The Exhibitions Mean Business campaign will host its sixth annual “Exhibitions Day” on June 4-5 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Exhibitions professionals from across the country will meet face-to-face with members of Congress and address four important policy issues impacting the health of trade shows, conventions, and other face-to-face gatherings, which contributed $97B to U.S. GDP in 2018.

Exhibitions Day is expected to draw more than 100 attendees from a variety of organizations, who will address policy makers from their home states as well as states they travel to conduct events.

“Exhibitions Day is an important moment for our industry to come together and create change that betters the American business environment for events,” said IAEE president and CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA. “These unique platforms play a vital role in the success of businesses and our local and national economies. It’s critical for us to communicate that value and our concerns with leaders.”

Topics that will be discussed at Exhibitions Day 2019 include:

Secure Travel Partnership Act of 2019 (H.R. 1996)

Travel is a top-10 employer in 49 states, and international travel is the top American service export and second export overall. In 2019, the House introduced H.R. 1996 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to rename the Visa Waiver Program to the Secure Travel Partnership. The existing program, administered by the Department of Homeland Security, allows prescreened citizens of participating countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The rebrand will better welcome visitors and express our country’s commitment to safe and secure travel.

JOLT Act of 2019 (H.R. 2187)

Over 1.2 million jobs across America are directly supported by international inbound travel. For the U.S. to grow that number as well as regain and increase our share of the global travel market, it is important to improve and expand programs currently in place. Advocates will encourage the JOLT Act, which will update and strengthen numerous programs related to the efficiency and volume of international travel.

Investing in America’s Infrastructure

According to the World Economic Forum, inadequate infrastructure is one of the top factors impeding business, making it extremely challenging to accommodate trade shows within states. Attendees will ask Congress to support measures that close all infrastructure investment gaps.

Protecting Brand USA

Brand USA is a bipartisan program, funded by inbound airline passenger fees and private industry, that promotes the country overseas as a business and tourist destination. A 2019 study by Oxford Economics showed that Brand USA’s six-year marketing results equate to an average marketing ROI of 28:1., meaning every $1 of Brand USA marketing generated $28 in spend. Attendees will urge Congress to oppose measures to defund Brand USA and recognize that reduced funding would hurt the health of our economy.

Exhibitions Day was established in 2014 to serve as a platform to engage in uninterrupted, one-on-one dialogue with federal legislators and other policy influencers.

Paciolan, co-founded by industry legend Jane Kleinberger in 1980, stands noteworthy for a good reason or two (or really dozens and dozens): 1) It was a major ticketing technology company founded at a time when technology was still a relatively unknown dimension, and 2) Jane Kleinberger instantly became one of the public assembly venue’s early women leaders in an industry dominated by men.

It is with that backdrop that it was a pleasure to read about Jane in the INTIX publication ACCESS with a look at this marvelous career that slowly inches toward semi-retirement (the magazines words, not ours!). More worth noting is that the keys to the car, so to speak, have been handed to Kim Damron, which as the headline rightfully states is a powerful woman ceding power to new female leadership. Now those are not phrases that have been remotely common in our industry, but very warming to read in this article full of insight and reflection.

To read all about Jane and her career, click here.

The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center has received several accolades by Charleston Area Alliance and American Institute of Architects – West Virgina following the completion of the recent $100 million expansion and renovation project at the facility.

Charleston Area Alliance recognized the facility with the “Best New Development Award” during its 12th annual “We Love Our Community” Awards Program. These annual awards recognize persons and organizations that make the Charleston area a great place to live, work, and play.

During the 41st annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) West Virginia 2019 Design Awards Gala, ZMM Architects & Engineers of Charleston and tvsdesign of Atlanta received the “Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture – New Construction and Renovation” and the “Citation for Achievement in Architecture – Interior Renovation.” ZMM partnered on this project with design-builder BBL Carlton, GAI, as well as wide range of other local designers and subcontractors – including the criteria developer Odell Associates. Additionally, the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center received the first ever “People’s Choice Award.” This award program by AIA West Virginia is juried by notable architects from various disciplines throughout the country and abroad.

The jury noted that the story of West Virginia is an intriguing starting point for this project that sets the local character of
Charleston to remake the Charleston Civic Center.

The Coliseum and Convention Center has distinct active nodes to celebrate each activity; arena, convention, and banquet, and
these nodes are connected like the hills and cut rock faces that are seen throughout the state as people work to connect to each
other through the landscape. The local character of the building is reflected through the palette of materials and the exterior
and interior lighting strategy enhances the architecture as well.

The first critical design objective was to create separate entries and identities for the arena and convention center. This
allows for simultaneous events and clarity of use. For the convention center to thrive, it needed a real ballroom assembly
space (25,000 sq. ft.). Located overlooking the Elk River, the new ballroom pre-function space (8,000 sq. ft.) is the most
dramatic feature of the center. Three glass lobbies – arena, convention, ballroom – define a unique Charleston event
campus inspired by the hills and cut rock faces that connect the towns along the Kanawha River.

The State-of-the-Art Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center is more efficient, more sustainable, more dynamic and an
iconic best-in-class destination.

Accepting award from left to right: Adam Krason ~ Principal ZMM Architects & Engineers, Chuck Moore ~ BBL Carlton, John Robertson, CVE, Executive Director ~ Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center, Rob Svedberg ~ tvsdesign, Rodney Pauley ~ ZMM, Sam Butzer ~ ZMM.

AudienceView, a world leader in e-commerce software for events and entertainment organizations, has acquired Vendini, a leading all-in-one ticketing and box office management company. Together, the companies are currently processing $3 billion in annual ticketing and fundraising transactions and serve over 8,000 venues globally with approximately 100 million tickets sold each year.

Combining the product portfolios of AudienceView and Vendini into a single company enables it to expand offerings in key markets through a powerful range of software, services, and audience development solutions. The leaders of both businesses recognized and are excited about the impact that joining forces will have on the live events industry.

“With AudienceView, OvationTix, TheaterMania and WhatsOnStage, we have been able to help live events organizations successfully achieve their individual missions and business goals by increasing revenue, enabling efficiencies, engaging audiences, and attracting new attendees for our customers,” said Mark Fowlie, CEO of AudienceView. “Vendini has successfully built a similarly unique value proposition. Our ability to bring these innovative solutions together will provide a significant boost in value through incremental offerings for providers of all types of live entertainment.”

Together, the company will continue to grow by adding large-scale customers to its enterprise platform while supporting the rest of the market with easy-to-use software offerings that combine ticketing, fundraising, customer relationship management (CRM), marketing and event logistics. The consumer brands that drive millions of monthly visitors — TheaterMania, WhatsOnStage, LaughStub, ElectroStub and TuneStub — will act as event discovery and distribution tools to help increase ticket sales.

“I’m thrilled this combination will allow us to continue to grow in our key markets, provide additional strategic support to existing clients, and ensure their success over the long term,” said Mark Tacchi, founder and CEO of Vendini. “The opportunity was too unique and powerful to pass up.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. AQ Technology Partners and Perkins Coie LLP served as transaction advisers to AudienceView. Canaccord Genuity and Hanson Bridgett LLP served as transaction advisers to Vendini.

Major League Baseball has named BrightView Landscapes as its official field consultant to support its expansion to play more games internationally.

Under the agreement, the Sports Turf Division of the commercial landscaping services company will oversee various MLB field development initiatives domestically and abroad. BrightView also performs numerous site and ballpark reviews.

“Our role as field consultant to Major League Baseball covers various functions for the many initiatives the Commissioner’s office manages both domestically and internationally,” said Murray Cook, BrightView Sports Turf president. “The core of our involvement is renovating and managing fields for international events, which can also include designing and coordinating construction projects.”

The MLB’s international department will collaborate with the firm to evaluate potential sites proposed by federations seeking to host games, often featuring future MLB stars. Over the years these site reviews have included the Olympic Games and Olympic qualifying tournaments.

“Through our relationship with BrightView and Murray Cook, Major League Baseball has expanded our efforts to play games in different parts of the world on big league calibre baseball fields,” said Jim Small, MLB senior vice president, international. “That relationship will continue this summer when we work with Murray and his team on bringing MLB games to London for the first time ever.”

The landscaping firm has consulted with the league for many years, most notably on field design and construction for games outside the league’s 30 existing ballparks. The projects include the 2016 Cuba Game of the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., as well as a two-game series in Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and MLB’s 2019 Mexico Series in Monterrey.

“Major League Baseball has exacting standards for field design, construction, and maintenance,” Cook said. “These requirements offer a top quality competitive product to baseball fans, while providing a safe, consistent, and high performance playing surface for its athletes.”

The company is currently planning field operations for MLB’s first series in London, scheduled for June 2019, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.