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

Kathleen Battali, general manager—Northern Arizona University
Dennis Bechtol, professor and chair—Northwood University Florida
Edward Bryan, director of event operations—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Amanda Caldwell, event manager—Pepsi Center
Gordon Chadwell, safety and security manager—Grand Ole Opry House
Kendra Clark, director of sales and marketing—Stockton Arena/Bob Hope Theatre/Stockton Ballpark/Oak Park Ice Arena
Martin Collins, business development—Acoustic Control Systems NA LLC
Suzanne Davis, director—Albany Recreation Parks Department
Tim Deck, assistant director safety and security services—Taco Bell Arena-Boise State University
Diane DiAntonio, director of event operations—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Mike Edwards, events and marketing manager—City of Cranbrook – Western Financial Place
Jodi Feder, senior production manager—Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Lauren Federico, event services manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Arthur Fritch, event services manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Carol Gagnon, senior event services manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Cindy Gaspardo, manager of performing arts—Elgin Community College
Tammy Genovese, general manager—Crossroads Arena
Evan Harwood, event manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Laura Hatfield, associate teaching professor—Sport Venue Management, University of Missouri
Katie Hawkes, event services manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
David Hu, general manager—David Leading Sports
Mike Hunter, assistant director—Arlington Convention Center
Kenechukwu Kanu, head environ and safety—InnerCity Mission for Children
Stacey Knoppel, director of sales and marketing—Baltimore Convention Center
Michelle Konnath, senior event services manager—Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
Tracy Legarza, event services manager—Reno-Sparks Convention Center
Marcelo Martins, general manager of operations—Time for Fun Entretenimento
Jeremy Meriwether, front of house associate—Bridgestone Arena
Joe Myhra, senior director—Engineering & Maintenance, Seattle Mariners
Heidi O’Hara, director of sales and events—Clark County Event Center
Stacy Paulsen, general manager—City of Cranbrook-Western Financial Place
Anastasia Pharr, house manager—AT&T Performing Arts Center
Roy Pitcoff, general counsel and director of training and development—Gateway Security Inc.
Dan Popowich, CEO—Commissionaires BC
Kevin Rhodes, director—Florence Events Center
Steve Scherrer, manager—Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex
Andrew Shepardson, event coordinator and guest services manager—Montana State University-Sports Facilities
Jeremiah Smith, event manager—Jackson Convention Complex
Vincent Solomon Jr., event coordinator—Georgia International Convention Center
Phil Templar, director of venues and events—Aspire Zone
Mark Wisness, director—Arlington Convention Center

(photo credit: Judy ** via photopin cc)

Here are the answers to the crossword puzzle featured in the August/September issue of Facility Manager magazine. As a reminder, any IAVM member that sends in a photo/scan of completed puzzles from the next two issues will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary registration to VenueConnect 2014 in Portland, Oregon! (Submissions must be received by the deadline printed with each puzzle)

There was a lot of industry news this past week you may have missed. Here are some headlines that caught our eyes.

Samsung Inks $100 Million Deal with the NBA
—Mashable
“The brand is now the official handset, tablet and TV provider of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association, and NBA Development League.”

The Best Gourmet Food at Europe’s Soccer Grounds
—Fine Dining Lovers
“Scientific studies have revealed that soccer fans have taste buds too. Some clubs have upped their game accordingly. FC St Pauli, of Germany’s Bundesliga 2, deliver hotdogs to VIP supporters via a special ‘sausage train’ model railway. Meanwhile, in the English Championship, Wigan Athletic’s pies are the stuff of legend. Yet some football stadiums have taken things to another level. Actual restaurants, with tables, chairs and cutlery. Havens of gastronomy, where you don’t even have to like soccer to eat well. In some cases, really well. Here are five of the best.”

Chicago’s Soldier Field Launches Enhanced Distributed Antenna System Network
—MarketWatch
“The upgraded Soldier Field network—installed, managed and operated by Boingo and AT&T in partnership with SMG—will deliver comprehensive wireless coverage to fans, ensuring they are able to stay connected via their mobile devices during the height of a game or concert.”

GWCC Gest First Look at Newest Design Plans for New Falcons Stadium
—WSB-TV
“The designs show a retractable roof unique to this stadium, one of the many special designs McKay attributes to the added cost and the $1.2 billion price tag.”

(Image via Flickr: joshuak8/Creative Commons)

78 fans were detained at a Russian soccer match between Spartak Moscow and Shinnik Yaroslavl, where Spartak fans hurled flares, fireworks, chairs and themselves through barriers and into riot police. Camera footage captures the incident and, according to a Reuters report, local police are considering charges that could lead to jail terms of up to three years.

IAVM devotes an entire conference to crowd management where, in just a few days, venue professionals and industry experts will be gathering to dive into issues related to crowd behavior, incident management, guest services planning and the current legal implications of guest safety. It’s not too late for you to participate in the 2013 International Crowd Management Conference.

For many of our venue professionals, the use of wireless microphones is a daily occurrence. Arenas, performing art centers, stadiums, convention centers, all use wireless to function. The recent changes in FCC regulations have brought into question whether there will be enough wireless bandwidth left for our venues to continue expanding programming and maintain the quality of service their patrons expect.

The bandwidth issue has its roots all the way back to the 1930’s when the Federal Communications Commission began to assign licenses for broadcast. Given the technology of the era, adjoining frequencies faced interference, so stations were separated across the dial, leaving unused bandwidth in between. These gaps were eventually filled through the use of wireless technology. Unfortunately for wireless users, when innovations like digital technology, mobile devices and broadband internet took hold, much of these open airwaves were targeted for use.

Now fast forward to 2013 and the FCC auction of the remaining bandwidth which threatened the availability for wireless networks. This August, a proposed Wireless Microphone Users Interference Protection Act was presented to Congress. The proposed act will require the Federal Communications Commission to expand eligibility for part 74 licenses to certain wireless microphone users, to establish safe haven channels for wireless microphones, and to authorize access by owners and operators of wireless microphones to the TV bands databases for the purpose of protecting wireless microphone operations from interference. The act has supporters from across the venue industry including the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and the Recording Academy; along with many industry associations including APAP, IAEE and IAVM.

Timothy Robinson the Senior Policy Counsel & Legislative Director in the office of Congressman Bobby L. Rush has asked IAVM to share this information with our members and encourage all affected venues to lend their voice of support for the Wireless Microphone Users Interference Protection Act. If you would like to join the movement with a bipartisan group of Members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee including Representative Pitts (PA-16), Lance (NJ-07), Olson (TX-22), Bilirakis (FL-12), Engel (NY-16), Green (TX-29), and Lujan (NM-03) contact Josh Lynch at josh.lynch@mail.house.gov to find out how your venue can support this cause. Or you can weigh in directly with the FCC at http://www.fcc.gov/contact-us.

Image: Courtesy Flickr – Rick Webb