When Jeff Davis, CVP, CMP, director/general manager of the state-of-the-art College Park Center arena on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), began a tour of the venue last Friday for IAVM staff, the first thing that raced through my mind was, “Hey, this ain’t no Texas Hall!”

Granted, that’s no way for a guy who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a journalism emphasis from UTA to represent his alma mater, but, as they say, it is what it is.

College Park Center arrived on the Arlington scene in February 2012, an opening bumped up three months from the original planned debut as decreed by former university President James Spaniolo. The February 1, 2012 opening of the 7,000-seat arena saw a doubleheader basketball game featuring both the UTA men and women taking the court.

“This was 40 years in the making,” Davis told IAVM staff. “The original opening date was May of 2012, but the president wanted to have a basketball doubleheader game and get the building opened rather than with some May graduations.”

The facility now hosts UTA volleyball as well as the WNBA Dallas Wings in addition to the Maverick basketball teams. The multi-purpose venue also hosts concerts and celebrated a Drake show that sold out in 13 minutes to launch its concert calendar in 2012. In all, College Park Center played host to 22 events in those first 30 days.

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Adonis “Sporty” Jeralds, CFE, has enjoyed a distinguished career that has taken him from the outset of his public assembly venue management career at the Hampton (VA) Coliseum in 1983 to his current role as an clinical professor in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. The change in Jeralds’ career path, where the venue world remains an integral part of his teaching, also took him from the position as an IAVM voting member to someone without the right to vote, something Jeralds would like to see changed when IAVM members begin voting on May 19 on the One Member, One Vote initiative.

The initiative coming up for a vote by members follows extensive study, review and open discussion over the last two years, at which point the IAVM Board of Directors voted unanimously to bring forward proposed changes to the bylaws that would make the Association more inclusive and diverse in its decision making. As a means to incorporate the perspective of all IAVM members, these changes would allow every member of IAVM equal opportunity to engage in the Association through the right to vote. These proposed changes must be approved by two-thirds of the current voting members of IAVM.

“I offer my full support for One Member, One Vote,” Jeralds said. “As an IAVM member for more than 30 years, I have seen many organizational changes over that time. One of the things that has been a constant is the ability of members in good standing to have input on various issues.”

Jeralds attended Guilford College and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. He has a master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts and a second master’s degree in Public Administration from UNC Chapel Hill. It is obvious that his current position of educating aspiring public assembly venue students largely stems from his own education and experience.

After beginning his career at the Hampton Coliseum in 1983, Jeralds accepted a position at the Charlotte Coliseum as assistant manager. In 1990 he became manager of the Charlotte Coliseum, a position he held for 15 years. As manager of the Charlotte Coliseum, Jeralds was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the venue, which included overseeing a $12 million budget and a staff of over 60 full-time and 600 part-time employees. He currently also works with the Charlotte Hornets in their community relations department.

“Although I have transitioned from a full-time arena manager to a full-time faculty position, I am still very much concerned about our Association,” Jeralds said. “As I train the next generation of venue management professionals, I want them to understand that their voice matters and that all members of IAVM help contribute to its collective success. I am hopeful that upon reflection our membership will provide a voice for EVERY member.”

For more information about the One Member, One Vote initiative, please click here.

Robert Johnson, president and general manager of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, announced his retirement effective September 2017. Johnson has served as the facility’s senior director since 2007.

Johnson has led the nation’s 6th largest convention and exhibition hall through numerous renovations and improvements, including the addition of the $52 million Great Hall and Julia Street entry plaza. Most recently Johnson has been the primary visionary and driver behind the facility’s planned renaissance of Convention Center Boulevard to include a more pedestrian-friendly linear park, as well as the development of a series of mixed use hotel, residential, entertainment and hospitality and retail complexes onto upriver acreage owned by and adjacent to the convention center. These over $1 billion in improvements and investments are expected to be game changers in New Orleans’ effort to stay competitive in the meetings and convention industry.

“Bob Johnson has been instrumental in every major advancement undertaken by the Convention Center over the past 10 years,” said Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Chair Melvin Rodrigue. “The entire state’s hospitality industry is deeply indebted to Bob for his leadership and tenacity in helping to make our convention center one of the most utilized and recognized in the country.”

Among Johnson’s notable accomplishments are his leadership of the convention center’s recovery and ultimately, the city’s hospitality industry’s recovery following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Center’s occupancy has returned to pre-Katrina levels and the city’s recently announced record number of visitors reflects that level of business improvement. Johnson has led several industry- pioneering initiatives including Center owned and produced events, a widely recognized customer excellence program and owning its own UPS Store franchise among others.

“I’ve had the most enriching career a venue manager could want through my early years at the dome and culminating with my time at the convention center,” Johnson said. “Through my work, I’ve traveled around the globe but promoting New Orleans has always been my passion. I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure at the center, which is blessed with the most dedicated staff of any venue.”

Johnson’s venue management career spanned 46 years beginning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he graduated from Wake Forest University. Prior to joining the convention center staff, Johnson opened UNO’s Lakefront Arena, which became recognized nationally as a leading concert venue of its size. He had a distinguished career with global facilities management company SMG, including a 10- year stint in New Orleans as the general manager of the Superdome, where he oversaw the hosting of NCAA Final Four Tournaments, Super Bowls, a Republican National Convention and the Papal visit.

Johnson is a long-time IAVM member and was a founding member of the New Orleans Sports Foundation.

Fort Worth, Texas, otherwise known as Where The West Begins, will add to its portfolio of venues with the planned opening of a $450 million arena that will be called Dickies Arena. The naming rights partner is an appropriate one for “Cowtown” as the locally-based Williamson=Dickie Manufacturing Co. will open in 2019. Groundbreaking began on April 18.

“We’re proud that Dickies Arena will redefine what local entertainment means to our neighbors in Fort Worth,” said Philip Williamson, chairman and CEO of the workwear maker most known for their jeans. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The venue will sit near the Will Rogers Memorial Center in the city’s historic museum district. The first piece of business has already been secured when the first and second rounds of the 2022 March Madness tournament comes to the city. It marks the first time since 1970 that Fort Worth has hosted the prestigious event.

Dickies Arena is a public-private partnership. Local philanthropist Ed Bass, whose name adorns the Bass Performance Hall, is helping raise half of the total from private donors. Public participation is anticipated to top out at $225 million and will be funded through a combination of user taxes approved by voters in 2014.

Many of the events currently held at the Will Rogers Coliseum will relocate to the new facility with the exception of equestrian events. The coliseum was built in 1936 and is home to a famous stock show that brings one million visitors to the city.

The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA) announced a significant increase in its Wi-Fi capabilities at the Charlotte Convention Center. The update is part one of a two-phase investment to make extensive upgrades to the venue’s interconnectivity. It’s designed to keep the venue competitive and attractive to meeting planners. As part of the first phase, the new Wi-Fi bandwidth expands complimentary access previously available only in public areas to also include meeting rooms and ballrooms in the facility. In partnership with Smart City Networks Charlotte has also tripled the available upload download speed in all of these areas.

“The CRVA is committed to creating a convention experience that is best in class at the Charlotte Convention Center,” said CRVA CEO Tom Murray. “Fast and readily available digital access is something that both planners and attendees are looking for, and we’re confident our venue meets those needs. Our team will continue to actively evaluate the next generation of digital needs to provide the best service for those who visit us here in Charlotte.”

Enhanced connectivity is now available across the center’s flexible configurations of 126,500 square feet of meeting space, which includes 37 meeting rooms, the 35,000-square-foot Richardson Ballroom and the 40,000-square-foot Crown Ballroom for a total of 41 breakout rooms. Additionally, the coverage extends to pre-function space totaling 90,800 square feet surrounding the Richardson and Crown Ballrooms, 43,000 square feet of concourse space for registration or other event components, and the 4,000 square feet of space in the Delish Food Court, which features Einstein Bros. Bagels, Buon Cibo, Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits and Starbucks.

The enhanced Wi-Fi coverage enables attendees to have access to their digital needs, ranging from checking social media channels or email to exploring websites that may be relevant to the events or programs they are experiencing.

While still in planning, phase two of the plan will address updating existing fiber, increasing upload and download speed, and developing a high-density (HD) network to accommodate a larger number of users simultaneously. Other recent technology upgrades at the Charlotte Convention Center have included new operable walls in the exhibit halls and new LED lighting in the exhibit halls, which yields a reduction in wattage per fixture from 1000 W to 471 W, resulting in an energy usage reduction of 53 percent.