So Much More to Savor at the 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

SAVOR will be providing food and beverage service for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach through 2015, Shaun Beard, Senior Vice President of SAVOR confirmed today. SAVOR has served as master concessionaire for the Grand Prix of Long Beach for 19 years, bringing together an array of festival favorites at attractive value pricing.

“The food at the Grand Prix is really an event within an event, and we're thrilled to continue providing it,” said Beard. “This year we have more than 190 points of sale, and we're always striving to deliver more locations for fewer dollars to the race fans.”

SAVOR has developed a diverse menu with a local flare for the three-day race. The Grand Prix of Long Beach features SAVOR's trademark Pit Stop stands complimented by locally sub-contracted vendors. SAVOR is partnering this year with So Cal's favorite food trucks to create a food truck village, including Don Chow, Grilled Cheese Truck, Slammin' Sliders, and Tornado Potato. Other local favorites include California Pizza Kitchen, Juicy's BBQ and Big Al's BBQ. With concessions located all along the 1.97-mile track, fans never miss any of the racing action.

At many outlets fans will also be able to enjoy beer from the Bottoms Up Souvenir Beer Cup, the coldest high-tech beer system SAVOR has ever delivered to the Grand Prix. It joins race-sponsored beverages including Fuzzy's Ultra-Premium Vodka, The Patron Spirits Company, Coca Cola, Tecate, and McManis Family Vineyards.

SAVOR also provides catering for the official Race Sponsor Reception and other sponsor parties, as well as beverage services for hospitality groups.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will fire through the streets of downtown Long Beach with weekend-long action. On Saturday, April 14, two fan favorites -- the sports cars of the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series and the 65th Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race – will take center stage on the historic 1.97-mile, 11-turn seaside street circuit. On Sunday, four races will be on tap including the Izod Indy Cars Race, Firestone Indy Lights Race, the Team Drifting finals and Pirelli World Challenge Race.

K-Rock Centre Named 2012 Venue of the Year Under 8,000 Seats

For the third time in the last four years the K-Rock Centre has again been voted Venue of the Year under 8,000 seats at the 2012 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards. “It’s a true accomplishment for everyone involved with the facility, and it recognizes what we in Kingston already knew, that the K-Rock Centre is the premiere venue of its size in the country,” said SMG Canada’s General Manager, Ken Noakes.

“Awards like this can never be realized without the endless hard work of our staff, as well as support from all of our partners throughout the city, and the Eastern Ontario region. Winning this award for a third time shows that the K-Rock Centre has made a name for itself in the music industry, and is a facility which is top of mind for industry professionals,” continued Noakes.

SMG Vice President Harry Cann added, “We are thrilled to receive this industry recognition for the third time in four years. This is a true team effort in Kingston. While our local staff and national support team have worked hard to achieve this success, these awards are a testament to the City’s foresight and delivery of an outstanding facility along with tremendous support from the business community and local citizens. The K-Rock Centre has certainly established itself as centerpiece asset for the City and the region.”

The K-Rock Centre was nominated for the award along with the Brandt Centre, Regina; CN Centre, Prince George; Credit Union Place, Summerside; Essar Centre, Sault Ste. Marie; GM Centre, Oshawa; Moncton Coliseum, Moncton; and Prospera Place, Kelowna.

The nominees and winners of the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards are chosen by combined votes of registered Canadian music industry professionals. For more information on the CMBIA please visit www.cmw.net/awards.

For further information on upcoming K-Rock Centre events be sure to visit us at www.k-rockcentre.com, or follow us on Twitter @KROCKCentre

INTRUST Bank Arena Hosts One Millionth Guest

The SMG-managed INTRUST Bank Arena hosted its one-millionth guest at Friday's sold out Jason Aldean concert. Tia Bruce of McPherson, Kan. was brought to tears when told she was the lucky guest. Bruce, who brought her nine-year-old niece Michelle Mann with her to the concert, bought the tickets as a birthday present for Mann's upcoming tenth birthday.

INTRUST Bank Arena General Manager AJ Boleski presented Bruce and Mann with a prize package including upgraded suite tickets for the concert, a meet and greet with Aldean, a commemorative ticket and other autographed merchandise from the show.

“It was overwhelming, but awesome. We had never met anyone famous.” Bruce said referring to the meet and greet with Aldean. “Michelle still hasn't washed her arm where Jason signed it. I couldn't have imagined anything like this.”

Since opening in January 2010 with a sold out Brad Paisley concert, INTRUST Bank Arena has hosted many of the nation's top tours including George Strait, Elton John and Billy Joel, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Sugarland and more. In addition to concerts, the Arena has proven to be a great venue for college athletics hosting the NCAA 2011 Women's Basketball Championship first and second rounds, Wichita State University men's basketball in both 2010 and 2011and Kansas State University men's basketball in 2011.

This past week, INTRUST Bank Arena was named the Central Hockey League's best Arena for the third consecutive year. The Arena hosts the league-leading Wichita Thunder and is in preparation for the opening round of the CHL play-offs at the end of March.

“This community has been extremely supportive of INTRUST Bank Arena since opening,” said Boleski. “SMG is honored to manage this beautiful facility and looks forward to many great shows to come.”

The March 16th Aldean concert was the third highest attended concert in the Arena's history following George Straight with Reba and Elton John and Billy Joel, both held in 2010.

Upcoming events at the venue include Rodney Carrington, Miranda Lambert, Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers, Hank Williams, Jr. and Nickelback. SMG Wichita will also host the inaugural Wichita Ribfest May 17-19 at City Lot D.

SMG in the News: Fans fill Intrust Bank Arena to hear Jason Aldean

From the Wichita Eagle:

Country star Jason Aldean drew a sold-out crowd of young country fans to Intrust Bank Arena on Friday night, where he brought his “My Kinda Party” tour – a show that has been selling out arenas across the country.

The crowd of more than 14,000 included mostly women – many of them under 35. They danced, swayed, screamed and sang along as Aldean performed a string of country hits from “My Kinda Party,” the best-selling country album of 2011.

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NCAA® 2012 Men’s Basketball Championship 2nd Round Games Shatter Attendance Records at CONSOL Energy Center

Thursday's 2nd Round NCAA® Men's Basketball Championship games at SMG managed CONSOL Energy Center set records for the top two crowds for any indoor sporting event in Pittsburgh history.  19,413 attended the evening session (Gonzaga vs. West Virginia & Ohio State vs. Loyola MD) and 18,927 for the afternoon session (Kansas State vs. Southern Mississippi & Syracuse vs. UNC Asheville).

The 19,413 also tops the record for any Pittsburgh indoor arena event, previously held by Elton John (19,285) at CONSOL Energy Center on March 23, 2011.

NCAA March Madness® continues at CONSOL Energy Center on Saturday, March 17 for 3rd round games between #1 Syracuse and #8 Kansas State at 12:15 p.m., followed by #2 Ohio State and #7 Gonzaga 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Place Introduces Chef Vincent Lai

SAVOR…Chicago, the foodservice leader chosen earlier this fall to run Chicago's McCormick Place food operations, proudly introduces Chef Vincent Lai as its Director of Culinary Services. Chef Lai comes to Chicago via the San Jose and Vancouver Convention Centers and the world-class kitchens of the Renaissance and Mandarin Oriental Hotels.

Chef Lai, a Vancouver native, has spent the past decade delighting visitors and exceeding their expectations and now his culinary talents are receiving praise at the nation's largest convention center. Chef Lai loves fresh, local ingredients and lets the calendar dictate the special seasonal dishes he creates. Acknowledging the challenge of catering for very large groups while maintaining creativity and excellent food quality, his response is that it's all about the ingredients. “My advice is always to get the ingredients right and then we'll figure out how to prepare and serve the menu to hundreds or thousands of people.”

His menus are consistent with the Asian influence of his cooking background and he excels at mixing ethnic cuisines. From box lunches for 16,000 to dinner for 4,000 or an intimate reception for 50, Chef Lai believes in keeping it real. “We use the freshest ingredients and taste everything. Our client tastings are done as true to the event as possible including appropriate holding time as it would for the actual event. It's important to me that a meeting planner has the same experience as their attendees will. SAVOR…Chicago is committed to excellence at every step of the experience and I am delighted to join this world class organization.”