ASM Global has selected Paul Bowles as the new General Manager (GM) of Mountain Health Arena and Convention Center, the largest multipurpose arena with attached convention center in the tri-state area.

Bowles has worked in the industry for nearly three decades and brings a wealth of experience to Mountain Health Arena. Before coming to Mountain Health Arena, Bowles was the GM at Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, KY, where he drove the expansion of national acts and substantially increased annual revenue by 50%. Bowles was also recently the Executive Director of Tourism for the City of Pikeville, overseeing tourism, special events and outdoor recreation for the city.

A part of the ASM Global portfolio, the 7,000+ capacity Mountain Health Arena and Convention Center overlooks the Ohio River in downtown Huntington. The multipurpose arena hosts numerous concerts, family shows, trade shows, and athletic competitions year-round. In addition, the convention center has more than 15,000 square feet of flexible space for meetings, weddings, and training sessions.

“Between his decades of experience and proven track record in the arena and convention space, we are confident that Paul is the perfect candidate to manage this venue,” said Doug Thornton, ASM Global’s Executive Vice President of Stadiums, Arenas, and Theaters. “In this new role, Paul will be able to work closely with our partners, sponsors, and the city to create new opportunities and continue the growth of the arena, bringing significant value to the area.”

“I’m excited for the opportunity to work with the experienced team at Mountain Health Arena and to collaborate with our clients and municipal partners, as they are critical in helping us surpass our goals — not only at the venue level but throughout the region,” Bowles said. “The arena and convention center has been a mainstay of this community for more than 45 years, and I look forward to contributing to its continued success in the future.”

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said, “During the past several years, the City of Huntington has partnered with ASM Global to make significant investments and advancements for Mountain Health Arena. These include a lucrative naming rights agreement and upgrades to the conference center, the inside of the arena, and a full renovation of the outdoor plaza to become a viable space for the community. I look forward to working with Paul and observing how his 30-plus years in the arena industry will further elevate Mountain Health Arena’s operations and entertainment offerings.”

By Sports Video Group

Oak View Group (OVG) announced the appointment of Ade Patton as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of OVG, where he will direct and oversee the global financial and accounting activities of the firm. Based in Denver, Colorado, Patton will report to OVG chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke. He assumes his new role effective immediately.

“I’m pleased that Ade will be joining OVG as our new Chief Financial Officer,” Leiweke said. “Ade is a seasoned financial executive who has helped lead world-class companies, and I look forward to having him on our team to help guide OVG’s continued strategic and sustainable growth at scale.”

“I am both proud and excited to join Oak View Group at this moment,” Patton said. “We truly have an opportunity to transform the sports, live entertainment, and hospitality industries globally, and I am eager to join the world-class management team that Tim and Irving Azoff have assembled.”

Patton is a seasoned Fortune 500 executive, serving most recently as Chief Financial Officer of HBO Max/Global DTC at WarnerBros Discovery and previously in investment management roles at Millennium Management LLC and Citadel LLC. Patton earned a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

From populous.com

The PGMOL have unveiled the recently created, state-of-the-art VAR (Video Assistant Referee) facility at Stockley Park, near London. The bespoke facility has been built by the Populous EMEA Design and Build team.

The facility includes preparation and debrief areas for pre- and post-match, and a dedicated VAR Hub for each match being covered by the Video Assistant Referee and Assistant Video Referee, along with an elite conditioning space and a designated recovery area for the officials to maintain their optimum physical training in line with schedules.

Investment through the Elite Referee Development Plan is enabling enhancements across all aspects of refereeing, which includes this new home designed to provide an elite environment for VAR teams to best support the on-field officials.

Following consultation with football stakeholders, PGMOL subsequently worked closely with partners Populous, Instinct Laboratory and IMG on the creation and design, technical, and build of the facility.

Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb said: “It’s a cutting edge and completely bespoke elite performance facility, an environment where the best possible outcomes can be achieved in the VAR space to benefit the game.

“It’s not only the perfect space for our officials to work when they are acting as VAR or AVAR though, there are other areas for our officials to focus pre-game and debrief post-game, whilst there’s a gym and a recovery area, as well as a training centre, both for VAR work and for general refereeing development.

“This has been an exciting project to work on with PGMOL. From initial space planning through to the final buildout, we collaborated closely with Instinct Laboratory and IMG to create a bespoke facility that is designed to help the VAR officials perform to their optimum level.

“Good officiating always starts on the field of play, and we expect good performance, but VAR plays its part to ensure that outcomes of games are not decided by clear and obvious errors – we want VAR to be a positive influence.”

David Land, MD of Populous EMEA Design & Build group, added: “This has been an exciting project to work on with PGMOL. From initial space planning through to the final buildout, we collaborated closely with Instinct Laboratory and IMG to create a bespoke facility that is designed to help the VAR officials perform to their optimum level.”

From celebrityaccess.com

AEG Global Partnerships, the sponsorships division of AEG, announced the completion of its first naming rights deal after brokering an agreement that will see international bank UOB become the inaugural marquee sponsor for the new entertainment venue UOB LIVE in Bangkok.

Scheduled to open in February 2024, the state-of-the-art 6,000-capacity venue will host live performances, major sporting events, and concerts by internationally recognized touring artists. Along with entertainment offerings, the new venue will anchor a retail district that includes shopping, restaurants, and other amenities, AEG Global Partnerships said.

The deal brokered by AEG Global Partnerships is the division’s first major announcement for Asia-Pacific after the company expanded its operations into the region in October 2022.

In addition to the partnership in Thailand, the AEG Global Partnerships team is currently seeking naming rights partners for the company’s new, state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena projects in Nagoya and Osaka in Japan, and a new 20,000 seat arena in Seoul, Korea.

“UOB is leading the way by taking on the naming rights to one of AEG’s new portfolios of world-class live entertainment venues across the APAC region. The partnership marks the first of its kind in Thailand, associating UOB’s name with Bangkok’s premier live entertainment venue, and providing the company with opportunities to build deeper relationships with its customers,” said Matthew Zweck, Vice President – Asia-Pacific at AEG Global Partnerships.

“Our global partnerships business is unmatched in terms of its ability to offer partners access to unique platforms to engage with customers, and we are delighted to further expand these opportunities in the APAC region. With new venues scheduled to open across Thailand, South Korea, and Japan in the next couple of years, more brands will be able to take advantage of the immense value that naming rights and venue partnerships can add for their businesses and their customers,” added Paul Samuels, Executive Vice President at AEG Global Partnerships.

“UOB LIVE marks a significant leap in transforming live entertainment for our customers. With AEG’s global expertise and The EM District’s leadership position in the local market, we will redefine the entertainment landscape in Southeast Asia,” concluded Tan Choon Hin, President and CEO of UOB Thailand.

By Kay Rollinson

JCA Arts Marketing, a division of JCA that helps arts and cultural organizations leverage data-driven insights to grow audiences and revenue, recently released a new study on Trends in Audience Behavior: What’s New in 2023?

Coming out of the 2022-23 season, the headlines have many performing arts administrators concerned. Several performing arts companies around the country have cancelled seasons or closed their doors because of smaller audiences and higher costs.

In the study, JCA Arts Marketing provides a glimmer of hope. While ticket sales across the industry have not reached pre-pandemic levels, the study shows that ticket sales and income trend lines are rising and there are marked signs of improvement. While some performing arts genres are having a more difficult time than others—and subscriptions continue to drop—the bleak picture from the headlines does not come across in the data.

Data for the Subscription Sales Study was gathered from 21 major organizations in different regions of the U.S., including eight regional theatre companies, six music organizations, four opera companies, and three performing arts centers (PACs). The analysis compares subscription sales for 2022-23 to past seasons in 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2021-22.

Key findings include:

On average, ticket sales are trending up. Across all genres, tickets sales and ticket income have increased since the reopening 2021-22 season.

Music organizations are leading the way in audience rebound. While music organizations have not seen a complete rebound in pre-pandemic ticket sales, they are closer to pre-pandemic sales levels than theatre and opera.

Theatre audiences returned in greater numbers in Spring 2023. The audience decline for theatres since the pandemic is more pronounced than other genres, but sales showed signs of improvement in Spring 2023.

The decrease in ticket sales post-pandemic is not a pricing problem. There isn’t data to suggest that the audience is any more price sensitive than the pre-pandemic audience, and prices have not kept pace with inflation.

Single ticket sales are increasing since 2021-22, but not enough to replace subscriber decline. Where we see that single ticket sales continue to represent a large proportion of the audience, single ticket sales are not making up for lost subscribers since the pandemic.

We can’t expect late sales any more than we could pre-pandemic. The timing of when people buy tickets has not changed since the pandemic.

“We are encouraged by the positive trend in ticket sales we’ve seen since last year,” said Jamie Alexander, Director of JCA Arts Marketing and co-author of the study. “While we aren’t out of the post-pandemic woods quite yet, there is light coming in—but we must keep focused on what inspires audiences in today’s world.”

View the full study by clicking here.

Kay Rollinson is Operations Administrator for JCA.