Oak View Group (OVG), the owners and operators of Acrisure Arena and Coachella Valley Firebirds, have become a new community partner with the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation and promised a contribution of $1 million in a matching grant toward the final phase of the fundraising campaign to restore the historic theatre.

This donation challenges others to match this gift, helping to raise the remaining funds needed to achieve the theatre’s fundraising goal so that the restoration may soon begin. OVG’s Tod Leiweke and John Bolton, CVE, presented the check to the Plaza Theatre Foundation during a special presentation.

As the first employee of Acrisure Arena, Bolton was instrumental in launching the modern music and sports venue from its early planning to groundbreaking in June 2021 and to the arena’s highly successful landmark opening in December. Further solidifying OVG’s belief and investment in the future potential of the Palm Springs area as a major entertainment destination, Bolton will continue this commitment with reviving the Plaza Theatre for new generations in the Coachella Valley.

“I’m honored to transition the energy we used to make Acrisure Arena into the world-class venue it is today and be involved with the Plaza Theatre Foundation and their efforts to restore one of the most iconic venues in the Coachella Valley,” Bolton said. “To have Acrisure Arena and the Coachella Valley Firebirds adopt the Plaza Theatre as a core community fundraising project is such a tremendous development and exciting for everyone that is involved.”

Pictured: John Bolton, CVE, third from right, leads the charge to restore the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre.

By Aren Murray

Tixly, the SAAS CRM that brings intuitive efficiency to ticketing, announced that their US presence is expanding with the hiring of Sam Chacon to fill the newly created position of Client Service Specialist.

Chacon brings to Tixly eight years of experience in leadership within multiple arts centers including the Tobin Center of San Antonio, the Orpheum Theatre Group of Memphis, and Shea’s Performing Arts Center of Buffalo.

“I’m very excited to be joining the Tixly team as we continue to grow in the United States,” Chacon said. “Tixly is efficient, flexible, and visually streamlined to make ticketing easier for the venue and customers. I look forward to helping performing arts organizations in the United States experience everything Tixly has to offer.”

Chacon’s experience in the arts industry in several states in the US will expand Tixly’s foundation and commitment to quality service in the culture market.

Chacon had a desire to be a leader in fine arts early on, leading him to a degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas. As he developed this passion, he found a desire to serve in an administrative capacity, sharing the mission of the arts through ticketing.

“The addition of Sam Chacon to the US Tixly team brings us such pleasure to announce. Sam’s amazing skills exhibited through quickly understanding ticketing needs and addressing them with the appropriate technological answers makes us delighted to have him assisting our clients,” said Aren Murray, Operations Manager – US at Tixly.

By Jennifer Wilson

Leading secure digital ticket delivery service True Tickets announced a partnership with Walton Arts Center, operator of Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) in Rogers, Arkansas. This partnership is aimed at revolutionizing the ticketing experience for patrons, integrating the True Tickets service into the organization’s digital ticketing platform to provide a seamless, user-friendly process for purchasing and managing tickets.

The partnership between True Tickets and Walton Arts Center is a natural fit as both organizations are dedicated to providing exceptional live entertainment experiences. True Tickets offers secure, contactless digital ticket delivery and control over how each ticket is transacted and managed. Walton Arts Center with its performing arts center and amphitheater is renowned for the world-class performers and the shows that it presents.

“We are thrilled to be working with Walton Arts Center, a truly iconic presence in Northwest Arkansas’ cultural and entertainment scene,” said Ken Lesnik, True Tickets Head of Business Development. “Our service is designed to keep digital ticketing seamless, straightforward, and secure, and we are excited to bring that to the patrons of the Walton Arts Center.”

During the past three decades, Walton Arts Center has become Arkansas’ largest and busiest performing arts presenter bringing touring Broadway, live music, and dance to the region. The Walmart AMP, a Walton Arts Center venue since February 2011, is Arkansas’ premier outdoor concert venue with headlining artists from all genres.


“We are excited to partner with True Tickets to bring digital ticketing to the Walmart AMP and Walton Arts Center for the new seasons,” said Jeff Mann, chief operating officer of Walton Arts Center. “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the ticketing experience for our patrons and this partnership is a major step in that direction.”

Jennifer Wilson is Public Relations Director at Walton Arts Center and Walmart AMP.

By Alexandra Serrano

Exhibition Place has signed the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge, joining a global movement of businesses committed to creating a sustainable future for the tourism industry. This pledge demonstrates Exhibition Place’s commitment to improving the sustainability performance of its business between now and 2030 in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Exhibition Place plans to amplify its sustainability performance by enhancing annual targets for all aspects of the venue’s operations – from infrastructure developments all the way to how events are managed.

“At Exhibition Place, we have long understood the importance of sustainability and our GREENSmart initiatives span almost two decades of progress in this realm,” said Exhibition Place General Manager Laura Purdy. “Today, we remain dedicated to reducing our impact on the planet by going beyond conventional industry practices and supporting the efforts of likeminded event organizers. Taking the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge represents another step in becoming Toronto’s sustainable venue of choice and we are excited to expand on our longstanding achievements.”

Reducing the environmental impact of events remains a strong focus in the global exhibitions industry as organizers seek to embed sustainability into their operations. Exhibition Place takes pride in supporting the ambitions of likeminded clients including the One of A Kind Show, whose parent company Informa is recognized as leader in the ESG space.

“As a part of Informa, One of A Kind has aligned it efforts to contribute to our company’s commitment in building a sustainable business. Through the FasterForward program, our aim is to become a positive impact business by embedding sustainability into everything we do, and seizing opportunities to help our customers and communities to do the same,” said Show Director Janice Leung. “We greatly value having a venue partner like Exhibition Place who boasts a longstanding dedication to sustainable practices. These practices support our own ambitions of becoming zero waste and net zero carbon by 2030 while creating annual events that meet the high standards of our customers.”

Additional leading-edge environmental initiatives at Exhibition Place include Silver and Platinum recognition through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system, renewable wind, solar and geothermal Energy Production, innovative building operation initiatives and urban forestry.

Alexandra Serrano is Manager, Marketing and Communications, Exhibition Place.

By Jody Lake, CVE

We all know we should “someday” take advantage of the many excellent opportunities IAVM has available to provide critical training in the areas of venue, patron, staff, guest, and vendor safety. How many times have we shared the deep emotions of hearing of our fellow colleagues’ experiences with emergency situations that we feel so sorry for, but never think it will happen in our venues, to our guests, in our city, at this event, etc.?

After several years of knowing and understanding the need, our Utah Chapter recently accomplished this critical training by hosting Mark Herrera, Director of Safety and Security for IAVM. “It was one of the best things we could ever have done,” said one experienced venue GM. Another attendee commented that, “it was nice to get re-motivated about our most important responsibility of keeping ourselves, our staffs, and our guests safe.”

Taking advantage of Mark’s time in Salt Lake City, we offered two sessions on the same one-day training opportunity. Our first morning session was geared towards full-time event and management staffs, while the second early-evening session welcomed those who also are vital participants in our emergency plans in their roles as ushers, ticket takers, first responders, back-of-house, front-of-house, and other critical event staffs. Our attendee numbers were impressive with 250 for the first session and approximately 300-plus for the second session.

Mark’s training covers critical areas of Situational Awareness, De-escalation for front line teams, Active Threat/Active Shooter Preparedness, Building your Security Culture, and finishing with the NFPA required Trained Crowd Manager. He is a top-notch presenter with years of experience and as one participant commented, “We can relate to his training. He understands our world and issues of event management.” Another commented, “Our world of event and facility management changes daily. Sometimes we get complacent in the important roles we all have. Mark helps us refocus on just how unexpected challenges can have huge consequences. He gives us the tools to mitigate those risks.”

Leaders of today must be able to understand risk analysis, threat ideology, venue vulnerability, and change our mindsets from our comfortable roles of event management to what our guests are expecting, seeing, and experiencing. We need to know how to plan, prepare, respond, and recover. Do you? Does your staff? Take advantage of available training. It will be time well spent.

Jody Lake, CVE, is an IAVM Member Retired, Weber State University.