It was a beautiful evening before the game. The venue was prepped and clean. The team was getting ready in the locker room. The game was only two hours away. Popcorn was popping, and retail merchandise was being straightened up. Young fans were excited for their first professional sports game ever! Then, with hundreds of staff ready and waiting, the doors were finally unlocked AND…half a dozen fans trickled in slowly. Not the most climactic opening, but the children who are enjoying their first game ever with dad don’t care. On the other hand, the venue manager with a labor budget is a little more concerned.

It happens, and the fact is, sometimes attendance is lackluster or people decide that showing up a few minutes late isn’t a big deal. In my experience described above, the team’s record was decent and the opponent was average. It was a Monday night, and the weather was perfect. Due to these—and many other reasons—attendance was projected to be low. Just after doors opened and guests trickled in one or two at a time, one of the facility directors and I walked around. We noticed every entrance was fully staffed with 20 or more employees and eight metal detectors. With several entrances being utilized, we were looking at almost 100 staff and most of them with nothing to do. To top it off, peak ingress for guests wasn’t expected until the game started. How many games or events could this happen to? How many thousands of dollars are wasted every year? How many avoidable OT hours are paid and additional ACA healthcare payments made? We cannot avoid all of it, but with a little time and effort spent on staffing, we could save thousands of dollars easily.

Staffing Levels

The idea of multiple staffing levels based on factors like attendance is not new, but sometimes it is good to revisit the subject and give the facility a quick analysis. Even walking around before certain events and recording what you see can be helpful. Attendance and staffing needs can be driven by many things including, but not limited to: day of the week, weather, a team’s record, the opponent’s record, new players, promotions and giveaways, state/federal holidays, celebrity appearances, etc. The Phoenix Suns’ Analytics Team has worked on several employee staffing metrics using this kind of data to better project attendance. Knowing attendance is only one aspect. Another question is: when should staff arrive, how many, and who? Staggered shifts can be the easiest fix. Bring in the minimum number needed early and more staff later. This also allows for earlier staff to leave prior to accumulating overtime in case the event goes long. There is not a one size fits all solution for all venues, even for the sport or the region. The Oakland A’s have utilized staggered staffing for years. By utilizing four different staffing levels, including variations for weekday vs. weekend games, they were able to save approximately 9 percent in annual labor costs.

Positioning and Redeployments

Another popular staffing method is to redeploy staff that are primarily used before the event to other positions during the event. For example, ticket takers could be redeployed as ushers after the event has started. Security officers, who are checking bags or wanding at ingress, could be moved to a roving position at the end of ingress. Additionally, positions might be redeployed toward the end of the event to prepare for egress. Sometimes, you may also assign an employee to the same position consistently, but you should always consider the event. For example, Adam may be a great security officer, but during an intense concert you may want to staff a more physically imposing employee…preferably a veteran with some Jiu-Jitsu experience. One of the most unique positioning methodologies I have seen is at AT&T Stadium. After event staff check-in, a receipt is printed with a section, row, and seat number that the employee reports to. The supervisors received a pre-printed report of the names of their staff and seat numbers assigned to them. If someone is missing, they know exactly who it is and can call a fill-in from what they call “Special Teams.” At this point the change is noted, and the staff members are off to their briefings and positions. This is a fantastic system, for this venue, while others may need to function differently. I have to give special credit to Paul Turner, CFE, CSSP, for this process.

Story from the Field

One of our clients shared a story they had regarding lower staffing levels. A section only sold 10 tickets, so they had that usher support a wider area instead of bringing in one per section. This would normally not be a problem, but it just so happens one of those 10 tickets was for a brutally rude heckler. Normally, an usher for that section could address the issue immediately, but more time was taken and the guest experience suffered.

Making sure you have enough staff to provide the guest with the best experience is an art and a science. In the ever changing world of sports and entertainment, this is something that is always on our mind and striking that balance can be challenging. However, it doesn’t mean we can’t be smart about managing all those hours and labor, too.

(Image: Billy Metcalf Photography/Creative Commons)

Minnesota United FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL) announced plans to build a soccer specific stadium centrally located between St. Paul and Minneapolis as the organization will join Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2017 or 2018 as an expansion franchise.

The stadium will be completed in 2018 with 20,000 seats and an all-natural grass surface. The US$120 million project will be built on vacant property owned by the Metropolitan Council, and stadium construction will be privately funded and then publicly owned after construction is complete.

“We have waited years for the right stimulus to help drive redevelopment of this area into a more vibrant part of a highly progressive community,” said Richard Birdoff of RK Midway, the owner of the 25-acres that surround the historic bus barn site where the stadium will be centered. “The MLS stadium provides us the catalyst to move ahead and help create something that will further enhance this area in ways that will be a source of pride for everyone.”

New soccer specific stadiums have now been announced in Washington, D.C.; Minnesota; and Los Angeles in recent weeks in addition to Orlando’s soccer stadium that is already under construction. Don’t be surprised to read about David Beckham’s plan in Miami in the near future, as well.

Smaller soccer specific stadiums with estimated seating capacities in the 5,000 – 10,000 range will also be developed in the coming years as the United Soccer League (USL) launched a stadium development initiatives with HOK to have all USL clubs in soccer specific stadiums by 2020. Click here to read more about that initiative.

(Image: Facebook)

These are selected news articles that showed up in our inboxes on Monday morning that we want to pass along to you.

Convention Center CEO Retires (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“Carol Wallace, CEO of the San Diego Convention Center Corp., announced Wednesday [October 21] that she will leave her position at the end of this year but will stay on as a consultant for one more year, ending what will be a 25-year tenure at the bayfront facility.”

Chicago Stadiums Shift Toward Making Concessions Greener (RedEye Chicago)
“The Green Sports Alliance, a nonprofit group of which many of Chicago’s teams and stadiums are members, assembled in Chicago earlier this year to highlight nationwide efforts to make game day greener.”

Inside the F1 Race ‘s Data Center (Fortune)
“As for why a car race might need its own portable data center with 130 tons of gear, F1 is arguably the most data-driven sport out there.”

Convention Centers Must Evolve with Technology (VEGAS INC)
“In an industry where no two events are the same and each event has its unique needs, the traditional telecommunication model does not apply.”

First Virtual Reality Broadcast In College Basketball Is Coming Via Mark Cuban’s Sports Media And Technology Center (SportTechie)
“As of now with virtual reality, there is no running to get popcorn during halftime or commenting to the stranger next to you.”

Jason Aldean on Playing Some of Sports’ Most Iconic Stadiums: ‘It’s So Weird’ (ESPN)
“Growing up in Macon, Georgia, Aldean could have hardly dreamed of scoring a ticket to sit in the highest reaches of Fenway Park or Wrigley Field or the Rose Bowl. Now, the country music star can’t get used to the concept of folks spending hard-earned, not-so-expendable income buying those seats to see him.”

The IAVM Foundation Legacy Award may be awarded annually by the Board of Trustees to an individual or organization who, in the opinion of the IAVM Foundation has made a significant financial and/or non-financial contribution to benefit the mission and objectives of the IAVM Foundation. The Foundation executive director will provide evidence the nominee meets the criteria.

The following criteria are established for the Legacy Award nominees:

1. The nominee may be from any membership category of IAVM or from outside of the Association in a related field.
2. Any current or past contributor to the IAVM Foundation may make a nomination, which must provide, in writing, specific examples of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to the IAVM Foundation.
3. At least three letters of recommendation must accompany the nomination.
4. No Chair of IAVM or Chair of the IAVM Foundation is eligible for consideration until the third VenueConnect following his/her term of office.
5. Previous recipients are ineligible (and may be found on our website under Legacy of Leaders).
6. Nominations must be submitted to the Director of Governance and Operations no later than Nov. 16, 2015.
7. The award may be given posthumously.

The nominations and letters of recommendation should be written to Vicki Hawarden, CMP, IAVM Foundation Executive Director and submitted to me, Rosanne Duke, electronically. The nomination letter and all letters of recommendation must be received by close of business Nov. 16, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Rogers at (972) 538-1009 or me at (972) 538-1025.

LiveLike VR is a San Francisco start-up that wants fans to watch games via a virtual reality (VR) stadium.

“Sports is not about being ‘on the field’ for the whole game, it’s about being able to hang with your friends, doing stuff while there’s a two-minute timeout, seeing replays, stats, and more,” Andre Lorenceau, CEO and founder of LiveLike VR, told FORTUNE. “We are also focused on infrastructure, with building the capabilities to connect with friends or strangers, multiple ‘channels’ to watch from, statistical interfaces. There’s a whole system that needs to be created before we watch sports in VR, and we’re getting close to finalizing that.”

The company is working with Manchester City to create a VR version of its stadium. Users would be able to download the app and get a custom VR suite where they can invite friends (avatar friends, that is) to watch the game.

“Lorenceau says his team is building a platform that will eventually allow users to invite friends from Facebook directly into their suite,” John Gaudiosi reported for FORTUNE. “Each avatar will have a lipsynched voice that sounds like it’s coming from the couch next to you. Future in-game features will include a table hologram where stats can be mapped over NFL players and highlights from past games can instantly be called up.”

Check out the FORTUNE article to learn more about LiveLike VR and its future plans for the app.

(Image: LiveLike VR)