By R.V. Baugus

Sports Facilities and the Law is a newsletter by Gil Fried, J.D. – Chair in the College of Business Sport Management Department at the University of New Haven, as well as nine other sports law related periodicals. The newsletter has close to 1,000 opt-in legal-minded and risk conscious subscribers that manage sport/athletic facilities, are responsible for league/conference safety, provide legal counsel to sport/athletic entities, or are in charge of risk management. These are not low level employees, but rather decision makers who control the budget or can mandate that a professional sport league undertake a given strategy.

With risk management and safety strategies so critical today, the newsletter’s goal over the last three years has been to promote safety.

“There is no price that can be put on safety,” Fried said. “We also understand that at times you need content that helps your members address specific safety challenges. To that end, we would be interested in sharing content, publishing your news, and featuring your organization/conference on the website in exchange for helping us grow our subscriber base.”

To subscribe to the publication, go to https://sportsfacilitieslaw.com/latestissue.

By R.V. Baugus

ASM Global announced the hiring of Taki Pappas as director of Event Booking and Business Development for the KFC Yum! Center, Lynn Family Stadium and Norton Health Sports Athletics & Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

“As we continue to solidify the Louisville market as a must-play for major concert tours, family shows and other event productions I’m proud to add such a dynamic leader to our team,” said Eric Granger, general manager of ASM Global-Louisville. “Taki is one of the most respected and knowledgeable people in his field and I have no doubt that his experience and industry expertise will enable us to attract even more big events for the Louisville market.”

Pappas comes to ASM Global with more than 20 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry. Most recently, he was senior talent buyer for National Shows 2 based in Nashville. Prior to that he spent four years as director of Programming at the Durham Performing Arts Center, where his efforts helped the venue earn the International Entertainment Buyer’s Association (IEBA) Theatre of the Year accolade in 2018. Pappas also worked as the assistant director and talent buyer at the University of Texas’ Bass Concert Hall, where his strategic programming increased show count and profitability by more than 50%. He also spent the first 13 years of his live entertainment career with Live Nation, working his way through the ranks to vice president of Touring where he managed the day-to-day activities of several national concert tours annually.

“I’m very excited to be joining the team in Louisville during such a pivotal time with the opening of two new venues in the market along with the well-established and successful KFC Yum! Center,” said Pappas. “I look forward to the opportunity to implement new strategies that bring growth and development to such a dynamic city that thrives in the sports, music and entertainment industries.”

As Director of Event Booking and Business Development, Pappas will work to drive content into the three ASM Global-managed venues in Louisville. As the KFC Yum! Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this October, Pappas will be instrumental in aiding the venue in continued growth and success. Lynn Family Stadium opens in April of this year and the Norton Health Sports Athletics & Learning Center is slated to complete construction on December of 2020. Both new venues will host a variety of events including sports, concerts and other special events. Pappas brings a wealth of industry expertise and connections that will be critical in ASM Global’s future success in Louisville

It’s time to kick off the International Association of Venue Managers’ 2020 get-a-member campaign – iCommit.

Goal: We now have 7,000 members. We are targeting a 10% increase with this recruitment effort which ends June 30, 2020. However, if every member adds/refers just one new member, we could DOUBLE our membership!

What’s In It For You?

More members and more collaboration, a bigger and more diverse network for you, and a greater pool of experts to create inspiring and motivating educational content at schools, conferences, webinars, podcasts and blog posts.

Besides feeling good about supporting your association, for each new member you refer, your name will be entered into a raffle to win one of five, $500 Apple gift cards* to apply toward the purchase of any Apple product. The more members you refer, the more chances you will have to win.

Prizes

• The grand prize will be a complimentary registration to VenueConnect 2021 (value up to $1,000).
• Win one of five, $500 Apple Gift cards* – receive one raffle entry for each new member you refer.
• The IAVM Region that adds the most new members will have one CVP application fee waived (the Region Director will choose the recipient within the winning region).
• The campaign ends June 30, 2020.

To ensure you are eligible to win one of the prizes, ask your new member to do the following:

• List your name in the Application Section titled, “Who Recommended IAVM To You/How Did You Hear About IAVM?”
• Enter “iCommit” in the Promotional Code field in the online membership application.
• For new Professional or Allied members only, the $150 one-time initiation fee will be waived.** 

Hurry! Start referring new members today. We will post updates throughout the contest period in the IAVM Newsletter. Contact membership@iavm.org if you have any questions.

*  The gift cards will be sent to the winners in July 2020.
** Some membership types do not have an initiation fee; the dues will not be discounted

By R.V. Baugus

The images that came across from the path of tornadoes that ravaged Middle Tennessee hit home as eerily similar to the destruction that tornadoes caused in the Dallas area last October. There was one major difference: the ones in Tennessee resulted in the deaths of 25 people, while miraculously no one perished in the Dallas twisters.

Those that struck in Nashville after midnight early Tuesday, produced two tornadoes that left a path of destruction across four counties, including hardest-hit Putnam County, about 60 miles east of Nashville, where at least 18 were killed. Three people remain unaccounted for in Putnam County, which like Nashville was hit by an EF-4 storm with 175 mph winds, according to the National Weather Service.

Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., sent out an update on March 5 to thank those who have rallied to donate and support the community in the wake of the storm. He emphasized that Nashville is open for business and that the upcoming events on the calendar remain as scheduled.

Nashville Update

The IAVM community in Nashville was also quick to respond about the tornado and its impact.

“As venue managers know, circumstances can change in an instant. The tornadoes hitting Nashville and central Tennessee during the night made them even more dangerous,” said IAVM Board Chair, Tammy Koolbeck, CVE. “Our thoughts remain with our colleagues and friends that were impacted by these tornadoes as their communities begin the process of clean up, restoration and healing from the loss of life and devastation of property. IAVM stands ready to assist where needed.”

“We are grieving alongside the Nashville community and send our thoughts and prayers to those who have been impacted by the tornado, especially those who have lost loved ones,” said Ron Grimes, director, safety and security, Ryman Hospitality Properties. “Our Nashville-based businesses have not sustained any damage and are open for business as usual to serve our guests. We are in communication with our community and industry leaders and stand ready to assist with the recovery ahead.”

Renuka Christoph, director of communications at the Music City Center, said, “We are grateful our building didn’t sustain any damage so we are fully operational. Some of our team members were impacted as the tornado’s path went through their neighborhoods. We are extending internal resources to our team for support.”

Scott Neal, vice president, operations for the Nashville Soccer Club, said that the team’s business is fine but that “a lot of our staff have sustained damage to their homes.”

There are also the logistical problems at venues with regards to shows coming in.

I texted with Jennifer Turner, Executive Director of TPAC and she shared this information yesterday morning – “We are OK, said Jennifer Turner, executive director of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. “Trying to load in Jesus Christ Superstar with power issues and trucks stuck. The tornado hit a couple of blocks from my house – it was bad. I’m glad everyone with TPAC is OK.”

Photo: Music City Center provides pallets of food to workers at the Central Police Precinct

By R.V. Baugus

The coronavirus, officially COVID-19, from an editorial perspective is one of the most difficult topics to cover if only because of how rapidly different numbers of cases are reported as well as an onslaught of news of events postponed or canceled, with the Summer Olympics in Tokyo garnering most of the headlines.

IAVM stands at the front to help all of our members with the very latest resources available to help you with answers to many of the questions dealing with COVID-19. At the end of this blog we will share that link for you to read the IAVM resources as well as an infograph from the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong listing the latest numbers in the fight against this deadly disease.

Chicago State University made headlines as the first major college sports program to cancel games due to concerns when it announced its men’s basketball team will not travel for two regularly scheduled Western Athletic Conference while its women’s team will not host two games.

The school said in a statement it was making the move with the “health and well-being of the campus community in mind.”

The university said the men’s team would not travel to Seattle University or Utah Valley University for Western Athletic Conference games on Thursday and Saturday. The school also said the women’s team would not host Seattle or Utah Valley at the campus’ Jones Convocation Center on the same days.

“Chicago State athletics views our decision as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the well-being, health and safety of our student athletes,” Chicago State athletic director Elliott Charles said in the statement.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City later also announced its menn’s team would not travel to Seattle for its Saturday contest against the Redhawks.

Ten of the 11 coronavirus deaths reported in the United States have occurred in Washington state, as the number of cases in the country has risen above 130.

Seattle University addressed the cancellations in a statement to USA TODAY Sports: “We respect Chicago State and Kansas City’s decisions and understand their concerns. We share a commitment to ensuring the health and safety of our communities, fans and all who attend university-sponsored events.

“Seattle University is actively monitoring and responding to this rapidly evolving situation and continuing to follow the guidance of public health agencies and make decisions based on the most up-to-date information available. There has been no recommendation to suspend campus operations, including athletic contests, or restrict travel in the United States at this time.”

Elsewhere in Seattle, Major League Baseball’s Mariners also sent out a press release in advance of the team’s season-opening game on March 26 against the Texas Rangers.

“The health and well-being of our fans and employees is our top priority,” the Mariners said in a release. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with local public health authorities. Right now, public health officials are not advising the postponement or cancellation of public events. We fully expect to play baseball at T-Mobile Park beginning March 26.

“Currently, we are following guidance from public health authorities and our medical staff to provide training and resources to safeguard the health and well-being of our staff and provide a safe and sanitary facility for the start of the season in four weeks. This is an evolving situation and we’ll continue to keep fans updated by email, social media and our website.”

The business sector is also being hit with cancelations, with Google canceling its May I/O, which brings together thousands of people from around the world who partner with or build apps and websites for Google’s digital services. The company will refund participants and look for ways to hold sessions digitally instead, according to an email sent to participants that Bloomberg viewed. On Monday, Google made the same decision for its Cloud Next conference.

Facebook Inc. has already canceled its major developer conference, F8. Microsoft Corp. called off a smaller gathering, too. Tech industry conferences like the Game Developers Conference and Mobile World Congress were also scrapped. Apple Inc.’s major conference, WWDC, is typically held in June, but the company has yet to announce the event this year.

In New York, the New York International Auto Show is scheduled to open with the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center having already installed 70 hand-sanitizing stations throughout the convention center where carmakers are expected to unveil more than 50 new models. The show coordinator also said it will set standards for car-detailing companies to disinfect vehicles on the floor more frequently than usual. The show opens to the media on April 8 and 9 with the public coming in on April 10.

IAVM Resources

South China Morning Post Infographic

Meeting Postponements/Cancellations

Sports Postponements/Cancelations