Edmonton Economic Development (EEDC) announced the appointment of Arlindo Gomes to the role of Vice President, Venue Management.

Gomes previously served as the General Manager of the Edmonton EXPO Centre. In his new role, Gomes will provide strategic oversight over the Edmonton EXPO Centre and Edmonton Convention Centre, ensuring both venues continue to operate as best in class while maximizing the economic and community benefit to the City of Edmonton.

“I’m thrilled Arlindo has accepted the role of Vice President, Venue Management,” said Derek Hudson, EEDC CEO. “His experience in the fields of live entertainment, sports, and venue management will be a major influence on the ongoing success of both venues.”

“It’s an honor to be trusted with the stewardship of these two venues,” Gomes said. I look forward to working with both teams at the Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton EXPO Centre to build upon the strong reputation and success of both venues while driving efficiencies and operational excellence.”

Gomes has more than 25 years of experience in the sports, entertainment, and venue management industry. He began his career at the Edmonton Convention Centre, was instrumental in the integration of the Edmonton EXPO Centre within EEDC, and was the creative mind behind many of the new events introduced at the facility.

Richard Wong, General Manager of the Edmonton Convention Centre, has formally resigned his position to pursue another opportunity. For nearly two years, Wong provided exceptional leadership and stewardship of one of the city’s most iconic facilities, recognized as one of North America’s top performing venues in 2018.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have become the latest Major League Baseball team to commit to extend netting at its ballpark following another incident of a fan being injured by a foul ball.

On June 23, a young girl at Dodger Stadium was hit in the head by a liner from home team slugger Cody Bellinger. The girl received treatment at the game before being taken to hospital for precautionary tests.

The incident comes amid growing awareness of the dangers of foul balls at MLB stadia. The Washington Nationals recently committed to installing additional protective netting, with a view towards enhancing fan safety. The new netting will extend down the line and end just short of the right- and left-field foul poles at Nationals Park.

The Chicago White Sox earlier revealed plans to extend the netting at Guaranteed Rate Field. The actions of the two teams came after a White Sox home game against the Nationals saw a woman struck on the head by a foul ball.

Incidents involving children have occurred just this month at both Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, while the Dodgers have prior history. It was revealed in February that a California woman died in August 2018 as a consequence of being hit in the head by a batted ball while attending a game at Dodger Stadium.

Linda Goldbloom, a mother of three and grandmother of seven, died on August 29, four days after watching a game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. While deaths have been rare, injuries from foul balls at baseball games are commonplace. Last year marked the first season in which all 30 MLB teams had protective netting extending from behind home plate to at least the far ends of both dugouts to protect especially vulnerable sections of stadiums’ lower bowls.

In response to the latest incident, the Dodgers said in a statement: “Fan safety is of the utmost importance to the Dodgers and during the offseason, we began the process of studying how the netting at Dodger Stadium could be configured to provide better protection for our fans. Once this study is completed, the team will implement the recommended changes and extend the netting at Dodger Stadium. The team will provide more information on the project timeline and scope when available.”

Dodgers team president and CEO Stan Kasten said that these plans are expected to be made public in the “next couple weeks”. Regarding the wider announcements in MLB, he added, according to the Orange County Register newspaper: “I think it was expected in baseball because all of us have been talking about doing more. All of the teams have. It wasn’t a surprise at all.

“One of the things that has changed and has been helpful is that the modern-day fan has more of an expectation of seeing netting than they ever have before. And that’s useful to know because customer opinions are very important.”

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council met at the Baltimore Convention Center from June 25-27. The WBENC is the largest conference of its kind for women business owners in the U.S. with more than 2,000 in attendance.

A signature event, the National Conference & Business Fair features innovative educational programming, inspiring keynotes, 1:1 MatchMaker sessions, networking opportunities, and an unrivaled Business Fair.

WBENC’s event is attended by women business enterprises, senior executives and procurement representatives from the Fortune 500, U.S. Government and select partner organizations whose missions align with WBENC’s vision of expanding women’s business opportunities in the marketplace.

In honor of the event, Baltimore Convention Center Executive Director Peggy Daidakis gathered the business women of the Baltimore Convention Center for a photograph.

IAVM has partnered with Team Coalition to bring you a webinar on how to Turn on the Taps Responsibly and Profitably! Be sure to secure your spot now!

Date: Tuesday, June 25th

Time: 3:00 – 3:45 EDT

Topic: Join collegiate facility managers as they share the best practices and reasonable efforts they implemented to successfully serve alcohol through general concessions at the collegiate level. Lean what pitfalls to avoid. Consider the keys to success from those who have rolled out alcohol service responsibly and profitably.

From Chase Center

He wanted a statue, but got a urinal instead.

Former Warriors player Tom Tolbert took a tour of Chase Center on Thursday. After jokingly asking for a statue in his honor to be on the premises of the soon-to-be Warriors’ new home, Tolbert was instead “honored” with a ceremonial first flush in the venue’s media room restroom.

“Tom, as General Manager of Chase Center, it is my distinct pleasure to dedicate a urinal to you,” said Chase Center General Manager Kim Stone. “The sign reads, ‘Chase Center, the Tom Tolbert Urinal. Chase Center First Flush, June 17, 2019.'”

“That’s my urinal. Fantastic. Look at that!” Tolbert responded. “Oh. It’s sticky.”

While some might view it as a dig, that wasn’t the case for the good-natured Tolbert. Instead, the longtime Bay Area sports radio host who played three of his seven NBA seasons with the Warriors (1989-92), and former Warriors radio analyst, took the honor in stride.

“I’ve got to tell you, it’s quite an honor. Ever since I was a little kid, I never dreamed of playing in the NBA, that dream was too big for me, but to have my own urinal, wow,” said Tolbert. “The only misgiving I have is that I went to the bathroom right before I came, so I won’t be able to dedicate it in the manner that’s appropriate for a urinal. So, we’re gonna do the best we can.”

“Where are we going to put this [plaque]? We want people to see it. When they walk in here, right? I mean, all the greats — Tim Kawakami, Marcus Thompson, Bruce Jenkins, Scott Ostler — they’re gonna be in here, and when they’re taking a whizz they’re going to be looking right at me.” Tolbert added. “It’d be great if there was a picture. Talk about stage fright. They probably wouldn’t be able to go at that point.”

“Like a lot of people have said: When you urinate, you think Tom Tolbert. That will never be more true than right here in the media restroom.”

(Editor’s Note: As for a Facebook from Stone, she simply called it the “funniest day ever!” We see why.)