The Evansville-Vanderburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the hiring of James “Jim” Wood as incoming president and CEO. An extensive nationwide search guided by an executive search firm and local committee was conducted in recruiting Wood.

“We were encouraged that through the national search process we were able to find someone with Jim’s experience and tenure in the industry,” said John Chaszar, CVB commission president. “Our CVB has seen Evansville’s occupancy and room rates grow over the last decade with a keen focus on youth sports, including investments at the Deaconess Sports Park and Goebel Soccer Complex. With the nearing completion of I-69 and recent Old National Events Plaza investments, the meeting and convention business is also poised to grow. We are confident that Jim will bring the energy, skills and knowledge necessary to keep our momentum moving forward for years to come. We look forward to Jim leading our team, with an anticipated start date of January 15, 2020.”

Wood comes to Evansville with extensive managerial and sales experience in the Louisville, Providence, Atlantic City, and Tampa markets, as well as with the Marriott hotels. Wood is well known in the industry and has been active with many trade organizations. He has exhibited skills of building consensus within a collaborative environment, as well as working from a strategic plan. Wood’s knowledge of events extends past hosting events, as he has also overseen the operations of destination businesses nationally, as well as in the Ohio River Valley.

“I want to thank the commission and the many community leaders whom I met during the selection process for putting the destination marketing of Evansville in my hands,” Wood said. “I am thrilled to be named president and CEO of the CVB. Evansville is a dynamic community that I am excited to use my skills and abilities to continue to grow the region on the strong foundation that is in place.

“I was particularly impressed with the community’s charming destination and finding it that is poised to grow. Evansville’s central location, convention and gaming facilities, its sports market, and position at Indiana’s third largest city make it a strong foundation for growth of the destination market. As well, continuing tourism industry growth boosts the community quality of life not just for visitors the tourism industry employs, but also for the region’s residents.”

By R.V. Baugus

Applications are being accepted through January 17, 2020, for the Venue Management School Diversity Scholarships. We encourage IAVM members to give a personal invitation to apply to a person in your network that could make all the difference in prompting someone to take the time to complete the application. This is one of the ways the Diversity & Inclusive Leadership Committee is working to ensure the future of IAVM is bright and the leadership of the organization reflects the diversity of our work forces.

The scholarships will be awarded by February 17 to the school in Tampa, Florida, that takes place from June 6-12.
The Diversity and Inclusive Leadership Committee will provide two Scholarships (One Year 1 and One Year 2) to VMS 2020, which will cover up to (2) two year commitments to applicants who meet the following criteria

Applicants must be American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, LGBTQIA, or a person with disabilities.

Applicants must be a member of IAVM, or become a member before scholarship can be awarded.

Applications must be completed online and submitted no later than the deadline of January 17, 2020.

Recipients must be able and willing to attend Venue Management School for the year in which the scholarship is awarded.

Recipients must be willing to support the Foundation’s fundraising initiatives by providing testimonials, blogging about their experience and participating in speaking opportunities as an advocate for the Foundation as
requested.

The scholarship will cover both the 1st and 2nd year registration and housing ($,3500 maximum per year).

To apply, go here: https://iavm.formstack.com/forms/vms_diversity_scholarship

By R.V. Baugus

I don’t know why, but a feeling of sadness always comes over me when a venue is used for the last time before its tenant moves on. Such was the case when the Oakland Raiders played their last game at venerable RingCentral Coliseum (forever in my heart known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) before the NFL team heads to Las Vegas in 2020.

Actually, the stadium is still home to the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and hosts other events, but NFL football played before perhaps the most, um, rabid fans in the league is a thing of the past.

When I think of the Coliseum, I suspect that I like many of you veteran in the industry also think of our dear friend, Ray Ward, who served as the perfect maestro in directing the stadium for many years. One regret of mine is not sitting down with Ray to go over some of those stories he built in his memory bank from his days with the venue. Some of you are fortunate to know some of those stories; whether they are fit for print is another matter.

But I digress.

I think of some other NFL stadiums that used up their lifetime warranty, such as the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, which lost the Lions and for the most part sat idle for years before finally disappearing under a stick of dynamite. I think of Houston’s Astrodome, which amazingly still sits while for years the city has tried to decide what to do with the original “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

But the stadium in Oakland for some reason was dear to me, even as I grew up in Dallas. Maybe it is because the venue opened on my birth date of September 18, back in 1966. Maybe it is because I just really dug those green and gold uniforms that the A’s interchangeably wore back in the day. Maybe it is because I loved the Raiders’ black and silver uniforms before those even became cool colors to wear. I loved watching Daryle Lamonica fling footballs down the field to Fred Biletnikoff, who now has an award named after him that goes to college football’s top receiver.

I loved the team mottos of “Pride and Poise Boys” and “Commitment to Excellence.” And, of course, there was owner Al Davis and his “Just Win Baby” mantra all while wearing the most outlandish outfits this side of Elvis.

And all of this took place within the confines of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Who knows, the team left once for Los Angeles and returned in 1995. Will history ever repeat itself in some fashion, perhaps even another team’s relocation?

Meanwhile, the Raiders’ new home, Allegiant Stadium, will sprout up at a cost of $1.9 billion with every amenity a fan could want.

Back in Oakland, the stadium that served as the last to have both a football team and baseball team play on its grass (and dirt), will have a new future itself.

Alameda County is proceeding with a sale of its half-share of the Coliseum site to the Oakland A’s, as supervisors unanimously advanced the deal.

The agreement between that has been in the works would allow Alameda County to get out of the sports facilities business, while potentially giving the A’s more influence in mapping out the site’s future. As part of their ongoing effort to build a new ballpark at the waterfront Howard Terminal site, the A’s are proposing a large-scale redevelopment of the Coliseum complex, according to Ballpark Digest.

More exact parameters of that project could take shape over time, but the A’s have released a broad vision that includes tearing down RingCentral Coliseum and replacing it with a small sports park/amphitheater, retaining Oakland Arena as an event venue, and redeveloping the surrounding the land with mixed-use amenities.

All of that is ongoing and still to be worked out. For now, the last game was played on December 15, a 20-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

By R.V. Baugus

Talk about a way to raise money! It is not necessarily unusual for a venue to auction off unused or unneeded equipment, but U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota raised more than $45,000 recently in such an auction.

The venue, owned by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, and home of the NFL Minnesota Vikings along with other major events, opened in 2016 and as recently as 2018 played host to a Super Bowl.

During this short life span, the stadium was saddled with some excess equipment, and what better way to produce some revenue than to invite the public to participate in an online auction.

The recent auction was a collector’s dream with items such as hot dog rollers, cocktail shakers, and champagne flutes. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that 106 individual bidders went away with items. In all, some 540 lots of surplus stadium equipment was up for grabs that also included a pitching mound and numerous concessions and catering items.

The auction proceeds of $45,815.60 are being split with items sold from concession and catering-related items deposited into a concession capital reserve account while proceeds from other items go into a capital reserve account.

“The public auction resulted in a total value of $45,815.60. The proceeds from the sale of the concessions and catering-related auctioned items will be deposited into the concession capital reserve account. The proceeds from the sale of the other auctioned items will be deposited into the capital reserve account.

Grafe Auction Company, a professional auctioneer from Spring Valley, Minnesota, handled the auction.

By Sarah Maio

Wisconsin Center District (WCD) President and CEO Marty Brooks announced that the architecture team of tvsdesign and EUA has been selected to design the expansion of the Wisconsin Center.

“(Today’s) announcement is a critical milestone in this exciting and ambitious process,” Brooks said. “The expanded Wisconsin Center will be a facility providing superb, captivating, and buzzworthy experiences to all who enter. We will create jobs, generate economic impact, and capitalize on the momentum that Milwaukee is only starting to feel. It’s the beginning of a new legacy.”

Atlanta-based tvsdesign has most recently completed expansions for the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the largest convention center in North America, McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

tvsdesign is partnered with Milwaukee-based firm EUA. EUA is best known for designing environments that elevate people’s potential. The 112-year old firm has been involved in many of Milwaukee’s landmark projects including Fiserv Forum, Miller Park, Milwaukee Intermodal Station, Discovery World addition, and dozens of projects on the Summerfest Grounds including the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. EUA is based in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

“On behalf of EUA and tvsdesign, we are incredibly proud to have been selected,” said Rich Tennessen, President of EUA. “The combined expertise of our EUA staff with the world-class convention center team at tvsdesign is ready to design a convention center that draws people from around the world to experience our phenomenal city.”

Wisconsin Center District owns & operates the Wisconsin Center, UWM Panther Arena & Miller High Life Theatre.

Sarah Maio is vice president of marketing and communications for the Wisconsin Center District.