SMG Holds 27 of Pollstar's Top 200 Arenas

SMG-managed facilities continued their strong presence in national rankings with 27 venues appearing on Pollstar Magazine’s third quarter list of the Top 200 Arena Venues. The rankings, which were released last week, are determined by tickets sold worldwide for concerts from January 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013.

“As the recognized leader in the venue management industry, SMG has the privilege of managing a diverse portfolio of arenas worldwide. Through our booking network and relationships with agents and promoters, SMG venues maintain a competitive advantage when booking the top tours and events,” said SMG President and CEO Wes Westley.

Leading the way for SMG was Phones 4u Arena (Manchester, United Kingdom) with 240,949 tickets sold. Taking the top domestic spot was Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Uniondale, NY) selling 208,167 tickets during the first three quarters of the year. In all, SMG venues accounted for more than 3.6 million concert tickets sold thus far in 2013.

The complete list of SMG-managed venues includes:

Phones 4u Arena, Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UNITED KINGDOM

Koing – Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GERMANY

Coliseo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PUERTO RICO

Odyssey Arena, Belfast, UNITED KINGDOM

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

BOK Center, Tulsa, OK

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS

Van Andel Arena, Grand-Rapids, MI

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Area, Jacksonville, FL

New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA

Times Union Center, Albany, NY

Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA

Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA

Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

Mohegan Sun Arena At Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Peoria Civic Center Arena, Peoria, IL

John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA

Selland Arena, Fresno, CA

The Huntington Center, Toledo, OH

Stockton Arena, Stockton, CA

CenturyLink Center, Bossier City, LA

Sovereign Center, Reading, PA

Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY

Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD

Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH

Pollstar is a weekly trade publication covering the worldwide concert industry. Rankings are published on a quarterly basis.

Jason Aldean's Night Train Tour Rolls into Pinnacle Bank Arena

Jason Aldean's Night Train Tour played to a capacity crowd at the SMG managed Pinnacle Bank Arena on Thursday, September 19, 2013.

Backstage before the show are left to right:
Jim McCue, SMG Senior VP Entertainment; Tom Lorenz, Pinnacle Bank Arena GM; Jason Aldean; Brian O'Connel, Live Nation; and Charles Schilling, Pinnacle Bank Arena Assistant GM

SMG in the News: BOK Center Exceeding Expectations 5 Years Later

Originally posted at Tulsa World.

Five years are in the books, and Tulsa's BOK Center continues to defy financial expectations.

The downtown arena had its most lucrative year yet between July 2012 and June 2013, netting $1.7 million in profit as large events boosted attendance at a time when its early successes would have been expected to wane along with public interest.

But that hasn't happened.

"We've had success from the beginning, which is great, but I couldn't have predicted that the fifth year would be the best so far," BOK Center Manager John Bolton said.

Since its first show Sept. 6, 2008, the facility has accumulated a profit of $7.6 million, recorded attendance of 3,387,689 over 848 events, remitted $11.7 million in sales taxes and is credited with contributing at least $226.3 million to Tulsa's economy.

SMG Reorganizes Domestic Operations with Executive Promotions

SMG is pleased to announce that, effective today, President and CEO Wes Westley has reorganized its domestic lines of business in order to provide greater focus and oversight. Effective with this reorganization, Gregg Caren has been promoted to Executive Vice President for convention and exhibition centers, and Doug Thornton has been promoted to Executive Vice President for stadiums and arenas.

Both of these executives bring substantial knowledge and experience to their divisions. Their significant expertise will contribute greatly to the growth and success of these business lines. In their new capacities, Gregg and Doug will be responsible for the operation of their specific divisions and will report directly to Mr. Westley.

Additionally, at this time, SMG announces the promotions of Bob McClintock to COO of convention centers reporting to Gregg Caren; Harry Cann and Joe Romano to Senior Vice President for stadiums and arenas reporting to Doug Thornton; and Gary McAneney to Senior Vice President Finance reporting to John Burns, CFO.

“All of these moves strengthen SMG’s position in our lines of business, recognize and reward deserving executives, and position SMG to move forward positively into our bright and exciting future,” said Westley.

Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE Ribbon Cutting

A new era has begun for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, as the SMG-managed Pinnacle Bank Arena held its ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening weekend on Thursday, August 29 – Saturday, August 31.

A host of dignitaries were on hand for the opening of the $179 million, 15,000-seat facility in Lincoln’s Haymarket District, including speeches from Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler, Pinnacle Bank Arena General Manager Tom Lorenz, SMG Senior Regional Vice President Joe Romano, University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Nebraska basketball coaches Tim Miles and Connie Yori. The event was kicked off by a performance from the University of Nebraska Pep Band and a routine by the Linh Quang Lion/Dragon Dance Troupe traditionally intended to bring good luck to new projects. A total of 11 speakers thanked voters, workers, crowd members, the city and the University of Nebraska.

SMG in the News: Fine-Tuning

Originally Published in the Lincoln Journal Star

The Pinnacle Bank Arena has an impressive lineup of concerts for its first five shows, including performances by in-demand artists The Eagles and Pink, with more to come.

But SMG management, which operates the arena, didn’t randomly pick artists or send out a “we want this artist” list.

Booking concerts doesn’t work that way.

“It’s really all about relationships with the major promoters -- AEG, Live Nation, Beaver and Brad Garrett and Jeff Fortier and all the other promoters,” said SMG general manager Tom Lorenz. “It’s those long-term relationships with promoters more than anything else that lead to bookings.”

Maureen Ginty Honored as 2013 Woman of Influence by Venues Today

Maureen Ginty, Executive Vice President of SMG has been honored as a 2013 Woman of Influence by Venues Today. The prestigious award celebrates women who have proven themselves as mentors and leaders in the sports, entertainment, and meetings industries. The awards ceremony was held this past Sunday, July 28 at the annual International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) VenueConnect conference in New Orleans, LA.

Maureen was selected for the accolade for her role in helping guide SMG’s growth from 24 to 235 facilities under management, and also for her leadership in development of SMG’s unparalleled customer service and sales training program, k’nekt. Maureen’s emphasis on professional development for SMG employees has seen the k’nekt program expand to a continuing series of training class, teaching values and skills to make participants successful in both their professional and personal lives.

“This was a significant honor, and I am very appreciative,” stated Ginty. “But as the saying goes, success has many fathers (and mothers). SMG’s growth can be attributed to the vision and hard work of many, most especially Wes Westley, our company president and CEO. I’ve had the good fortune to operate in an environment that encourages initiative, and supports a culture where focus on our customers, our clients, and our employees truly matters.”

A profile of Maureen and how she has shaped SMG’s success is also included in the July issue of Venues Today.