Congratulations to the following IAVM members who were recently nominated for the 2015 Women of Influence Awards from Venues Today.

Millie Dixon
Principal
Theatre Projects Consultants

Vicki Hawarden, CMP
President & CEO
IAVM

Dr. Kim Mahoney (one of the authors of our upcoming textbook)
Assistant Professor of Sport Management
University of New Haven (Conn.) College of Business

Kerry Painter, CFE, CEM
Assistant General Manager
Cox Business Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Carol Pollock
Executive Director
VenuWorks/Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, Iowa

Robyn Schon
Global Spectrum, General Manager
Berglund Center, Roanoke, Virginia

Leslee Stewart
General Manager
Paramount Theatre, Oakland, California

Karen Totaro, CFE (in-coming IAVM chair)
General Manager
Atlantic City Convention Center

The deadline to vote is Wednesday, May 27. Visit Venues Today for more information and to cast your vote

HOK has announced a multi-year partnership with the United Soccer League (USL). HOK will lead a stadium development, design, and standards initiative supporting the league’s strategic initiative to house all USL clubs in soccer-specific stadiums across North America by the end of the decade.

“The groundbreaking partnership with HOK provides the league and its clubs a tremendous partner with extensive stadium design and development experience at the highest level,” said USL President Jake Edwards in a statement. “A critical part of our strategic growth plan is to have all USL clubs as owners or primary tenants of soccer-specific stadiums by 2020. Not only will these new and upgraded stadiums add value to the league and each club ownership group, they will establish a permanent base for the clubs within their local communities. These venues will serve as cultural hubs and bring fans together in support of the clubs while offering state-of-the-art amenities and an unparalleled game-day experience.”

HOK is the league’s official stadium design partner and will apply its venue design expertise to guide soccer-specific stadium development for expansion clubs and the renovation of current USL stadiums to increase capacities and amenities. HOK will also consult to the league and its clubs on maximizing venue revenue, developing ancillary programming, and creating operational efficiencies.

“This partnership reflects the USL’s commitment to expanding the soccer community across the country and providing fans a high-quality event experience that captures the energy and excitement of the game,” said Brad Schrock, HOK’s director of Sports + Recreation + Entertainment, in a statement. “We are passionate about soccer and excited to be a partner to the USL as the league continues to grow. This initiative will provide the framework to ensure that venues are successful for the team, the players, the fans and their communities.”

HOK’s portfolio of work includes the recently opened Avaya Stadium for Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes; a newly designed multipurpose stadium in Atlanta, which will be home to a MLS expansion franchise and the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons; the renovation of Sun Life Stadium for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins; the proposed St. Louis NFL Stadium on the North Riverfront area of downtown St. Louis, which is designed to accommodate FIFA and MLS matches; and the renovation of the AT&T Center for the National Basketball Association’s San Antonio Spurs.

To learn more about soccer’s increasing popularity in the U.S., please read our FM feature, “Major League Soccer’s Resurgence.”

(Image: Christy Radecic)

Thanks to the generous support of SearchWide and Ungerboeck Software International, 30 young professionals, 30 years of age and under, will receive full complimentary registration to VenueConnect in Baltimore, a travel stipend of $850, and a one-year complimentary Young Professional IAVM Membership.

“Identifying and developing future leaders is an important priority, and IAVM has stepped up to the plate in a big way with this initiative. Venue management is an exciting and challenging career path, and it is crucial we prepare this group for the complexities of leading this industry forward,” said Mark Gnatovic, senior vice president of SearchWide and a Foundation Trustee. “Having access to industry education and industry leaders will create significant learning opportunities for these individuals. I’m looking forward to meeting the 2015 IAVM 30|UNDER|30 inaugural class.”

In addition to over $2,000 in benefits, the 30|UNDER|30 recipients will be recognized at the Venue Industry Awards Luncheon at VenueConnect on Monday, August 3. They will also be provided year-round continued education for professional growth in the venue industry to help program participants become better, more productive employees through increased access and exposure to industry networking and thought leadership.

As part of the Build an Amazing Future campaign focused on students, young professionals, and mid-level venue management, the IAVM Foundation’s Board of Trustees are thrilled to see this program come to life.

“On behalf of the IAVM Foundation’s Board of Trustees and committed donors, we are honored to announce the inaugural 30|UNDER|30 class of 2015,” said Jason Rittenberry, CFE, president and CEO of IRG Sports + Entertainment and chair of the IAVM Foundation. “We are truly building amazing futures for some of the top rising stars in the industry!”

Over the next few weeks, we’ll individually spotlight this year’s recipients. For now, let’s meet the IAVM Foundation’s inaugural 30|UNDER|30 class of 2015:

A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago shows that when bosses put their employees’ needs over their own needs, customer satisfaction and job performance by employees improves.

“The best business leadership style is far from, ‘Do this. Don’t do that,'” said Sandy Wayne, one of the study’s researchers. “A servant leader looks and sounds a lot more like, ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ Or, ‘Let me help you….’ Or, ‘What do you need to…?’ This approach helps employees reach their full potential.”

Employees admire bosses who care about them and return that admiration with great teamwork, loyalty, and dedication to an organization.

“It’s contagious. The employees see their leaders as role models and often mimic those qualities, creating a culture of servant leadership,” Wayne said. “This serving culture drives the effectiveness of the business as a whole.”

The researchers conducted the study at the Jason Deli’s national restaurant chain and included 961 employees at 71 restaurants in 10 metropolitan areas. Wayne said that the restaurants with servant leaders experienced a 6 percent higher job performance, an 8 percent more customer service behaviors, and a 50 percent less likely to leave the company from employees.

(Image: UIC Business)

I just had the following press release come across my desk featuring news from an IAVM member venue. Are you a member venue that has news to share? Please send it our way at editor@iavm.org, and we’ll publish it here on the blog or in our weekly newsletter (sometimes both places!).

Now, on to the news.

Work is under way on a $79 million expansion of the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota, set to debut in 2017. When complete, the expansion will nearly double the size of the center’s meeting and event facilities.

The expansion will bring the total amount of space at the Mayo Civic Center to more than 200,000 square feet—enough to host two 1,000-person events simultaneously. A new 40,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom will offer a seating capacity of more than 4,000 people, a ceiling height of 32 feet, and high-end finishes. A state-of-the-art kitchen and expanded food service facilities will also be included in the expanded Mayo Civic Center.

The center will feature a 25,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000-square-foot arena, a 12,000-square-foot auditorium, and 23 breakout rooms.

“The vision behind the expansion is focused on creating regional economic impact, broadening facility usability and services, and meeting the public assembly needs of a growing and thriving community,” said Donna Drews, executive director of the Mayo Civic Center. “Mayo Civic Center’s 188,000-square-foot convention center will broaden Rochester’s convention and meeting marketability, and free up existing facilities for concerts and entertainment—a key goal of the convention center expansion planners.”