When the Atlanta Hawks tip off the 2018-19 season in a few weeks, they will do so at the State Farm Arena rather than Philips Arena. It is the same venue, but a new naming rights deal covering 20 years for $175 million will be in place.

When the building opened 20 years ago it was Philips that had a similar term on naming rights, which is sext to expire next year.

The venue has been quite busy lately after going through a $192.5 million renovation project that has taken place the last two years and on track for an October completion just in time for the NBA schedule.

In a statement, Principal Owner Tony Ressler commented, “We are honored to work with State Farm, one of the nation’s most recognizable and civic-minded organizations and want to thank Michael Tipsord and Rand Harbert for their leadership and commitment to this exceptional collaboration. Our ownership group considers the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club a community asset, and we are excited to have found a partner that shares our vision and has committed to working with us to expand on the community engagement and philanthropic initiatives we do that benefit the many communities that make up this great metropolitan area. Generations will be positively impacted by the work we do throughout Georgia, and we could not be prouder to have the State Farm name on our new arena.”

The Visit Anaheim Customer Advisory Board (CAB) in conjunction with the Anaheim Convention Center recently underwent situation awareness training under the guidance of IAVM Director of Education Mark Herrera.

“This was a great group of industry leaders sharing best practices,” said Charles Harris, senior vice president, marketing at Visit Anaheim.

“It was truly a pleasure presenting the importance of elevating our security posture to such an awesome group in Anaheim,” Herrera said. “The entire group plays a key and integral role as it pertains to assuring that all events are carefully planned with security at the forefront. I appreciate the fact that emphasis is going to be placed on service contractors to also take a proactive stance in coordinating and raising the security baseline. Their concerns regarding emergency planning/recovery consistency amongst all venues is something that IAVM through its respective committees will continue to work on.

“I’m excited that several attendees are interested in membership and taking part in our various committees. Having representation from the customer advisory board and service contractors on our venue safety and security committee would most definitely contribute to solid collaboration as we move forward to coordinate our security efforts.”

The NAIA announced the second year of the NAIA National Championship Host Excellence Awards. Seven honors were awarded to championship site hosts that have gone above and beyond in the execution of their event during the 2017-18 school year. Glenn Walinski has received the Championship Legacy Award for his role in NAIA tournaments at the Spectra-managed Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Championship Legacy Award is given to a person who has advanced NAIA National Championships and has helped elevate the NAIA brand.

“Our hosts deserve every bit of recognition for all of the work that they put into making our NAIA Championships better each year,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “The 2017-18 season is no exception with another outstanding group of hosts that did an excellent job of creating experiences for our student-athletes that will last a lifetime.”

Walinski has been at every NAIA Tournament in Sioux City since his arrival in 2005 (10 volleyball, 14 DII WBB, 2 softball) up until his retirement in December 2017. The long-time IAVM member was the primary facilities contact and was always willing to do what needed to be done to make sure that the student-athletes, coaches and fans were safe and able to have an even better championship experience.

“Glenn worked closely with his staff, local committee members and championship coordinators to make sure each event was championship caliber,” said Mike Skaggs, Women’s Volleyball and DII Women’s Basketball Championships Co-Tournament Director. “He worked tirelessly to make sure that the arena and playing surfaces were championship ready. He strived to provide first class treatment to all players, coaches and fans during each tournament. Glenn was always available to make any adjustments that any coach or player felt needed to be made in order to improve the experience and provide maximum safety.”

Georgia and Florida Fans traveling to TIAA Bank Field now have access to premium, reserved pre-game tailgating packages through Tailgate Guys.

Tailgate Guys is expanding its presence in the state of Florida as the official tailgate provider for the historic Georgia-Florida football rivalry at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on October 27, 2018. This partnership will provide Tailgate Guys’ renowned, hassle-free premium tailgating service to Georgia Bulldog and Florida Gator fans traveling to Jacksonville for the 2018 game and beyond. These offerings will bolster the game day experience for fans and reinforce one of the best pre-game environments in college athletics.

For the first time in Jacksonville, Tailgate Guys’ premium tailgating service will be located in the outfield of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Their tailgating packages are suitable for various group sizes and needs ranging from corporate hospitality events to small groups of family and friends. Georgia and Florida fans will now have access to various gameday packages in Tailgate Guys’ reserved community which include amenities such as tents, DISH Media packages, coolers of ice, tables, chairs and more. All packages also have access to bellhop services, onsite concierge, exclusive catering by the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and a unique tailgating atmosphere before, during and after the game. Only steps away from the TIAA Bank Field, the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville is the ideal location for this inaugural Georgia-Florida Tailgate experience.

“We love serving Gators and Jags fans already, so it’s only natural that we would open up our premium experience and services to Georgia-Florida in Jacksonville,” said Parker Duffey, CEO of Tailgate Guys. “We also look forward to introducing Georgia fans to our premium services, and it’s exciting for us to be part of one of the best rivalries in all of sports.”

“On behalf of the City of Jacksonville and SMG, we look forward to another exciting year of Georgia-Florida Football,” said Bill McConnell, General Manager of SMG Jacksonville. “In an ongoing tradition to create unforgettable events for fans, we are thrilled to partner with Tailgate Guys to offer a one-of-a-kind tailgating experience – which fans won’t want to miss.”

Happy Foundation Friday from wonderful Chicago!  IAVM staff members have been in Chicago since Wednesday for a sight visit for VenueConnect 2019.  From everything I’ve seen, toured, and tasted, it looks like next summer’s conference will be FANTASTIC.  I had my first taste of Chicago-style deep dish pizza last night with Chicago local and Foundation Trustee Bill “Sparky” Bavirsha, Brad Mayne, and Amy Fitzpatrick. THAT will definitely be on the list for my VC19 experience!  Thank you to Sparky for taking me to see the probable golf course for the VC19 golf outing. It’s going to be amazing!  More on that another time.

It’s a very exciting and energizing time in the life of your Foundation.  Next week will be time to get busy on finalization of the Foundation Strategic Plan.  Members of the Board of Trustees Executive Committee will be heading to IAVM Headquarters in Dallas for a work session on September 12^th facilitated by Steven Foster of Foster and Fathom. The strategic plan will be honed down and completed so that the Foundation and the trustees can move forward with firm guidelines in place for the ongoing forward momentum in support of our member’s professional development and the industry as a whole.  A huge thank you to our executive committee, and all of our trustees, for the commitment and dedication you have shown towards the Foundation.

Your Foundation continues to work for you and your colleagues so that you might excel in your career with the support of a strong public assembly industry.  Won’t you please consider lending us your support by investing today in the Foundation?  It truly is YOUR Foundation…YOUR Future.  Invest Now!