DENNY SANFORD PREMIER CENTER NOMINATED FOR 51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS®

SIOUX FALLS, SD  (February 23, 2016) – The Academy of Country Music® announced today the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center has been nominated as Venue of the Year for medium capacity venues in the country.

The nomination is part of the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards® and includes Industry and Studio Recording awards. Industry and Studio Recording Awards will not be televised due to time constraints during the live telecast of the 51st ACM Awards co-hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3, at 7 p.m. live CT on the CBS Television Network.

Industry Award and Studio Recording Award nominees will be honored at the 10th Annual ACM Honors™ event at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this fall.

The PREMIER Center is nominated along with some of the busiest medium sized venues in the country, including Ascend Amphitheatre in Nashville, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook in Gilford, N.H., Huntington Center in Toledo, and Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Tex.

The PREMIER Center was nominated in 2014 for Best New Major Concert Venue by Pollstar Magazine.

In 2015, the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center ranked among the world’s highest ticket-selling concert and sports venues, according to data released by Pollstar Magazine. The venue ranked 100th in the world with 140,918 tickets sold during the year for touring events.

Industry trade publication Venues Today listed the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center 18th among worldwide venues, and 11th among American venues, with capacities of 15,000 or less, based on concert and event grosses from Oct. 16, 2014-Oct. 15, 2015.

The PREMIER Center hosted 645,659 people in 2015 over the course of 135 event dates. Sold out events included Elton John, Shania Twain, and Def Leppard.

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About the Academy of Country Music AwardsThe 51st Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE from MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at 7 p.m. live CT on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

About the Denny Sanford PREMIER CenterThe Denny Sanford PREMIER Center is the region’s newest and largest sports and entertainment venue, hosting a variety of events including concerts, hockey, indoor football, Division I basketball, rodeos, family programs and much more. The facility features two public and two private clubs and offers premium seating including private suites, loge boxes, and club seats. The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center opened September 19, 2014. For more information, visit www.dennysanfordpremiercenter.com.

SAVOR…Peoria is awarded Newcomer of the Year

Peoria, IL (February 26, 2016) - On February 8, 2016, SAVOR…Peoria was honored at the Par-A-Dice Hotel during the Heart of Illinois Hospitality Association’s annual Winterfest event with the Newcomer of the Year Award. SAVOR…Peoria earned this title in the 2015 Best in the Midwest category.

“It’s great to be so welcomed to the community and have the opportunity to put our own spin on food and beverage services in Peoria,” says Food and Beverage Director, Andrew VanDeweghe of the Peoria Civic Center. SAVOR… joined the Peoria Civic Center as the exclusive in-house food service provider in November of 2014. SAVOR… is known for its innovative concession concepts and impeccable catering services with a focus on fresh and local.

For 30 years, the Heart of Illinois Hospitality Association has been developing a strong tourism and hospitality industry in the Peoria area.

“It’s fantastic to see a new service provider come in and be embraced by the community and be able to serve the Peoria Civic Center’s diverse clientele, from a patron at a Rivermen game to a guest at a wedding,” says Andy Bugos, Event Manager at R&B Productions.

“We are proud to be recognized by such a reputable organization and look forward to continuing to make SAVOR…Peoria successful,” VanDeweghe said.

For more information on SAVOR…Peoria, visit www.PeoriaCivicCenter.com or www.savorpeoria.com.

Multiple SMG Leaders Nominated for Venues Today Generation Next Award

Houston, TX (February 29, 2016) – SMG, the world leader in venue management, announces the nomination of 11 employees for the annual Venues Today Generation Next Awards. The nominations celebrate the high achievement of leaders 35 or younger in the venue industry. Voting has begun and final winners will be announced in March.

The 2016 Venues Today Generation Next Award SMG nominees include:

• Bryan Crowe, 34, General Manager, Destination El Paso (El Paso, TX): For being appointed Quality of Life Managing Director for five city departments, speaking about Visit El Paso’s one-of-a-kind custom app at the eTourism Conference in San Francisco, and creating successful partnerships with the local arts agency. Bryan has worked for Destination El Paso since graduating from Michigan State University in 2004. He started his career as the Director of Operations but was quickly promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2006, until 2013 when he became General Manager of the organization. Bryan received the 2015 Arts Destination Marketing Award from Destination Marketing Association International and Americans for the Arts. Crowe helped his organization host the world’s largest participatory sporting event, the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships (135 days, 48,000 bowlers, $75 million impact), and served on the boards of the Sun Bowl and the El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
• Nick DeLuco, 31, Assistant General Manager/Director, Marketing & Events, SMG/Rogers K-Rock Center (Kingston, Ontario): For working tirelessly on a rebrand and redesign of the venue’s website. Working in partnership with Ticketmaster’s new Blue Digital division, the website was the first of its kind to seamlessly integrate information from the TM sales platform to the venue web page, creating a better experience for all site users. Additionally in 2015, Nick played a major role in the renovation of the venue’s premium club lounge, the continued growth of facility sales revenues, and the development of non-traditional events at the facility. He was also a key contributor to the facility being named Canadian Venue of the Year under 8,000 seats by members of the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry.
• Joe Giordano, 28, Director of Booking & Marketing, SMG Reading (Reading, PA): For putting together and leading the marketing team in Reading, PA for SMG, doubling the social media presence, and revamping the website. Joe has formed strong relationships with local media partners. He was also influential in booking a sold-out Daryl Hall & John Oates date this spring.
• Kelli Ireland, 30, Director of Marketing & Sales, SMG/Canalta Centre (Medicine Hat, Alberta): For blowing everyone away in her first director role by returning, after being away 12 years, to Medicine Hat, Alberta to open the brand new Canalta Centre. Her love for the city, the entertainment industry, and her drive to compete against even the largest of markets has made her a standout and captured the ear of a city not accustomed to hosting large events. Having a background working with major promoters has served her well as she’s been able to draw from a wide variety of marketing tools and strategies to build large social media networks and a strong media presence in Medicine Hat.
• Carly Johnston, 27, Director of Sales & Marketing, SMG/Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, FL): For creating the venue’s 30-year anniversary ad, which won her the 2015 Best Trade Ad – Venue Produced at the annual SMG Marketing Summit. Carly took an in-house promoted, first-year event, making it so successful that participants wanted the event to happen twice a year instead of just once. Sponsors lined up the week after the event for the following year’s event. Carly relied on simply using “grassroots” promotions. She is a go-getter and determined to produce excellent service and projects. Carly has worked for the Pensacola Bay Center for two and a half years. She was recently promoted from Senior Manager of Sales and Marketing to Director of Sales and Marketing for Pensacola Bay Center.
• Sean Keliiholokai, 31, Director of Sales & Marketing, Greater Ontario Convention & Visitors Bureau (Ontario, CA): For exceeding the previous fiscal year’s actual room night booking goal by 25% in 2013-14, and in 2014-15, exceeding that goal by 11%, generating the highest room night production ever for the bureau. Sean then secured Jehovah’s Witnesses conventions in a five-year contract representing more than 20,000 room nights. He has helped build and maintain seven websites and social media sites to promote the destination and signature events at three unique and diverse venues. The Ontario Convention Center reports a 9% gain YOY in 2014 and 17% gain YOY in the number of meetings booked with a 4% gain in 2014 and 34% gain in 2015 of attendees under his direction of the sales team.
• Jackie Naparlo, 33, Director of Booking & Marketing, SMG Richmond (Richmond, VA): For restructuring the booking process, which led to a dramatic increase in commercial concerts, show diversity and, most importantly, quality of performances. Jackie has significant experience in the industry working for Live Nation, Redlight Management and William Morris Endeavor. She joined SMG Richmond as a booking manager for four venues: Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center, Richmond Coliseum, Altria Theater and Carpenter Theatre in November 2013. During her first year with SMG Richmond she increased the total number of commercial concerts and comedy performances by 27%. This year, Jackie was promoted to Director of Booking and Narketing, overseeing those same four venues and, additionally, Gottwald Playhouse, Rhythm Hall and RVA on Ice, a seasonal ice rink in Downtown Richmond. She reorganized the marketing department adding revenue generating streams, negotiating non-existent media rates, creating an internship program, street team program, and photography program.
• Kelly Ortiz, 31, Assistant General Manager, Food & Beverage, SMG/BOK Center (Tulsa, OK): For helping create annual revenue across both buildings in excess of $9.7 million. Over the past 12 months, BOK Center alone has seen an F&B increase of 46 because of Kelly’s efforts. Another area of focus that has grown exponentially over the past year because of her hard work is the off-premise catering business, which saw an increase of 374%. Kelly is an outstanding leader and is not a person that is satisfied with the status quo. She strives to make improvements every chance she gets in order to make the F&B experience something special for guests, clients, artists and employees. Most recently, she traveled to Texas to assist and implement best practices for backstage catering for Aerosmith. Kelly is an active member of IAVM for both the International Convention Center Conference (ICCC) and the Young Professionals Group.
• Megan Pedigo, 28, Senior Marketing Manager, SMG/Peoria Civic Center (Peoria, IL): For overseeing all marketing for the arena, theater and convention center and growing the Peoria Civic Center’s social media network by 24%. Megan and her team helped bring over 500,000 people to the venue in 2015. Working with SMG staff and community leaders, Megan has been instrumental in establishing two large-scale, successful events that are focused on bringing people to the Peoria Civic Center and to Downtown Peoria, while utilizing the facility during traditionally slow times. Ignite Peoria, a gathering of over 100 local artists of all mediums for a one-day creative celebration that is free to the public, increased attendance in its second year to over 7,000 people. Also, the inaugural PNC Winterfest ice rink had almost 12,000 attendees. PNC Winterfest’s success was largely driven by the marketing strategy that utilized social media and traditional media coverage to garner over two million impressions.
• Stephen Poremba, 33, Director of Marketing, SMG/Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (Wilkes-Barre, PA): For developing added-value promotions for tour promoters by utilizing venue premium seating assets to secure third party and social media promotions including a Wrestlemania Pick’em challenge that highlighted a major Pay-Per-View for WWE and brought awareness to the on-sale date for a SMACKDOWN televised event at Mohegan Sun Arena. He secured the renewal of the venue’s box office naming rights partner and has been instrumental in developing new campaigns for increasing sponsorship and premium seating revenues for the venue. In working with the General Manager, even as the Director of Marketing, Stephen helps attract events including the return of a statewide wrestling event that will have a huge economic impact on the community.
• Allie Thomas, 25, Event Services Coordinator, SMG/Cox Business Center (Tulsa, OK): For her work coordinating the 2015 Painted Pony Gala, which is one of the largest events in the facility and also the largest fundraiser of the year for the client, Saint Francis. This event hosted more than 1,000 guests and is completely different each time the venue hosts it. This year’s event featured a cocktail reception, plated meal, bars and live entertainment with a setup requiring three move-in days. Allie worked with the client, numerous vendors including A/V, décor companies and a third-party planner to flawlessly execute the success of the event from the building’s perspective. She took the initiative to partner in starting a wellness committee for SMG Tulsa staff and organized a “Bike Ride Across Oklahoma” on stationary bikes to help spread awareness for mental health and World Suicide Prevention Day and promote the mission of one of our clients, Oklahoma Suicide Prevention Association. Allie was also named 2015 Employee of the Year for SMG Tulsa.

INTRUST BANK ARENA RECORDS SECOND BEST YEAR IN VENUE’S HISTORY IN 2015

Wichita, KS (February 29, 2016) – The SMG-managed INTRUST Bank Arena ended 2015 with an exceptional year of concerts, family shows, sporting events and other live entertainment. The recently reported financial numbers for the Arena’s sixth year of operation solidify the successful year and mark 2015 as the second best year in the Arena’s history. INTRUST Bank Arena recorded a net operating income of $1,150,206 in 2015, an achievement that falls second only to the Arena’s grand opening year in 2010.

In 2015, INTRUST Bank Arena hosted 101 events for a total of 131 performances which accounted for a total attendance of 439,767. The arena finished the year as the 35^th busiest arena in the United States and 73^rd in the world in Pollstar Magazine’s 2015 Year-End Top 200 Arena Rankings. The rankings are based on tickets sold worldwide for shows played between 1/1/15 and 12/31/15. Additionally, INTRUST Bank Arena has hosted 13 of the Top 100 Tours, including Foo Fighters, Fleetwood Mac, Def Leppard, Ariana Grande, Garth Brooks, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Cirque du Soleil, Winter Jam, The Harlem Globetrotters and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

“We are beyond proud of our team for the accomplishments we achieved; it took teamwork, commitment and hard work and our staff stepped up to the plate and exceeded expectations every time,” said SMG General Manager, AJ Boleski. We’re thrilled to be a part of the efforts to enhance the quality of life in our community through the diverse lineup of live entertainment and raving guest experiences we strive everyday to provide.”

In addition to celebrating the milestone of the Arena’s 5^th Anniversary which included a 5^th Anniversary Concert Series, INTRUST Bank Arena successfully hosted their first ever rap and hip hop concert in conjunction with Power 93.5 featuring Lil Wayne and their first ever pop concert featuring Ariana Grande. Selling out multiple events was another highlight of the year’s notable achievements, including Miranda Lambert, Def Leppard, six Garth Brooks concerts and the Wichita State University men’s basketball game. The arena also planned, promoted and sold out its first ever Wingapalooza event, which hosted 2,000 guests on the arena’s floor and showcased the culinary flare of 23 local restaurants and chefs.
Lastly, INTRUST Bank Arena was honored by Visit Wichita as the recipient of the Destination Promotion Award for 2015 for promoting Wichita as a destination city when more than 75,000 tickets for six Garth Brooks shows were sold in 48 minutes and for giving those 75,000 guests (1/3 of whom were from out of town) a fantastic welcome over the four days and six shows.

SAVOR… TO PROVIDE FOOD SERVICE FOR THE ALAMODOME

For Immediate Release

West Conshohocken, PA (February 23, 2016) – SAVOR… one of the food and beverage divisions of world leading facility management company, SMG, has been selected as the official food service provider for the Alamodome. The 15-year agreement begins March 2016.  The Alamodome is currently undergoing a $50 million transformation. 

“It was a great honor to be selected for this prestigious account,” stated SMG President & CEO, Wes Westley.  “SMG’s food companies SAVOR and Premier are both committed to providing the highest quality food products, coupled with an emphasis on regional sensibilities and environmental sensitivity. These components, combined with our dedication to customer service, make for a great guest experience which is what we at SMG know our clients expect and deserve.”

In pursuing this account, SAVOR reached out to Black Tie Affairs Catering, a distinguished food purveyor, serving the San Antonio market since 1985.  Shaun Beard, SAVOR… Senior Vice President has this to say about this exciting opportunity, “This joint venture is inspired by the authenticity of the people and foods of San Antonio. It is our goal to create a dining destination that will delight the palates of the many visitors to the Alamodome. As an organization we are committed to delivering quality food, quality service and uncompromising hospitality. We are committed to using the freshest ingredients supplied by local businesses large and small. In addition, we will bring our extensive experience in building sustainable food service operations to the Alamodome to increase recycling and composting while reducing the carbon footprint generated.” 

INTRUST BANK ARENA HONORED WITH DESTINATION PROMOTION AWARD

Wichita, KS (February 4, 2016) – INTRUST Bank Arena was recently honored with the prestigious Destination Promotion Award for the second time since the Arena’s opening in 2010 during Visit Wichita’s Annual Meeting which was held on Jan. 28. During the meeting, Visit Wichita recognized six individuals and organizations with the Visit Wichita Tourism Awards for their contributions to hospitality and tourism in the Wichita area during 2015.

“With these awards, we honor partners who have contributed significantly during the past year,” said Visit Wichita President and CEO Susie Santo. “Our staff is fortunate to work with a fantastic group of partners dedicated to making our city a great place to live and visit. The Visit Wichita Tourism Awards are a wonderful way to highlight a handful of exceptional people, businesses and organizations.”

The Destination Promotion Award recognizes an individual, attraction or company that has made outstanding efforts to promote Wichita. INTRUST Bank Arena was honored as the recipient of this award for 2015 for promoting Wichita as a destination city when more than 75,000 tickets for six Garth Brooks shows were sold in 48 minutes and for giving those 75,000 guests (1/3 of whom were from out of town) a fantastic welcome over the four days and six shows. INTRUST Bank Arena continually partners with the bureau to bring in visitors to Wichita.

“We’re humbled and honored to be recognized by Visit Wichita for the second time in our short history with the Destination Promotion Award,” said SMG General Manager, A.J. Boleski. “We’re continually working to bring not only a diverse lineup of events to INTRUST Bank Arena but also a variety of events that will benefit our community as a whole. The positive impact of the Garth Brooks concerts was very widespread and we’re very appreciative of the support Visit Wichita constantly provides us to ensure events of this magnitude can take place in our city.”

Jamie Huckleberry Named Convention Services Manager of the Year by Successful Meetings Magazine

The Director of Event Services has been with David L. Lawrence Convention Center since 2002

 

Pittsburgh, PA (February 1, 2016) –  Executives for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center today announced that Jamie Huckleberry was named Convention Services Manager of the Year for 2015 by Successful Meetings Magazine and the Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA).

Huckleberry joined the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in 2002 as Senior Event Manager before being promoted to her present position as Director of Event Services.  Prior to joining the Convention Center, Huckleberry was an Event Manager at the Atlantic City Convention Center and also the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel and Convention Center.  Huckleberry has a bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Services Management from East Stroudsburg University.

“This is a tremendous honor for Jamie, especially because Jamie was nominated by one of our clients,” said Tim Muldoon, General Manager, David L. Lawrence Convention Center.  “ESPA and Successful Meetings Magazine now know what we have known for a long time.  Jamie is an excellent ambassador for our facility and for Pittsburgh.”

According to information provided by ESPA, the Convention Services Manager (CSM) of the Year Award winners have demonstrated to the most demanding critics in the business – meeting planners – their ability to provide the highest level of service.  Nominations for CSMs in three categories – Hotel, Convention Center, and Convention and Visitors Bureau – were received from meeting planners and other industry representatives from across North America.  Huckleberry was nominated by a meeting planner for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and also a meeting planner for the Society for Science and the Public.