Further expanding its European footprint, AEG Facilities, a stand-alone division of the world’s leading sports, venue and live entertainment company, has been selected by the Lausanne Hockey Club to manage their new state-of-the-art arena in Lausanne, Switzerland which broke ground earlier this year. Set to Open in Summer 2019, the city-owned venue will be home to the Lausanne Hockey Club Lions as well as other sporting contests, concerts family shows and special events.

Sacha Weibel, Lausanne Hockey Club President said, “We couldn’t be happier with our partnership with AEG Facilities, the world leader in the entertainment industry. Our goal is to become one of the European leaders in the sports & entertainment business and without a strong partner like AEG at our side, this would not be achievable.”

Effective immediately, AEG Facilities will be responsible for providing operations and design input during the construction-management phase of the project, transitioning to overseeing the hiring and training of the venue’s full staff while managing key arena departments such as event operations, security, ticketing, guest services, marketing, public relations, finance, human resources and overall event management. Richard Krezwick, Senior Vice President, AEG Facilities, and one of the venue industry’s most respected leaders, will oversee the project for AEG Facilities.

“This state-of-the-art new arena will be located in one of the most important regions for National and Olympic Federations, and we believe will deliver world class sports competitions and entertainment events that will establish Lausanne as a one of Europe’s busiest Gateway Markets,” said Bob Newman, President, AEG Facilities. “We are proud to partner with Lausanne Hockey Club, one of the most respected organizations in Europe, to develop an arena that will become a focal point and cultural hub for the City and region.”

AEG Facilities will also design the overall grand opening plan for the new Lausanne arena that will feature a unique design with first-class premium seating and four special seating configurations that will accommodate events ranging from 4,000 to 11,500.

The long term agreement expands AEG Facilities’ significant portfolio and footprint in Europe and across the globe. In Europe, AEG already owns or operates a network of world-class arenas in capital markets including The O2 (London), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin), AccorHotels Arena (Paris), The SSE Hydro (Glasgow), Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg), Friends Arena, Tela2 Arena and Ericson Globe (Stockholm) and Stadio Della Roma (Rome), the planned new stadium home of FC Roma.

The perennially successful Lions of the National League A, the top tier of the Swiss hockey league, will be playing in a temporary arena while their permanent home is under construction.

Orlando Venues Executive Director Allen Johnson announced Kevin Brown has been named Orlando Venues Booking & Revenue Development Division Manager which includes Amway Center, Camping World Stadium and Tinker Field. In this newly created position, Brown will focus on developing and executing booking and sales strategies to secure a variety of sporting events, concerts, music festivals, family shows and community events for these three venues. Not only will Brown be responsible for maintaining current relationships with various promoters, he will be charged with cultivating new opportunities which play a vital role in generating revenue for Orlando Venues while also negotiating venue contractual terms with promoters.

“We are excited to have Kevin join the Orlando Venues team where his booking experience, skill set and concert industry contacts will bolster the City’s efforts to provide diverse programming among our venues,” Johnson said. “We’ve been fortunate to host several milestone events at our venues recently including WrestleMania, the NFL Pro Bowl, NCAA March Madness and many high-profile concerts so he will be instrumental in our growth and continued success.”

Prior to joining Orlando Venues, Brown was the senior talent buyer for House of Blues New Orleans and, before that, a booker with Live Nation Worldwide. Earlier in his career, he was a talent booker and social media manager for the Orlando Calling Music Festival, a joint partnership between Festival Republic, LTD. and Live Nation. Upon graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Marketing, Brown began his career with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in Los Angeles as a music agent assistant.

Claude Molinari, general manager of SMG/Cobo Center, announced an additional $2 million technology upgrade to the venue. The work includes the installation of 60 intermediate distribution frames (IDF) throughout the center that will support and enhance the 10-gigabyte (Gb) broadband network now offered to customers in Cobo Center.

“We are creating a network that will accommodate the largest technology power-using events in the industry,” Molinari said. “We are particularly going after e-sports events and trade shows with augmented reality or virtual reality exhibits, expecting them to be a wave of the future.”

Cobo’s broadband supplier, Rocket Fiber, is Detroit’s newest broadband company, boasting the fastest Internet in the world. The company created a hub on Cobo Center’s property during the initial build-out of its fiber infrastructure, much of which is trenched
along the new QLINE streetcar system that became operational in downtown Detroit May 12. The Cobo hub will create a fiber pipeline into the facility that will offer 10Gb broadband, enough for any high-tech event in operation currently. The increased number of IDFs allow for a more complex, flexible and robust system, fully customizable to meet the needs of any event. Bandwidth usage up to 40GB is now built into the system for future adaptation.

“Our Technology Services Department is an area that will always require ongoing upgrades,” said Larry Alexander, Chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, the governing body of Cobo Center. “We are constantly analyzing the industry for current trends and making every needed adjustment to stay ahead of the curve.”

Recent technology upgrades also created a captive WiFi portal and provides the opportunity for events to have a custom splash page that can be sponsored and create revenue opportunity for show managers. The entire Cobo Center network is supported with full redundancy to allow maintenance on the system without any interruption to service.

Michelle Minyard has been named as National Sales Manager at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. In this role, Minyard will be responsible for developing and servicing clients in the Washington D.C. and Southeast markets. She will also work closely with the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau on prospects to generate business for the Convention Center.

With her career in the New Orleans hospitality industry spanning more than 25 years, Minyard brings rich sales and event planning experience to the position.

Previously, she served as Sponsorship Director for the Festival International de Louisiane and the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience. Minyard honed her sales skills in Sales Manager roles with the Hilton St. Charles Hotel New Orleans, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (2004-2005), and the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Michelle will be a tremendous asset to our team,” said Elaine Williams, Director of Sales. “Her extensive sales experience and knowledge of the local convention industry provides her with the ideal perspective to help us increase occupancy and revenue.”

Lionel J. Dubay, Assistant Vice President for the Business Services Division at the University of Florida, announced that he will retire from the University on July 6, 2017.

Dubay came to UF in 1985 as the director of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, a position he held until 2007 when he became the director of UF’s Business Services Division. He took on his current title of Assistant Vice President of Business Services in 2012.

When Dubay moved over to the Business Services Division in 2007, his new responsibilities included overseeing the operational, fiscal, programmatic, and administrative activities of several auxiliary enterprises and private management services.

“Throughout my 47-year professional career I have been blessed to have worked with so many hard working, dedicated and talented staff members and business partners as well as people I have reported to,” Dubay said. “I am very grateful to them for all of the support they have extended to me.”

As the head of UF’s Business Services Division, Dubay has worked closely with the University’s food service business partner Aramark to increase the number of national brands on campus from nine to 18 such as: the new Au Bon Pain, Panda Express, Wing Zone, Pollo Tropical, Moe’s, Salad Creations & Rising Roll. Through the BSD and Aramark partnership they have spent over $20 million in building new and refreshing food service units on campus. The number of Starbucks on campus was expanded from two to five with the most recent being at Marston Library. Currently the Chick–fil-A located at the Hub is under expansion and renovation, the Starbucks at Library West is under renovation and a Chomp it and Starbucks is being installed at the Law School. These projects are slated for completion before the start of the fall semester. UF was one of the first campuses within the State to go Styrofoam free at all of their food service locations. The student meal plan program was completely revamped from a number of meals a student could purchase per plan to five and seven-day open access meal plans which now have up to 12 additional meal plan equivalency food service locations a student can go to.

With the extension of the Bookstore contract two years ago with Follett Higher Education Group, the main bookstore underwent a $1.2 million renovation and the auxiliary bookstores at the Law School and Health Science Center went through a re-fresh. And, Follett helped with the financial support to expand the seating in the Reitz Union food court across from the Pollo Tropical. In an effort to save students money on course materials Follett implemented a Rent–a–Text Program, Price Match Program, and a Digital All Access Opt in Program.

The process time to obtain a Gator 1 Card has been shortened for students because they now can submit their photos online to the Gator 1 central office.

Upon graduation from the University of Maine-Orono in 1970, Dubay was hired as the first full-time Recreation Director for the City of Augusta, Maine. In 1972 he became actively involved in the construction process of the Augusta Civic Center and shortly after the Center opened in 1973 he was appointed Director, a position he held until 1985 when he became the O’Connell Center director. He joined IAAM in 1973.

Dubay was one of the founding members of the Florida Facility Managers Association which consists of arenas, stadiums, convention centers, and performing arts centers within the state of Florida. He served as the association’s president from 1991 to 1993 and again from 2005 to 2007.

Dubay was responsible for bringing many acts to the Augusta Civic Center and UF campus over the years, including Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, John Denver, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Elton John, Rod Stewart, M.C. Hammer, the Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Dave Mathews Band, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley. The May 24, 1977 Elvis Presley concert Dubay hosted in Maine was one of Elvis’s last concerts before his death on August 16 of that year.

He served as the 75th president of the International Association of Assembly Managers (as it was known at the time), which he said was a great honor and privilege. Dubay also served in numerous leadership positions within IAAM including Vice President of Region V (1995-1997), chair of the Board of Governors, Universities Committee, and Diversification Committee, and was on the IAMM Board of Directors for seven years.

“I truly loved my time in the arena business. I have many fond memories of the many wonderful artists I booked over the years,” Dubay said. “And more importantly, I have made so many life-long friends within the entertainment industry and my professional associations. Having the opportunity to serve as President of the International Association of Assembly Managers was such an honor and privilege.”

Shortly after Dubay became President of IAAM the tragic events of 9/11 took place. In response to the terrorist attacks on the United States, Dubay appointed the IAAM Safety and Security Task Force (SSTF) which brought together the largest number of likeminded organizations in the history of IAAM to develop a set of safety and security best practices and protocols for the industry’s various venue types. Out of the tireless efforts and great work of the IAAM SSTF, the IAAM Academy for Venue Safety & Security was later formed.

A champion of diversity, professional development and growing students within the venue management profession, Dubay was the architect in setting up a student scholarship program within IAAM at the International and Regional V level, and within the Florida Facilities Managers Association.

Dubay received the prestigious Charles A. McElravy Award in 2007 and in 2013 he was the first to receive the IAVM Region V Distinguished Service Award.

“I have a strong passion and love for IAVM and FFMA because they have done so much for me in the way of my personal and professional growth,” Dubay said. “Further, I would encourage everyone to get involved within their professional associations as you will definitely receive more in return than you put in.”

As for retirement, Dubay says he has no major plans other than “playing a little more golf and spending time with my grandkids. I do know I will miss coming to work at UF every day. It was a very energizing and special place to work.”