By R.V. Baugus

March ushers in spring as well as the beginning of the severe weather season. IAVM holds is Severe Weather sessions on March 4 in Las Vegas as part of the Academy for Venue Safety & Security.

Wayne Middleton, CVE, is a veteran IAVM member and owner of the risk management consultancy Reliance Risk in Bondi Junction, New South Wales, Australia. When it comes to minimizing threats and maximizing opportunities, Wayne is respected across the globe and has presented virtually everywhere to share his 30 years’ experience as a venue manager, event manager, risk manager, and consultant across the public venue, events, sport and entertainment industries.

You will want to be sure to attend his session at Severe Weather when he presents on The Nexus: A Risk Based approach to mitigating Severe Weather Events & enhancing Organizational Resilience.

Before Wayne jets to the United States, we caught him with him to talk on a variety of topics leading up to the presentation.

Speak some about your presentation at Severe Weather as we are currently experiencing exactly that and approaching the turbulent spring season.

The upcoming spring weather patterns combined with impacts of climate change assures of severe weather ahead. As outdoor events continue to shake off the COVID cobwebs, it’s a good time to sharpen the event planning skills on how to anticipate, prepare, respond, and recover from major weather incidents affecting events.

This year I’ve been invited to share some experiences with students around applying a risk-based approach to event planning and in particular using risk assessment to help determine the best course of action. A key ingredient in good risk management planning is ensuring there is a documented suite of processes and procedures that are considered, comprehensive, and that are well communicated across all key stakeholders.

Risk-based event planning suggests that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to event risk is not a good use of limited resources. Based upon the context of the foreseeable risks, planning should aim to ensure that the actions, resources, and level of effort in risk mitigation is commensurate with the threat. The same applies for planning for severe weather impacts for events.

Having a well-documented, resourced, and communicated Severe Weather Plan helps ensure the venue and event organiser is well placed to maximise its effective and minimise potential liability.

In my session I’ll touch on:
Applying a risk-based approach to severe weather planning
Temporary structures – and structural integrity assurance
Emergency management including command and control, operating procedures
Adverse weather planning – trigger points and action planning for preparation, response, and recovery for wind, heat, hail, and other storms
Operational readiness testing – considering different methods of testing and rehearsal to set your event up for weather success
Maintaining a continuity of business to ensure critical business functions lead the recovery

The session will look at practical examples furnished with contemporary approaches to building resilient venues and events.

What are the most common oversights that organizations make when it comes to planning for severe weather?

From my experience, some of the more common mistakes made by venue and event managers relating to adverse weather are:

Failure to Anticipate – Failure to anticipate the weather possible that may affect the venue or event is important. Risk-based weather planning requires using historical information and experiences in that location, to help predict the future. Weather planning for events should look at both the more foreseeable scenarios as well as worst case to ensure that the event type, activities, site, and infrastructure is suitable for the conditions.

Inappropriate Infrastructure – There are numerous examples across the industrial world where incidents triggered by adverse weather affected temporary infrastructure that was not fit for purpose, installed incorrectly, or not appropriately signed off by a qualified competent person. Other examples of poor infrastructure include weather monitoring capabilities, access to and use of radar, anemometers, alert notifications, and other available sources of accurate monitoring systems.

Inadequate Planning – We have a saying in Australia, “she’ll be right mate,” which means “don’t worry about it, it’ll work itself out.” That laissez-faire approach to severe weather can have disastrous consequences. Take the time to consult widely to understand what conditions are possible and take the time to ensure appropriately skilled resources are put in place to prepare, respond, and recover effectively.

-Let’s flip the script if you can share a quick story about how proper planning helped alleviate what could have been a possible disastrous situation.

Invictus Games Sydney – Back in 2018 my company, Reliance Risk, provided risk management support to the Invictus Games being held in Sydney, Australia. The Games is an adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and ill veterans as well as active defense personnel. It was the fourth Games that was founded in 2014 by the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry. The Games Opening Ceremony was held at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt.

As the venue was about to open for patron ingress, a massive thunderstorm moved across the city with lightning bolts striking the Sydney Harbour Bridge (less than 100 yards away) and buildings around Circular Quay. The cracking of thunderbolts was instantaneous with the strike and very loud.

The Games event team coordinated with the Opera House venue staff and invoked a Shelter in Place mode, (part of the adverse weather part of the event’s Emergency Plan), moving all queuing patrons under the Forecourt to safety until the storm passed.

It was a very traumatic experience for some of the veterans who were on route by foot to the Opening Ceremony, with lightning and thunder sometimes being a trigger for severe emotional responses for war veterans.

It served as a stark reminder of the importance of having a plan, coordinating between stakeholders, and understanding the needs of the people likely to be affected by that plan if it is not well implemented.

Any primary or main takeaway you would like your audience to leave with and take back to their venue?

Severe weather planning is one of the many important facets of delivering a safe and successful event. You can’t control the weather, but you can control the plan! This session will equip people with practical knowledge and tools to help address this risk that is evolving and intensifying in many parts of North America.

By Jim Yeager

As the world continues to emerge from the two-year pandemic, ASM has announced plans six months in the making for an unprecedented three day international “collaborative job fair” encompassing four continents internationally Feb. 15-17.

Aimed at helping address the global staffing shortage that many companies in a variety of industries face, ASM leadership hopes that the unique global search will surface diverse talent and expand the company’s reach within its local communities and herald the return to the live-entertainment experience stilled by the COVID pandemic.

“The return to live is just what the world needs,” said ASM Global CEO and President Ron Bension. “There’s a thrill, an excitement, that makes this business feel communal for everyone involved. Our hope is that ‘ASM Global Presents: The Next Great Opportunity’ helps ignite that excitement.”

The event will enable venues to fill a wide range of roles from hourly to salaried levels with highly skilled and diverse candidates. The jobs include the areas of operations, business development, finance, food and beverage, human resources, sales, marketing, booking, security, guest services, audio visual tech, catering, and more.

U.S., Canada, and Latin America are scheduled for Feb. 15 and 16, United Kingdom Feb. 16 and 17, and APAC Feb. 16 and 17. Interested applicants can access the job fair through https://reg.ecareerfairs.com/e/asmglobal-us.

The list of stadiums, convention centers, theaters, and arenas that host over 160 million guests annually participating worldwide includes:

· Albuquerque Convention Center

· American Bank Center

· AO Arena, Manchester

· Avenir Centre

· Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre

· Barclays Center

· Bonus Arena

· Bridgewater Hall

· Brookshire Grocery Arena

· Broward County Convention Center

· Buenos Aries Arena

· COX Business Convention Center

· Destination El Paso

· DeVos Performance Hall

· DeVos Place

· First Direct Arena

· Greater Columbus Convention Center

· Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong

· Kentucky Performing Arts Center

· KFC Yum! Center

· Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum

· Las Cruces Convention Center

· Leon’s Centre

· Long Beach Convention Center

· Lynn Family Stadium

· Mechanics Bank Arena

· Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex

· Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center

· NRG Stadium

· Oakland Arena

· Ontario Convention Center

· OVO Arena, Wembley

· P&J Live

· Pennsylvania Convention Center

· Pensacola Bay Center

· PLAYHOUSE Whitley Bay

· Plowright Theatre

· Ring Center

· Shreveport Convention Center

· Sioux Falls Arena

· Stockton Arena

· Target Center

· Te Pae Christchurch Convention and Exhibition Centre, New Zealand

· The Baths Hall

· The Oncenter

· T-Mobile Center

· Toyota Arena

· Utilita Arena

· Van Andel Arena

Jim Yeager is with Breakwhitelight (for ASM Global)

By Sarah Burt

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is proud to be supporting OzHarvest’s Cooking for a Cause program.

The venue is partnering with OzHarvest to help deliver their Cooking For A Cause program by hosting the sessions in the MCEC commercial kitchens three days a week.

The popular team engagement program is led by OzHarvest chefs, who share their zero-waste cooking skills as they help corporate teams transform quality rescued food into hundreds of delicious and nutritious meals that OzHarvest then to deliver to local charities.

Chief Executive MCEC Peter King said it is the ideal partnership for the organisation. “At MCEC we are passionate about sustainability and being community-minded. OzHarvest’s Cooking for a Cause gives us the opportunity to tie all of that together with a team-building aspect, too. The events industry can contribute a lot of food waste, so this is the perfect way to try and reverse that cycle and give back to those in Melbourne who need it most.”

Bernado Tobias, OzHarvest Victoria State Manager, expressed his gratitude to MCEC. “A huge thank you goes to MCEC for their incredible support and providing their wonderful venue to host our program. This comes at such an important time as we are now finally out of lockdown. Cooking for a Cause is the perfect way for corporate teams to reconnect with each other in a fun and meaningful way. You get to see your impact immediately through the number of meals cooked and, of course, you get a taster too!”

Globally, one third of all food produced is wasted, with one in every six Australian’s experiencing food insecurity. The program highlights the national issues of food waste and hunger as well as OzHarvest’s vision and work for change.

Supporting the UN Sustainability Goals, OzHarvest is committed to halving food waste by 2030, while MCEC has developed an ambitious five-year sustainability strategy which seeks to achieve zero food waste by 2025.

Sarah Burt is Media and Content Specialist at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

By Max Strauss

Following the release of her album ‘Happier Than Ever,’ Darkroom/Interscope Records artist Billie Eilish made a stop at State Farm Arena for the first leg of her ‘Happier Than Ever, The World Tour.’ Thousands of fans attended the sold-out show at Atlanta’s award-winning venue for the tour’s second stop, and the venue announced that approximately 92 percent of fan-generated waste was diverted from landfills by either being recycled, donated, composted, or reused.

“We are proud to continue our TRUE zero-waste journey with Billie Eilish’s stop at State Farm Arena,” said Sofi Armenakian, Hawks and State Farm Arena Director of Sustainability and Operations. “Billie Eilish and her fans were instrumental in making this stop another successful green event. For this show, we are grateful for our partners at Levy, Pritchard and Novelis, as well as the assistance from University of Georgia’s Office of Sustainability, who helped us raise awareness in the venue on the importance and the positive impact sustainability has on future generations.”

As part of her show, State Farm Arena teamed up with University of Georgia’s Office of Sustainability to help fans properly dispose items into the correct diversion streams: recycling, compost, or landfill, to reduce contamination. The venue also provided vegan options throughout different locations on-site such as a vegan burger (at the same price as regular hamburgers), as well as salad options. All of this was in accordance with Billie Eilish’s mission to make her tour as eco-friendly as possible.

Across the entire tour, fans can enjoy the Billie Eilish Eco-Lounge hosted by Reverb, an environmental non-profit organization that will “green” the entire tour and create an activation on the concourse at each show allowing every guest that purchases a ticket to visit for free. The Billie Eilish Eco-Village showcases five non-profits including Support + Feed, along with local non-profits in each city that will be providing information on how to best help the climate in the healthiest ways.

The Hawks and State Farm Arena continue to lead the way in sustainable practices for sports and live event venues diverting more than 90 percent of fan-generated waste throughout its 2021 slate of Hawks’ basketball games, concerts, and ancillary events. Throughout 2021, the Hawks and State Farm Arena diverted more than one million pounds of waste from landfills. At the end of last year, Novelis became the official aluminum recycling and proud sustainability partner on State Farm Arena’s journey to becoming a TRUE zero-waste venue. TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) is a standard set by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), the world’s leading sustainability and health certification and credentialing body.

Max Strauss is with State Farm Arena PR.

Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California has appointed Marcus Kroulik as vice president of ticketing ahead of its opening later this year.

Kroulik’s appointment was announced by arena operator Oak View Group. He will begin his new role immediately and report to John Bolton, senior vice president of entertainment – facilities and general manager of the arena.

Kroulik will be responsible for planning and implementing the ticketing strategy, including all day-to-day ticket operations for Acrisure Arena and the Coachella Valley Firebirds ice hockey team, which will play its home games at the venue. Acrisure acquired naming rights to the 11,500-seat arena last month.

Kroulik previously served as ticketing director at Target Center, home of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, and prior to that was director of ticketing operations for the NHL’s Florida Panthers.