Venue managers are not usually the focus of attention.
So when Russ Simons was opening what was then called Nashville Arena on Dec. 18, 1996 — a night he will always remember as magical in every possible way — that moment attention focused on him stands out.
The opening concert was Amy Grant’s Tennessee Christmas.
“We had all the trappings. We had the full LMI [Leisure Management International] team. Everyone had done everything they needed to do,” Simons said.
Part of the program, an intermission kind of thing, involved a proclamation by the Mayor thanking the team involved in construction and the acts on stage. Simons’ job was to go on stage and set the audience up for the proclamation.
“It’s the first and only time I stood on stage in a concert setting and had to speak to 18,000 people. I had the orchestra and Amy behind me. I had never done anything like that. I’m not shy. I have a lot of experience but still, it is humbling.”
Simons thinks every facility manager should do this. “It gives you a sense of scale. We always talk about the shenanigans in production, the in and the out. But when you stand there and everybody in the arena is looking at you… Holy S**t.”
He’s standing on stage, in his best suit, microphone in hand, and suddenly the crowd begins to hush in anticipation. He’s sort of frozen in the moment.
As the crowd noise dies down and before he could speak, he hears a voice like the voice of God.
“We love you Russ.”
Simons recalls that “voice” kind of broke the intimidation he was feeling. He knew who it was, his longtime pal and coworker Donna Dowless, who was with Ticketmaster at the time.
“I know it’s Donna. There aren’t two of those voices. I can’t really see her, but I know she’s up there somewhere. And I think, okay….Good evening ladies and gentlemen….”
He did his part and introduced the mayor and made his presentation to Amy, followed by lots of back slapping, and then “got the hell out of there and the show went on.”
The backside to the story of that magical evening was the post-show show.
“I didn’t tell anybody, but I had arranged for a massive fireworks show to be shot from barges on the river. I was in radio communications. The plan was that when the out started the fireworks would go off. It was a little dicey. I didn’t really get permission. I knew there would be issues with residents. But I didn’t care. You only get one chance to do this.”
So the crowd starts to exit, Simons cues the fireworks and it begins to snow. The fireworks are going off, lights were reflecting off all the buildings downtown and the snow is coming down.
“For that one second, I felt like the heavyweight champion of the world.” — Based on a true story as told to Linda Deckard
(PHOTO: Amy Grant’s Tennessee Christmas performance at the opening of Nashville Arena, now Bridgestone Arena. Courtesy of David Kells/Bridgestone Arena.)