Janet Hamilton will leave her role as general manager of the Darwin Convention Centre following record-breaking results for the venue during her tenure. Her last day is March 8.

The center, located at the billion-dollar Darwin Waterfront precinct, opened in 2008 and is operated by AEG Ogden, the leading venue management company in the Asia Pacific Region.

“Janet’s strong leadership, her marketing and major event background and understanding of Territory issues combined to deliver outstanding results for the Darwin Convention Centre,” said Geoff Donaghy, AEG Ogden’s group director for convention center. “She successfully led a team that has hosted over 61,000 national and international delegates who in turn spent $227 million in the Darwin economy. In the past 12 months, the Centre has seen a record number of bids in market and record delegate numbers attending conferences in Darwin.”

Hamilton has served as GM since August 2013, and during that time the venue has won the National MEA Award for Meeting Venue 500 delegates or more, Brolga Awards for NT Tourism Excellence, a Gold Plate, and has been ranked in the top 20 Convention Centres globally by the Association of International Congress Centres (AIPC) for four years running.

She has been a passionate advocate of Darwin and the business events industry sitting on the Tourism Top End Board, the Darwin Major Business Group and the NT Major Events Board.

Donaghy said that Hamilton would be promoted within the AEG Ogden ”Family of Facilities” with her next appointment to be announced soon.

BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, one of the world’s busiest venues, is set for a future new revenue stream as a naming rights sponsor is sought for the first time. PavCo, facility owner and operator, will issue the RFP to launch the process.

The stadium hosts more than one million people each years to a wide-ranging schedule of events in resident anchors BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer. The 54,000-seat stadium is also home to the annual Canada Sevens, part of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

As with other naming rights deals, finding a suitable partner is huge in helping to offset the venue’s operations costs. PavCo is managing the overall consultation process along with approvals from government. A field of finalists is expected to be announced at some point in June with the eventual winner named in July.

“This naming rights sponsorship opportunity will make more funds available for government to improve the services that British Columbians count on,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in a release. “We believe this is an excellent time to look for the right corporate partner for this important facility in B.C., and through that sponsorship, generate significant benefit for British Columbians.”

BC Place Stadium opened in 1983 and through the years has had only one naming rights consideration before the latest approval to move forward.

The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, up to $200 in savings when you register for VenueConnect 2019 before March 31, 2019!

The 94th VenueConnect Annual Conference and Trade Show will be hosted at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. VenueConnect hosts professionals from a spectrum of public assembly venues including arenas, convention centers, amphitheaters, fairgrounds, performing arts centers, stadiums, universities, and more. This is the only industry conference that inspires industry leaders, provides targeted education, and brings attendees together creating relationships that last a lifetime.

This year’s VenueConnect offers 100+ education sessions, over 30 networking opportunities, and a better than ever trade show experience.  Visit the conference website, to learn more!

From Business Wire

AEG Facilities, the venue management subsidiary of AEG, and SMG, an Onex portfolio company, announced they have signed a definitive agreement to merge. This combination will create a new, standalone global facility management and venue services company that will operate as ASM Global (“ASM”). Onex and AEG’s subsidiary will each own 50% of the company following the completion of the transaction. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

ASM will be headquartered in Los Angeles with key operations based in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Led by the most experienced team in the industry, the company will operate a diversified portfolio of arenas, stadiums, convention centers, and performing arts centers, with more than 310 venues across five continents.

Wes Westley, Chief Executive Officer and President of SMG, said, “This merger is a major step for our industry. We are excited to bring together these complementary businesses to further elevate the standard of excellence in venue management. We plan to accelerate innovation by combining our expertise to deliver increased value and offer enhanced capabilities to municipalities and venue owners worldwide. At the same time, we expect that this transaction will offer employees at both our corporate headquarters and field operations tremendous new opportunities.”

Bob Newman, current President of AEG Facilities and formerly a Regional Vice President at SMG, said, “It is an honor and privilege to be a part of this exciting new company, which brings together the two organizations where I have worked for the bulk of my professional career. This transaction draws upon the depth of our combined talent and resources to create an organization that will deliver value and long-term success, as well as innovative services to our clients around the world.”

Following the completion of the transaction, Newman will be named President and CEO of ASM. Westley will join ASM’s Board of Directors, where he will actively support the merger integration.

Dan Beckerman, President and Chief Executive Officer of AEG, said, “AEG Facilities has flourished under Bob’s leadership since it was established a decade ago and this combination will position ASM for growth by joining the resources and talents of these two companies. ASM will offer an impressive array of capabilities that will accelerate the development and deployment of new services and bring diverse business, sports and entertainment experiences to municipalities, partners, and fans around the world.”

Amir Motamedi, a Managing Director of Onex, added, “With Wes at the helm, SMG became a gold standard in venue management. We are grateful for his stewardship over the last 25 years and look forward to his continued involvement on the board. Looking forward, we are thrilled to be partnering with Bob Newman and the talented AEG team to create a larger, more diverse company to better serve ASM’s clients.”

AEG will retain ownership of its real estate holdings outside of this venture, including its entertainment districts and owned venues in Los Angeles, London, Hamburg, and Berlin, as well as its extensive development, sports, music, and sponsorship divisions. Onex is contributing its entire equity investment in SMG into the merger. The transaction is expected to be completed later this year subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Please follow IAVM for further updates and comments regarding the merger.

Several IAVM members participated or served as observers for the Des Moines Performing Arts Tabletop Exercise with Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection. Laura Sweet, Vice President & COO of the Des Moines Performing Arts, organized the event. She also serves as vice chair for the IAVM Performing Arts Committee.

Back Row (from left)
Scott Braudt – Adler Theatre/VenuWorks
Heather Brummel – Adler Theatre/VenuWorks
Craig Spillman – Stephens Auditorium/VenuWorks
Natalie Stroud – Lied Center for Performing Arts
Joe Levy, CVE – Apollo Theater
Tammy Koolbeck, CVE – Stephens Auditorium/VenuWorks
Todd Duesing – Cincinnati Arts Association
Justin McDaid – Carlsen Center/Johnson County Community College

Front Row (from left)
Janet Albanese – Des Moines Performing Arts
Ebeth Campbell – Carlsen Center/Johnson County Community College
Laura Sweet – Des Moines Performing Arts
Jacqueline Goetz – Overture
Heather Goforth – Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Kelly Wilson – Cincinnati Arts Association

Photo provide by Tammy Koolbeck, CVE