathway, please visit this link.