The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) is getting a wireless overhaul, as the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) begins a $2.6 million upgrade for the venue. The upgrade will increase the number of existing wireless access points from 113 to at least 580, meaning a 413 percent increase in number of access points throughout the BCEC.

The MCCA has upgraded the wireless infrastructure at the BCEC four times since 2004. The implementation of this wireless network will mark a complete overhaul of the original wireless infrastructure, and a transition from a traditional “coverage” wireless system, which focuses on signal strength over a wide area, to an advanced “high-density” system. The new system will increase the BCEC’s wireless capacity, sending focused beams of wireless connectivity. More powerful access points enable more users to connect per access point, resulting in significantly improved signal strength.

“Today’s meeting attendees come to conventions with at least two Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices and the expectation that they will receive reliable, fast wireless connectivity,” said IAVM member James E. Rooney, executive director of the MCCA. “Boston is the hub of innovation and technology leadership, so meeting professionals and event attendees expect more from Boston. Our goal is to operate the two most technologically advanced centers in the world, not according to us but in the judgment of our clients.  We are confident our latest investment in our wireless infrastructure will allow us to further exceed the expectations of our BCEC customers.”

The project is slated to be complete for live-testing and phased implementation in May through September 2015. Also in 2015, the MCCA will begin developing a plan for a wireless upgrade at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center for installation in 2016.

(Image: MCCA Facebook page)

My wife was legitimately camouflaged in a green t-shirt from her alma-mater, while I awkwardly tried to look the part of an alumni from a university 16x larger than the athletic-less art college I attended. Getting a game of catch to happen at my school required a full marketing campaign, and here we were walking into the buzz of tens of thousands of alumni and fans ready for a high-stakes game of college football. We walked through the glass doors of the AT&T Stadium employee entrance, one hour before the kick-off of the Texas Farm Bureau Shootout featuring (now No. 5) Baylor versus Texas Tech.

Our mission, at the generous invitation of Paul Turner, CFE, director of operations and security for AT&T Stadium, was to roam the stadium and secretly observe his team. Paul had equipped us with an employee handbook, an orientation webinar, and a copy of game-day materials used by stadium staff that provided a timeline of events, credentialing details, and a few reminders concerning customer service.

We began with Paul in his command center, where an array of camera footage, status reports, and staff communications ran across his monitors. We got a sneak-peek at an amazing new system of multi-megapixel cameras being tested in the stadium, and we saw how quickly a housekeeping request could be called-in, tracked, and resolved before affecting the guest experience anywhere in the venue.

At one point it was asked, “What about handling live mascots?”

Paul acknowledged that collegiate animals (longhorns, bears, tigers…) and weaponry (cannons, rifles…) present a few unique challenges with these types of events. They’ve learned to ask in production meetings, “Are you planning on bringing anything that poops or explodes?”

A client once responded, “Well, just our head coach.”

After our orientation with Paul, we began to wander the venue. Our credentials granted us access to most of the public spaces, so we started at one end of the bowl and slowly made our way through major clubs, sponsor lounges, and concession areas. The cleanliness of the building, every inch of it, was noticeable. My minivan and AT&T Stadium are the exact same age, but only one of them smells like crayons and has F&B residue permanently tattooed into the upholstery. Every area of the stadium was in pristine condition—even Paul’s desk.

We also kept an eye out for great moments of customer service. Overall, we felt that the staff were noticeably hospitable. A fellow IAVM colleague and mystery shopper remarked that it literally felt like 100 percent of the staff were engaging and friendly. The stadium staff was so approachable in fact, that we ended up talking to quite a few of them:

Dora, nicknamed the “Queen Attendant”, has been a suite attendant with AT&T Stadium for five years. She loves the guests in her suite and works hard to meet every expectation. A personal highlight for her was hosting Mike Rawlings (currently the mayor of Dallas, Texas) for an event. We were very kindly invited to felt obligated to thoroughly investigate Dora’s suite, and her smile throughout our visit reflected the great service and atmosphere experienced by all of her guests that day.

Russell worked the parking lot at the former Texas Stadium and has been a security supervisor at AT&T Stadium for all five years. Russell welcomed us to the stadium when we first arrived and personally escorted us to the command center when I mentioned that we would just cut across the field. When I asked Russell what great guest service means to him, he replied, “I work for you. You pay me, and if that means that I need to walk you all the way around the field, then that is fine. I just want you to experience this great stadium.” I also asked Russell about Paul, and he mentioned that Paul helps bring great attitudes out of staff members.

Ora was on her second day, working the elevator. Her smile was because she loves meeting people (and because her post offers a great view of the game on a nearby digital screen). “I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” was her greeting to us.

Part of our mystery shopping strategy was to ask for directions from a lot of staff members. At one point, we listened to the directions, then walked the opposite way. The stadium staff member quickly followed up with us and let us know that we were about to walk the entire circumference of Arlington to get to our destination. She kindly pointed again in the right direction, and away we went. Later on, we asked for directions to a club that was literally on the opposite end of the stadium. The staff member could sense our lack of excitement and provided a few route options that would avoid traffic and help us get there quicker.

As my wife and I were leaving the stadium, I stopped to point out the LED art-installation “Exploded View” by artist Jim Campbell. When you walk by the piece, you don’t realize that the 2,000+ LED bulbs are actually playing Cowboys highlights (watch a video, then come back!). We stopped for a second, and Marty, a concierge, walked up and greeted us. He shared details about the piece and then answered a few of my questions about working at AT&T Stadium. He mentioned the chemistry of the staff, how he loves to hear people say that they have had a wonderful experience, and that he even helped get his sister onboard as a fellow concierge.

“I’ve only missed three operating days here at the stadium,” Marty said. “It was during one of those days that a guest crashed their wheelchair and got tangled in the installation!”

Marty called himself a guardian of the art, but he was equally committed to ensuring that every guest, including the “visiting team” had a great experience at AT&T Stadium. There was a phrase he used at some point during our conversation that wrapped the day of secret shopping up quite well:

“Welcome to my home.”

(Photo credit: A_Vandalay)

Managing a venue can be a complicated endeavor, and that’s a good thing for your memory and thinking.

According to new research published in Neurology, people whose jobs require more complex work with other people may gain longer-lasting memory and thinking abilities compared to people who do less complex work.

“These results suggest that more stimulating work environments may help people retain their thinking skills, and that this might be observed years after they have retired,” said study author Alan J. Gow, PhD, of Heriot-Watt University and the Center for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology in Edinburgh, Scotland. “Our findings have helped to identify the kinds of job demands that preserve memory and thinking later on.”

Complex jobs were ones, for example, that involved coordinating or synthesizing data, negotiating with others, and instructing and mentoring people. Non-complex jobs included such things as copying or comparing data and taking instructions.

The issue that is often raised, though, is whether stimulating environments help increase a person’s cognitive abilities or if people with high cognitive skills seek out challenging occupations.

“These results actually provide evidence for both theories,” Gow said. “Factoring in people’s IQ at age 11 explained about 50 percent of the variance in thinking abilities in later life, but it did not account for all of the difference. That is, while it is true that people who have higher cognitive abilities are more likely to get more complex jobs, there still seems to be a small advantage gained from these complex jobs for later thinking skills.”

(photo credit: Eduardo Mueses via photopin cc)

A start-up company in the United Kingdom wants to cover stadium roofs with solar panels. Solar panels made from cloth. Stretchy cloth.

“The Cambridge, England-based, Solar Cloth Company is beginning to run trials of its solar cloth, which uses lightweight photovoltaic fabric that can be stretched across parking lots or on buildings that can’t hold heavy loads, such as sports stadiums with lightweight, retractable roofs,” Katie Valentine reported for ThinkProgress.org.

The company—which won the 2014 Solar U.K. Industry Awards’ Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Solar Innovation of the Year award—claims there are 320 square miles of U.K. roof space and 135 square miles of U.K. parking space that could be covered with the solar cloth, resulting in enough solar-generated energy to power the U.K.’s grid three times.

The cloth weighs just a little more than seven pounds (compared to almost 50 pounds for standard solar panels), and it’s flexible.

“[The panels] can be laid over almost all low-load bearing structures, and bonded to most structural fabrics to allow application in tensile structures, stadia, and agricultural land covers,” the company said on its website.

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) is used as the base technology because of its higher conversion rate and flexibility , the company’s CEO and founder, Perry Carroll, told The Engineer.

“…because CIGS uses a 100 times less semiconducting material than silicon cells, the embedded energy used to manufacture them is less,” Carroll said. “According to the U.S. Department of Energy, assuming a 30 year-life of the solar installation, crystalline silicon PV [photovoltaic] payback time is estimated to be 2-4 years. CIGS PV payback time is estimated to be 1-2 years.”

(Image: Solar Cloth Co.)

The IAVM Foundation has been committed to programs, ideas, and initiatives that build amazing careers and a strong future for the industry for more than 32 years. It has bestowed more than 300 scholarships worth approximately US$350,000 dollars.

This past July at VenueConnect in Portland, the Foundation continued this legacy by announcing its newest campaign, “Build An Amazing Future.” This campaign is a three-prong approach focused on students, young professionals, and mid-level management in the venue management industry.

Part of this approach is the commitment to funding just over $40,000 to provide 37 scholarships + internships through the Joseph A. Floreano Scholarship + Internship Program for venue professionals, young professionals, and students to attend IAVM sector meetings, schools, and VenueConnect each year. The funds will help cover the registration fees and all hotel accommodations. The Performing Arts Managers Conference in San Francisco, Feb. 15-17, 2015, will be the first sector meeting that scholarships will be offered. Visit www.iavm.org/amazingfuture for eligibility and to apply.

The Joseph A. Floreano Scholarship + Internship Program recognizes deserving individuals who demonstrate leadership, character, diversity, community involvement, and the potential to be future leaders in the venue management industry.

The program was established after the passing of Joseph A. Floreano, CFE, a long-time IAVM member, Foundation Trustee, and the first-and-only Honorary Chairman of the Foundation Board of Trustees. Floreano was known for giving selflessly in both time and money to worthy industry causes. His leadership was aspirational and he took great pride in mentoring and supporting the advancement of the venue management industry. Joe Floreano was not only incredibly instrumental in the development of the Foundation’s “Build An Amazing Future” campaign but also became the inspiration as he truly resembled and embodied everything it stands for. The contributions Floreano made to the Foundation are immeasurable, and with that, we believed that the naming of the scholarship program would be the most appropriate way to honor his legacy, which will forever leave a mark on the Foundation.

““This scholarship and internship program memorializes the life and contributions a man who spent a lifetime leading by example,” said Paul Cramer, CFE, executive director of The Classic Center. “Joe was on a constant quest for quality and daily illustrated his love of servicing others. It was his attention to detail and warm-giving personality that earned him the respect and honor of his community and his peers. The professionalism by which he served the public, the IAVM association, belief in continuing education, and willingness to give to others to improve the future of our industry can only be regarded as legendary.

“I know he, his family, and staff will be honored to know that future generations to come will continue to learn by the outstanding example and legacy he has left behind,” Cramer continued. “I can’t think of a greater gift that the association and Foundation could give to future generations than a scholarship or internship named after a master of the craft of public assembly facility management.”
The Joseph A. Floreano Scholarship + Internship program will select five outstanding candidates to receive scholarships at the Performing Arts Managers Conference (PAMC), the Arena Management Conference (AMC), and the International Convention Center Conference (ICCC) in 2015 based upon the following five categories – Outstanding Leader, Diversity, Industry Women, Young Professional, and a Student Internship. The program also has scholarship + internship opportunities at the Academy for Venue Safety & Security (AVSS), Venue Management School (VMS), and VenueConnect.

“The IAVM Foundation is committed to fostering and supporting the next generation of the venue management industry,” said Foundation Board Chair Jason Rittenberry, CFE, president and CEO of IRG Sports + Entertainment. “By naming the program after Joe Floreano, we are setting the gold standard of what we should all strive to aspire to be. Joe was the ultimate mentor, leader and friend to all.”

In addition to the Joseph A. Floreano Scholarship + Internship Program, the “Build An Amazing Future” campaign will also be launching a 30 UNDER 30 Program for young professionals and a new certification – Certified Venue Professional (CVP). To learn more about the “Build An Amazing Future” campaign, please visit www.iavm.org/amazingfuture.