Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in November 2017. Thank you for being a part of the association!

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AEG Ogden-managed Dubai Arena announced the appointment of Thomas Ovesen as the venue’s vice president – programming, becoming the first member of Chief Executive Guy Ngata’s senior management team.

AEG Ogden CEO and Chairman Harvey Lister said that securing was a coup not only for the venue but for the future development of the live entertainment industry in the region.

“As the CEO of live events company 117 Live, a Dubai-based conglomerate with a large media and entertainment portfolio, Mr. Ovesen comes well equipped to handle the challenge of delivering a world-class events calendar for Dubai and the Middle East region,” Lister said. “Thomas oversaw the launch of the new Autism Rocks Arena and an impressive events calendar that featured among others Nicky Minaj, Gabriel Iglesias, Elton John, Bryan Adams, Guns ‘N Roses, Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran. It’s quality international standard acts such as those plus more that we’re looking to bring to Dubai Arena. His understanding of the region and the local live entertainment scene and its players will be vital to Guy and his management team as they plan an event schedule second to none anywhere, ahead of the Arena’s opening in 2019.”

Including 117 Live, Ovesen has spent almost 17 years with Mirage Promotions, AEG Live and Done Events and has a proven track record in events management and delivering large-scale concerts and is the recipient of many industry awards for achievements in the Middle East. He is looking forward to his new role and to be joining the AEG international family from the beginning of 2018.

“I am really excited joining Guy and the Dubai Arena project for what will be a game changer for live entertainment here in the Middle East,” Ovesen said. “I intend to tap into the AEG touring and venue network and most importantly, working with all the regional promoters as well as the top talents, their agents and managers of the global touring and music world.”

AEG Ogden will operate the 17,000 seat Dubai Arena on behalf of Meraas, a Dubai-based holding company committed to creating and delivering unique experiences. It is part of AEG Ogden’s growing network in the Asia Pacific region which includes arenas in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Newcastle and three in China, convention centers with entertainment theatre inclusions in Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Kuala Lumpur, and Oman, plus the 52,000 seat Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and will be a valued addition to AEG Facilities’ family of 150 plus iconic venues worldwide.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released an updated version of its popular report, How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent, originally published in 2014.

“CEIR is pleased to update these metrics. Exhibitors, organizers and suppliers alike will benefit from understanding where exhibitors spend their marketing dollars on trade shows,” said CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE. “It is a resource that helps exhibitors benchmark their spending allocations to industry norms and helps organizers and suppliers understand how much of exhibitor spending they are capturing.”

This report estimates that in 2017, exhibitor direct spending rose to $25.3 billion in nominal dollars. 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent informs readers how these expenditures break down and identifies where spending has remained constant – versus increasing – compared to 2016 levels.

The outlook for 2018 exhibitor property plans are also disclosed, reporting the percentage of exhibitors planning to use their exhibits as is; to invest in refurbishments or new exhibit purchases; or to contract to rent exhibits. Results reveal there is a healthy market for refurbishing services, and a notable percentage of exhibitors are planning to make new exhibit purchases.

The expenditure categories in this report include: exhibit space; exhibit design; show services; shipping; exhibit staff training; travel and entertainment; pre-show promotions; on-site promotional materials; off show floor promotions; on-site sponsorship and advertising; and lead management and measurement.

In addition to total results, differences in spending allocation are provided by annual revenues, annual marketing budgets and by specific CEIR sectors.

Online survey results are based on a study conducted by CEIR this summer, polling a sampling of exhibitors from lists provided by Fern, Freeman, GES, Hargrove and Shepard Exposition Services. A total of 424 exhibitors responded.

The projected exhibitor direct spend for 2017 is an update of CEIR’s exhibitor direct spending estimate for 2014 and uses data from the CEIR Index for the first two quarters of 2017.

Download 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent here.

In conjunction with the official grand opening of its Americas headquarters, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and the Nashville Predators announced an additional five-year extension of the naming rights agreement for Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. First signed in March of 2010, the extended terms will ensure Nashville’s premier downtown arena continues to bear the Bridgestone brand through 2025.

“Bridgestone is a proud supporter of the Nashville Predators, and it continues to be a great source of pride for our company and our teammates to have the arena bear our name,” said Bridgestone

Americas President and CEO Gordon Knapp. “Now that our new headquarters building is located across the street from the arena, there’s even more of a connection to our city and pro hockey team. Like the rest of the world, we’ve witnessed the success of both the arena and the Preds, and we are excited to continue our partnership with a local landmark that has helped transform downtown Nashville into one of the top destinations in the country. We look forward to keeping the Bridgestone brand front and center with so many passionate fans of sport, music and the countless other world-class entertainment events hosted by this celebrated venue.”

Bridgestone and the Predators agreed to the new extension two years in advance of the conclusion of the previous five-year agreement signed in 2015. Exact terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

“We’re ecstatic to extend our valuable partnership with Bridgestone to ensure the home of the Predators, and one of the greatest venues in North America, continues to be Bridgestone Arena,” said Sean Henry, Chief Executive Officer and President, Nashville Predators. “As the Predators gain more traction as a household sports franchise and Bridgestone Arena strengthens its position as a dynamic, must-visit site, it’s only fitting that we also bolster our relationship with a world-renowned manufacturing and innovation leader who shares our commitment to the Nashville community.”

Since Bridgestone Americas teamed up with the Nashville Predators seven years ago, the arena has skyrocketed to become one of the most successful venues in the U.S. – annually hosting more than 1 million people in the building – and the Preds were named the “best franchise in sports” in 2017 by ESPN. Along the way, Bridgestone Arena has broken attendance records and achieved a series of industry awards.

Recent highlights include:
•Named 2017 Arena of the Year by the International Entertainment Buyers Association in October
•Named a finalist for Pollstar’s Arena of the Year award the 11th consecutive year
•Hosted 52 sold-out Nashville Predators’ games including three Stanley Cup Final games
•Ranked seventh in the U.S. and 19th in the world for concert ticket sales in 2017 according to Pollstar
•Home to the 2017 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, and Country Music Television (CMT) Awards

The Phoenix Convention Center, a LEED-silver certified green building, recently completed several upgrades throughout its campus by converting outdated lighting to energy efficient LED light technology. This past year the Phoenix Convention Center participated in Arizona Public Service’s (APS) Solutions for Business energy rebate program and received more than $175,000 in rebates. The Phoenix Convention Center, a City of Phoenix facility, took full advantage of APS’s rebate program by converting to LED lighting in several areas of the campus including meeting rooms, loading docks, stairwells, food court, garages, production kitchens, and its grand Atrium.

“Providing a positive guest experience and maximizing our sustainability efforts are among our top priorities,” said Phoenix Convention Center Director John Chan. “The recent conversion of our

lighting fixtures to LED supports our focus on energy efficiency by extending the life cycle of equipment and minimizing the hours spent on maintenance.”

Chan added that the center participates in the City of Phoenix Public Works department’s initiative to increase its waste diversion rate by 40 percent by 2020. In addition to the LED conversion project, the Phoenix Convention Center participates in several other sustainability initiatives including hosting a solar generating power plant on its rooftop, which produces enough energy to power 12-14 homes annually.

“We encourage our customers to look at how they use energy and explore the many different options for becoming more energy efficient,” said David Werth, APS’s manager of energy efficiency programs. “The Phoenix Convention Center has done exactly that and, as a result, they’re saving energy and money. The APS and Phoenix Convention Center partnership is a victory for the local community.”

In 2008, the Phoenix Convention Center completed a $600M expansion, which tripled the size the facility. The Center consistently ranks as one of the top convention centers in the U.S. Since its expansion, the Phoenix Convention Center has welcomed more than 1.7 million delegates with a direct spending impact of more than $2.4B. Over the last three years, the Center has successfully hosted fan events for Super Bowl XLIX, College Football Playoffs, and the NCAA Final Four.