IAVM, and specifically VenueDataSource, received some love from architecture firm HKS earlier this month.

“Several years ago, we learned that IAVM initiated a project called VenueDataSource, which gathers data on operational costs and revenue in IAVM member convention centers, stadia, arenas and performing arts facilities,” wrote Ken Stockdell, Jr., director of convention center practice for HKS. “This data provides a benchmarking tool that facilities can use to measure their operations against the industry as a whole. Although the project is fairly early in its life cycle, some helpful information is emerging. A conference session, presented by Steve Schwartz, senior research policy analyst at EventsDC, and Frank Ingoglia, research manager with IAVM, provided a report preview on facility operating costs and revenues. The picture it paints helps quantify industry trends.”

I encourage you to visit the HKS page to read about what was learned by the firm’s team at VenueConnect during the research session.

And if you’re planning on attending either the upcoming Arena Management Conference (AMC) or the International Convention Center Conference (ICCC), be sure and attend the VenueDataSource sessions.

At AMC, Russ Simons—managing partner at Venue Solutions Group—will moderate a panel session titled “Using VenueDataSource to Your Advantage.” Attendees will learn about VenueDataSource and the type of data available and how it can be used by senior leadership.

During ICCC, Schwartz will participate in a panel discussing how to turn data into information. Session attendees will explore how to use benchmarking data to maximum effect, with VenueDataSource as an example.

Registration for AMC and ICCC is still open. See you there!

Sure, we humans have a lot in common with one another—we breathe oxygen, we need water to survive, our bones give us structure—but when it comes to work, we definitely are not all the same. Some people like to work alone; some like to collaborate in teams. Some employees work for money; some work because they love their jobs. And some people quit because they’re dissatisfied with their employers; some quit even when they’re satisfied.

Yes, it’s true. Dissatisfied and satisfied employees equally quit jobs. That’s the finding in a recent study by a Texas Tech professor and two colleagues titled “Understanding the Drivers of Job Satisfaction of Frontline Service Employees, ‘Learning from Lost Employees.'”

“Mayukh Dass and his team discovered a company’s desire to invest in satisfying employees because it helps with retention may be fundamentally flawed,” George Watson reported for Texas Tech Today.

Dass told Watson that companies should analyze how their employees vary in satisfaction.

“This information will be helpful in developing better employee retention programs, and be successful in retaining the best talents,” Dass said.

The researchers found that employees who quit were not tempted by better offers from other companies. In fact, an employee’s starting salary at a new job was about the same as it was at the previous job.

“Dass’ group also discovered another aspect to employee retention that challenges preconceived notions,” Watson reported. “It is generally assumed the reasons an employee leaves a firm due to dissatisfaction translates all across the employee spectrum. However, Dass and his group discovered the ‘model of satisfaction formation’ can vary from employee to employee.”

Dass suggests that employers evaluate employee motivation on an individual level to better understand why a person would stay or leave.

“I would encourage companies to move away from ‘one-size-fits-all’ retention programs to more ‘multi-dimensional’ retention programs,” Dass said.

(photo credit: StoneLeaf via photopin cc)

The notable rise of eSports is sparking an entirely new content opportunity for venues of all types, as stadiums, convention centers, and everything in-between prove to be a potential host for the on-screen battles. Joining the mix is the new eSports Arena, the first venue in the U.S. dedicated to hosting live gaming events. The venue—opening soon and located in downtown Santa Ana, California—will feature modular gaming stations that can be moved to facilitate conversion into a 1,000-seat auditorium. The arrival of this new arena mirrors the rapid growth of online gaming as a spectator sport, evidenced by this graph included in a 2014 report available from SuperData Research:

As the pool of online viewers continues to rocket upward, venues are responding by becoming the real-world space for this massive online community. On October 4, 2013, a US$1 million cash prize was awarded to the winning team in the League of Legends Season 3 Championship. In addition to the 32-million online viewers, the finals were hosted live at the sold-out Staples Center, with all 18,000 tickets being purchased in one hour.

This morning, a new BBC story highlighted Insomnia, a recent eSport event held in a massive tent covering the football pitch of Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England. The reported debate over using the term “sport” to describe this new live event might be interesting to a few, but the more important conversation for the IAVM community is—how is your venue going to connect to this immense new pool of spectators?

Additional slides from SuperData Research:



There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

The 25 Most Popular Music Clubs in the U.S.
—Billboard
“A major artist in front of a small crowd — investors call it a “perishable experience”; fans call it a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It plays out over and over in the club world, and it is one reason why the live music business remains at a premium in an ever increasingly on-demand entertainment culture of streaming and DVRs.”

Your Phone is Key to the Future Of Concerts
—Fast Company
“More and more, seeing your favorite band play live revolves around your mobile phone.”

New Generation is Happy for Employers to Monitor Them on Social Media
—The Conversation
“Allowing bosses or would-be employers a snoop around social media pages is a growing trend in the US, and now a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Said Business School suggests it may well become the norm.”

7 Ways to Work Better… By Working Less
—Contently
“While it’s important to manage and schedule tasks, time is only half the equation. The second half is about managing energy, which, unlike time, is replenishable. Even though many of us think the best way to work hard is to put our heads down and grind away, making the most efficient use of your time is all about renewing energy.”

The Loudest Word in Rock and Roll
—The Atlantic
“‘The’ has risen and fallen in popularity among band names over the years. But its presence or absence always says something about a group’s music, members, and relationship with history.”

(photo credit: squesada70 via photopin cc)

Behold, the world’s first LED basketball court. Play the video above to watch it in action. Then play it again, because cool things deserve to be played twice.

Nike built the court in a facility called the House of Mamba in Shanghai to help Kobe Bryant teach young basketball players his moves.

“The court can lay out sets of moves for individual people, create drills based on Bryant’s training programme that are adapted for the court, and respond to mistakes as well as display performance stats,” Dezeen Magazine reported. “It can also show classic court markings, with customised overlays including Nike’s RISE branding. When not in use for training and games, the LED surface can display almost any combination of moving images, graphics and colours.”

Now, go watch that video again. Cool, eh?