Mercedes Benz Superdome Crowned Venue of the Year at 2013 Stadium Business Awards

The New Orleans venue beat off strong competition from across the globe to lift the coveted prize, including London’s Olympic and Wembley Stadiums plus New York’s latest venue, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The glittering event, held in Manchester UK this June, celebrated a spectrum of achievements from the global stadium industry. Nominees from around the world attended the gala dinner hosted at Emirates Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Accepting the award for the Mercedes Benz Superdome from OnGoal CEO Robb Heineman, Tracey Short, SMG Europe’s New Business Development Director, said: “On behalf of Doug Thornton and his stellar team in New Orleans, and the entire SMG family, I’m honoured to accept the award for Venue Of The Year 2013. The SMG-operated Mercedes Benz Superdome has proudly served the community of New Orleans for many years and we’re delighted their hard work and investment has been applauded by the industry.”

Opened in 1975, the stadium has hosted the biggest names from the world of live music and sport including The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali and a record seven Super Bowls.

Sue McCarthy, F&B Director for SMG Europe’s Manchester Arena, was nominated in the Unsung Hero Award category by SMG Europe POS provider Agilysis. The leading hospitality software developer also picked up the Industry Supplier Award and SMG’s WiFi partner, Extricom, also won in the Product Innovation category.

Ken Noakes Hired as GM of St. Catharines Spectator Facility

SMG Canada, the Canadian arm of SMG, the worldwide leader in public assembly facility management, is pleased to announce that Ken Noakes has been hired as General Manager of the new St. Catharines Spectator Facility in St. Catharines, Ontario. Noakes was recently the General Manager at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, ON and has been in regional position with SMG Canada, supporting business development and consulting efforts in the region and throughout Canada.

“Ken is a valuable member of our team and has done a great job leading our efforts in Kingston and with other assignments throughout Canada,” said Harry Cann, Senior Regional Vice President of Operations at SMG. “He is a seasoned industry veteran and we look forward to Ken contributing to the success of the new venue in St. Catharines which we are all very excited about. The City will benefit substantially from Ken’s expertise and leadership.”

Noakes brings over 20 years of facility management experience to the job, with his most recent position being General Manager of the 5,000-seat K-Rock Centre in Kingston. He has served as General Manager of the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, B.C. and the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, and also held positions at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, and the SkyDome in Toronto.