“This business is about relationships” is a common phrase you hear in this industry, and it’s true, especially when you’re talking about human-to-human interactions. Consider, though, the relationship of a building to its location and citizens.

That was the main theme in an insightful article by Michael J. Shapiro in the July issue of Meetings & Conventions. Shapiro spoke with several architects—some of whom will be speaking at the upcoming International Convention Center Conference (ICCC)—about trends and philosophies of convention center design.

For example, Michael Lockwood of IAVM Allied-member Populous sees an increased focus on guest experiences.

“People’s expectations are higher. They are no longer willing to downgrade their experience to go into a building to have a meeting,” Lockwood said. “If anything, your convention experience should be on par with or better than a hotel experience, or a sporting event—or going out to a great district in your hometown.”

Mark Reddington, a principal at IAVM Allied-member LMN Architects, feels that convention centers are increasingly being integrated into the “urban setting in which they exist.” This manifests itself with the addition of retail, restaurants, and public plazas. For example, the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, plans to have sidewalk cafes as part of its plaza by late 2015 (read more about the plans on the Houston Chronicle website).

Finally, IAVM member Robert Svedberg, a principal at tvsdesign, said that convention centers should tell stories through their designs. For instance, consider Nashville’s Music City Center.

“The Nashville facility’s wavy roof recalls both the rolling hills of the region and the lyrical flow of music, conceptually speaking, Svedberg explains,” Shapiro wrote.

Please visit Meetings & Conventions to read the whole article.

And if you’re interested in hearing more from architects featured in the article, then please attend ICCC in Vancouver, British Columbia, Oct. 2-4, 2014. Lockwood will participate in a session about five new convention center projects, and Reddington will be part of a panel focusing on the Vancouver 2020 plan. Early-bird registration ends August 22.

(photo credit: colink. via photopin cc)

There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

China American Football League: 2015 Start Date, Roster Info, Comments and More
—Bleacher Report
“It will be an indoor league featuring AFL [Arena Football League] rules, and there are expected to be six to eight teams.”

Georgia World Congress Center Space Used to Educate, Entertain Local Community
—Trade Show News Network
“Through unique partnerships in the community, the venue not only has two education centers tucked into converted meeting room space, but also the College Football Hall of Fame will be opening in August on the venue’s campus.”

Manchester United Bans iPads, tablets From Stadium
—CTV News
“Citing ‘latest security intelligence,’ United has added ‘large electronic devices including laptops and tablets’ to the list of banned items for match days at its famous 76,100-seater stadium.”

The Beatles at Candlestick in 1966: An Oral History From the Fans
—San Francisco Chronicle
“The concert, the last commercial show for the Beatles, is arguably the most famous musical event in Bay Area history.”

The Premier League is Developing Tech to Detect GIF and Vine Videos of Match Highlights
—The Next Web
“I know it sounds as if we’re killjoys but we have to protect our intellectual property.”

I’m sure you’ve heard more than once that you should eat your vegetables. Yeah, yeah, we all know they’re full of vitamins and what not that do a body good. But I’ve tried cauliflower, and cauliflower and I have agreed to never cross paths again.

Still, there are tons of other great vegetables (high-five green beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts!) worth eating because they’re not just good for your physical body—they’re also good for your mind. For you see, researchers have concluded that eating fruit and vegetables is associated with a greater flourishing in daily life.

“Our aim was to determine whether eating fruit and vegetables (FV) is associated with other markers of well-being beyond happiness and life satisfaction,” the researchers wrote in the study‘s abstract. “Towards this aim, we tested whether FV consumption is associated with greater eudaemonic well-being—a state of flourishing characterized by feelings of engagement, meaning, and purpose in life. We also tested associations with two eudaemonic behaviours—curiosity and creativity.”

The researchers had 405 young adults complete an Internet diary for 13 consecutive days, reporting on their consumption of fruit and vegetables and their eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity.

“Young adults who ate more FV reported higher average eudaemonic well-being, more intense feelings of curiosity, and greater creativity compared with young adults who ate less FV,” the researchers wrote. “On days when young adults ate more FV, they reported greater eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity compared with days when they ate less FV.”

Sure, the findings are correlational, the researchers said, but “this study provides the first evidence that FV consumption may be related to a broader range of well-being states that signal human flourishing in early adulthood.”

So, while spinach may not make you physically strong, it will at least help you be more creative, which is a strength in itself.

(photo credit: Jon McGovern via photopin cc)

The best way to reduce workplace stress as a manager is to have a good working relationship with employees. That just one of the findings from a recent study by Professors Astrid M. Richardsen and Stig Berge Matthiesen at the BI Norwegian Business School in which four key stress factors were investigated: Time pressures and workload, emotional strain, role stress at work (role conflict between demands from top management and from employees), and role conflict between work and private life.

“Although a clear majority of the managers experience time pressure at work, there are relatively few who have role stress at work, or a role conflict between work and private life,” the researchers said.

To help managers handle workplace stress, Richardsen and Matthiesen suggest 10 strategies.

1. Find out what is creating the stress: Identify the sources of work stress. Knowledge makes it easier to implement stress management measures.

2. More knowledge about stress: Increase the general knowledge of the nature of stress. How do various conditions for stress interact? What can be done about it?

3. Have a healthy lifestyle: Make sure you have sufficient rest and sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet. A healthy mind in a healthy body. There are good reasons why so many managers are keen on their exercise.

4. Learn to rest and relax: Practice the skill of stressing down or relaxing. Muscle relaxation, meditation, and tools that tell you whether your body really is relaxing may help.

5. Manage your time more efficiently: Learn to prioritize work tasks better. Identify the time thieves, and try to get rid of them.

6. Increase your employees’ skills: By increasing the skills of your employees, you yourself will have less stress. You will feel more confident that the jobs you delegate will be done.

7. Establish relationships for support: Do you have someone to ask for help and support when you need it? Is there anyone you can go to with your joys and sorrows? Social support in everyday life is important for managers, too.

8. Plan your career: For managers as for others, a job or work commitment may have a “best before” date. Remaining too long in a job may lead to unnecessary stress or strain.

9. Switch jobs in time: Make the switch while you still have good control of the job and its related stress.

10. Seek outside, professional help if the job becomes too much of a strain: Major work stress can have serious consequences, both for the person suffering it and for his/her surroundings.

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The Arena Management Conference (AMC) takes place this year in Long Beach, California, September 14-16. There are several great educational sessions, including one titled “Sports Bidding/Hosting Process.” It’s a panel discussion moderated by Bredan Buckley, vice president at Columbus Area Sports & Entertainment. The panelists will be Will Hunter, vice president of operations for the PAC-12; Jeff Jarnecke, director of championships and alliances for the NCAA; Ken Kuhl, vice president of event development at the American Airlines Center; Ben Tario, assistant commissioner of football, multimedia, and legal affairs for the ACC; and Sean Saadeh, senior vice president of programming at the Barclays Center.

We spoke with Kuhl to learn more about the bidding process and the session.

How many NCAA championships does the American Airlines Center host annually?

We would hope to host a men’s or women’s event each year but with the way the bid cycles are setup and the other facilities in the region that host various men’s and women’s events as well, a venue is not likely to host an event annually. Through the bidding process, we expect to host a NCAA event every two-to-three years. In addition, we are also bidding on the Big 12 Conference Men and Women’s Championships, so we have to consider that process when we submit bids for NCAA event.

What is the No. 1 priority for the NCAA, in your experience, when it considers where to play its championships and how does AAC meet that need?

First and foremost, I believe the NCAA is looking for a city/area that has the ability to sell tickets to their championship event. Secondly, is there a host organization that has the ability to put on a first-class event and a city that can accommodate the fans? With those two items in place, you will have a successful event.

How has the bidding process changed over the last five years, and how do you see it evolving?

The use of the NCAA portal has greatly changed the way the bidding process works. It certainly cuts down on the size of the bid document that you have to submit to the NCAA for a specific event. I see the process changing dramatically with the proposed changes that are being discussed currently with the big five conferences and the NCAA.

What’s the No. 1 thing you’d like for attendees to take away from the session?

You have to have a great working relationship/partnership with your sports commission or CVB. With either of these entities looking for events to bring to the city, you have a great opportunity to increase your event bookings and garner some great national publicity for your venue.

Interesting in attending AMC? Registration is open.