Latin Music's Top-Touring Band of 2011 Comes to Oracle Arena

Mana, announced today that, that they will be bringing the second leg of their eagerly-awaited "Drama y Luz Tour" to four additional venues in California, including a performance at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Friday, April 27th at 8:00 PM.

Kicking off the tour on April 3rd in Texas, the U.S Tour features performances at The Staples center, Madison Square Garden and at the Bay Area's own Oracle Arena in Oakland. Mana played two sold out shows at Oracle Arena back in September of 2007 and the venue is thrilled to have them return in 2012.

General Manager Ron Little states: "We are thrilled to continue to work with AEG Live to bring top international performers, such as Mana, to fans in the Bay Area." 

Tickets for Mana, "The World's Most Successful Latin American Rock Group", go on sale this Friday, February 10th at 10:00 AM. Ticket price are $140, $110, $99.50, $69.50 and $49.50 (additional service charges may apply) and will be available at the Oracle Arena Box Office, online at Ticketmaster.com and charge by phone at 800.745.3000. 

Mana's "El Verdadero Amor Perdona" Is Once Again The #1 Latin Song In The Country This Week. It Is The Third Consecutive #1 Single From Mana's Multi-Platinum Album "Drama y Luz" And Extended The Group's Own Record (8) For The Most #1 Singles By A Band on Billboard's "Hot Latin Songs" Chart. 

Having Already Won This Year's LATIN GRAMMY Award For "Best Rock Album" And Premios People En Espanol Awards For "Best Album Of The Year" And "Best Rock Group", Mana Currently Holds Another GRAMMY Nomination For "Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album" And FIVE PREMIO LO NUESTRO Nominations. 

Other top performers that have been announced to perform at Oracle Arena during the 2012 season include The Black Keys on May 4th, Van Halen, June 3rd and The Red Hot Chili Peppers on August 14th and 15th. 

The Oracle Arena and O.co Coliseum Complex is jointly owned by the City of Oakland and Alameda County and managed by the Oakland Coliseum Joint Venture (OCJV), owned in majority by SMG. SMG is the world's leading company in the private development and management of public assembly facilities, including more than 200 properties in arenas, stadiums, convention centers, performing arts centers and recreational facilities around the world.

Another Profitable year for Intrust Bank Arena

SMG brought another successful year to Wichita's Intrust Bank Arena in 2011, with the arena bringing in $385,000 net income. General manager A.J. Boleski was optimistic that the arena would continue to do well in 2012, with SMG booking some great acts, along with the popularity of college sporting events and Wichita Thunder hockey. “We have six concerts and comedians in the first quarter,” Boleski told KAKE news. “Brad Paisley nearly sold out, Jason Aldean is selling very well.”

SMG in the News: BOK Center general manager named worldwide executive of the year

From Tulsa World:

The BOK Center's John Bolton was honored Friday night as the 2012 Pollstar Facility Executive of the Year at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Bolton was chosen out of all venue managers in the world by the industry organization.

...

"I have so many colleagues and friends that do such an amazing job and that I respect so much," he told the Tulsa World. "I am honored beyond belief.

"The truth is that I could never have received such an award without the staff that I work with every day in Tulsa. They are the ones that truly deserve the recognition and accolades, not me."

Read more at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120205_350_A24_CUTLIN82673

SAVOR and Service Perfect Together

The Savannah Area Tourism Leadership Council has announced the finalists for their 2011 Tourism Awards and three members of the outstanding SAVOR... Savannah team have been nominated!

• Jason Touchberry – Bartender SAVOR…Savannah
• Robert Hurst – Housekeeping Maintenance Tech
• Judy Johnson – Senior Accounting Manager

Jason and Robert are Service Star finalists: The Service Star Award is presented to a tourism and hospitality industry employee who consistently demonstrates exemplary job performance and goes above and beyond the call of duty as he/she services guests.

Judy is a Service Leader finalist: The Service Leader Award is presented to a managerial level employee who exhibits phenomenal service not only to guests but also to their colleagues through their exemplary leadership.

Congrats, Jason, Robert, and Judy!

BOK Center Receives Third Nomination for "Venue of the Year" from the Academy of Country Music

For the third year in a row, Tulsa’s BOK Center has been nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Venue of the Year. In order to be considered for this award, the venue must have bought or promoted at least 5 (five) country concerts during the prior calendar year of January 1 to December 31, 2011 and be in good standing with all agents. Managed by SMG, the BOK Center hosted these country concerts last year:
Jason Aldean
Sugarland
Kenny Chesney
Keith Urban
Alan Jackson
Taylor Swift
Dolly Parton
Reba
Zac Brown Band

Venue of the Year is an off-camera award presented at the annual “ACM Honors” event held in Nashville each fall. The award is considered a part of the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards and will be voted on by the professional membership of the Academy.

The BOK Center will be competing for the award against the following venues:
Bridgestone Arena ‐ Nashville, TN
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre ‐ Chicago, IL
Jiffy Lube Live ‐ Bristow, VA
Sprint Center ‐ Kansas City, MO

SMG-Tulsa Announces 2011 Employee of the Year

Devin Levine, Executive Chef for BOK Center and Tulsa Convention Center has been named SMG-Tulsa’s Employee of the Year 2011. Levine has been with SMG-Tulsa since July 2010 and has been instrumental in the revision of menus in both buildings and established the off-site catering business for SAVOR…Tulsa, the food & beverage division of SMG. 

Chef Levine is a native Tulsan who began his career more than 40 years ago in the kitchen at Camelot Inn. As a self-taught local chef, Chef Levine was one of the first graduates of ACFEI (American Culinary Federation Educational Institute) in the Midwest, and became a Certified Executive Chef in 1990.

Tulsa Convention Center Assistant General Manager Janet Rockefeller praised Levine’s work, “When Chef Levine joined our team I knew the transformation of the Tulsa Convention Center was complete.  His contributions have elevated the convention center catering to a level beyond compare.”

The Employee of the Year was chosen from a pool of outstanding employees who had received individual recognition as Employee of the Month throughout 2011. A committee headed by the HR Manager and including representatives from both buildings and all departments chooses the staff member from anonymous nominations. Any full-time staff member can nominate or be chosen for these awards. Levine was chosen as Employee of the Month in December 2011 for his contributions to the busiest holiday season at the convention center and taking time to build gingerbread houses with children at Winterfest.

 

Energy-efficient Improvements at Tulsa Convention Center

SMG's green upgrades have continued with new lighting in the Tulsa Convention Center. The new dimmable fluorescent bulbs are expected to save 700,000 kilowatt-hours annually, a 57% drop in energy use. The bulbs also give a more modern look to the building, and allow for different lighting moods depending on the needs of vendors. The project cost $52,000, and SMG and the BOK Center received a $71,000 incentive payment from the Public Service Company of Oklahoma. The additional money will be spent on further improvements.