By nba.com

The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury announced a transformative new partnership with Oak View Group’s (OVG) food and beverage division, OVG Hospitality, to redefine the overall fan experience at all Suns and Mercury games, as well as concerts and live events. OVG’s first-ever partnership with an NBA and WNBA venue, this groundbreaking deal further expands the best-in-class experience for Suns and Mercury fans and elevates Phoenix as a premier destination for basketball and entertainment.

“Our commitment is to continue to find innovative ways to invest in our community and put forth our championship mentality in everything we do, on and off the floor,” said Mat Ishbia, Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner. “From the moment fans walk through our doors, we want every part of their game-day experience to be world-class and something they can only have in Phoenix – the best basketball city in the world.”

As the exclusive food and beverage provider, OVG Hospitality brings an experience unlike any other in the Valley to Suns and Mercury games with first-class food and beverage, service and state-of-the-art technologies. Features include premier food and beverage in all clubs, suites and concessions throughout the lower and upper concourses, new technology to ensure faster lines at concessions to allow fans to spend less time in line and more time enjoying the game or concert, and a robust selection of new menu items that will roll out throughout the year.

The partnership is the first in the sports and entertainment industry to feature OVG Hospitality’s newly-acquired luxury hospitality and catering company, Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (RHC) – elevating the Suns and Mercury’s premium services to unprecedented standards. RHC will create and provide a unique culinary journey for all club and suite guests. From specialized beverages as fans enter the arena and customized food offerings by locally renowned chefs to an elevated wine program for connoisseurs of every variety, fans will be treated to a bespoke culinary experience.

“Every fan should be treated to a best-in-class experience, and that includes providing top-quality food and beverage options and unrivaled service,” said Josh Bartelstein, chief executive officer of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. “Through our partnership with OVG we are significantly raising the standards of excellence for our fans and further elevating Phoenix as the preeminent city for sports and entertainment.”

As part of its offerings, OVG Hospitality will use locally sourced ingredients to create customized menus specific to each event, making the food and beverage experience unique to the Valley and a reflection of the city’s growing culinary scene.

“With high-tech market expertise to diverse local suppliers, OVG Hospitality has all the resources to elevate the experience for all fans, whether at the concourse concession stands or in the luxury suites,” said Ken Gaber, president of OVG Hospitality. “We are excited to partner with the Suns and Mercury and add a delicious and savory menu to their roster.”

We join with the rest of the IAVM family in congratulating Erin Wylie on her promotion at Indiana University. We will let Erin take it from here from her Facebook post about her promotion.

“Excited to share that I will be stepping into the role of Assistant Director of Events at IU Auditorium! Looking forward to continuing to work with this amazing team as I take on a new part of our wonderful industry. Thankful for my IU Auditorium Family and all the amazing students I’ve had the honor of working with over these last 2 years. Glad I’ll just be moving downstairs so I’ll still get to hear all the crazy things college kids are doing these days. If you know anyone that would like to be a Guest Service Manager and work with these amazing students, let me know!”

By Andra Bennett, APR

With the infernal heat dome over the entire southern USA dominating the news, the City of Fort Worth’s Public Events Department saw an opportunity to feature unique cooling treatments for horses provided at the National Cutting Horse Association’s Summer Cutting Spectacular at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

After pitching the story to a panel of national network correspondents, three outlets bit, including ABC’s Good Morning America!

This was the gist of the pitch:

More than 1,000 horses are being carefully attended with innovative therapies to protect them from heat exhaustion and improve performance, including electrolytes in their food and water, sweat supplements to enhance perspiration evaporation, mister fans, and even cryotherapy, hydrotherapy and salt-water spas.

Equine cold-water spas with oxygen jets and mineral water have been shown to be particularly useful for healing abrasions and treating tendon problems but can also be used for regulating temperature and comfort.

Cryotherapy for horses use cold water treadmills to create therapeutic effect, as well as targeted high-pressure liquid nitrogen treatments.

The cryotherapy chamber was the clincher, and with a photo of a horse in cold fog surrounding her provided to the press, every reporter wanted to get footage of that, if not get into the chamber themselves.

Andra Bennett, APR, is Marketing Communications | Public Events Department for the City of Fort Worth, Texas.

By Megan Reynolds, MS

The Community Safety Training that Mark Herrera provided on July 29 was unique is that it brought together community stakeholders across many jurisdictions and towns.

Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 partnered with Mark and the Argyle Independent School District to provide this invaluable training to over 100 first responders, town administrators and staff, and emergency management professionals from across the county. Trainings such as these are critical in establishing relationships between entities prior to incidents, as well as identifying a unified response between multiple agencies.

Megan Reynolds, MS, is Community Outreach and Public Relations for Denton County ESD.

By Christa Skiles

Tessitura, the nonprofit technology provider dedicated to the success of arts and culture organizations, announced a new partnership with Vatic.

The relationship provides Tessitura’s users with an additional integrated, full-service pricing solution option.

Vatic’s 16 proprietary algorithms help marketers find the right price for every performance. Automated dynamic pricing tools shift ticket prices up or down in alignment with customers’ buying behavior and perceptions about an event’s value.

Vatic fully integrates with Tessitura’s CRM and ticketing platform to allow instant updates across all ticketing price types, including discounts. Reports also update automatically each day, allowing for in-depth analysis about the effect of pricing adjustments.

“Vatic’s solution is designed specifically for performing arts organizations, not adapted from ticketed entities in other industries,” said Erin Lively Koppel, Chief Strategy Officer, Tessitura. “A tiered pricing structure means a broad range of organizations can benefit from their dynamic pricing tools to increase revenue and decrease staff time spent on pricing management.”

In addition to dynamic pricing, Vatic offers a full suite of other pricing solutions. Clients can access discounted consulting for rescaling venues. Vatic helps organizations establish starting prices for single tickets and subscriptions. And the team’s experts provide advice about pricing for financial accessibility.

“We’re thrilled to join the supportive community Tessitura fosters,” said Sean Kelly, Vatic’s founder. “We created Vatic to help performing arts organizations be more sustainable. We don’t make clients guess whether dynamic pricing has improved their bottom line. Our assessments help organizations understand impact and, crucially, whether they are achieving an appropriate return on investment.”

Christa Skiles is Senior Marketing Manager for Tessitura Network.