By Erin Kogler and Adam Benavides

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) announced its partnership with Levy to design and operate the food, beverage, and hospitality experience inside the new Symphony Center at the renovated Warner Grand Theater, set to open in fall 2020. Levy has collaborated with MSO to build a unique culinary and hospitality promise for the Symphony Center. Collaboratively developed by both organizations, Resonance Food Co. will bring that vision to life, operating as the venue’s official hospitality team, with a commitment to the guest experience and operational excellence.

The hospitality brand will far exceed new logos and uniforms, promising a commitment to Milwaukee’s culture and favorite flavors throughout the Symphony Center. Resonance Food Co. will oversee all hospitality experiences, from food kiosks and bars for concerts, to catering for private events.

“Milwaukee is home to some of the most innovative cultural venues and programming you’ll find anywhere, and there are so many reasons we’re thrilled to partner with an organization as forward-thinking as the MSO,” said Andy Lansing, President and CEO of Levy. “Together, we’ll create the next great cultural and entertainment experience delivered by Resonance Food Co., our shared hospitality brand. It represents everything about our truly unique vision for an elevated hospitality experience.”

The Symphony Center hospitality experience will be heavily influenced by favorite Milwaukee flavors, distilling inspiration from culinary innovators and markets throughout the city. A deep understanding of guest preferences will be driven by Levy’s E15 Group, recognized as an industry-leader in analytics and emerging technology. Guests can expect signature dishes crafted around Milwaukee’s rich traditions along with elevated dining options and flavors utilizing fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

“We are very much looking forward to working with Levy and introducing the Resonance Food Co. to Milwaukee,” said Mark Niehaus, MSO president and executive director. “Food and beverage will be an integral part of the patron experience at the Symphony Center, and Levy has an excellent track-record of delivering on exceptional service.”

Resonance Food Co. will be led locally and draw on Levy’s experience at high profile Milwaukee venues, including Fiserv Forum, the Wisconsin Center District, and MOTOR Bar & Restaurant at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Levy’s portfolio also includes major entertainment and cultural events and venues, from the Grammy Awards to Kentucky Derby, and regional music destinations like Ravinia Festival in the Chicago area.

Erin Kogler is director of communications for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Adam Benavides is associate manager, communications, for Levy.

By Beckie Liwacz

The city of Waterloo, Iowa, has selected Spectra to manage venue operations, food services & hospitality, and partnerships for the city’s centrally located entertainment hub, the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. The Spectra team officially took over on January 15, 2020.

In 2019, Waterloo invested $2.4 million into renovations for the convention center, the skywalk connecting the Spectra Takes Over Downtown Waterloo Convention Center facility to an adjacent hotel, and parking structures for visitors. The 40K sq. ft. facility regularly hosts events for up to 2,000 patrons, from tradeshows to international conferences, trainings and more.

“This convention center will be the crowning jewel of Waterloo’s booming downtown,” Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart said. “We’re excited to work with the proven experts at Spectra and for the high-caliber entertainment they will bring to the city. We are confident they will operate the region’s largest convention facility with finesse and a level of professionalism that will attract even more investment to Waterloo.”

Brendon Wagner, the facility’s newly appointed general manager, comes to Waterloo from Spectra-managed Owensboro Convention Center and Sportscenter, where he served as director of event services for two years. He was responsible for coordinating external events, producing in-house events, and managing all aspects of the client experience. Previously, he was director of event management at the America’s Center in St. Louis and spent over six years in various events-focused roles at VenuWorks in Iowa.

“Having spent a significant portion of my career directing and producing events in Iowa, I’m passionate about what this state has to offer,” Wagner said. “Waterloo has unique and untapped potential and is fantastically poised for growth—we’re excited to bring much-deserved attention to this city through efficient operations, event scheduling and maintenance.”

“The team at Spectra can’t wait to roll up our sleeves in Waterloo,” Dave Anderson, regional vice president, said. “With his recognition in the state, broad range of experience, and events and operations focus, Brendon is the perfect fit for this state, this city, and the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.”

Beckie Liwacz is a publicist with Spectra.

As of February 14, the number of coronavirus cases has reached 64,473 with 1,384 deaths. For a most recent breakdown by country and other statistical information, please click here.

Most recently, the Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed because of the outbreak of the coronavirus. The race was due to take place in Shanghai on April 19, but Formula One and the sport’s governing body, the FIA, made the announcement earlier this week after accepting a request from the meeting’s promoters.

“The health and safety of people come first,” said Chase Carey, F1’s chief executive, at a conference in Baku.

F1 and the FIA prepared a joint statement which read: “As a result of continued health concerns and with the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency, the FIA and Formula 1 have taken these measures in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains of primary concern.”

Shanghai is located 500 miles from Wuhan, where the outbreak began. The numbers of working personnel and fans is typically large for a race of this magnitude. As many as 2,000 people across teams, logistics, staff, hospitality. and broadcasters can be required for a race weekend. An estimated 70,000 people attended the race last year.

By R.V. Baugus

The cashless beat goes on.

CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL Seattle Seahawks and Major League Soccer Seattle Sounders, has announced plans to transition to a cashless model for sales transactions at the venue.

All concessions, retail and on-site parking will now only accept credit, debit and prepaid cards. CenturyLink Field said the move has been taken after several other stadia and arenas successfully transitioned to a cashless model.

In a statement, the venue said that the move would allow for a more efficient sales process by removing cash handling duties and speeding up transaction times. The cashless model will also apply to the CenturyLink Field Event Center and WAMU Theater.

For visitors who do not have debit or credit cards, or prefer to use cash, 10 cash-to-card ReadySTATION kiosks will be set up around the stadium and event centre. The kiosks will be free to use and will allow fans to convert cash onto a prepaid card, which can be used anywhere inside or outside the stadium.

David Young, general manager of CenturyLink Field and senior vice president of business operations for the Seahawks, said: “We are continually looking at new technology and innovative ways we can improve our customer experience, and moving to a cashless operations model will reduce the length of time our guests spend standing in line.

“Depending on the event, credit or debit cards are already being used for approximately 75 per cent of all concessions transactions and 90 per cent for retail purchases, so we are confident this will be a seamless transition for our guests and as a result they will experience a positive improvement in wait times.”

The trend continues to pick up steam at venues across the country and across the world and is even moving into the retail segment. A recent visit to grab some warm cookies at Tiff’s Treats came with a notice on the counter that the sweet-tooth factory no longer accepts cash transactions.

By R.V. Baugus

IAVM held a webinar this past Friday with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Travel Association, and American Red Cross providing updates on the deadly coronavirus. The number of deaths and people infected by the virus change by the hour, with the below the latest information to share.

The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus killed 97 people in China on Sunday, February 9, and has killed 910 people globally since the outbreak began, according to authorities. More than 40,000 people have been infected. Since its outbreak in December, the Wuhan coronavirus has killed more people than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which claimed 774 victims globally from November 2002 to July 2003. There are 65 newly confirmed coronavirus cases on the Diamond Princess ship docked in Japan, bringing the total number on board to 135.

“We are taking aggressive, public health actions to contain the introduction of this virus in the United States to prevent spreading and other countries are doing the same,” said Dr. Joseph Bresee, Associate Deputy Incident Manager, CDC. “The first case of this virus was detected in China in late December. The early cases appear to be with a local, live animal market indicating possibilities of its introduction from an animal source. Since that time, the virus has spread and caused illness in most parts of China’s provinces.”

Dr. Bresee added that the spread of the coronavirus to other countries has been predictable with 27 countries in Asia, North America, and Europe having reported a confirmed case of the virus, with no cases reported so far in South America and Africa.

“In the U.S., because of travel and trade with China, we predictably have had 12 cases reported in the U.S., but no community-spread or widespread cases,” he said. “Confirmed cases have been in six states and we are continually updating this, looking at people and testing them.

“So, the global threat of this virus is high. The U.S. risk for people is low. What we do is look hard for cases. Travelers coming in from China within the last two weeks are funneled into 11 airports, where we have effectively and efficiently screened 2,000 people since mid-January. Those with illnesses are being check. Those who are well are being quarantined for 14 days and monitored closely depending on their risk assessment.”

Dr. Bresee stressed that at this time the risk for the average American is low, but should not be ignored.

“We’ve go to be humble about this virus,” he said. “It’s a new virus and we’re learning about it every day that is going to throw us curve balls. We do expect to see additional cases in the country, so don’t be alarmed. If the risk changes, we’ll let you know.”

Greg Staley, Senior Vice President, Communications, U.S. Travel Association, said that while the outbreak has some travelers exercising more caution for destinations other than China that there are no warnings for travel within the U.S. or directed at anyone who has not been to China.

Staley talked about the different travel scenarios with the coronavirus and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic that appeared in China in 2002.

“There is frequent recollection back to SARS and I think one of the points that has been questioned of U.S. Travel is how it relates to that particular situation in terms of visitation to the United States from China,” he said. “There was an approximate 30 percent decline in visitation to the U.S. from China back then, but the fact is China was a very small source market to the U.S. at that time but today is one of our largest inbound markets to the U.S. It’s in the top five and more than three million visitors come to the U.S. from China. It very much has our attention and the attention of everyone in the venue industry since there are many Chinese travelers who attend conferences, events, trade shows, and the like.

Staley said that his organization is in daily contact with colleagues at the CDC as well as the human service agency at the White House including the President’s Coronavirus Task Force.

“We are also in close contact with the U.S. airport community,” Staley said. “As noted, there are 11 airports receiving the flights from China and those flights have diminished because demand has been low. We have provided collective feedback from airport authorities to the CDC on information that they were requesting that goes beyond travelers to and from China. They are asking for information just for general travelers as well.”

Staley said that while several major North American carriers have suspended air service from mainland China to the U.S., the best counsel for travelers is to take the same steps for healthy travel habits.

“They are the personal best practices right now that are standard for the typical flu season, including frequent washing of hands, etc.,” he said. “Maintain those practices.”

Brad Kieserman, Vice President of Disaster Operations & Logistics for the American Red Cross, cited his 30 years in crisis management and lauded the work of the CDC in managing the current public health crisis.

“The mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by leveraging the power of the generosity of our donors,” he said. “The first thing you might ask yourself is, ‘Is this an emergency?’ The answers is that the CDC has declared a public health emergency. Right now any of us are in the prevent part of that mission. We have actively engaged in planning and waiting for the Department of State, CDC, and other municipal partners for what may happen if there is an increase in the disease.

Kieserman said that while the Red Cross deals frequently with relief efforts from natural disasters that this outbreak is not any different in that the goal is to respond, and that part of that response is mass care. Yet, he said, there are differences.

“Operating a congregate sheltering environment for a natural disaster concurrently while there is an epidemic or pandemic in progress … that’s a bit of a different animal,” he said. “We’re going to have in place protocols and procedures and guidelines we develop with the CDC and public health officials to make sure that we can provide safe and sanitary congregate sheltering and minimize the risk of infection that will include screening and will include isolation procedures in other facilities.”

Dr. Bresee was asked from a webinar participant about what people should do sanitize.

“Do what your mom told you to do,” he said. “Wash your hands. When you’re sick, stay home. If you want to go to work and you’re sick, don’t go. And if you get to work and you’re sick, go home. The guidance now is really the guidance for any respiratory virus that is spread person to person. It’s to do those things. The other thing I will add is to get your flu shot. Don’t be mistaken for a coronavirus patient, so get your flu shot now.”

Additional resources may be found at the following:

U.S. Travel Toolkit

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

International Association of Exhibitions and Events