iCommit, IAVM’s annual member referral campaign, ran this year from July 1 – December 31, 2022. The goal of the campaign is for each existing member to recruit one or more individuals to join our community of venue professionals. The results are in!

We are pleased to report that 123 members were entered into the raffle to win prizes for every new member that joined. With these individuals’ support, we have added 336 new members to IAVM!

• Grand Prize Winner – VenueConnect 2023 free registration goes to: Kim Bedier, CVE – Honda Center/ocVIBE
• Raffle Winners – Five, $500 Apple Gift Cards*
  • Michael Silva – Alliant Energy/PowerHouse – Cedar Rapids, IA
  • Linda Keough – AT&T Performing Arts Center – Dallas, TX
  • Craig Lehto – Vancouver Convention Center – Vancouver, BC – Canada
  • Tasha Gandy – Charleston Gaillard Center – Charleston, SC
  •  Tyler Slanovec – INTRUST Bank Arena – Wichita, KS
• Region Winner– Region 5 saw the largest increase with 82 new members.
  • The Region Director will select one recipient to have his/her CVP application fee waived (value $125). The candidate must apply by July 2023.

Congratulations to the winners. We appreciate our members for continuing to advocate on behalf of IAVM. Special thanks to Ungerboeck for their continued support and sponsorship of this membership initiative. If you have any questions, contact IAVM’s Director of Membership, Gina Brydson.

By Cheryl Cohen

On January 17, 1973, 50 years ago, the Providence Civic Center officially opened its doors to what would become known as New England’s premier arena and Rhode Island’s new home for all major sports and entertainment. The overall project took nearly thirteen years (1960-1973) from its first appearance on a State referendum, through the design process, construction, to an official opening. On November 3, 1972, simple ceremonies during the Rhode Island Reds hockey game unofficially opened the Providence Civic Center. On January 17, 1973, events all day and into the evening officially kicked off the opening of the Civic Center. Fifty years later, the arena remains a vital contributor to the State’s economy and an iconic New England destination for sports and entertainment.

The Amica Mutual Pavilion (AMP) will take part in celebrating its long history through a variety of acknowledgements throughout the coming months. The kickoff to the celebration was the “AMP Gives 50” campaign which launched in January and will be a weekly initiative of acts of kindness to support the community.

We have unveiled our commemorative anniversary logo, which pays homage to the original Civic Center logo, as well as incorporating our new naming rights partner, Amica Mutual Insurance. See the “then” and “now” photo with this article.

In our 50-year history, we have hosted over 7,000 EVENTS and welcomed over 38 MILLION GUESTS through our doors. Generations of families have created fond memories at the Arena, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of those stories for decades to come. As the newly named Amica Mutual Pavilion enters the next decade under the leadership of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority and ASM Global, the world’s leader in venue management, we will celebrate the remarkable events the Arena has hosted over the years, and the profound impact it has had on the community in the last 50 years.

Fifty Years of Fun Facts!

• Over 7,000 EVENTS have taken place in the Arena and over 38 MILLION GUESTS have passed through our doors.

• On January 25, 1971, Mayor Joseph A. Doorley breaks ground for the Providence Civic Center.

• The first artist to ever perform on stage in the arena was JOHNNY CASH (performing for our soft opening in November 1972).

• In 1992, the Providence Bruins call the arena home and in 1999 they win the Calder Cup Championship.

• Providence College Men’s Basketball launched their 1972-1973 Season at the Providence Civic Center, and 50 years later they still call the arena their home court.

• In 2008, a multi-year renovation project was completed.

• In 2002, the Providence Civic Center became known as the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

• In 2022, the Dunkin’ Donuts Center became known as the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

• The LONGEST running family shows include:

• Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus, which first performed in May of 1973. They returned annually until the Circus went off the road and held their very last performance in Providence in May of 2017.
• On November 17, 1973, the World Wide Wrestling Federation, known today as WWE, first appeared at the Providence Civic Center and continues 50 years later to entertain fans multiple times each year.

• Since 1975 the Arena has been the site for 23 NCAA Tournaments:

8 NCAA Division I 1st & 2nd Round Men’s Basketball
3 NCAA Division I East Regional Men’s Basketball
5 NCAA Division I Regional Men’s Hockey
6 NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Frozen Four
1 NCAA Women’s Hockey Frozen Four

• TOP ARTISTS who have played the Arena:
Boston Pops (27) ♪ Aerosmith (19) ♪ Grateful Dead (19) ♪ Trans-Siberian Orchestra (19)
Jethro Tull (12) ♪ Neil Diamond (12) ♪ KISS (11) ♪ Barry Manilow (11) ♪ Frank Sinatra (11)

Cheryl Cohen is Senior Director of Sales, Booking & Marketing, and ASM Global Regional Director of Marketing.

From Celebrity Access

Venue management giant ASM Global has announced its appointment of Caroline Ginnane as General Manager of Utilita Arena Newcastle (11,000-capacity).

Ginnane is no stranger to the arena as she’s been working as the venue’s interim GM since September 2022 while simultaneously working as the head of sales and marketing, which she’s held since October 2019.

Before Utilita, Ginnane worked in hospitality roles across theatres and arenas in New Zealand and Doha. She moved to Newcastle in 2018 and joined Utilita at that time. From April 2018, she served as the SMG Europe head of commercial sales and marketing.

“The North East is an important market for ASM Global – with a busy Utilita Arena and the development of The Sage, and alongside our senior team members like Caroline, we have great confidence for the future here,” Ginnane said, “I am fortunate to work alongside an incredibly passionate and talented team, and we will continue to work together to deliver incredible events for the North East region.”

Major live music events at the arena this year include Lewis Capaldi, Kiss, and The 1975. Ginnane will also drive staff development and training and support the venue’s partners on their charitable giving missions via Food and Fuel poverty and Cash for Kids.

ASM Global is also set to operate The Sage, which is set to open in Newcastle Gateshead Quays and provide an estimated £70m annual boost for the local economy, creating 2,000 jobs.

By Monica Sedelmeier

The City of Waco (TX) announced that Dan Quandt will serve as the Director of Conventions & Tourism, a position he has held on an interim basis since November 8, 2021.

The Director of Conventions & Tourism manages the Waco Convention Center and the Waco Welcome Center in addition to spearheading tourism marketing for the City as a whole.

Quandt is well known in the tourism industry, having served as CVB director for Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Lincoln, Nebraska, before coming to Texas to head up the South Padre Island Convention Center and Convention & Visitors Bureau for 13 years, and the Amarillo Convention & Visitors Council for seven years.

Quandt has served as chair of the Texas Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus and on the board of the Texas Travel Industry Association. He was a founding member of the National Association of Sports Commissions and holds several industry certifications, including Certified Tourism Executive, Certified Destination Management Executive, and Certified Sports Event Executive. He has a BA degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of North Dakota.

Waco City Manager Bradley Ford said, “I am thankful we were able to bring Dan on to lead the Conventions and Tourism team. The experience he brings from the travel and tourism sector is invaluable.”

Monica Sedelmeier, Public Information Officer Communications and Marketing Department

From Pollstar

Oak View Group has announced the creation of a national Theater Alliance with an initial roster of venues in markets across North America that will benefit from collective buying power, routing of non-traditional content, sponsorship opportunities, industry best practices and resources, as well as shared proceeds from an annual fundraising gala.

Named senior director of the Theater Alliance is recent Oak View Group hire Noël Mirhadi, formerly a music agent at multiple major talent agencies. She’s spearheading the Alliance alongside Joe Giordano, OVG vice president overseeing the Theater Alliance as well as the previously formed Arena and Stadium Alliances.

“What we’re trying to do is to meet the needs of the venues where they are and make sure that we’re creating value for the entire ecosystem here,” said OVG360 CEO Chris Granger. “We want to serve the industry and all of its stakeholders. That means how do we best serve the venue, the artists, the fans, and corporate partners in the communities in which we operate? All members are going to have access to everything, but venues are different. They do have similar challenges, but they’re gonna be different in terms of what matters most to them.”

Modeled largely after OVG’s Arena Alliance that launched in 2015, the Theater Alliance is designed to provide similar services to a sector that may not have the resources, seating capacity, or staff of the typical arena or stadium-sized venue.

“It’s important to note that outside of booking, these buildings have operated kind of in a silo historically,” Giordano said. “Now we’re bringing together all the different departments, from operations, ticketing F&B, all the different things that make the wheel turn.”

Giordano was previously assistant general manager at the BOK Center in Tulsa, also an ASM Global regional booking manager and content developer overseeing more than 40 venues. He notes the Alliance’s “five pillars” – book together, buy together, sell together, think together, and brand together. He says the Theater Alliance is an example of the “brand together” mantra, “Showing how high-level the network is and how the program can maximize their revenue and increase buying power.”

Theater Alliance membership is invite only, with Granger saying the annual fee is around the middle five-figure mark. He says the Alliance seeks top-class venues and organizations interested in a long-term relationship.

“We are going out proactively to those venues and operators that are the best of the best,” Granger said. “The value of the Alliance comes not just from the OVG partnership, but from the relationship with one another, right? We want you to participate with us for, let’s say, three or five years as a starting point. We want to make sure there is opportunity for you to reap the benefits of the collective and for us to learn as much as we can about your venue. A one-year relationship serves nobody.”

The Alliance venues (see below for list) range from New York properties Beacon Theatre, Theater at MSG and Radio City Music Hall and extends to other high-profile theaters such as ACL Live at Moody Theater in Austin, the Pabst Theater Group in Milwaukee to the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

“We are thrilled to be amongst the first members of Oak View Group’s Theater Alliance. OVG has proven to be an innovator in our industry,” says Pabst Theater Group Chief Operating Officer and talent buyer Matt Beringer. “With the formation of the Theater Alliance, we look forward to combining their expanded national reach and expertise with our 20 years of experience booking and operating world class independent concert venues.”

“313 Presents is proud to be an inaugural member of the OVG Theater Alliance,” added Howard Handler, president of 313 Presents in Detroit. “The Fox Theatre, Detroit’s crown jewel, is a destination for everyone within our community. This alliance provides opportunities for us to share and learn best practices from other iconic theatres around the country and to deliver even more to artists, tours and our guests.”

Mirhadi has extensive experience in the theater world, being a classically trained musician herself and for 14 years working at talent agencies representing artists largely within the performing arts realm. She says she jumped at the chance to help form the Alliance with Giordano called.

“It was an easy sell coming from Joe, a longtime colleague and friend,” said Mirhadi. “He really wanted someone who had deep knowledge and relationships in the theater space to help identify these partners to formulate not only the menu of services we’re offering but also identify which we wanted to be part of our inaugural class.” She said there are active discussions with several other potential member venues, which could be announced in the coming months.

The Theater Alliance is establishing its own philanthropic organization to raise funds to be shared among members, with proceeds going either directly to non-profit members to philanthropic partners of privately owned or for-profit members to benefit programs such as local music or art education programs.

“Many of these buildings are nonprofit in nature and are extremely expensive to run and operate, so we thought that it was important to support them at the philanthropic level as well,” Mirhadi said. In partnership with music industry’ social responsibility program Music’s Promise, the Theater Alliance Fund will be open for donations all year, Mirhadi said, with an annual benefit gala rotating cities.

Oak View Group Theater Alliance Members

ACL Live at Moody Theater (Austin, TX)
AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas TX)
Beacon Theatre, Theater at MSG, and Radio City Music Hall (New York, NY)
Boch Center (Boston, MA)
The Chicago Theatre (Chicago, IL)
First Interstate Center (Spokane, WA)
Fox Theatre (Detroit, MI)
Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA)
Pabst Theater Group (Milwaukee, WI)
Paramount Theatre (Denver, CO)
Paramount Theatre (Oakland, CA)
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (Pittsburgh, PA)
Portland’5 Centers for the Arts (Portland, OR)
Ryman Auditorium & Grand Ole Opry House (Nashville, TN)
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (Costa Mesa, CA)
Stifel Theatre (St. Louis, MO)
Tulsa Performing Arts Center (Tulsa, OK)