And now for footage only a mother could love …

Here are hilarious outtakes from VenueConnect 2012 attendees trying their hands at trumpet, trombone and drum playing! Thanks to everyone who participated and helped us publicize the VenueConnect 2013 host city, legendary New Orleans. Enjoy!

Matt Gibson, General Manager, Spokane Arena at Spokane Public Facilities District

What is your formal education?

MATT: BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Washington.
RYAN: I earned aa Bachelor of Science in Sports, Entertainment & Event Management from Johnson & Wales University in Denver in 2005, and a Master of Science in Entertainment Mnagement from Full Sail University in 2013.

In what facilities do you/have you worked?

MATT: I’m one of the anomalies in this industry in that I’ve been lucky to call the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena my home for my entire career.
RYAN: Coors Field – Denver, Colorado; Broomfield Event Center – Broomfield, Colorado; SpiritBank Event Center – Tulsa, Oklahoma.

What are your career aspirations one year from now?

MATT: One year?  Ask me what my aspirations are FIVE years from now!
RYAN: One year from now, I would like to be promoted to the director of corporate sponsorships and group sales for the SpiritBank Event Center. I would also like to have attended and completed the first year of the Venue Management School program at Oglebay, as well as been invited to the Leadership program through Global Spectrum.

What is your dream job? 

MATT: I tell people that if I am to live in Spokane, managing this facility is the closest thing to working at Disneyland. My job is a pretty choice. If I could figure out a way to make set changes happen with a snap of my fingers, it would be the perfect job.
RYAN: To be the general manager of a multipurpose facility. Location, nor venue type, is as important as it once was to me. Continue Reading →

A new system of cameras, developed by German company GoalControl, has received the FIFA GLT license and is being evaluated at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. Requiring no changes to the ball, goals, net or pitch, GoalControl-4D utilizes 14 cameras that monitor the precise location of the ball. When the ball crosses the goal line, the central processing unit sends an encrypted radio signal that notifies the referee’s watch in less than one second.

Tech-enabled officiating is a different debate for each sport, but the implications of technology on gameplay and the guest experience will only increase as new discoveries and capabilities emerge. Also at play in the debate is referee and guest safety, as violent incidents in sports can easily be triggered by a call (or lack thereof) that ignites volatile reactions from an impassioned army of attendees.

From ball placement in American football to the strike zone in baseball, our culture seems to increasingly demand that our officiating transcend the limits of the human eye. Technology is rapidly trying to close the gaps of human error, but to what extent? Recent violence against referees in youth sports is a sobering reminder that until we have GoalControl-4D installed on every pee-wee field in the world, we might be forced as a culture to deal with the imperfections we all bring to the event.

Affordable Care Act Law Gets One-Year Reprieve Before Enactment
–IAVM

The Affordable Care Act that was to become effective in January 2014 has been pushed back to a January 1, 2015 deadline. In short, the delay buys employers with 50 or more employees an additional year before they must offer medical coverage to their workers or pay a fine. Continue Reading →

Soccer exhibition matches are otherwise known by the serene, calm title of a “friendly,” which conjures up all kinds of warm fuzzies and group hugs. Friendly, that is, until Mexican soccer rivals Chivas (Guadalajara) and Club America (Mexico City) square off on the field.

The teams, both lavishly worshiped by an adoring and rabid fan base, squared off at Sam Boyd Stadium on July 3 on the campus of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the meeting was anything but friendly amongst the teams and amongst the fans.

Continue Reading →