The Walt Disney Company (Australia & New Zealand) and Melbourne Stadiums Limited (MSL) announced the unveiling of the official rebrand of Marvel Stadium, via the installation of the main Marvel Stadium signs – the first physical presence of the eight-year
partnership between the two companies.

As well as the main Marvel Stadium signs, visitors to the venue can expect to see new street artwork, a large-scale character wall and other signage throughout, including the sign at Gate 3 near Southern Cross station.

The main signs are one of the largest neon signs in Australia, each measuring 35 metres wide by six metres high, while the sign letters are 4.3 metres high. The signs are also 2.3 times the height of the popular Marvel character, Hulk.

The first official event at Marvel Stadium was the Melbourne Victory/Melbourne City FC match on Saturday, October 20, followed by the Taylor Swift concert on Friday, October 26.

The official rebrand marks the start of an ever-evolving experience at Marvel Stadium over the life of the partnership between Disney and MSL, with the venue to include innovative, best-inclass experiences for visitors.

A public/private partnership designed to create a new convention center in downtown Muskegon, Michigan, will connect a 201-room full-service hotel, a new 45,000 net square foot convention center, and the city’s LC Walker Arena to become a modern convention and exposition campus.

The public/private partnership between the County of Muskegon, City of Muskegon, and Parkland Properties of Michigan, calls for a $17 million convention center connected to a renovated and rebranded hotel – at a cost of $6 million – and the L.C. Walker Arena, which has just completed a $1.7 million renovation to modernize the 1960s-era arena, with an additional $1.5 million investment in roofing and HVAC improvements planned for the facility. Total estimated investment in the convention/exposition campus is estimated to exceed $26 million.

“The LC Walker Arena is an important part of the fabric of our community,” said Muskegon City Manager Frank Peterson. “People young and old have great memories of watching hockey and attending concerts at the LC. We feel the addition of the convention center will only enhance our growing downtown and provide new opportunities to host larger meetings, conventions, exhibits,
etc. This is a great opportunity to breathe new life into the arena, and ensure that future generations can make similar memories in that building as well as create new memories in our new convention center.”

“The public/private partnership is a long term relationship that allows Muskegon County to achieve goals that otherwise would be unachievable due to PA59 limitations” said Muskegon County Administrator Mark Eisenbarth. “This partnership will give Muskegon County a boost to businesses development, increase competitiveness in the convention marketplace, and increase business
tourism in Muskegon County. It adds to the year-round aspects of tourism in Muskegon County, and will help us draw new meetings, conventions, and events to the County.”

Progressive AE of Grand Rapids was chosen as the architecture and engineering firm for the project, and has been working with the County of Muskegon, the City of Muskegon, and Parkland Properties on initial siting and concept design for the convention center, and the project is now in the Design Development phase.

The convention center portion of the project will be funded with county accommodations taxes and assessments collected from hotels located within the City of Muskegon and will result in a 45,000 net square foot convention center connected to the 201-room Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor, owned by Parkland Properties and currently undergoing a $6 million renovation and rebranding to become a Delta by Marriott.

Have you been inspired by your experience with IAVM? Have your professional knowledge and network grown because of your IAVM participation? Are you looking for a way to ‘pay it forward,’ share your enthusiasm for our industry, or influence the future of our association? If so, the IAVM Board’s Leadership Development Committee is seeking nominations, including self-nominations, to fill three openings for a two-year team, beginning at VenueConnect19. Leslee Stewart, CVE, Brad Gessner, CVE, and Erik Waldman, CVE, the current sector directors of Performing Arts, Convention Centers, and Stadiums respectively, will be completing their terms at VC19, creating the three openings that the Leadership Development Committee is seeking to fill. Thanks to these three venue professionals for their committed leadership on the Board of Directors for these past two years.

If you are interested, or would like to recommend a member for these roles, you can access to nomination guidelines and the application by clicking the buttons below. The deadline for application for consideration is October 31, 2018, and completed applications can be emailed to IAVM’s Director of Governance, Rosanne Duke, at rosanne.duke@iavm.org. Any questions about the process or eligibility can also be directed to Rosanne Duke.

Our association is only as strong as its members and volunteer leadership, so please consider sharing your ideas and insights by volunteering for one of these important positions. Continuing to enhance our engaged volunteer leadership model focused on delivering member benefit is vital as we actively work to build a more inclusive and diverse association. Please join us!

Doug Booher, CVE
Immediate Past Chair, IAVM Board of Directors
Chair, Leadership Development Committee

The Right Furniture Lets You Breathe Easier

When you sit down for a conference or banquet, are you aware that the furniture in the room could be harmful to you not only from a structural standpoint, but also from an air quality perspective?  Indoor air quality is a term used to describe the breathing environment within a building and how it relates to personal health. Many factors contribute to the overall indoor air quality of a room, including the furniture. 

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) play a major role in determining indoor air quality. VOCs are released into the air and can adversely affect your health in a variety of ways, ranging from eye, nose and throat irritation, to headaches, nausea and even cancer.  Do you know where your furniture is being manufactured? While the United States has policies in place to control the use of VOCs in manufacturing, many other countries do not. Even within the U.S., not all manufacturers are committed to the reduction of VOCs in their seating. Also, when purchasing furniture make sure that it is GreenGuard certified helping to ensure high indoor air quality.

Eileen Kulish is an Allied Member and the National Accounts Manager for MTS Seating

The Events Industry Council (EIC) announced preliminary results of an unprecedented worldwide study on the economic significance of face-to-face business events.

The Global Economic Significance of Business Events, conducted by Oxford Economics, is the first-ever comprehensive study on the impact of business events. The research was made possible by a ground-breaking industry collaboration with the EIC in partnership with IMEX, Hilton, the MPI Foundation, and the PCMA Education Foundation.

The trillion-dollar (USD) outlay reflects the direct spending attributed to planning, producing, attending and/or hosting business events which include meetings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, and incentive travel. As a commercial engine, this would rank the business events sector alongside consumer electronics in terms of size and scope.

“IMEX America, which brings together more than 13,000 of the industry’s leading decision-makers and influencers, is the ideal place to share the powerful effect business events have – economically, socially, and culturally,” said Tina Wehmeir, CMP, CAE, Chair, Events Industry Council. “This research will be a critical tool in demonstrating why business events are key to growth and development in every corner of the world.”

In 2017, business events brought together more than 1.4 billion participants in over 180 countries.

The EIC expects to make the full research report available on its website November 9, which will also include the total economic impact of business events, including jobs and GDP, as well as ranking of the top 50 countries. EIC is also sharing the link via #BE1TrillionStrong.

Events Industry Council CEO, Karen Kotowski, CMP, CAE noted, “The Global Economic Significance of Business Events offers a compelling snapshot of the broad reach, scope and strength of our industry. The findings will help us tell a more complete story of how and why business events serve as a major economic generator. We are especially fortunate that industry champions Hilton, IMEX, the MPI Foundation and the PCMA Education Foundation made it possible to quantify the real value of business events.”