Two vehicle sports accidents recently took place that reinforces the importance of safety and crowd management.

One accident happened at the Houston Grix Prix. Dario Franchitti’s IndyCar went airborne and crashed into a fence. Along with Franchitti, 13 fans and a race official were injured from debris flying into the grandstand.

Another accident happened during the Extreme Aeroshow in Chihuahua, Mexico. A monster truck driver lost control of his vehicle and drove through a crowd of spectators. Nine people died, and 75 were hurt.

“Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Duarte Juarez said his administration, which was listed as a sponsor of the air show, was investigating whether Civil Protection authorities had correctly enforced safety regulations,” Ashley Collman and Helen Collis reported for the Associated Press. “He and other officials didn’t say if those regulations required any protective barrier for spectators.”

Event organizers say that hundreds of spectators were gathered in the pit area without permission.

“Veteran monster truck show organizers said spectators should never have been standing that close to the arena floor unprotected, regardless of the trajectory of the truck,” Collman and Collis reported. “They said properly organized shows take place in an arena with a safety zone separating spectators from the trucks, which the Chihuahua city show lacked.”

These two incidents are examples of what can and will happen at motorsport events, says Harold Hansen, CFE, director of life safety and security for IAVM.

“As venue managers, we must exercise a standard of care that will keep patrons and spectators out of harm’s way,” he said. “Establishing a safety zone between the track and spectators is essential; effective shielding of patrons from flying debris is another.”

Hansen says safety and crowd management planning must ask a lot of ‘What if this happens?’ questions and then implement protections that address the threats and hazards identified.

“Never be lulled into believing ‘It won’t happen here’,” he says.  “It can and might!”

A good way to stay prepared and to learn skills that may save lives is to attend the 2013 International Crowd Management Conference at the Plaza Marriott in San Antonio, Texas, November 10-13. Session topics include “Incident Management for Venue Operations in a Crisis,” “Enabling Your Staff to Handle Problematic Behavior,” and “Pyrotechnics: Patron Safety, Technical Expertise, and Considerations of Use.” The conference is a great opportunity for you to enhance your security and safety knowledge and to learn from experienced industry colleagues.

(Image via Flickr: CEPx09/Creative Commons)

Score one for the comic geeks.

The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously in approval last Thursday to expand the San Diego Convention Center and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, helping move the $520 million project forward.

“Comic-Con leaders said the expansion is vital to keep the summer pop-culture extravaganza from having to leave San Diego in search of a larger venue,” reported Tony Perry for the Los Angeles Times. “But the Chargers had opposed the expansion, putting forth an alternative plan for a joint stadium-convention center expansion several blocks from the current center. For a decade, the team has warned that economic pressures could force it to leave San Diego unless it gets a stadium to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium.”

The expansion will include an additional 225,000 of exhibit space—creating the West Coast’s largest contiguous exhibit hall—an 80,000-square-foot ballroom, a five-acre rooftop park, and a 500-room addition to the Hilton hotel.

“Key supporters of the expansion plan vowed to help the Chargers develop a stadium project for taxpayers’ approval,” Perry reported. “Acting Mayor Todd Gloria promised to immediately begin working to fashion such a project, preferably on the eastern edge of downtown near the Chargers’ preferred site.”

Even though the expansion is approved, its financing (most of it coming from hotel surcharges on rooms) is under appeal and will be resolved in the upcoming months.

“Today’s approval is the result of a strong five-year collaboration between SDCCC, the City of San Diego, the Port of San Diego, hotel developers, and the community,” said Phil Blair, board chair of the San Diego California Coastal Commission Board of Directors. “This is a win for all San Diegans and will ensure we remain a top meeting and convention destination.”

(Image via Flickr: Port of San Diego/Creative Commons)

I love technology. I enjoy trying out new gadgets, playing with innovative systems, and experimenting with fun programs. But none of it would be worth it if I couldn’t share my excitement with others. You see, it’s not the technology that makes me happy. It’s people. Technology is just a tool to foster a connection with others.

Consider a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University in Sweden that suggests relationships, not things, make us happy. Researchers analyzed news articles published online by Swedish papers during 2010. They looked at which words most often occurred in the same articles as the Swedish word for happiness. Out of more than 1.5 million examples, words such as “grandmother” and personal pronouns more often appeared with the word for happiness. Other words, such as “iPhone” and “Google” rarely appeared next to the word for happiness.

“This doesn’t mean that material things make you unhappy, just that they don’t seem to come up in the same context as the word for happiness,” says Danilo Garcia, researcher in psychology at the Sahlgrenska Academy’s Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health.

The researchers feel that the analysis shows a collective perception in society on what makes us happy. This is important to remember as venue managers, because you’re bringing people together to share a (hopefully) happy experience.

“Just as the Beatles sang, most people understand that money can’t buy you happiness or love,” Danilo Garcia said. “But even if we as individuals can understand the importance of close and warm relationships on a social level, it isn’t certain that everyone is aware that such relationships are actually necessary for our own personal happiness.”

And now you know.

(Image via Orange Photography)

Why Big City Mayors See a “Buyer’s Market” for Meetings and Conventions
– BizBash

With the number of events in North America holding steady while more meeting space is available, cities have to work harder than ever to attract conventions by renovating their venues, offering incentives, and building hotels—even at a time when other priorities are raiding their marketing budgets.

At CEIR Predict, an event hosted by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research at the Waldorf-Astoria in September that looked at the future of the exhibition industry, the mayors of four big convention destinations—Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, and Orange County, Florida—talked about the importance of meetings and conventions to their cities and how they are trying to win business in a competitive market. Dave Whitney, president of Destination Meetings Online and former president and C.E.O. of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, moderated the panel, and the mayors also answered questions at a press conference.

“It is a buyer’s market now,” Houston Mayor Annise Parker said. “We are all very competitive with each other.” Sometimes that means offering incentives to lure big conventions, but she said not every event will merit concessions.

“No business can stay in business if you give away your product for free every time,” Parker said. “For a convention or conference of such magnitude that it will significantly increase the revenues of the overall city, we of course will sweeten the pot. You have to do that with some of the major sporting events, and we coordinate with the state of Texas to decide whether it is of sufficient magnitude to do it.”

Wichita State Gives Fans Look at Recent Improvements at Koch Arena
– The Wichita Eagle

The floor in Wichita State’s renovated locker room is highlighted by the 2013 Final Four logo and a picture of the West Regional trophy in the center of the room.

It’s important to know, David Munroe says, that it’s not permanent. Munroe, who works for The Image Resources Group, designed the locker room and lockers. He is already dreaming about a new look for the carpeted floor.

“It’s just taped in there,” Munroe said. “When I’ve been down there working, I keep telling the players that we can peel that out and put a national championship one in real easy.”

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Convention centers, particularly in Europe, are expecting a slower growth rate in 2013 than in past years, primarily because of economic recovery stagnation.

That’s just one of the findings from a recent survey conducted by AIPC – the International Association of Congress Centres. Convention venues in 54 countries participated in the survey, which also identified international competition and government policies toward meetings and events as top concerns.

“Growing competition amongst centres worldwide has been an issue for some years, but this very real spike in concern about government attitudes toward business events is a disturbing new development,” said AIPC President Geoff Donaghy in a statement. “At a time when economic growth and stabilization is a big priority amongst governments all over the world, we would have hoped they would have made the connection this has with business and professional interactions, but our member experiences are suggesting otherwise. This shows we need to work even harder on making sure our value proposition is better understood and appreciated by policy makers.”

Survey participants say that corporate event business is driving growth, but that conventions and exhibitions remain stagnant. Many venues are also seeking alternate revenue opportunities, such as “event creation, sponsorship and advertising, and enhanced services.” To encourage more business, the venues are open to increased risk sharing with clients.

A rapid change in event formats and growth in technology and connectivity demands were other areas of concern.

“Overall, what this tells us is that there is no instant business upswing in the cards for centres in the near future,” Donaghy said. “As in many other sectors in today’s economy, success in ours will have to be based on innovation, flexibility, and an ability to be competitive in a highly contested market.”

What steps are you taking to stay flexible and competitive? Please share your answers in the comments.

(Image of the Dublin National Convention Centre via Flickr: Greg Clarke/Creative Commons)