The Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, circa 1975. Legend has it that when Denzil Skinner privatized the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans in 1977, he faced extreme dangers probably unknown to venue managers today. When David, Denzil’s son, and Mike Noah, his son-in-law, first toured the stadium, they opened every door, and found people’s living rooms […]
Two years into Brad Mayne’s tenure as CEO of Center Operating Co., it was announced that Mark Cuban was buying the Dallas Mavericks. The deal was revealed during a press conference at the under-construction American Airlines Center’s marketing center. Cuban purchased the Mavericks prior to the arena opening in 2001, which meant he would be […]
As told previously in Based on Truth, Brad Mayne, CEO of Center Operating Company, found it challenging to negotiate the ins and outs of building and running American Airlines Center for the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars. Answering to two team owner groups, one hockey and one basketball, can make every decision an exercise in […]
Only a few venue managers have been challenged to operate a company that doesn’t exist for a building that hasn’t been built. When Brad Mayne arrived in Dallas to create a company to build a new $412-million arena for hockey’s Stars and basketball’s Mavericks, a strong business acumen and an appreciation of good lawyers that […]
In the mid-80s, Fred Maglione and his partners at Globe Information Systems were experimenting with new systems all the time. The consummate salesman, Fred took the bold step of going to market with an unproven system, but always with the full intention of making good on any missteps. The Select-A-Seat ticketing system was very successful, […]
PHOTO CAPTION: First row, from left: Larry Rubin, Ron Holliday, Sims Hinds, Stan Riley, Tony Tavares, Aaron Siegel, Don Webb, Mich Sauers and Rich Rumer; Second row, from left: Bill Curl, Rich Krezwick, George Mattson, Dick Schaff, Bob Johnson, Alice Marini, Roger Dixon, Pat Lynch, Gerry Baron, Joel Ralph and Tim Murphy; Third row, from […]
The cake presented to Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band upon their return to Ft. Wayne, Ind., 40 years later. (Photo Credit: Allen County Memorial Coliseum). Sometimes, you inherit problems, but that doesn’t keep a good manager down. Through networking, relationships, persistence and a well-timed apology, you can overcome any obstacle. Randy Brown, manager […]
We are working on a life story of Barbara (Mother) Hubbard, which includes the early years. I got together with Barbara and Claire Rothman during Pollstar Live to discuss the book. Here is a Barbara you probably didn’t know – back in Benton, Ark., where she was homecoming queen and a cheerleader – to her […]
A wise and wily chairman of the board with impeccable community relations is critical to a venue manager’s success in running an arena. From booking the show to hosting the show to the afterglow, the chairman of the board can make life so much better. None know this better than Kim Bedier, who was blessed […]
As I watched Rich DiGiacomo and Rob Knapp present the VenuesNow Ticketing Stars awards during the INTIX 2019 opening luncheon, I was pleased to see the tradition continues. I had instituted the award in partnership with INTIX (The International Ticketing Association) when I was publisher of Venues Today because ticketing professionals literally make this industry […]