Soccer legend Pelé helped open a new, innovative pitch yesterday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The field, sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell, features 200 underground tiles—covered by a layer of Astro Turf—that capture kinetic energy created by the players’ movements. This energy is then stored and combined with energy captured by solar panels next to the pitch to convert renewable electricity for floodlights.

“The pitch proves the potential and power when scientists and entrepreneurs focus their efforts to develop creative and innovative energy solutions,” said André Araujo, Shell Brazil Country Chair. “By tapping into the world’s passion and interest in football [soccer], we aim to capture the attention of youngsters around the world so they think differently about energy and the opportunity of science studies and careers.”

Pelé said that soccer is Brazil’s greatest passion, and he’s seen the sport transition through a lot of technological innovation since he stopped playing.

“This new pitch shows the extraordinary things possible when science and sport come together,” Pelé said. “The Morro da Mineira community will now be able to use this sports facility as a safe gathering place—all thanks to the floodlights powered by the community’s football players.”

A British company named Pavegen developed the tiles, which use a cog system to capture the energy. When a player steps on a tile, the cogs spin, acting similar to generators. Each tile is estimated to cost around US$500, but the price is falling, according to Pavegen founder and CEO Laurence Kemball-Cook.

“Having received support from Shell to develop my vision, I’m lucky enough to now use my ideas to meet the energy challenge,” Kemball-Cook said. “This new football pitch is an exciting example that every child in a classroom can understand and see first-hand the vital role technology and innovation play in shaping our planet not only now, but in the future.”

(Image: ISEBOX)

Bob Hunter, CFE, once noted that, “We are responsible for excellence in the public venue management industry. The more we develop industry professionals, the better prepared they will be to provide leadership in their venues. The CFE designation helps to bolster the image of IAVM and give credibility to our voice in matters of venue safety and security, the production of live entertainment and sports, and customer service.”

Isn’t it time that you take the opportunity to accept more responsibility with your career by becoming a Certified Facilities Executive? The final deadline to apply for certification in 2015 is November 1, 2014.

Once your application has been approved, your second deadline will be to submit your written essay by February 1, 2015.

For a quick check to see if you possibly have enough points to apply for CFE, use the link to the One Minute Guide and see.

The CFE Application and Program Information are now available for download.

The IAVM team expresses our deep condolences to the Ungerboeck family. Catherine Ungerboeck, co-founder of Ungerboeck Software International, passed away on September 4 after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 66.

She founded the company with her husband, Dieter, in 1985, and before that, worked as a software architect at Ralston Purina.

“Catherine had a big impact on the venue industry by helping to create such a strong and enduring company,” said IAVM President and CEO Vicki Harwarden, CMP. “I admire her accomplishments, especially in the tech industry where women have traditionally lacked recognition. It’s evident that her leadership, drive, and compassion have been instilled in her family.”

She is survived by her husband and four sons—Krister, Justin, Ryan, and Daren—and six grandchildren.

Krister Ungerboeck told the St. Louis Business Journal that his mother was unique because “she was a female technology professional in the accounting industry with an MBA on her resume. You look at that type of skill set even today and there may be less than 15 people with those qualifications, and they’re probably all men. She was a rare breed.”

(Image: family photo)

Billboard magazine published a great story yesterday in which several arena executives were asked what it takes to run a successful venue in today’s competitive touring business. One of the executives was IAVM member Sean Saadeh, senior vice president of programming at the Barclays Center and a speaker at the upcoming Arena Management Conference (AMC). Other IAVM members interviewed for the story include Lee Zeidman, president of the STAPLES Center/Nokia Theatre; Brock Jones, vice president of booking for Global Spectrum; and Hank Abate, senior vice president of arenas and stadiums for Global Spectrum.

Here’s a sample from the article, written by Mitchell Peters:

What trends do you see shaping the arena business?

Zeidman: One of the things you’re seeing that affects the business of arena management right now is that there are a tremendous amount of stadium shows. There are more stadium shows this year than I’ve ever seen in my 25 years in the business. It’s cyclical. You’re finding a lot of artists right now that can actually fill stadiums—not only once but doing multiples, like a One Direction. I’m hoping the trend moving forward is not trying to put everyone into stadiums, because that has a tremendous amount of impact on arena shows. One of the [other] trends is that there are a lot of people asking us, “What more can you do for us?” We’re coming up with ways to use our marketing assets and our social media more. We believe that sets us apart from other venues in our marketplace. For instance, we can tap into our teams. We have four teams that play here [NBA’s Lakers and Clippers; NHL’s Kings; and WNBA’s Spark]. We can cross-promote with them. We have [the surrounding restaurant and entertainment district] L.A. Live and our hotels that we can cross-market with. We believe that will hopefully set us apart from other venues in the Southern California marketplace.

Saadeh: My perspective is that we need to continue to develop more content at the arena level. We have known this for some time, and last year’s touring results prove that the industry is getting stronger and moving in the right direction. However, there is still more that can be done.

Abate: The need for robust wi-fi systems in facilities is a growing factor and trend.

As I mentioned, the article is great. Please read it when you get a chance. Also, registration is still open for AMC, September 14-16, in Long Beach, California. See you there!

(photo credit: Marianne O’Leary via photopin cc)

The National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, played host to the first Professional Windsurfers Association indoor competition in eight years last weekend. To accommodate the event, 792,516 gallons of water was poured into a specially built pool. It took approximately 40 hours to fill it up. In the end, the pool was 295 feet by 108 feet. To create waves, 34 fans generated winds up to 43 miles per hour.

Here are a couple of photos of the event and pool, which could accommodate 20 M-16 figher planes, according to PL 2012+, the company that manages the stadium. Continue Reading →