Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in October 2017. Thank you for being a part of the association!

Also, let us get to know you better by participating in the I Am Venue Management series. Please visit http://www.iavm.org/i-am-venue-management-share-your-story to share your story and photo.

Continue Reading →

Before Michigan State University and the University of Georgia played a recent exhibition basketball game at the SMG-managed Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a check for $339,448.90 was presented to representatives from the American Red Cross. The game became a sudden and last-minute addition to the schedule with the intent of raising funds to support disaster relief efforts.

Proceeds from the game will be collectively donated by both the universities and SMG/Van Andel Arena to the American Red Cross, with the funds being split equally between Georgia’s designated Red Cross – Georgia Region and Michigan State’s designated Red Cross – International Services. After tickets sold out almost immediately, SMG, MSU, and Georgia staff received confirmation that the event would be a worthwhile endeavor.

“We had confidence that the West Michigan community would respond to this event in a big way, and they certainly lived up to the expectations,” said SMG Regional General Manager Richard MacKeigan. “It had to come together very quickly, but the quality of the event paired with a great cause made this something we really wanted to be a part of.”

“We know West Michigan loves their Spartans, and we were certain that this community would jump at a chance to support communities recovering from recent disasters,” added Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority Chairman and MSU alumnus Steve Heacock. “It’s a gratifying feeling to see the success today.”

With news of the possible event breaking on Monday, October 23, it left only six days to bring together what typically takes months to achieve. “I can’t say enough about the staff on all sides for making sure this event happened in such a short span,” MacKeigan said.

Organizers had to plan everything in a very limited time frame, including securing a basketball court for the game and having it arrive in Grand Rapids on time. Michigan State volunteered to bring their floor for the game, and without the necessary transportation to have it delivered, Meijer stepped in to donate semi-trucks and cover expenses to haul the court west to Van Andel Arena.

Both teams pledged to cover their own transportation and operational costs as well in order to achieve a maximum donation total possible from the event.

Steve Romer has been named as chief operating officer for Byron Bay Bluesfest, Australia’s premier contemporary blues and roots music festival. Bluesfest showcases music from around the world annually on the Easter-long weekend on 120 hectares at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, just north of Byron Bay, NSW. Bluesfest presents more than 200 performances with various stages over five 12-hour days, as well as camping for up to 6,000 people, five licensed bars, more than 100 food and market stalls, undercover food courts, beer gardens, and children’s entertainment.

From a modest crowd of 6,000 when it began in 1990, Bluesfest now attracts an audience of more than 100,000 and is regarded as the foremost destination festival in Australia and renowned for being a safe, fun, family-friendly event.

Romer holds the same role for associated companies including Bluesfest Touring.

Romer has worked in the live music, sport and entertainment industries for 30 years and was most recently the past Chair and CEO of the Venue Management Association (Asia Pacific). He has held a wide variety of senior management roles including stints at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Sydney 2000 Olympics Satellite Stadiums, and with amusement park operators Macquarie Leisure Trust (now Ardent Leisure) and Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

“I am excited to be joining the team at the iconic Bluesfest Byron Bay, and look forward to working closely with Festival Director Peter Noble,” Romer said.

“We are proud to make the announcement that Steve is joining the Bluesfest group of companies, and will be overseeing operations across the annual festival in Byron Bay, Bluesfest Touring and the company’s land holdings,” Noble added. “Bluesfest has become a major player and I believe the recent additions to our dynamic team of Steve and Simone Twiss as chief financial officer will allow us to continue confidently into the future. I am also announcing that I am moving to the position of executive chairman and will continue to focus on booking talent as well as acquisitions that will take Bluesfest into an exciting new era.”

Romer officially begins in his new position on November 13

The Fox Theatre Institute (FTI) has awarded over $85,000 to four immediate need projects under the organization’s newly-created Urgent/Emergency Need Grant, a part of FTI’s expanded funding efforts to support historic Georgia theaters.

For the theater or historic performing arts venue to receive an Urgent/Emergency Needs Grant, the historic venue must have found operational needs that require immediate action to save the structure itself, or unanticipated delays that hindered the venue’s ability to maintain its current programming and economic health. The Urgent/Emergency Need Grant is one of four grant funding categories through FTI – including Urgent/Emergency Need, Historic Structures Studies or Planning, Technical Assistance and Services, and Preservation Grant – all of which allows up to $500,000 of much needed statewide grant subsidy.

“Awarding urgent or emergency funds are a top priority for FTI,” said Adina Erwin, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Fox Theatre, Inc. “Historic venues can find themselves in great financial need and we are fortunate to be able to respond with non-matching grants for immediate funding. In our first year implementing the urgent and emergency funding, we found four key performing arts venues to support, ensuring their patrons ongoing access to the arts. We are continuing to accept applications, and we hope to continue to fill in gaps of funding to support Georgia’s important architectural and cultural landmarks.”

The following historic theaters or performing arts venues have been awarded Urgent/Emergency Needs Grant through FTI:

Conyers Rockdale Council for the Arts (CRCA), (Conyers, GA), Amount to receive: $11,348 – CRCA opened to the public in Oct. 2000 and is home to dozens of productions each year, including a long-standing relationship with the local theater company. FTI funds allows CRCA to replace its 17-year-old HVAC unit in time for the theatre to continue its scheduled programming.

Festival Hall, (Greensboro, GA), Amount to receive: $19,640 – Festival Hall, formerly the Greene County High School Auditorium, serves as a Greensboro community landmark for local visual arts as well as theatrical and musical performances. Due to years of layering of materials, the stage has become dangerous for performers. With the grant, the stage will receive a new floor safe for performers and theater staff.

DeSoto Theatre, (Rome, GA), Amount to receive: $20,000 – Downtown Rome’s 1929 Historic DeSoto Theatre is the only remaining historic theatre left in Rome. Although state-of-the-art in 1929, the grant will allow the DeSoto Theatre to upgrade its original fire safety features.

Theatre Albany, (Albany, GA), Amount to receive: $34,393 – Theatre Albany opened its doors in 1932 and is one of the oldest arts organizations in Albany. With FTI funding, repairs will be made to the historic façade of the building recently damaged by severe tornadoes in early 2017.

“The Fox Theatre Institute provides needed financial resources for historic theatres who have struggled to find partnering, supporting, or matching fund programs,” said Leigh Burns, the recently appointed director of the Fox Theatre Institute. “Currently, no other organizations in Georgia provide grant assistance specific to theater preservation, and notably direct funding that does not requiring a match. For many treasured Georgia historic landmarks, we are the only option to staying operational while making necessary repairs to ensure audience safety. The organizations that utilize our funds are the lifeblood for our downtowns, and spur community and economic development for their hometowns, and often the broader Georgia regions.”

As part of the Fox Theatre’s ongoing commitment to Georgia’s historic theaters, the FTI grant program seeks to provide significant economic and cultural impact to local communities across the state. FTI’s Preservation Grant Program and Historic Preservation Services have supported 15 projects totaling more than $360,000 in maintenance and physical improvement efforts across Georgia over the past nine years. FTI is part of the Fox Theatre’s overall strategic plan to further increase its impact and outreach.

Since the launch of FTI in 2008, the Fox Theatre has committed more than $1 million to the overall program, including ‘Fox in a Box,’ a free interactive curriculum-based resource for area elementary schools; Georgia Presenters, an innovative statewide talent booking consortium; and Preservation Grants to encourage preservation of historic theatres with outside funding not readily available elsewhere.

The 2017-18 FTI grant season launched on May 1, 2017 with the Hampton 70: A Celebration of Colonel Bruce Hampton concert, in which a portion of the tickets sold benefited FTI. The all-star music celebration raised over $50,000 in the one-night only event.

IAVM’s Public Assembly Venue Management: Sports, Entertainment, Meeting, and Convention Venues textbook is the perfect reference guide for any professional in the venue management industry, regardless of whether you are entering the industry or a seasoned professional looking to expand your knowledge base.

Watch the Commercial

Four of the industry’s top academic professionals in Kimberly Mahoney, Ph.D., Lee Esckilsen, CFE, Adonis “Sporty” Jeralds, CFE, and Steve Camp, CFE, authored the latest textbook that will serve as an invaluable resource for your professional development.

“The textbook is a great reference tool for all industry professionals, including those just entering the industry and experienced professionals working to expandtheir knowledge into other aspects of venue management,” said Dr. Mahoney, assistant professor, Sport Management, University of New Haven. “It is also a useful reference tool for those executives mentoring others in the industry or for internal professional development programs. The textbook provides a wonderful foundation of industry knowledge which serves as a perfect jumping off point to build upon with venue-specific information.”

“The textbook is an important tool for IAVM members because it can assist the manager in providing 

their staff members a basic, but rather complete, description of how all aspects of the venue management process function,” added Camp, a retired venue veteran based in Charlotte, NC. “This prepares the employees for advancement within their existing organization or enables them to consider other options as their career journeys develop.”

In addition to exploring the history and role of public assembly facilities, the textbook also examines the fundamental principles of venue management and ownership, safety and security, booking, fiscal practices, operations, event management, and much more.

“The most gratifying fact about this textbook, to me, is the fact that those 

using the textbook as a teaching guide for venue management classes around the country have told us that they think it is the best venue management textbook available,” Camp said. “I am also aware that a number of managers have purchased the textbook for each of their department heads because they consider it a valuable reference source and believe it can assist them in providing their staff with more information about the business, thus resulting in a more knowledgeable and prepared organization.”

Fellow authors Esckilsen and Jeralds are also long-time IAVM members and individuals with venue backgrounds before venturing onto college campuses. Esckilsen is associate professor, Johnson & Wales Sports, Entertainment & Event Management Division, while Jeralds is a clinical instructor at the University of South Carolina.

“The textbook addresses the core functional areas common to all public assembly venues presented by authors who have a combined 100-plus years of experience in public assembly venue management,” Mahoney said.

To purchase your copy of this professional development reference tool click here.

IAVM members receive a 30% discount off the retail price. For information on IAVM membership, click here.