The newly renovated Cobo Center hosts record breaking NAIAS

Detroit, MI (January 25, 2016) - 2016 is off to a great start in the Motor City as the North American International Auto attendance rose again this year. This is the first year the event was held since the completion of the $279,000,000 renovation and expansion of host venue Cobo Center.

“We had a lot of positive comments about the changes here at Cobo from the car companies and the dealers as well as attendees at the show”, said Assistant General Manager Claude Molinari.

Major changes included the addition of a 3rd large format video board on the exterior of the facility – a marquee measuring 160 feet by 30 feet - as well as the addition of an upscale coffee/wine bar called the Cork & Grind.

With 104,263 attendees on the final day of the auto show, the total ticketed attendance was 815,575 which edged out last year's total of 808,775 and realized the highest attendance since 2003.

“That means they averaged nearly 91,000 people attending the auto show each day. In other words, in 14 days we had more attendees than an entire NFL home game season – including pre-season games!” added Molinari.

According to the organizers of the show, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, more than 70 percent of the displays at the show were new, which represented about $200 million in investments from automakers, suppliers an auto show partners.

This year's show also included a visit from President Obama. Mr. Molinari served as the facility's liaison with the White House and Secret Service to address all security and coordination issues from the facility's side, adding: "It was a challenge to make sure everything ran smoothly. An entire hall of exhibits was closed down for the duration of President Obama's time on site. At the same time we had over 30,000 people in the building looking at the other displays. Parking was shut down and there was some impact on traffic, but everything went off without a hitch and I can honestly say it was one of the highlights of my career at SMG."

In all, the DADA estimates that the show had a nearly $430 million impact to the regional economy, which is up $30 million from last year. “The $430 million in economic impact is nearly equivalent to having two Super Bowls in Detroit every year, a truly astounding figure when you stop and think about it," NAIAS Chairman Paul Sabatini.

More than 13,000 also attended the Charity Preview, raising $5.2 million for eight local charities. Also, 5,068 journalists from 60 different countries were at the press previews on the first two days of the auto show, where 61 vehicles were introduced and six vehicles debuted. “In the five years we’ve been involved with the show this was not only the best attended but also the smoothest running by far,” said Molinari.

Pollstar Ranks 28 SMG-Managed Arenas & 16 SMG-Managed Theaters in Top 200 Venues Worldwide

West Conshohocken, PA (January 11, 2016) - SMG-managed arenas and theaters completed another outstanding year with 28 arenas and 16 theaters appearing on Pollstar Magazine’s annual list of the Top 200 Arena & Theatre Venues.

On the arena side, Manchester Arena took the top SMG spot, finishing the year ranked second in the world with more than 1.1 million concert tickets sold.  Leading the way in the United States was the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., which ranked 26th in the continental United States.  The rankings, which were released last week, are determined by tickets sold worldwide for concerts and shows during 2015.

For the theatre rankings, the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts took the spot for SMG-managed theaters selling over 103,000 tickets in 2015. 

“Last year was another outstanding year for SMG as we celebrate the success of our European and American venues,” said SMG President and CEO Wes Westley.  “Congratulations to all of our buildings that made Pollstar’s annual lists,” added Westley. 

In all, SMG arenas in the Top 200 Pollstar list accounted for more than 5.2 million concert tickets sold in 2015.  For the SMG theaters in the Top 200 Pollstar list more than 988,000 tickets were sold in 2015.  

The complete list of SMG-managed venues on Pollstar’s rankings includes:

Arenas:

Manchester Arena

Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM

First Direct Arena

Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM

Konig-Pilsener Arena

Oberhausen, GERMANY

Coliseo de Puerto Rico

San Juan, PUERTO RICO

Metro Radio Arena

Newcaste upon Tyne, UNITED KINGDOM

BOK Center

Tulsa, OK

INTRUST Bank Arena

Wichita, KS

Chesapeake Energy Arena

Oklahoma City, OK

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Van Andel Arena

Grand-Rapids, MI

Save Mart Center

Fresno, CA

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

Jacksonville, FL

Denny Sanford Premier Center

Sioux Falls, SD

Times Union Center

Albany, NY

Pinnacle Bank Arena

Lincoln, NE

CenturyLink Center

Bossier City, LA

Richmond Coliseum

Richmond, VA

Huntington Center

Toledo, OH

DCU Center

Worcester, MA

Laredo Energy Arena

Laredo, TX

Mohegan Sun Arena At Casey Plaza

Wilkes-Barre, PA

Verizon Wireless Arena

Manchester, NH

Santander Arena

Reading, PA

Royal Farms Arena 

Baltimore, MD

ShoWare Center

Kent, WA

Peoria Civic Center Arena

Peoria, IL

Pensacola Bay Center

Pensacola, FL

Stockton Arena

Stockton, CA

Theaters:

Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts

Worcester, MA

DeVos Performance Hall

Grand Rapids, MI

Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center

Midland, TX

North Charleston Performing Arts Center

North Charleston, SC

The Plaza Theatre

El Paso, TX

Bellco Theatre

Denver, CO

Altria Theatre

Richmond, VA

F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

Wilkes-Barre, PA

Old National Events Plaza

Evansville, IN

Saenger Theatre

Pensacola, FL

Terrace Theatre

Long Beach, CA

Santander Performing Arts Center

Reading, PA

William Saroyan Theatre

Fresno, CA

Peoria Civic Center Theatre

Peoria, IL

Abraham Chavez Theatre

El Paso, TX

Carpenter Theatre at Richmond Center Stage

Richmond, VA

JIM SACHS RECEIVES INDUSTRY BOX OFFICE STAR AWARD

Wichita, KS (January 7, 2016) – Jim Sachs, SMG Director of Ticketing for INTRUST Bank Arena and Select-A-Seat, has been named a winner of the Venues Today Magazine 2016 Box Office Star Award. Venues Today Magazine recognizes outstanding ticketing professionals each year for their newsworthy achievement or outstanding service in their own ticket office or in the ticketing industry at large.

Sachs was honored for the preparation and execution of the Garth Brooks ticket set-up and on sale at INTRUST Bank Arena. Leading up to the announcement of Garth Brooks, Sachs worked tirelessly to ensure a successful on-sale through training new phone operators, writing new phone message scripts based on show information, and increasing the Select-A-Seat website capability in order to accommodate the anticipated higher volume of traffic. On Oct. 23, Sachs orchestrated the selling of 65,000 tickets in 45 minutes for six Garth Brooks concerts, all of which would completely sell out in less than 72 hours. In addition, Sachs was also nominated for overseeing the launch of digital ticketing for Select-A-Seat which included a tickets@home delivery method, an enhanced tickets@phone delivery method that utilizes Apple passbook/wallet, and the My Select-A-Seat platform.

“Jim is extremely deserving of this award and the entire team here at INTRUST Bank Arena is very proud to see him recognized,” said SMG Assistant General Manager & Director of Finance, Chris Kibler. “The industry knowledge that Jim possesses from his years of ticketing experience keeps Select-A-Seat on the cutting edge of ticketing for live entertainment and it is rewarding for all of us at SMG to see his hard work acknowledged through this prestigious industry award.”

Venues Today is a monthly industry trade magazine that tracks industry trends and profiles live entertainment professionals. Winners were determined by vote through Venues Today subscribers and staff and will be honored during the INTIX convention in Anaheim, Calif. Jan. 20-22, 2016 and will also be featured in the January issue of Venues Today.

SMG VENUES MAKE 2015 BILLBOARD MAGAZINE TOP 10 LISTS INCLUDING SOLDIER FIELD'S #1 GROSSING EVENT OF 2015!

Conshohocken, PA (December 22, 2015) - Billboard Magazine's 2015 Year End Top 10 Lists are out and SMG venues made several of the lists. First - the #l's on the list:

• Soldier Field (Chicago) - #1 Gross Boxscore for 2015: SMG's Soldier Field hosted the Grateful Dead July 3-5 which grossed $30,683,274 - making it the top grossing show of 2015 in any venue anywhere in the world.
• Royal Farms Arena (Baltimore) - #1 USA Venue for venues 10,001-15,000 seats. SMG's Royal Farms Arena hosted 347,083 attendees grossing $16,830,878 - making it the #1 Venue in the United States for its capacity.

Also, making Billboard's Year End Lists were:

• Manchester Arena (Manchester, England) - #3 Grossing Venue in the world for venues 15,001-Plus. SMG's Manchester Arena grossed $79,256,782 with attendance taping 1/132/711 and hosting 112 shows.
• Solider Field (Chicago) - #2 Grossing Stadium in the world. SMG's Soldier Field grossed $49/312,023 for 7 shows making with the #2 busiest stadium in the world.

Tim LeFevour, GM for SMG's Soldier Field, commented that the "venue was honored to be a part of the historical farewell Grateful Dead concerts this summer in Chicago. It was certainly the hottest ticket of the summer and from the year end rankings by Billboard Magazine it became honored as the hottest ticket of the year!"

"SMG venues in the USA and around the world continue to deliver high grosses and successful events," commented Wes Westley, President and CEO of SMG. "Our team of highly talented professionals continues to achieve great worldwide recognition," added Westley.

SMG TULSA'S WINTERFEST FEATURED IN PEOPLE MAGAZINE

(Tulsa, Okla.) December 18, 2015 – Each state in America has its own unique way of celebrating the Christmas season, so People Magazine listed 50 of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit, one for each state. In a story titled "Christmas Across America: A Unique Way to Celebrate the Holidays in Each State," SMG Tulsa's Winterfest was named as the most unique way to celebrate the Christmas season in Oklahoma. Check out the story here.

In seven short years, attendance for this event has soared from 35,000 visitors in 2008 to more than 150,000 in 2014. The seasonal celebration is open to the public for 52 days again this year. The extended season guarantees everyone a chance to enjoy skating beneath Tulsa's skyline while watching free entertainment from the outdoor stage and taking in the beautiful, gleaming holiday lights.

Winterfest includes a 9,000 square-foot outdoor ice rink and Oklahoma's tallest Christmas Tree that stands 44 feet tall and features 35,700 glowing lights.

“Winterfest has become the kick-off for the Holidays in downtown Tulsa,” said Jeff Nickler, SMG Tulsa General Manager. “As Oklahoma's best holiday tradition, we are excited to welcome our guests as they celebrate the season with family and friends." 

Royal Farms Arena's 2016 music lineup is its best in years

Taken from The Baltimore Sun.

After a year that saw a proposal for a new $450 million arena in the Inner Harbor, Baltimore's stalwart — Royal Farms Arena, established in 1962 — has positioned itself for one of its strongest years, musically, in recent memory.

The 2016 lineup — which includes Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan,Janet Jackson and Maroon 5 — is as impressive as Frank Remesch has seen since he became general manager in 2004, the Baltimore native said Thursday.

"You almost can't get any more diversified than that," Remesch said.

The arena's music schedule for next year includes: Brooks, for the first time in Baltimore, and Trisha Yearwood (Jan. 22-23; Jan. 29-30); Jackson (Feb. 29); Bryan, Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch (April 8); Rihanna and Travis Scott (April 9); Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago (April 12); Bieber (July 7) and Maroon 5 (Sept. 16). More concerts are still to be announced, Remesch said.

Beyond music, comedians like Jeff Dunham (Feb.12), Katt Williams (Feb. 14) and Mike Epps (April 1) are scheduled to perform. There are also the usual family-friendly shows ("our bread and butter," Remesch said) like the Monster Jam truck series (Feb. 26-28) and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (March 16-27).

Named a top venue for its size byBillboard magazine last year, the arena is no stranger to recognizable music talent. It hosted, this year, concerts by Prince, Motley Crue, the Eagles and Stevie Wonder.

But in other recent years — with exceptions like Kanye West & Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and the Black Keys — the arena has not been consistent in drawing from the pop-music Zeitgeist.

Remesch said a myriad of factors contribute to why some years pop with relevancy more than others. Timing, good relationships with promoters and luck all matter.

"There's a lot of things at play," he said. "There's history [with promoters] and what you've done for people before, Baltimore supporting diverse events and having a little luck that the tours are out there that we're able to get."

In January, the Cordish Companies — owners of downtown's Power Plant Live entertainment complex — proposed a 15,000-seat arena that would replace Royal Farms Arena. The project, which would be built on Piers 5 and 6 in the Inner Harbor, would cost an estimated $450 million.

There was initial interest, along with questions about finances and traffic, from the city, but little else since. Others have suggested a significant renovation to the current arena instead of building a new one.

On Thursday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said, via a statement, the city continues to consider the arena's future.

"As a city, we are proud that we have a high-performing, award-winning arena that continues to attract top talent," Rawlings-Blake said. "Baltimore is a proven entertainment and music destination. We continue to explore all options for the future."

For his part, Remesch supports a renovation that he said could transform the arena for $100 million.If a new one were built, he would not want it on the current site. He suggests that $450 million for a new arena might be hard to justify in a city with pressing needs. And the time it would take to build a new arena, Remesch argued, would also impede the momentum and goodwill the manager has built with concert promoters over the years.

"You're pushing a ball up a hill, right?" he said. "We're doing it, though. Once you stop, it's going back down. … We're a success story now. You have to think it through."

EPA Recognizes McCormick Place Food Service Provider for Outstanding Waste Reduction Efforts

SAVOR…Chicago remains committed to sustainable food service practices at the nation’s largest convention center

For Immediate Release 

CHICAGO, IL (November 19, 2015) — For the second consecutive year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized SAVOR…Chicago for outstanding waste reduction efforts in the category of Sports and Entertainment Venues for its initiatives at McCormick Place. SAVOR…Chicago is the food and beverage provider for McCormick Place.

SAVOR…Chicago was recognized for its use of sustainable material management practices to decrease wasted food at the nation’s largest convention center. SAVOR…Chicago was one of six winners in the category of “Data-driven Improvement by Sector” representing the highest percentage of wasted food diversion and prevention in their sector for 2014.

“The MPEA is committed to being at the forefront of sustainability throughout our food service operations and the convention campus,” said Lori Healey, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, owners of McCormick Place. “We are proud to set the standard for the meetings and convention industry and remain committed to upholding these environmentally- friendly standards for our customers and the environment as we continue to strive to further enhance innovation as it relates to sustainability.”

“SAVOR…Chicago is delighted to be recognized by the EPA for our ongoing efforts to reduce food waste at McCormick Place. We are proud to partner with MPEA to have a state-of-the-art sustainability initiative and are fully committed to improving sustainability at every step,” said Doug Bradley, SAVOR… Vice President of Culinary Operations. “We are all invested in making McCormick Place a model of effective large-scale sustainable food operations.

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About MPEA: 

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) owns McCormick Place, the largest exhibition and meeting facility in North America and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel. The North, South and West Buildings as well as the Lakeside Center offer 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space. Located along Chicago’s lakefront, McCormick Place offers 173 meeting rooms, the 4,249 seat Arie Crown Theater and one of the largest ballrooms in the world.