It’s no secret that soccer in the U.S. is popular.

“More fans are watching, and each new team brings its own authentic crew of supporters groups’ along with it, a very important improvement over 20 years ago, when the league seemed to market itself exclusively to nuclear families and soccer moms, an experiment that didn’t pan out,” Gary Singh wrote in our feature about the sport.

Soccer’s popularity was evident during a standing-room only session at the 2015 South by Southwest conference. The session—moderated by SportsCenter Anchor Max Bretos—featured three Major League Soccer owners who talked about why the sport is popular and how they’re using technology to attract more fans.

“Going after the young, hip, tech-savvy crowd has been a huge advantage for us because they’re excited and enthusiastic about the sport,” said Adrian Hanauer, owner of the Seattle Sounders FC. “We made conscious decisions to appeal to the ‘cool’ kids. Once we got them, then the families followed.”

Sporting Kansas City Owner and CEO Robb Heineman spoke about the importance of branding.

“We want fans to feel like they’re part of a brand rather than fan of the brand,” Heineman said. “We want everyone to feel like a VIP.”

Concerning technology, Portland Timbers Owner Merritt Paulson said that his club uses tech where it can help them and not just for its own sake. He noted that he’d rather have people watching the game than a phone.

Heineman had a different view.

“Our mobile goal is to find out who is in a venue and what they’re doing,” Heineman said. “I love following games on Twitter, we push team news through social media, and I do ‘flying tweet’ Q&As during long flights.”

You could tell Heineman loves the sport and everything that revolves around the game-day experience.

“Soccer is a perfect game when played in a great venue,” he said.

Judging by the applause volume, many in attendance agreed.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved Palcohol this week, and states and legislators are taking action to ensure the product won’t have buyers.

Palcohol is powdered alcohol. One packet mixed with six ounces of water equals the same alcohol content as one standard mixed drink. The company that makes the product claims that packets, which measure four inches by six inches, are hard to conceal. Oh, please.

“I am in total disbelief that our federal government has approved such an obviously dangerous product, and so, Congress must take matters into its own hands and make powdered alcohol illegal,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) in a statement. “Underage alcohol abuse is a growing epidemic with tragic consequences, and powdered alcohol could exacerbate this. We simply can’t sit back and wait for powdered alcohol to hit store shelves across the country, potentially causing more alcohol-related hospitalizations, and God forbid, deaths. This legislation will make illegal the production and sale of this Kool-Aid for underage drinking.”

Schumer’s legislation will include language that explicitly bans the production, sale, distribution, or possession of powdered alcohol as a provision of the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Reauthorization (STOP) Act.

Some states, though, have already banned Palcohol, such as Louisiana, South Carolina, and Vermont. Other states, such as Colorado, New York, and Rhode Island, are in the process of banning it. Palcohol can’t be sold in Massachusetts because that state defines an alcoholic beverage as a liquid.

Sure, people sneak legal and illegal things into events all the time but this one could really have an adverse affect on alcohol sales. What would you, as a venue professional, do to stay one step ahead of this development?

(Image: Palcohol)

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) is pleased to announce Steve Peters, CFE, founder and president of VenuWorks, as the recipient of the 2015 Charles A. McElravy Award. The McElravy Award, named in honor of one of IAVM’s founding organizers, Charles A. McElravy, was initiated in 1963 and is granted for extraordinary contributions to the Association and the professional venue management industry it serves.

A graduate of the MFA program in Arts Administration at the University of Iowa, Peters began his career in 1976 in Dubuque, Iowa, as manager of the Five Flags Center.

In 1982, Peters moved on to the Iowa State Center in Ames, Iowa, a four-building complex at Iowa State University. While at ISU, he began the successful presentation of concerts in the 55,000-seat Cyclone Stadium and served as director of the acclaimed Ames International Orchestra Festival.

In 1990, Peters was named the National Director of Operations for Ogden Entertainment Inc., serving as opening director of the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for Ogden before being named an Ogden vice president in 1995.

In fall 1996, Peters left Ogden to form VenuWorks (originally called Compass Facility Management), a company he created to better serve the unique management and operational challenges of mid-market facilities. Today, VenuWorks provides management services to more than 50 theatres, arenas, conference centers, stadiums, and outdoor amphitheaters in 12 states. Peters was a forerunner of bringing private management to publically owned venues in secondary and tertiary markets, which was a new approach in the 1990s.

Peters has been a committed member of IAVM since 1977, serving as president of the board of directors from 2007-2008, and as vice president of District 3 from 1987-1988. He was a member of the first board of regents for IAVM’s Venue Management School, where he served as an instructor for six years. He has earned the distinction of Certified Facilities Executive (CFE), the highest professional certification available in the public assembly facility industry.

Kim Bedier, CFE, chair of the IAVM board remarked that, “Steve Peters’ long legacy of leadership with IAVM includes the Mission, Membership, and Governance Initiative. Author Dau Voire said, ‘Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.’ The conversations commenced by Steve continue to guide IAVM to a strong and healthy future. Steve Peters is a true gentleman, and it has been my honor to serve for and with him.”

“It is because of leaders like Steve that IAVM is such a great organization,” said Vicki Hawarden, CMP, president and CEO of IAVM. “He has given tirelessly of his time and his expertise throughout the years to help develop and grow those around him, and I know there are many who look up to him as a mentor. He is well deserving of this honor based on his contributions, his leadership style, and his love for the industry.”

Upon being notified of receiving the award, Peters offered the following comments:

“I am honored to have been chosen to receive the 2015 McElravy Award. IAVM has been like a big second family to me, a source of professional development and personal friendships for nearly 40 years. I am humbled to find myself among the small group of extraordinary leaders who have previously received this award, an award named for one of the real pioneers of our industry. I am eternally grateful.”

The award will be presented during IAVM’s annual conference and trade show, VenueConnect, August 1-4, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland.

The L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks’ NHL Stadium Series game at Levi’s Stadium was streamed in 360-degree, high-definition virtual reality when it was played on February 21. The experience was a collaboration among the hockey league, cloud graphics start-up Otoy, New Deal Studios, and Immersive Media. Those watching it through an Oculus Rift or a Samsung Gear VR virtual reality device viewed the game-day activities like they were there in person.

“The creators tried to recreate the experience of all facets of being at the game, from the ability to watch practice sessions as if you’re sitting on the players’ bench to pre-game activities including tailgating, gate entry, and concessions, culminating in a front-row seat to the game with an eyeline just above the glass and over the rink that lets you follow plays or turn around to see what’s happening behind the net,” Dean Takahashi reported for VentureBeat.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about virtual reality and how it can be used in venue, check out our feature, “A Multitude of Realities,” from our Technology & Trends issue. And please visit VentureBeat.com for more on the NHL story.

(Image: Otoy)

Sure, mobile payments are faster and easier, but you could lose out on the social benefits of customer interactions.

“The perceived wisdom is that payments via a mobile device should be designed and marketed as being ever faster, simpler and effortless,” said Dr. Mark Perry of Brunel University London. “But the evidence from Bristol which uses a slightly clunky system is that there is value in the social interactions at the point of sale for both customer and supplier. The risk is that by making the payment part of the sale too slick, retailers who rely on building and maintaining customer loyalty may find that part of the shopping experience is left on the shelf by the technology.”

Perry and Bristol University Professor Sriram Subramanian looked at the U.K.’s largest alternative local currency, the Bristol pound, which allows mobile payments.

“I think what’s really interesting and unexpected in our data is the way that the Bristol Pound is not just used for functional purposes—as a form of payment—but that it also offers opportunities for playfulness and sociability,” Perry said. “It’s not just a currency that’s used locally, it’s also a means of building richer, deeper connections across local communities. There’s so much this can tell us about how building financial technologies that aren’t just platforms for consumerism, but which make our environments more sustainable, interesting, and connected.”

Users of the Bristol pound pay for goods and services over text messages using TXT2PAY.

“TXT2PAY may not be the most fluid or robust mobile phone payment, yet our findings show TXT2PAY supports people in making connections to other people, to their communities, to the places they move through, to their environment, and to what they spend,” Subramanian said. “These interactions that could have significant implications for the design of future payment systems.”

On a similar subject, Skift recently asked the front-desk employees at five popular New York hotels what they would change about the check-in experience. This one quote really stood out:

“I think we would lose the opportunity to build a relationship with guests when they use mobile check-in because most of the time they do it to be faster. We just welcome them, thank them for using e-check-in and give them the keys.” — Front desk employee at Hampton Inn Manhattan-Madison Square Garden Area

Just something to consider when you start going down the mobile payment path.

(Image: Jason Tester Guerrilla Futures/Creative Commons)