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S E A T

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S E A T 13

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ConTEnTS WinTEr 20108 NEW MEMBERS

10 STATE OF THE INDUSTRYWhat the premium seat industry must continue to do in response to change in order to fill seats.BY BILL DORSEY

12 STATE OF THE ASSOCIATIONWhat new ALSD leadership means for you and your association. BY AMANDA VERHOFF

14 INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATION NEWS

18 MEMBER HIGHLIGHTHe has a voice made for radio; he has a 26-year track record selling baseball tickets in a football stadium; and he looks good in a hard hat. Meet SCOTT O’CONNELL of the Minnesota Twins and visit his new home, Target Field, for the first time.

CoVEr STorY26 20th ANNUAL ALSD CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOW PREVIEWDiscover the program sessions and venue tours aimed at providing the solutions to your team and suite holder corporate hospitality expenditure challenges. PLUS: Why the ALSD is bringing Disney Institute to this year’s conference, and why you should be listening. BY AMANDA VERHOFF

FEATUrES37 THE LEADER IN PER-EVENT SUITE SALES Per-event suites have a positive financial impact on those teams needing to develop a more diverse premium seat product selection. If your team is behind the curve, learn from the best in the business- the United Center. BY JARED FRANK

41 TICKET MANAGEMENTOut of the need for suite holders to achieve high ticket utilization rates stems the necessity for sophisticated, sometimes confusing, ticket management systems. Breakdown the top software solution companies side-by-side to decipher which is best for your team. EDITED BY JARED FRANK

46 INFUSION OF TECHNOLOGY ACROSS SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Nearly every segment of modern society is influenced by technology accelerators. The sports and entertainment industry is no different, as the need to improve the fan experience through innovation continues to grow exponentially. Find out who the top companies are in this space in 2010. BY CHRISTINE STOFFEL

50 INSIDE THE WORLD OF LUXURY SUITE ADMINISTRATORS AND COORDINATORSSuite administrators are the front line of the premium seat market, yet few understand these unsung professionals. Investigate their common perceptions and learn why we should care about these key stakeholders. BY PETER TITLEBAUM AND HEATHER LAWRENCE

56 COMING ATTRACTIONSThe first look at stories being researched for the Spring 2010 issue of SEAT. See how you can participate.

About the Cover: The ALSD with the New York Yankees and Legends Hospitality Management will celebrate 20 years of premium seating at the new Yankee Stadium, the first tour and reception of the 2010 ALSD Conference and Tradeshow. Photo courtesy New York Yankees.

S E A T 7

S E A T

The New York Marriott Marquis, host of the 2010 ALSD Conference and Tradeshow.

ASSoCiATion oF LUxUrY SUiTE DirECTorS Chairman of the Board Bill Dorsey

Executive Director Amanda (Kuntz) VerhoffPresident Jennifer Ark, Green Bay Packers

VP, Business Development Pat McCaffreyDirector, Sponsor and Partnership Development Dene Shiels

Director of Finance Dan LindemanFinancial Account Manager Vickie Henke

Director of Information Technology Sean KellnerEditor of SEAT, Website Director Jared Frank

Account Executive Scott HinzmanDesign Carole Winters Art + Design

ExECUTIVE COMMITTEEChris Bigelow, Bigelow Companies

Brian Bucciarelli, Hershey Entertainment & ResortsGreg Hanrahan, United Center

Tom Kaucic, Southern Wine & Spirits Pat McCaffrey, ALSD

Jamie Norman, Dallas Stars Kim Reckley, Detroit Red Wings & Olympia Entertainment

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pam Benoist, St. Louis Rams

Janie Boles, Auburn UniversityNatalie Burbank, Utah Jazz / Salt Lake Bees

Trent Dutry, US Airways CenterChris Granger, National Basketball Association

Patti Kimbrough, University of ArkansasGerald Kissel, Ball State University

Phil MacDougall, Sacramento Kings/ARCO ArenaDebbie Massa, ROI Consulting

Mike Ondrejko, Madison Square GardenRichard Searls, New York Red BullsTom Sheridan, Chicago White SoxMichael Smith, Philadelphia Union

Peter Titlebaum, University of DaytonBrian Varnadoe, Houston Texans

Jon Vingas, CenterplateBob White, Calgary Flames

SEAT IT BoardChristine Stoffel, S5 Enterprises / SEAT Consortium

Chris Wood, APS

ALSD 2010 Conference CommitteeRichard Dobransky, DNC Sportservice

Chris Gallagher, New York YankeesPat Jones, New York Mets

Jon Muscalo, Legends HospitalityRichard Searls, New York Red Bulls

Rob Sullivan, New York JetsAnne Wheat, New Meadowlands Stadium Company

SEAT IT Division Steering CommitteeChristine Stoffel, Committee ChairmanChris Wood, Committee Co-Chairman

Chris Dill, Portland Trail BlazersSasha Puric, Toronto Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Mike Morris, Major League BaseballLorraine Spadaro, TD Banknorth Garden

Wayne Wichlacz, Green Bay PackersCasey Bookout, University of Oklahoma

Jim Darrow, Illitch Holdings, Inc.Tod Caflisch, New Orleans Hornets

Brett Michalak, Tickets.comJohn Pollard, IdentityMine

John Gallant, IDG Enterprise

Published by Venue Pub. Inc. Copyright 2010. (All rights reserved). SEAT is a registered trademark of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors. SEAT is published quarterly and is complimentary

to all members of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors.10017 McKelvey Road, Cincinnati, OH 45231 • 513 674 0555 • [email protected]

John BluckSodexoDistrict ManagerSoutheast RegionP: 404-272-1024F: [email protected]

Russ MushroSodexoVice President5 Lloydminster CourtNorth Potomac, MD 20878P: [email protected]

Phil ElettoNew Meadowlands Stadium CompanyManager, Premium Services102 Route 120East Rutherford, NJ 07073P: [email protected]

David StysTurnkey Sports & EntertainmentVice President9 Tanner St., Suite 8Haddonfield, NJ 08033P: [email protected]

Josh BrickmanTurnkey Sports & Entertainment Director, Product Development9 Tanner St., Suite 8Haddonfield, NJ 08033P: [email protected]

Dan MigalaSan Diego PadresVice President, Partnership Solutions100 Park RoadSan Diego, CA 92101P: [email protected]

Karlton CreechUniversity of North CarolinaRams Club Director of Tickets and ParkingPO Box 2446Chapel Hill, NC 27515P: 919-843-6432F: [email protected]

Courtney BrownAT&T Wi-Fi Service 2600 North Central Expressway 3.4004Richardson, Tx 75080P: 214-576-4341F: [email protected]

BJ TonerToner CablePresident969 Horshman RoadHorshman, PA 19044P: 215-675-2053F: [email protected]

Dianne RowlandToner CableTradeshow Coordinator969 Horshman RoadHorshman, PA 19044P: 215-675-2053F: [email protected]

John ChambersnetFactor 6041 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 105Greenwood Village, CO 80111P: 720-489-5534 [email protected]

Rick ColfordHulshof Leather USA4947 NC HWY 127 SouthHickory, NC 28602P: 704-462-1188F: [email protected]

new ALSD Members

8 S E A T

10 S E A T

State of the IndustryIt is clearly a time of transition as the industry is beginning to respond to changes in the marketplace with proactive adjustments.

By Bill Dorsey, ALSD Chairman of the Board

Bill Dorsey

The state of the $10 billion pre-mium seating industry is in flux. What existed and what

worked for the past 20 years is changing in the following ways:

Leases are getting shorter.

Occupancy rates are lower than the year before.

No shows on the club level are up.

The ReSpONSeLeAgue INvOLvemeNT: Just a short time ago, premium seat-ing was only considered to be a local sports issue. To some ex-tent, because the vast majority of leases do come from the local marketplace, premium seating revenues are still very much a local issue. But league offices are now beginning to take note and are providing teams with a lot of support that previously did not exist. The leagues are beginning to compile and collate a best practices group on the premium side in 2010.

TeChNOLOgy TAkeS OveR: High-tech is beginning to make inroads in venues across the country. The sports industry tradition-ally has been slow on the uptake for high-tech items, but no more. Suites are becoming media centers these days, and the amount of IT infrastructure in a new venue is truly astonishing. This will continue.

New pRODuCT OffeRINgS: It is clear that some of the models in venues built in the late 90s are failing. There are far too many suites, especially in Major League Baseball, and far too many club seats in all areas of sport. In many instances, venues that have too many suites are reconfiguring their premium spaces. There is not so much a downsizing of these numbers on the premium side, but a change in the types of offerings. Suites are being torn down, and they are being replaced by four to eight seat loge boxes, theater boxes, and multiple varieties of stadium membership clubs. The price points on these new products, on a per-square-foot basis, are often higher than a suite price. It is just that many companies do not want as many seats as are in suites on a nightly basis.

eveNT SuITeS: While leased inventory is declining, event suites on a nightly basis are increasing. This is due to two factors: 1) Availability. There is now open inventory that never before existed. 2) Suite Flexibility. Many new venues are allowing for higher suite flexibility in their new venue models. Suites often have open walls and can be converted into larger event suites for special occa-sions. So ironically, while many companies are going away from full-fledged suites and opting to buy into four to eight person loge boxes, some companies are increasing their purchases of event or per-event suites.

fOOD AND BeveRAge: One price for F&B is definitely becom-ing a trend. Companies are beginning to take harder looks at in-corporating the price of food and beverage and suite tickets as one hospitality package. It is predicted here that the day when hospitality, which includes F&B, is considered part of the entire ex-perience is just around the corner. The major F&B companies are beginning to look at how they are doing business in this regard. Some F&B companies are beginning to rethink their pricing strate-gies for F&B as per-caps are declining.

CONTRACT NegOTIATIONS: Leases are getting shorter and shorter, and companies who buy leases are beginning to under-stand the pricing dynamics better. More contract negotiations on annual leases is certainly a trend as companies realize the buyer/seller power relationship has somewhat shifted in more uncertain economic times. Teams are going to have to incentivize lease in-vestment with such things as expensive amenities, renewal cred-its, re-selling options/alternatives, branding, etc.

In general, the rules of the premium seat game have changed. Teams need to make adjustments in how they do business. Many are already doing so, but some teams, are very reluctant to change. On the corporate premium side, clearly teams are going to need to look at more ways to fill their seats in 2010. And accord-ing to most indications, the current trends are likely to continue for a few more years. But help, on many fronts, is on the way. #

Write to Bill at [email protected]

12 S E A T

Those of us who work for the ALSD know full-well that it takes all types to run an as-

sociation. That said I would like to explain which type I am, as well as my place in this associa-tion. I will do so as it relates to the founder and now chairman of your association.

To put it simply, Bill is the new direction of the industry; I am the reflection of the industry.

what does that mean? Bill Dorsey is a visionary. He

knows the industry inside and out; he sees where the industry is heading and will lead the way. Con-versely, I am the reflector of the industry. I can’t see what Bill sees, at least not yet, but I learn more about the industry every day and as the reflector, I will inform our members on where we are pres-ently as an association and as an industry.

what does that make me? It makes me a learner. It also too often makes me a repeater

of the Dorsey-ism, “Without you I cannot grow.” But that phrase, even as overused as it is in the ALSD offices, rings true. I am young; I am less experienced than many. But I am a learner none-theless and will keep being an informational sponge to Bill as long as he will let me. In turn, I will arm our association with the informa-tion I pick up from him.

who am I?I am a people pleaser; one who got my start as the weird

middle kid who watched my older sister rebel like oldest kids do and my baby brother act like one, though he won’t say so. And there I was, in need of an identity other than “the weird middle kid”. So, I turned to sports and in a few short years, that was me, an athlete. I had my identity. And I played to please for as long as I can remember. I wanted to please my parents – my dad a college football player, my mom a graceful and theatrical drill team cap-tain. They were good, so I had to be good too. I wanted to please my coaches, my teammates, even my opponents (then beat them of course). Eventually I wanted to please those outside of athlet-ics too: my art teacher, my summer employer, my college mentor, my husband and eventually Bill Dorsey. I needed to please them

because in a way, it was my sense of competition. I wanted to do better and be better than others, but I wanted to do it in a way that would please those around me. I wanted the “do-good, be bet-ter” image because I thought that was what it took to impress and please those around me.

how am I making it work for me now?Being a people pleaser is stressful. Not because specific

tasks are hard or because the ones you want to please are dif-ficult, but because being a people pleaser ultimately means being a personal critic. A mantra I undesirably hold deep down is that, “It’s never quite good enough.” Consequently, there is an ongo-ing struggle to please others for the validation that it, whatever it is, is good enough…for them, for me. I take criticism, however constructive, to heart. I want to improve on things that are within my control, personally and professionally. Am I a perfectionist? Maybe. Am I perfect? If you read the mantra, you’ll see I am far from it. And for that reason, I will continue to try to improve myself in order to please others. At this point in my life, those others are ALSD members.

why does it work for the ALSD?As mentioned, I am young and I am a learner. Am I too young

and too inexperienced to be the ALSD Executive Director? Some may think so, maybe I even think so. But understand this: the title is not the role. I am still the ALSD Conference Director and the Membership Services Director, now rolled up together into a new title. Please understand though that I am not Bill Dorsey. I never will be. Understand that the individual, not the title, reflects what the role of Executive Director means. Bill is and always will be the leader, the “boss” of the ALSD. He is simply handing over the reins, slowly and cautiously, to a new generation. The role of the new Executive Director will be different than when he held the title.

This Executive Director is a people pleaser, a reflector of the industry, a member devotee. I will listen to you, the members, and will take guidance from those who know the business better than I do. I will always believe that, “It’s never quite good enough,” but I will use that to improve the association. I pledge to “do the thing that’s the best for the most people.” And one day, validation will come, maybe not for me personally, but for the ALSD. Validation will come when the ALSD lives up to its “premium” reputation and is confirmed as the preeminent association in the sports and en-tertainment industry. #

Write to Amanda at [email protected]

State of the AssociationThe ALSD is a growing, ever-changing association, built on reflections and new directions of the industry. At present, the ALSD leadership is built on both principles.

By Amanda verhoff, ALSD executive Director

Amanda verhoff

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14 S E A T

Industry and Association NewsMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALLCubs adding new premium club to wrigley fieldChicago Cubs fans will have a new premium seating option for the 2010 season. The team is constructing a new all-inclusive club designed by Populous on Wrigley Field’s suite level, the only of its kind within the friendly confines. The Executive Club (naming rights are expected to be announced shortly) will be home to the most expensive Cubs ticket at $300 per game for each of the 71 available seats. Season ticket holders will pay $24,300 to sit in the Executive Club in 2010.

The club, located down the left-field line, is the Cubs response to unsold suite inventory. The new space is being created from the consolidation of six suites, which up until now were sold on a per-event basis. It is an attractive premium option for those businesses and individuals who cannot afford a leased suite product, yet still have a need for hospitality. A $24,300 season ticket package in-cludes many amenities including all food and beverage (alcohol included), parking, the option to buy additional tickets for select games, access to postseason tickets, tickets to concerts and other special events and access to corporate meeting space on non-game days.

giants organize auction to aid haiti relief effortsMany athletes and teams have come through in a big way to assist the worldwide community in supporting Haiti, which as we all know was ravaged by a 7.0 earthquake last month. The San Francisco Giants had a clever fund raising idea, holding an online auction on its website, www.sfgiants.com. All proceeds from the auction were coordinated through UNICEF and directly went to the supply and recovery effort.

Items up for bid included ten swings against a Giants starting pitcher, four field club seats, a pregame field visit, an autographed bat signed by a player of choice, a baseball signed by the 2010 Giants pitching staff, a private hitting lesson with Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval and hitting coach Hensley Muelens and a private meeting with Tim Lincecum, two-time National League Cy Young award winner.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUEfuture of “The Joe” in questionHockeytown’s future residence is a bit cloudy these days. The Red Wings lease with the city of Detroit to play in Joe Louis Arena, a venue over 30 years old, expires in June. And the Red Wings say it will cost upwards of $10 million to renovate The Joe. Major up-grades are needed to fix crumbling concrete, update concourses with modern amenities and efficient concession and restroom set-ups, replace seating with more comfortable versions, build pre-mium spaces closer to the ice, add additional ingress points and provide better parking options.

Team owner Mike Ilitch’s preference is to replace The Joe, which is currently isolated from the rest of downtown Detroit by the Detroit River and neighboring Cobo Center, and build a new arena downtown. Some reports have claimed the team is considering playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills while the new facility is under construction.

NFL/SUPER BOWL/TECHNOLOGYCisco and Sportvision enhance Super Bowl XLIv through technologyCisco’s StadiumVision platform and Sportvision combined their powers to enhance the content on two channels viewed on the 1,500 HD displays inside Miami’s Sun Life Stadium during this year’s Super Bowl. The first channel displayed the live network broadcast, including the Sportvision yellow 1st and 10 line and down and distance graphics. The second integrated Sportvi-sion’s Feature Tracker and Synthetic Video effects to offer replays throughout the game.

Feature Tracker combines a 2-D graphic with 3-D player trails to deliver relevant performance data to fans, such as a player’s speed, total distance traveled and separation distance from other players. Synthetic Video presents replays in a 360-degree virtual environment, so key plays can be viewed from multiple angles.

RACINGCharlotte motor Speedway adds premium seatsWhile other raceways are reducing their number of seats and ticket prices, Charlotte Motor Speedway has announced the ad-dition of 15,000 new premium seats to be installed along the front stretch of the 1.5-mile track in the Chrysler and General Motors grandstands. The new seating area will have the best views of the start/finish line, as well as pit road. The renovations, which are part of the raceway’s Fan First initiative, will be ready in time for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 22.

Season ticket holders will automatically become members of the Victory Lane Club and have bronze nameplates installed on their new seats. In addition, they will be able to take home one of the old seats as a piece of nostalgic memorabilia. Other mem-bership benefits include a personalized hard card, VIP parking, discounts on ticket purchases and souvenirs in the speedway’s gift shop and a free six-month trial membership to The Speedway Club.

Churchill Downs will continue Infield Club with additional seatsThose fans with infield tickets to this year’s Kentucky Oaks and Derby will once again have the opportunity to pay a little extra for added amenities. The Infield Club, which debuted last year, will have more seats this time around. During the 2009 Oaks and Der-by, only 20 percent of ticket holders had seats available to them at any one time. This year each ticket sold is guaranteed a seat, albeit on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Churchill Downs is also adding a VIP Club area, which will include reserved seating with cocktail service, half-priced menu items, elevated television screens, staffed and self-serve betting windows, concession booths and restrooms.

Even with no direct view of the racetrack, two-day general admission tickets for the Infield Club are $250 and two-day VIP area access is $375.

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16 S E A T

Industry and Association NewsCOLLEGEupdate on university of California endowment Seating programAs first reported in SEAT in the Fall 2008 issue, the University of California is employing the innovative financing model dubbed Endowment Seating Program (ESP) to finance a $321 million renovation to California Memorial Stadium. The Regents of the University of California gave formal approval for the renovations last month, allowing Cal to proceed with the project. Preliminary construction will begin in June 2010, with completion expected by the fall of 2012.

1,700 ESP seats have been sold as of January 15th with a net present value of over $215 million, which is in line with projections. Approximately 2,250 seats must be committed by the summer of 2011 to make the financial model work.

Board of Regents approves renovation of Arizona StadiumAnother Pac-10 Conference school has received Regents’ approv-al for a football stadium renovation. The Arizona Board of Regents last month agreed to $85.7 million in improvements to Arizona Sta-dium, home of the University of Arizona Wildcats.

The upgrades will be paid for entirely by private funds. Ideally, half the money will be raised in time for construction to begin in 2011. A private donation of $10 million has already been pledged and earmarked for the stadium renovation.

Highlights:• A multi-story building in the north end zone will be constructed

to house team offices, 5,000 seats and a premium loge area.• A premium loge area will include 200 premium seats with club

amenities and a donor lounge. There are no suites in the cur-rent plans.

• The scoreboard will be moved from the north end zone to the south.

• The stadium’s lights will be replaced.• Jimenez Practice Field will be enlarged.

washington State renovation now to come online in 2012Washington State needs 80% of its premium seating committed to in order to move forward with its third phase of renovations to Martin Stadium. The athletic department is currently at 50%, but is optimistic Phase III will begin this year as planned. There is reason for optimism as 13 of 18 luxury suites priced at $35,000-$50,000 annually and all 32 loge boxes priced at $9,000-$15,000 annually have been pledged.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALLSenators hold luxury suite raffleLike the San Francisco Giants mentioned previously, the Harris-burg Senators of the Eastern League raffled off premium seats to help the people of Haiti. The team gave away two luxury suites to one game during the 2010 season. Fans that made a $10 donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF supporting UNICEF's relief efforts for children in Haiti were entered into the drawing. Donations could be

made online through the Senators website, www.senatorsbase-ball.com, or in person at the team offices at Metro Bank Park. Fans could enter as many times as they liked and had their name en-tered once for every $10 donated. 100% of the proceeds went di-rectly to UNICEF. The winners were announced at the Harrisburg Mall at the conclusion of the Senators event on February 10th.

Also out of harrisburg…The Harrisburg Senators are currently finishing up Phase II of a two-phase renovation to Metro Bank Park. Part of this renovation includes new club seats in three sections directly behind home plate. Amenities include a private entrance, restroom, and park-ing. The restaurant, located directly behind the club seating area, offers an all-you-can-eat buffet; the buffet menu changes on a nightly basis.

The club seats are cushioned and wider than Metro Bank Park’s normal box seats. At full price, seats are $2,000 each for the 2010 season, but the Senators currently offer discount options if a contract is signed by February 28th and paid in full by April 1st. Also, if a seat holder buys three seats on a three-year contract, he or she receives one free seat.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCERkansas City wizards’ wait for new stadium approval is finally overAfter many avenues pursued all leading to dead ends for various reasons, the Kansas City Wizards finally have approved plans in place for a permanent, soccer-specific stadium. The Unified Gov-ernment of Kansas City, KS consented in January to the Wizards’ plan for new stadium and fields complex.

The approximately 18,000-seat stadium will be covered by a roof distinctive of the popular style found in European football stadiums. The roof will serve a dual-purpose. It will shelter from inclement weather, and also function as a crowd noise amplifier.

The stadium will also include three club areas. One will be a field-side club where players will pass by on their way to the field. Front row seats will only be 16 feet from the touchline.

philadelphia union season ticket sales off to fast startThe MLS expansion Philadelphia Union has sold approximately 9,000 season tickets for its inaugural 2010 season, which is a base of about one-half of its new 18,500-seat stadium. The club is confident they will sell out the new venue based on analysis of current sales and trends, which would be a huge accomplishment considering only four of 15 MLS teams averaged over 17,000 per game in 2009.

Premium seating includes:• 30 corporate suites with seating for 15. The suites are located

27 rows from the playing field and are priced at an average of $50,000 per year.

• Ten “field-level tables” with seating for four priced at approxi-mately $10,000 per year.

• 150 field-side seats priced at $2,000 per seat.• 28 “super club” seats (14 behind each bench) with VIP club

access priced at $7,500 per seat. #

S E A T22 WWW.INSIGHT.COM � 800.INSIGHT

NO MATTER THE SPORT, WE’RE IN YOUR LEAGUEToday’s premium seat holders demand more. They want to check fantasy scores,access stats in real time, and order concessions at the touch of a button. You canprovide your guests with all this and more by teaming with Insight.

Teams in every major sports league rely on us to deliver the game-changingtechnology solutions they need to streamline venue operations and enhance thefan experience. Let Insight get behind your team.

© 2008 Insight Direct USA, Inc. All rights reserved. Insight is a registered trademark of Insight Direct USA, Inc.

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Q: How long have you been involved in the sports and enter-tainment industry?A: I started as a telemarketer back in 1984, which was sort of a banner year for season ticket sales. We had just changed ownership from the Griffith organization to the Pohland or-ganization in August of that year, and there was a ramp up in an effort to sell season tickets, es-pecially since in 1985 the Twins and the Metrodome hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. That gave us plenty of incentive, as well as the fans in-centive to support the team with new ownership and an all-star

game to boot. That’s how I kind of got my foot in the door, and gosh I guess I’ve been here ever since.

Q: Are you a lifetime man of Minnesota? What kept you busy before joining the Twins organization?A: Born and raised here on the St. Paul side of the river. I actually spent a number of years as a broadcaster for local, smaller town radio stations. I guess my aspiration from an early age was to be a sport play-by-play, specifically a baseball play-by-play announcer. That was kind of what I aspired to do in the early go’s, but it never quite happened that way. I guess maybe for the better.

Q: How did you learn the business as a young professional? Does anyone or anything specifically stand out as an influence?A: I would definitely say so. I think the one thing that has changed drastically over my initial time with the team to where we are at to-day is back in those days, it was a much smaller organization. When I started, our sales department from a full-time sales staff standpoint was only three people, and I think now we’re up to about 28. So the times have changed in that regard. Certainly when I came on board, there were some veteran salespeople like Tom Cronin, who was the son of Joe Cronin- the former American League President, who was a sales rep for the Twins at that time. He kind of took me under his arm and taught me an awful lot and really helped me get my feet on solid ground. Then along the way, a number of different people throughout the organization really helped me from a sales stand-point. But certainly Tom was a mentor in the early stages.

Q: What advice do you have for the next generation of premium seat sales and service professionals?A: I guess my advice would be two-fold. One is to become very involved in ALSD, because obviously this is a group of people who have been through the wars and know what it’s like to open a ballpark and sell inventory. I can tell you I lean very heavily on my counterparts within ALSD to help shape our policies and directions, and lean very heavily on their expertise. And two, I think it’s very important that people in the future don’t try to reinvent the wheel, but learn from those people who have been doing this for an awful lot of years. I came to a number of meetings prior to opening up, and had a chance to meet a lot of people and find out what the heck I’m doing, because up to this point, this was all new for us.

Q: Alright Scott, you have the floor. What should we know about Target Field?A: Oh man, it’s gorgeous. You’re going to find that this ballpark has a lot of similarities to other ballparks, but in its own way is its own entity, an urban facility that is modernistic, but really attaches itself to downtown Minneapolis and really takes some of that downtown synergy and brings it into the ballpark.

18 S E A T

ALSD Member HighlightA Conversation with Scott O’ConnellDirector of Suite and Premium Seat Sales and Service, Minnesota Twins

The lifetime man of Minnesota and the Twins organization reflects on 26 years in the business, shares a few lessons learned along the way, and unveils Target Field to the ALSD for the first time.

By Jared Frank

Scott O’Connell

Multi-talented: Radio broadcaster, suite salesman, and now construction foreman? Is there anything this guy can’t do?

Turn the page to keep reading Scott’s highlight of Target Field.

20 S E A T

Patience is a virtue for the Minnesota Twins. Caught in the midst of an uphill battle to get a new baseball-only facility for the past ten years, the Twins saw city after city after city throughout the

country erect the newest baseball palace with seemingly no prog-ress made on the home front. But perseverance has its rewards. And sometimes blessings come in disguise- Target Field being a perfect example. “We had the opportunity to go out and tour a lot of the new ballparks to find out what they felt was done right and also to find out what things not to do, so I think we had the benefit of being at the tail end,” says Scott O’Connell, Director of Suite and Premium Seat Sales and Service for the Twins. So as it turns out, Target Field is as superlative as it is, not because the Twins led or followed the pack, but because they learned from the pack.

To understand any highlight of Target Field, one must first know where the Twins are coming from. For all the years the Twins old home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, has been

in existence, it has been a multiple-purpose facility, serving as the past or present home to University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Twins. It is a facility built for football with terrible sightlines for baseball fans and the small-est infield in all of Major League Baseball with only 6,600 seats between the bases in the lower deck. In contrast, the design of Target Field gears everything towards watching the game of base-ball. “[Sightline improvements] are going to be a real change for our fans,” says O’Connell. “The other thing that people are really going to get excited about is the branding. In the multi-purpose facility, there were so many multiple brandings going on in the ballpark. It was confusing.” The concourses of the Metrodome feature pictures of Dave Winfield side-by-side with Fran Tarken-ton side-by-side with old Gopher uniforms and signage. Target Field presents the Twins with a chance to brand the facility with touches like the 573 Club that pays homage to Harmon Killebrew,

ALSD Member HighlightIntroducing Target Field: The New Home of the Minnesota TwinsA decade in the making, Target Field gives Twins fans something they have been missing since 1981: A home to call their own.By Jared Frank with Scott O’Connell

On Target: Scott O’Connell and the Twins hit the bullseye with the construction of Target Field.

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22 S E A T

with 573 being the number of home runs that Killebrew hit in a Major League uniform. And further, the five gates in the ballpark are named after five retired Twins players- Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, and of course Kirby Puckett.

Target Field has a capacity of 40,000, including premium seating for 3,000 in the club level, 54 suites, eight event suites, and two party suites, or as the Twins call them, Skyline Suites that face the downtown Minneapolis skyline. The Twins initially had the space to build 60 annual suites, but once the economy took a hit, it made sense to scale back to 54 and reconfigure the last six down the third base side into the two Skyline Suites. In the core of the infield, suites are a ten-year lease. Beyond the bases, the option was for the customer to choose from a ten-, seven-, or four-year lease. Controlling suite inventory is a whole new world for the Twins organization. When the Metrodome was being built, the Twins and its owner Calvin Griffith did not want to move from old Metropolitan Stadium, so the Vikings committed to the market-ing and servicing of the suites to the Stadium Commission; there-fore, “the Vikings controlled the suites lock, stock, and barrel, so that’s one of the reasons why we were starting from square one,” O’Connell explains. “We knew who the people were in the build-

ing; we knew the banks and the law firms and the companies that owned suites in our building, but all the contractual obligations and all the servicing of those accounts were done through the Vikings.”

The Twins initial way of courting suite holders included hand-delivering actual stadium chairs to prospective clients with an invitation to visit their marketing center, which was in a 46-floor skyscraper overlooking the construction site. “That was our initial way of getting people in the door, but from our standpoint, it really was an easy scenario to get people excited about the ballpark based on the fact that where we were coming from was totally inadequate for the comfort of the fans,” says O’Connell. From this initial provocation to the actual selection of seats, customer service issues have been few in number. Logically, the Twins prioritize the picking of seats in the new ballpark based on lon-gevity, so the longer an entity had been a season ticket holder, the higher in the pecking order they are when picking seats. The only major obstacle that has presented itself is the fact that the record keeping of the Griffith organization, which dates back three stadiums, is not strong. “We really didn’t have any way to differ-entiate those longstanding accounts. We had basically 70 ac-counts that have been with us since 1961 when the team moved from Washington, so we had to go about prioritizing those, and of course every one of those 70 accounts thought they were the first one,” O’Connell details. “What we kept telling people over and over again is ‘You can’t get a seat worse than what you had.’”

Target Field at a GlanceApproximate capacity: 40,000Seating in Upper Level: 13,000Seating in Lower Level: 19,000Seating in Club Level: 3,000Number of Suites: 54

360-Degree Open Main Concourse

Main Concourse Width: 40 feet

Upper Concourse Width: 26-44 feet

Seating Levels: Event Level Main Concourse Level Club Level Suite Level Terrace Level View Level

Restrooms: 401 women; 266 men

Architects: HOK Sport, now Populous; Hammel, Green and Abrahamson Inc. (HGA)

Builder: M.A. Mortenson Company

Concessionaire: Delaware North Sportservice

Cost: Approximately $425M

Owner: Minnesota Ballpark Authority

Operator: Minnesota Twins

First Game: April 2 vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Exhibition)

Home Opener: April 12 vs. Boston Red Sox

“You have to remember this is a state where people sit on frozen lakes and a plastic bucket to catch fish, so we’re pretty resilient I think.”

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One of the great benefits the Twins have is moving from a facility where the front row is still 20 feet above the playing field down to a facility where the front row is even with the playing field.

The most obvious difference between the Metrodome and Target Field is that the latter is an open-air facility. Yes, outdoor baseball is back in Minnesota, where average highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s rule the baseball season bookend months of April and hopefully October. The Twins did originally attempt to get a re-tractable roof ballpark, but by the end of ten years of attempting to get a new ballpark, the cost of a retractable roof was approximate-ly an additional $150-$175 million on top of what the facility initially would cost. By taking the retractable roof off the design plans, the Twins were able to get the correct funding mechanism in place. “We knew that outdoor baseball was going to be a readjustment for fans. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen outdoor baseball on a Major League level. But you have to remember this is a state where people sit on frozen lakes and a plastic bucket to catch fish, so we’re pretty resilient I think,” O’Connell says. Cold weather in April in an obvious concern, but in 2010, the Twins only have nine

home games. To account for less than desirable temperatures, Target Field does have radiant heat throughout the ballpark and certainly in the concession stand areas. “In a lot of the overhangs, you’re going to find radiant heat coming down on the back rows of the infield and the club levels. That’s going to help keep this ballpark comfortable, or as much as possible, for our fans,” says O’Connell.

The financing breakdown for Target Field is about two-thirds from the public, one-third plus overages from the Twins. The organization’s initial investment in the ballpark of $150 mil-lion has since increased to $200 million. “That’s our own doing. We found a number of scenarios where we could enhance the ballpark experience by putting money into it,” states O’Connell. “For instance, throughout our concourses, instead of having open piping like you see in a lot of ballparks, we have drop ceilings. In our sky roof, or our overlook area that overhangs the upper deck of the ballpark, we put in soffits to keep it from becoming birds’ nests and give more of a sleek line look to the ballpark.” Additional expenditures that were added include the entrance of the ballpark, which was going to come about a block short of the main area of downtown Minneapolis. The entrance was ex-tended an additional block so fans are able to walk right from the downtown area into the ballpark. The Twins are also playing the nostalgia card by rejuvenating one of the cooler old logos in base-

ball, which the Twins refer to as “the two fat guys shaking hands”. “We have a four-story-high replica of that logo in centerfield that is outlined in neon and LED signage. When our players hit a home run, the two guys will actually shake hands,” says O’Connell.

Scott O’Connell and his fellow Twins’ salespersons are now rewarded with the opportunity to sell the crown jewel of downtown Minneapolis to an entire state of hungry fans. O’Connell is quick to deflect the credit for the success in building baseball’s next master-piece, instead passing praise onto his peers in the industry and the fans of the Minnesota Twins. “I think we did a wonderful job tran-sitioning from the old ballpark to the new ballpark, but we did so really because we had the benefit of knowledge from other teams that had gone through the process, and put that into our own use. By the time we got around to building this ballpark, we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” reflects O’Connell. “Also what we’ve strived to do is make sure that the fan becomes a big part of our planning. Our concourses are wider; seats are wider; leg room is drastically increased over what the uncomfortable Metrodome was. From our standpoint, I guess the one thing that I would really want to make sure other teams do is always look at everything you do with the fan in mind.” That and prepare to exercise any level of patience necessary to complete the task, even if that means ten years. #

24 S E A T

Home Run: “The two fat guys” will shake hands during every Twins round-tripper.

1,042: The number of 42” flat panel televisions needed to fill the same space taken up by the 4th largest scoreboard in Major League Baseball.

“I guess the one thing that I would really want to make sure other teams do is always look at

everything you do with the fan in mind.”

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26 S E A T

20TH ANNUAL ALSD CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOWJune 27 – 30, 2010

For the sports industry, 2010 is a “rebound year”. The economy is not thriving, but it is surviving. Companies are pulling themselves out of a tough recession and starting to reevaluate corporate hospitality

spending. That said, the time is now for teams and venues to adapt to a changed landscape in the premium seating industry. The 2010 ALSD Conference Program embraces this change by including sessions

that address the future of the industry by way of investigating and evaluating the industry at present, suggesting strategies for change and introducing solutions for the coming years.

By Amanda Verhoff, Executive Director, Association of Luxury Suite Directors

Schedule of EventsPlease note: The schedule of events is a meeting and traveler planner and the conference program will be updated continually.

Sunday, June 278:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Conference Registration Open8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Exhibitor Set-Up2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. New Attendee Welcome Meeting4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Schedule Monday Meetings; Cocktails in Hall7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Yankee Stadium Tour and Reception

Monday, June 287:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Conference Registration Open 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Optional Exhibit Hall Appointment Hour9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. League Meetings (continued after lunch)12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. League Lunches 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. League Meetings (continued)2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. All Leagues Best Practices Session4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Cocktails in Hall6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Dinner and Reception in Exhibit Hall

Tuesday, June 298:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Conference Registration Open8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Disney Institute Seminar “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service”9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Other Sessions11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Lunch in Hall1:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Sessions6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. New Meadowlands Stadium Tour and Reception

Wednesday, June 309:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Sessions1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Sessions6:00 p.m. Tentative/potential venue tour

S E A T 27

Detailed Schedule of Events and SessionsSunday, June 27, 20108:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.Conference Registration Open8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Exhibitor Set-Up2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. New Attendee Welcome Meeting4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Schedule Monday Meetings; Cocktails in Hall6:45 p.m. Buses Depart for Yankee Stadium7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Tour and Reception at Yankee Stadium

Sponsored by: Legends Hospitality; New York Yankees; Southern Wine & Spirits; Corona

Monday, June 28, 20108:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Optional Exhibit Hall Appointment Hour9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. League Meetings

NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, F&B, Minor Leagues/Racing/ Soccer, College, IT

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Sponsored Lunches; Specific Leagues TBA2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. All Leagues Best Practices Session: Roundtable Discussions and Presentations4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Cocktail Hour6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open: Dinner Served, Reception

Sponsored by: ALSD, Southern Wine & Spirits, Corona

Tuesday, June 29, 20108:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Combined General Session: Disney Institute Seminar: DISNEY’S APPROACH TO QUALITY SERVICEDisney Institute: Available for Q&A in Exhibit Hall following seminarFee to attend: $75/person; Attendees and Exhibitors welcomeSee page 30 for the full Disney Institute seminar introduction

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.Sales Session: Selling Your Suites

• Small, Medium, Large Markets≠≠• Best Practices, Case Studies

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open; Lunch Buffet Served; Disney Institute avail-able for Q&A

The New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

28 S E A T

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 cont.1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. The Economy and the Premium Seat IndustrySales Session: Selling in the Current Economy

• Renewal Terms: Lengths, Escalators • Special Packages: Flex Plans, Per-Event Plans • Strategies, Case Studies

Customer Service Session: Servicing in the Current Economy• Value-Adds• Staying Close toYour Customer – More important than ever

F&B Session: F&B in the Current Economy • Per Caps: How to improve?• Digital Menu Boards• Loaded Tickets vs. All-Inclusives • Service Charges: How to make money, but not gouge the customers • Innovate Affordably

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.General Session: Transforming the Suite Model

• Mini-Suites• Club Level Modifications • Selling the “Transformed Areas”

Combined Session: Bridging the Gap: The Partnership Between F&B Companies and Teams/Venues

• The Suite Experience: A combined “product” of the F&B company and the team/venue?• How can we create a better partnership between the two groups?• How can we bridge the gap between the two groups’ approaches to the Suite Experience?

2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Combined Session (IT Based): Social Networking – Future Impact

Presented by: Christine Stoffel

5:00 p.m. Buses Depart for New Meadowlands Stadium

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Tour and Reception at New Meadowlands Stadium

Wednesday, June 30, 20109:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. General Session: Suiteholder Focus GroupSales Session: Sales Strategies 10110:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The State and the Future of the Industry General Session: The State and Future of Premium Seating

• The State and Future of the Industry: Bill Dorsey• Premium Seating: Where We Were and Where We are Headed: Peter Titlebaum

-- Where are we headed as an industry?-- Understanding the Client: Motivations and Expectations-- Educating the Client and the Team:

• Teams > Suite Sales > Suite Service > F&B > Suite Administrator/Owner• ROI, ROO, Sponsorship

-- Contracting and Selling in the Future: Options• Per-Event Suites and Unique Selling Strategies• Rental Suites: Service and Sales• Food and Beverage: Leased Suites, Per-Event/Rental Suites, Club Areas, Kitchens • Non-Game Day Use of Suites • New Venue vs. New Venue Complex• International Growth• Products That Work

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch on your own

1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. General Session: Research in the Industry: Knowing Your Customers

• Current SIC Codes: Ron Contorno, Heather Lawrence• The Perception of the Elite Premium Corporate Buyer: Peter Titlebaum• Luxury Suite Administrators/Coordinators: Who Are They and What Do They Think: Peter Titlebaum

Sales & Service Session: Bridging the Gap -- Sales and Service Staffs

• Which venues are bringing sales and service staffs together for mutual benefit and financial success?• How can we bridge the gap between the two departments?

F&B Session: Role of the F&B Suite Director on Game Day

2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Sales Session: Retaining and Regaining

• If and when the economy turns around, how do we get back the former suite holders and other premium seat clients who left during the financial downturn? • What are the best practices for retaining the customers who have stayed during these times and now want more?

Customer Service Session: Amenities & Gifts, Ticket Packaging and Delivery, Suiteholder Events• Interactive Attendee Share:

• Attendee Roundtable: Moderator asks for participation on:-- What amenities and gifts work? Which are worth the money/affordable?-- What are the best packaging and delivery methods? What companies have provided branded, unique solutions to packaging and what teams have a new and innovative way to deliver tickets?-- What is the best and most affordable suiteholder event? When do these events take place? Who is involved: Service? Sales? F&B?

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.F&B Session: Potential Cocktail Engineering Session

5:00 p.m.Tentative: Depart for Venue Tour

S E A T 29

FOOD AND BEVERAgE PROgRAMMonday, June 28, 20109:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.Swap Session

Swap menus, training manuals, game day operation manuals with other venues

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.Setting up an Efficient Kitchen System

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (possibly 12:30 p.m.)Marriott Marquis Presents!

-- Marriott Marquis Chef, F&B Director to present-- Interactive Session: Tasting, Preparing, Packaging, Serving

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.F&B Options

-- Healthy Options-- Green Options-- Packaging: What menu items can you package to allow for a lower price point?-- Suite Ordering: Who is doing it well?

2:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.All Leagues Best Practices Session

COLLEgE PROgRAMMonday, June 28, 2010COMBINED SESSION: College, Minor Leagues, Soccer, Racing9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.The Evolution of the Industry: An Architectural Perspective

-- Smaller Venue vs. Larger Venue Capabilities

10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.Staffing

-- Retaining and Realigning Staff-- Training: Staff, Volunteers, Student Workers

11:20 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.Executive Suite/Club Game Day Catering and Special Event Ideas

-- Suite Directors and Caterers Working Closely-- Special Events: Who is successful? What kind of events work best?

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.Alcohol Policies

-- Stadium, Suites, Club Seating-- Per Caps with Alcohol Sales vs. Per Caps without Alcohol Sales

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.Roundtable

-- Current Issues-- Stadium Security-- Work-Life Balance


MINOR LEAgUE PROgRAMMonday, June 28, 2010COMBINED SESSION: College, Minor Leagues, Soccer, Racing9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.The Evolution of the Industry: An Architectural Perspective

-- Smaller Venue vs. Larger Venue Capabilities

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.Economy

-- How has the economy affected minor league venues?-- What are venues doing to improve attendance?

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 a.m.Renewing or Prospecting?

-- Did venues lose customers? If so, what are the new prospecting strategies?-- Are customers renewing? If so, what are the best renewal strategies?-- What business categories are purchasing currently?

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.Show and Share: Specialty Programs- Teams to Swap Collateral Materials

-- All-Inclusives, Flex Plans, Group Plans, Family Plans

1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.Customer Service 101

-- Budgets, Suiteholder Events, Amenities, Incentive Plans


SOCCER AND RACING PROGRAMS COMING SOON!

The following are the proposed league meeting agendas to be presented on Monday, June 28, 2010 to the Food and Bever-age, College and Minor League Divisions. League agendas are tentative and subject to change

30 S E A T

Why Disney Institute Matters To You…The world-renowned customer service pros from Disney Institute

are set to share their unmatched secrets to success with ALSD Conference-goers. This three-hour interactive session at the ALSD Conference and Tradeshow is sure to be your team’s or company’s catalyst for positive organizational change. This highly effective and powerful learning experience will allow you personally to partici-pate in collaborative and immersive discussions, where key elements from the industry are identified and approached with the Disney core competencies in mind.

Disney Institute has paved the way for millions of business professionals and more than half of the Fortune 100 companies to benchmark and adapt proven best practices that have sustained the success of Disney as an organization for over 85 years. Disney Insti-tute has influential training experiences and professional develop-ment programs that enlighten learners on how Disney creates its business “magic” every day. Learn how to adopt this model during its presentation at the ALSD Conference.

Disney’s Approach to Quality Service3-Hour Seminar

Tuesday, June 29, 20108:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Q&A to follow in Exhibit Hall)

2010 ALSD Conference and TradeshowNew York City; Marriott Marquis

Available to Attendees and ExhibitorsSee the ALSD Conference Sign-up Form to Register Now: $75.00

Contact Amanda Verhoff for DetailsFacilitators for Disney’s Approach to Quality Service: Dennis Frare & Tom Thomson

Learn more about Disney’s Approach to Quality Service:Disney’s Approach to Quality Service is the result of half a century’s experience in exceeding customer expectations in the face of com-petition, growth and the public’s ever-changing tastes and attitudes. While Disney is not perfect, it has never lost sight of Walt’s goal to “give the public everything you can give them.” As a result, Disney has been successfully able to keep pace with progress while remain-ing firmly grounded in the traditions and values of The Walt Disney Company.

Customer MeasurementMeasuring customers both demographically and psychographically to determine customer service approaches is critical to any organiza-tion’s success.

Common PurposeOnce customers’ expectations are understood, a statement of global ‘purpose’ is created that helps an organization determine what ser-vice it intends to deliver to its customers. The ‘Common Purpose’ defines the organization’s purpose, aligns that purpose with its cus-tomers’ expectations and communicates that alignment consistently to its employees.

Quality Service StandardsWhile a ‘Common Purpose’ provides an organization with direction, ‘Quality Service Standards’ are the operational priorities, or criteria, that are utilized by every employee, at every level, to ensure consis-tent delivery upon the ‘Common Purpose’.

Service Delivery SystemsOnce ‘Quality Service Standards’ have been created, the next step is to focus on the methods for delivering customer service. There are three primary ‘Delivery Systems’ present during any service situation:

• Cast: employees, human resources• Setting: physical and virtual resources• Process: policies, procedures, tasks and events

Quality Service Integration Matrix The ‘Quality Service Integration Matrix’ combines the use of the ‘Quality Service Standards’ and the ‘Delivery Systems’. Its purpose is to create a strategic plan for creating seamless customer service expe-riences, to act as a diagnostic tool to see how a business is currently performing its customer service and to become a benchmarking tool to determine what any outside competitive element is doing.

S E A T 31

Why a Disney Institute Seminar Works for YouAt the end of the day, the business of sport and the phi-losophy of Disney are very similar. Each need people to purchase or consume products and services. In turn, both recommend and influence others to do the same. Call it ‘Intent to Return, Intent to Recommend’.

Customer Service ProfessionalsOne of the most important objectives for customer ser-vice professionals is to learn what the customer expects, then deliver it. Disney Institute can teach customer ser-vice professionals how they can continue to apply their own organization’s objectives, but do it in a way that perfectly aligns with their customers’ expectations.

Food and Beverage ProfessionalsOne of the most important objectives for food and bev-erage professionals is to learn how to literally “deliver” customer service. Disney Institute can instruct food and beverage professionals how to use their Cast, Setting and Processes to deliver the best product to their cus-tomers while keeping consistency and order behind the scenes.

Sales ProfessionalsOne of the most important objectives for sales profes-sionals is to mine for and measure prospects and cus-tomers. Disney Institute can educate sales professionals on customers’ demographics and psychographics so that questions like, “What will it take for you to sign on the dotted line?” will become obsolete; sales professionals won’t have to ask… they will already know.

What makes Disney Institute different?Disney Institute uses “proven best practices” that stand the test of time and coaches seminar-goers using philosophies that are easily adaptable to any industry. This group also demonstrates how to take common sense tactics and turn them into common practice that can be executed day in and day out.

Disney Institute employs dynamic facilitators with extensive backgrounds in Disney Theme Park and Resort Operations and Dis-ney leadership roles. In turn, these facilitators understand how to motivate and engage participants in group settings by using engag-ing stories about the Disney culture. They use relevant and useful content combining the core competencies of the world’s most popu-lar resort destinations with the founding principles of the world’s premier entertainment company.

Why Disney does it…• Achieve desired change faster• Double customer satisfaction• Reduce employee turnover• Triple operating margins• Get a critical mass to see and feel what success looks like• Get everyone on the same page• Establish common language & framework• Inspire new ways of thinking• Benchmark new ideas and philosophies• Establish specific strategies and tactics

Share soft skills and people-based strategies for ideas on how to:

• Create a solid, long-term cultural foundation• Engage leaders to be more effective• Better select and train appropriate, valuable employees• Deliver the finest quality service experience possible with

consistency• Create long-term customer and employee loyalty, result-

ing in referrals• Unleash collaboration, creativity and innovation

For more information on Disney Institute, and how it can improve your organization’s philosophies and practices, visit www.disneyinstitute.com.

© Disney

32 S E A T

2010 ALSD Conference Tour Venue HighlightsThis year, ALSD attendees will visit two of the most innovative, impressive venues in history.

One is a nostalgic museum in and of itself and features some of the finest ballpark dining experiences in history. The other includes unmatched technological advances and green initiatives.

The Mecca of FoodNew York City is a hot spot for dining options and Yankee Stadium follows suit. For foodies that attend events at Yankee Stadium, there are options galore. Some of the best dining and concession options in ballpark history include:

Other Highlights• Main video scoreboard 59’ high x 101’ wide, 16 MM True HD LED.• The Yankees have recreated the historic manually operated auxiliary

scoreboards along the walls in left-center and right-center field, in rec-ognition of the history and museum-type feel of the stadium.

• A Banquet and Conference Center is available for those holding busi-ness meetings at the stadium; AV capabilities include: video conferenc-ing, liquid crystal display projectors and wireless microphones. The center is conveniently located on the H&R Block Suite Level.

• The Great Hall is a 31,000 square-foot space that serves as a boule-vard to retail stores and food and beverage amenities.

• The Great Hall contains a 24-foot-by-36-foot 10mm true HD video board and a 5-foot-by-383-foot 10mm LED ribbon board.

• In the Great Hall are: The Home Plate Store, the Great Hall Store, the Hard Rock Café and Tommy Bahama’s Bar.

More on Suites and ClubsYankees suite and club seat owners enjoy the convenience of personal-ized service with premium amenities. Such amenities include access to the H&R Block Suite Lounge, Legends Suite Club or Jim Beam Suite Lounge, depending upon where your seat or suite is located. The lounges include features such as a full bar, food and beverage, private restrooms and ac-cess to a conference center.

The Champions Suite is new in 2010. Located just beyond the first and third base lines, Champions Suite seating provides field level proximity to experience Yankees baseball. This newly designed concept combines complimentary in-seat wait service with all-inclusive grab-and-go ballpark fare and non-alcoholic beverages (alcoholic beverages available for pur-chase) in both the Ketel One Lounge and the Third Base Lounge, which are located just behind the Champions Suite seats. Cushioned suite-style seats with teak arms, private restrooms in the Ketel One Lounge or the Third Base Lounge, personal concierge service and preferred parking (full season and 41 game offerings only) are some of the amenities featured.

The Club Suite is a unique offering that combines four luxury suites into one expansive shared suite with an indoor lounge and outdoor seating area which overlooks the action on the field. A diverse menu of all-inclusive premium food and non-alcoholic beverage service is available. The suite accommodates 74 guests, with additional standing room tickets available for purchase. The private interior space contains an expansive lounge and bar area with multiple rows of exterior seating featuring cushioned suite seats with teak arms. A private restroom, preferred parking, access to the H&R Block Suite Lounge, personal concierge service, and a private en-trance, elevator and concourse are included. State-of-the-art technology in the suite includes Wi-Fi and Sony HD TVs.

New Yankee Stadium

Beers of the WorldBoar’s HeadBrother Jimmy’sCarl’s SteakCarvelFamiglia PizzaGarlic FriesHighlandersJohnny Rocket’sMike’s Deli

Moe’s Southwest GrillNathan’s Noodle BowlOtis SpunkmeyerPremioSoy KitchenTriple Play GrillHard Rock CaféTommy Bahama’s Bar

Tour: Sunday, June 27, 2010 7:00pm - 10:00pm

A peek inside one of the 56 suites in Yankee Stadium.Signature Wall: The interior design of NYY Steak features a custom-made wall featuring 86 autographs of legendary Yankees players.

S E A T 33

Other Clubs and Lounges AuDI YANKEES CLuB• One of two memberships clubs, located on the H&R Block Suite Level• Features a full-service cocktail bar and dining lounge, including perfor-

mance-cooking stations and a dessert station• Members pay on an annual basis, but individual-game tickets are also

availableMOHEGAN SuN SPORTS BAR• One of two membership clubs, located in centerfield above Monument

Park• It is an air-conditioned, spacious area where guests can watch the

games through windows facing the field• Two cocktail bars are located inside as well as high-definition video

monitors• It is a membership club, but individual-game tickets are also availableLEGENDS SuITE• Located in the 19 sections closest to the field• Includes cushioned seats, in-seat wait service, concierge

services, private restrooms, and all-inclusive food and non-alcoholic beverages

• Licensees have access to the Legends Suite Club LEGENDS SuITE CLuB• An extensive bi-level club located behind home plate• Offers premium amenities and all-inclusive food and non-alcoholic bev-

erages, including performance-cooking stations• The Legends Suite Club is available to Legends Suite ticket holders TWO LEGEND DuGOuT LOuNGES • Ketel One Lounge and Left Field Dugout Lounge are two private clubs• Featuring all-inclusive food and non-alcoholic beverages• The Lounges are available to Champions Suite ticket holders

DELTA SKY360 SuITE• 1,200 cushioned seats with teak arms• Guests have access to an exclusive lounge with a floor to ceiling glass

wall, so the game can be viewed from inside• Features a four-sided cocktail bar, espresso station, leather couches

and HD televisions• Menu selection is extensive and includes some fare prepared by Food

NetworkJIM BEAM SuITE • 1,300 cushioned seats with padded backs, located on the Terrace Level

behind home plate• Licensees have access to the Jim Beam Suite Lounge, a separate

climate-controlled space with extensive food and beverage options NYY STEAK• upscale steakhouse with a menu that features uSDA prime dry-aged

beef, fresh seafood and premium wines

The new Yankee Stadium along with their food service partner Legends Hospitality Management will sponsor the ALSD reception on Sunday, June 27 at their brand new facility in Bronx, NY.

Legends Hospitality Management at a glanceBy its very definition, a legend exists because of a great story. The Legends Hospitality Man-

agement story began with a simple concept—“It’s all about the fans,” and today, this concept is at the crux of the company.

Legends is a company that prides itself on providing fans with an exceptional experience each and every time they visit a venue. The fans are their guests and their number one priority. understand-ing this concept means that they listen to fans, understand what they want and customize their service in a way that meets and exceeds the fans’ needs.

They provide expertise and carefully honed customer service in multiple categories including food and beverage, merchandise, facili-ties management, design and consulting, hospitality and live enter-tainment. In each of these categories they set themselves apart by being more than a third party provider. As a partner, they customize a program that guarantees a level of advanced fan service and high-end hospitality that is among the best in the industry.

The Legends mission is to be the authority on fan experience so that they can provide team and stadium owners, athletic directors and venue operators with innovative ways to build business value for their sports franchises off the playing field. They are dedicated to deliver-ing a legendary fan experience. Legends is truly all about the fans.

FAST FACTSCost: Not available from Yankees

Venue Size: Approximately 1.3 million square-feet

Venue Construction: Turner Construction

Capacity: 52,325, including standing room only

Suites: 56; 64 including party suites and club suites

Suite Capacity: 12-22 guests

Party Suite Capacity: 28-60 guests; can be combined to accommodate 400 guests

Club Seating Capacity: 4,302; Legends, Champions, Delta and Jim Beam Suite Clubs

Clubs: Two membership clubs, other clubs for suite holders

Points of Sale: 444 total; 272 permanent and 172 portable

Photo courtesy of IO Media

34 S E A T

green is goldenThe New Meadowlands will be one of the greenest venues in sports, thanks to its partnership with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Some of the factors going into the greening process include:• Brownfields Redevelopment – the stadium will not occupy any undevel-

oped lands or “green fields”• Clean Fuels and Lower Emissions• Construction Recycling Program & Construction Materials Reuse Pro-

gram – the goal is to have little or no impact on landfills • “Buy Local” Program and Green Products/Materials – hundreds of mil-

lions of construction materials were bought locally• Reduction in water demand by an estimated 11,000,000 gallons• Less energy use by 30%, even though the new stadium is over twice as

large as the old stadium• Fan and Community Initiatives – including recycling programs, trans-

portation programs and PSAs

Other Highlights• No suites will be behind the end zones • Stadium will utilize the world’s only full color, removable end zone and

midfield markings, allowing both the Jets and Giants to display all team appropriate field/end zone logos and markings during home games

• Received approval to bid for the hosting rights to the 2014 Super Bowl -- The bid was approved despite traditional weather requirements for hosting sites, namely that the stadium’s region has to be a minimum of 50 degrees during Super Bowl time or else have an enclosed venue

• Selected as finalist in uSA Bid to Host FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022• Four massive 30 x 118 foot HD video display boards in each of the sta-

dium corners• 48” x 2200’ ribbon board that circles the interior bowl

• Over 2100 HD monitors throughout the stadium• 20 HD video pylons outside the stadium ranging in size from 20’x40’ to

20’x60’• 350,000 square-foot outdoor plaza filled with fan-centric activities

More on the Suites and ClubsThe New Meadowlands suites combine the convenience of personalized service with premium amenities such as private access roads to VIP park-ing, private suiteholder entrances and lobbies, private suite level restrooms, multiple flat-screen televisions in each suite, wet bars and refrigerators.

All club seat owners get reserved parking with dedicated access, private club, guest only entry into stadium, private heated concourses, climate-controlled lounges with seating and flat-panel televisions, upscale food and beverage, wider, cushioned seats with cup holders, and the op-portunity to purchase tickets to concerts and other stadium events.

The stadium’s four premium lounges feature 30-115 flat-screen tele-visions in each club area, on-field patios, martini lounges, fire places and celebrity chef cooking areas.

COACHES CLuB: LOWER LEVEL – HOME SIDELINE• Ability to walk from the seating area to a private, on-field deck just five

yards from the home team’s bench• Access to player and coach interviews and press conferences• Opportunity to see players leaving the locker room to take the field• Admittance to the 20,000 square-foot bar and lounge designed by pre-

mier restaurant and hotel architect David Rockwell, who is famous for spaces like Nobu and the W Hotels

• Private and corporate event bookings are available in this space

Tour: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 6:00pm - 9:00pmNew Meadowlands Stadium

Architectural History: Introducing the new, $1.6 billion, 82,500 seat Meadowlands Stadium.

S E A T 35

GREAT HALL CLuB: LOWER LEVEL – VISITOR SIDELINE• 700 seats are included in this 50-yard line section, located on the west

side of the stadium• Ability to stand on the field, just yards behind the visitors’ bench• Location right off the main stadium entrance• upscale lounge behind the actual seats• Private and corporate event bookings are available in this space

EAST AND WEST CLuBS: SECOND/MEzzANINE LEVEL – EAST AND WEST SIDELINES• Located along the mezzanine sidelines on the east and west sides of

the stadium• Both clubs offer the same amenities • Clubs span over 42,000 square-feet• Option to purchase VIP parking• Private and corporate event bookings are available in this space

The New Meadowlands is a two-tenant facility. Because of that, each team has standard amenities specific to their team and suiteholders. To view those amenities, visit www.nyg2010.com and www.newjetsstadium.com. For more information please go to www.newmeadowlandsstadium.com.

New Meadowlands Stadium along with their food service partner Delaware North Companies will sponsor the ALSD reception on Tuesday, June 29 at their brand new facility in East Rutherford, NJ.

Delaware North Companies at a glanceThe New York-New Jersey area is well-known as one of the food

capitals of the world. That reputation will be enhanced this year with the opening of the New Meadowlands Stadium, the region’s pre-emi-nent sports and entertainment venue.

Outstanding cuisine will be a key part of the unforgettable pre-mium guest experience New Meadowlands Stadium will offer. Global food service and hospitality provider Delaware North Companies, through its Sportservice division, is the New Meadowlands Stadium’s food, beverage and retail partner.

The New Meadowlands Stadium will join Delaware North’s many other highly regarded premium food and beverage operations, includ-ing TD Garden in Boston, Wembley Stadium in London, the Australian Open in Melbourne and the landmark Ahwahnee Lodge at Yosemite National Park. The company’s culinary team is guided by Certified Master Chef Roland Henin.

Sportservice’s executive and sous chefs at New Meadowlands Stadium will be assisted by Great Performances, the acclaimed New York caterer with which Delaware North partners to operate the his-toric grand ballroom of The Plaza in Manhattan.

Sportservice is finalizing menus for the stadium’s suites and each of the stadium's premium clubs, which include such distinct fea-tures as a martini lounge and brick pizza oven. Celebrity guest chefs will be featured in the exclusive Commissioner’s Club, which offers luxury dining in either a private or communal setting. Chefs will use state-of-the-art induction cooking in presenting the upscale dining ex-perience of the Coach’s Club.

Fans of the New York Giants and New York Jets, as well as at-tendees of concerts and year-round special events, can look forward to savoring contemporary takes on traditional favorites and the re-gion’s unique twists on specialties from across the globe.

FAST FACTSCost: $1.6 billion

Venue Size: 2.1 million square-feet

Venue Construction: Skanska

Capacity: 82,500, capability for 90,000 for non-football major events, third largest in NFL

Suites: 222; on four separate levels

Suite Capacity: 16-24 seats

Suite Designer: David Rockwell Group

Club Seating Capacity: Over 10,000 seats

Clubs: Four; Coaches Club, Great Hall Club, East and West Mezzanine Clubs

Parking: Over 28,000 spaces

Transportation: Brand new rail line, dropping passengers in front of the stadium

Premium Experience: Modern technology and state-of-the-art amenities await New Meadowland Stadium suite holders.

Under Construction: The New Meadowlands Stadium suites and clubs will be ready for ALSD attendees in June.

36 S E A T

S E A T 37

Change is buzzword fodder in today’s modern lexicon. Change for the sake of change with no real substance be-

hind the message does little to spur industry onto its next progression. But change born out of necessity is well, necessary. The key to premium seating success for the United Center in Chicago is controlling positive change with an admixture of time-tested lease as well as new age per-event products. The venue’s per-event suite sales tactic, its Rental Suite Program, contributes great success to its overall sales agenda. And hav-ing been implemented ten seasons ago, the United Center is, needless to say, ahead of the curve.

Not to flog the issue to death, but the current economy has forced teams and ven-ues to become more creative and more in-novative with their premium seating prod-uct arsenal. As market needs become more assorted, so must any industry’s menu of product and service offerings; a cookie cut-ter approach simply does not work. “You have to be able to provide people with what they’re looking for, and the more diverse you are, the better off you are,” says Curtis Baddeley, Director of Rental Suites at the United Center. With a plethora of choices including long-term leases, fractional plans, cost-sharing partners, flexible terms, privi-lege plan programs, season ticket holder discount programs, Theater Box owner-ships, Harris Club memberships, and yes, per-event suite sales, there is an option to account for the needs of every United Cen-ter customer.

Inventory available at the United Center on a per-event basis includes three 80-person Super Suites, two of which can be turned into four 40-person Super Suites, and the Bud Light Legends Lounge. Also offered are 20-person Penthouse Level suites, one 20-person Club Level suite and

The Leader In Per-Event Suite Sales The United Center’s Rental Suite Program is the accredited authority for per-event strategies. With policies refined over a decade, the home of Chicago’s Bulls and Blackhawks has written the manual for those teams to follow who are just now dipping their toe into the per-event waters.

By Jared Frank, Editor of SEAT, Association of Luxury Suite Directors

Not too heavy, not too light: The 80-person Bud Light Legends Lounge is a perfect example of activating sponsorship through per-event space.

38 S E A T

two 20-person Harris Club meeting/dining room suites. Pending stage configuration, Rental Suites are available for all public ticketed events held at the United Center- Chicago Bulls games, Chicago Blackhawks games, concerts, college basketball games, family ice shows and the circus.

One idea to explore when developing a per-event strategy is the feasibility in partnering with a sponsor to build new spaces for per-event use. The aforementioned Bud Light Legends Lounge was built two years ago for Anheuser-Busch. In their agreement with the United Center, they get to utilize the suite for a significant amount of games and events. And if they do not use it, the United Center is allowed to re-rent it as an 80-person suite. “It’s a very popular area. It’s unique; it’s themed; it’s a little more modern and hip. And it’s in the corner, as opposed to behind the basket,” Baddeley says. “Anheuser-Busch gets plenty of good mileage out of it, using the space for a lot of internal programs and solidifying partnerships.”

Filling the SeatsNo question, Chicago is a great market. It is a market that caters to the long-term lease customer and the per-event customer. The Unit-ed Center’s per-event sales and marketing database has over 12,000 names of past and current suite renters, as well as prospects and suite guests, so they have developed a solid target profile of companies and individuals to contact for future sales, most of which fall in line with the most popular SIC industries in most markets. And although they do not specifically target prospects on a national level, the current database does contain hundreds of national companies that have rented before when they have been in Chicago on an annual basis for conventions and meetings.

The United Center’s philosophy is to generate buzz to get people talking about the product by using its database to blanket the market with information whether it is brochures and emails or word of mouth. With such a large quantity of names, the principal sales tool used to provide information to potential customers is a direct mail campaign (a brochure and cover letter) sent to companies in the Chicago area in early September. “Not everyone on the list gets a brochure and cover letter, but everyone that has an email address does periodically get emails from us, so between email and direct mail, that’s how we usually contact people,” Baddeley explains. Some markets that are smaller than Chicago, and only able to do certain things because of the limited industries they are able to target and pull from, might have to employ a more aggressive style of selling in terms of cold calling. But because “you’re cold calling for a spe-cific product in a high price range”, the per-event sale is a hard call, and other teams and venues are better served primarily following the United Center’s blanket approach.

Building such a large database takes time. To generate leads, the United Center has been collecting names of people who go into their suites on a nightly basis since the Rental Suite Program’s incep-tion in 1999. Guests, who may not be actual suite purchasers, are enticed to participate in the venue’s Sign-up and Win Program and

give their contact information for the opportunity at the end of the season to win one of three free suites. After the leads are captured in its system, the United Center is able to periodically email guests regarding Bulls and Blackhawks games, or other special events. This gives the United Center the ability to touch and remind previous guests of their experience, who in turn tell other friends and business associates about the event. “A lot of what we do is word of mouth. It’s a matter of ‘Hey I was in a suite and it was a great time. Your company should think about doing it’,” says Baddeley. “We try to give the people who are in our venue reasons to talk about their experience.”

Creating a memorable experience begins at the very begin-ning of the Rental Suite process. Having a process that is as easy as possible for the customer is a top priority for the United Center. In the rental suite world, there are customers who buy suite tickets with parking included, but have to work with someone else to pur-chase food and alcohol. To alleviate this headache, the United Cen-ter bundles its program into an all-inclusive package. Such packages include tickets, parking, choice of preset menu packages that have different price points and a four hour open bar with beer, wine, soda and water.

The Per-Event PhilosophyThe per-event philosophy can be summarized as a symbiotic relation-ship shared between the United Center and its per-event customers for the mutual benefit of both. Providing an affordable opportunity for a company or individual to experience a Rental Suite for an event is the most effective way to bring in more business for the venue. Similarly, the buying of suites on a per-event basis is important to a company that still needs a unique setting to obtain business, retain business and solidify relationships.

Unsold long-term lease inventory and the existence of demand for per-event suites are the two most important factors in stimulat-ing the development of the United Center’s Rental Suite Program. Over of the course of ten years, the selling of suites on a per-event basis has become vitally important to the continued success of the United Center’s premium seating department. “Obviously, taking unsold suite inventory and filling it on a nightly basis is the number one priority,” Baddeley says. The extent of the priority that per-event sales have within the organization’s overall sales and marketing strat-egy is evidenced by its staffing. One sales person and one service person are employed to work on per-event suites, and both the Bulls and Blackhawks sales representatives provide sales leads to the Unit-ed Center premium seating department.

The increased demand for per-event sales that is evident in the United Center locally is applicable globally to the entire premium seat industry today. As stated previous, there must be premium seat-ing options given to the customer during the sales process instead of shoehorning purchasers into spaces that do not align with their busi-ness objectives. By forcing the metaphorical square peg into the figu-rative round hole, teams lose any hope of renewing or up-selling the

There must be premium seating options given to the customer during the sales process instead of shoehorning

purchasers into spaces that do not align with their business objectives.

client at the conclusion of the lease period. “The days of just offering long-term leases are over. In addition to long-term leases, some cus-tomers want shorter terms, all-inclusive packages and the flexibility to rent a suite only when they need a suite,” states Baddeley.

Further, listening to the customer during the discovery pro-cess and throughout the entire sales progression as well as paying very close attention to the changing states of the economy are two factors that must be focused on in the future to establish criteria to qualify per-event prospects. “Knowing what a customer’s goals and objectives are during the sales process is essential,” acknowledges Baddeley. Going forward, certain teams and venues will have to adjust to the adjusted needs and concerns of the customer. Some budgets for entertaining are a fraction of what they used to be. And indicators say even when the economy comes back, suite holders are likely to stay on a course of fiscally-disciplined behavior.

As far as pricing goes, it is one of the most important factors in determining the success of any per-event program and certainly the United Center’s Rental Suite Program. To eliminate the possibil-ity of cannibalization, per-event customers must pay a premium for renting a suite with scaled back amenities for one event so long-term leaseholders see a value in their long-term investment that secures the best locations, allows unique branding in their suites and pro-vides any number of other exclusive rights. “The pricing for both products needs to be transparent to let the long-term leaseholder know they are receiving a better value,” Baddeley says.

Overcoming ObjectionsIt is understood that in most cases, when your team wins, you sell more product. Back in the 90s when the Bulls were winning cham-pionships with Michael Jordan, suites were not a tough sell. “It was

a servicing aspect in those days. We were servicing the suite hold-ers,” details Baddeley. But teams are cyclical over the years, and they have ups and downs with regards to performance. The bottom line is when the team’s not winning, premium seating has to change course. “We adjusted by offering different amenities and different packages with regards to premium seating,” Baddeley explains. “If a company is saying, ‘We can’t afford this anymore’ or ‘This isn’t working for us anymore’, we have to be able to have an answer for them and have other programs that are less expensive, yet still offer some of the same services that they’re used to.”

Customers might not spend as much, but they are spend-ing something. And the goal is to turn the per-event renter into a more consistent premium seating paying customer, whether they are a long-term leaseholder, cost-sharing partner, Harris Club mem-ber, Theater Box owner or more frequent per-event purchaser at the United Center. All these avenues are ways to continue to keep a customer rather than lose them entirely. “It’s harder for them to say no economically if you’re able to offer them a menu of options,” says Baddeley. “We’ve had a ton of renters over the years that have de-cided ‘You know this is really working for us. We’re definitely getting some return on entertaining one or two nights. Maybe we should think about partnering with a suite holder and doing it on a little more consistent basis’.”

S E A T 39

“Obviously, taking unsold suite inventory and filling it on a nightly basis

is the number one priority.” – Curtis Baddeley

Super Experience: One of the Super Suites available for per-event use at the United Center.

40 S E A T

Too often per-event programs are looked upon as an after-thought in the industry when they should be something that teams and venues concentrate on. By looking at the United Center’s ten-year track record of success, one can see per-event sales is not some passing trend to counterbalance a downturn economy, but is a solu-tion which has already grown legs under it and proffers longevity. The United Center invests heavily in developing an extremely di-verse premium seating model, which has a positive financial impact on the overall success of the United Center. “The premium seating industry has changed over the last ten years and per-event suites have contributed to that change,” says Baddeley. Whatever the impetus, economy or otherwise, per-event suites are here to stay. Frankly, they have been around and evidently working for ten years. The time has come to embrace this proven solution. #

Write to Jared at [email protected]

Indicators say even when the economy comes back, suite holders are likely to stay on a course of

fiscally-disciplined behavior.

The United Center Suite Rental Program can accommodate 20, 40, or 80 guests per-event.

For those ALSD members with more inquisi-tive minds, the United Center’s complete suite rental brochure can be downloaded online at www.unitedcenter.com. This brochure is the same collateral that is sent as part of the direct mail campaigns, as well as on a daily basis via email to those who inquire about price break-downs, menus, and all other general informa-tion needed to make a decision on whether or not to rent a suite.

S E A T 41

Ticket Management Solutions for Teams and Their Customers

The management of premium tickets is not a new exercise. But what was once primitive is now driven by multiple, sophisticated technology options.

Which one is right for your team’s customers?

Edited by Jared Frank

The first programs that provided the opportunity to man-age tickets essentially began with the advent of the Ex-cel spreadsheet. So conceptually at least, the solution

discussed in this article has been around for awhile. Howev-er, technology has needed time to progress to catch up with the idea. The first iterations of ticket management solutions that were adopted were very unrefined and were proven to be unreliable. As a result, once burned, some teams and corporations have been slow on the uptake to accept subse-quent generations of ticket management systems.

That was then. This is now. Today's products available to teams and corporations in

ticket management are a quantum leap forward from a de-cade ago. Technological capabilities have vastly increased as software performance has improved, technical knowledge has become less arcane and more advanced program train-ing has been offered to ensure more efficient employment of the solution. And with the high dollar cost of premium tickets today, proper ticket management for corporations on some level is a wise decision. The days when tickets are left in the desk drawer of a person who has no incentive to make certain the tickets are utilized are dwin-dling. Corporations now view these tickets as "assets" and make sure they are used for busi-ness purposes. Some corporations even hire secret shoppers to make sure the people who are

supposed to use the tickets actually bring in the customers they say they will. People in the corporate world who mis-handle these assets are subject to anything from a slap on the wrist to termination to even criminal charges being filed in some instances. Larger companies can easily have in-vestments of upwards of $25 million in corporate hospitality expenditures. As such, ticket usage is tracked carefully and return on investment is the watchword of the day.

In general, there are several variations on the themes of the ticket management systems that are available today. There are those products offered primarily to the teams themselves so their best customers can track their usage. There are those products offered to the end user directly. Then there are those which have both capabilities, a hybrid product. Just as buying seats in the 21st century comes with multiple options, so too can managing tickets for those seats. The multiple options have created a bit of confusion among teams and their customers. The following Q&A among four of the major ticket management system providers will help answer some of the questions ALSD members have. The

four companies inter-viewed are SeatSub, eventIQ, TicketOS and Luxium. There are sev-eral other companies in the space, but these four companies were chosen because they represent the three op-tions available to teams and corporations.

Just as buying seats in the 21st century comes with multiple options, so too can managing tickets for those seats. The multiple options have created

a bit of confusion among teams and their customers.

42 S E A T

SEAT: Describe your value proposition to the teams and to the customers.

SeatSub: Ticket Management for Dummies (TMFD) delivers val-ue to both teams and their season ticket holders by increasing seat utilization. When attendance increases, everyone benefits: teams,

concessionaires, sponsors, broadcasters and of course fans. Specifically, teams re-ceive value from TMFD through fewer no shows, which increases concession sales, parking and other in-

game revenues. In addition, when season ticket holders use more of their tickets each year, teams are more likely to receive renewals from these fans in future seasons. The value to season ticket holders is the ease with which TMFD turns possibly unused tickets into marketing opportunities for businesses and enhanced networking for individuals.

eventIQ: InviteRight is used by ticket holders to invite guests to games. It’s hard for a suite director to get a renewal meeting with a ticket holder, and it’s just as hard for ticket holders to get their cus-tomers to attend a game. It involves numerous phone calls, emails

and voicemails tracked on spreadsheets, which can result in double booking of tickets or a

last minute panic to fill the seat. Ticket delivery is easy. InviteRight integrates to Ticketmaster and other online or will call systems that deliver tickets. InviteRight removes the ticket holder pain when in-viting guests prior to ticket delivery and makes the ticket easy to use resulting in improved ticket renewals and better game attendance. As well, administrators are reminded to buy merchandise and food for their guests, and guests receive team promotional email offers. InviteRight also means less work and more guests for teams who host special events like food and beverage tastings, player meetings, charity fundraisers, golf tournaments or galas.

TicketOS: For the teams, think of it this way: Many Fortune 200 companies typically have between 5,000 and 100,000 season and sponsorship tickets. TicketOS’ value begins once the season ticket or sponsorship sale is complete. At that point TicketOS becomes the custom ticket solution for a company that replaces a manual

ticket process that included Excel spreadsheets and desk drawers. The application is web-based and acces-sible by anyone within the corpo-ration. Large corporations provide daily HR data feeds that contain employee information via electron-

ic data exchange. Employees can search company-owned inventory and select tickets based on date, number of tickets, seat location, etc. The company then can create a customized approval process and set up reporting based on their requirements. Paper tickets can easily be converted to digital format (PDF), and employee purchase plans can be created to help increase ticket utilization. Lastly, TicketOS part-ners with dozens of charities to provide corporations the flexibility to donate tickets to the charity of their choice. The goal is to never let a ticket go unused.

Luxium: For the teams, it drives greater Return on Investment (ROI) through better management of suite inventory (including rentals),

better use of fractional suites and optimizing SRO sales. It also con-ducts in-depth report-ing to obtain insights

into suite usage and customer data, driving new sales opportunities. For the customers, it provides suite holders with a web-based tool to make it easier to invite guests, order food and souvenirs online and generally manage their suite to prove their own ROI.

SEAT: Is there any special technology or training required?

SeatSub: Consistent with all For Dummies offerings, we developed a service which is simple to use and does not require any special technology or training.

eventIQ: No. InviteRight is a web application that works with the ticket holder’s email. Teams get ticket holders started by emailing them a link or adding a link to their premium seat area on their web-site. Administrators are busy; they don’t have time to learn software. Both the team and ticket holder IT departments love InviteRight because no support is required and it ties into existing systems.

TicketOS: All you need is an internet connection and a browser to get started. Training is provided and the learning curve is minimal.

Luxium: Luxium software can be installed at the stadium or remote-ly. Some training is needed for team sales people. Customers need about 30 minutes of web-based training.

SEAT: Can you outline the general costs of your products or how you would price this out to a team or a customer?

SeatSub: A subscription price of $19.99 per season allows season ticket holders to find the right people to use their tickets. Imagine the substantial return on such a nominal investment when TMFD helps connect the season ticket holder with a prospective customer whose purchase easily exceeds the TMFD subscription price. Teams have even more pricing flexibility. You can partner with TMFD, for instance, to provide this service to your season ticket holders free of charge by collaborating with sponsors and/or other business partners.

eventIQ: Priced per box (starts at $300 per season) or premium ticket client ($25 per season). There is no limit to the number of games or special events that can be managed for the venue. For team events, RSVPs and registrations can be purchased for as low as $99 per event.

TicketOS: The TicketOS cost is either a fixed cost or a per ticket fee. No hidden fees or maintenance charges.

Luxium: The only cost to the team is a fee per suite per month. The fee varies, but is less than the cost of single game ticket. Call 613.291.2476 for a personalized quote. The suite holders get to use as much of the software as they wish for FREE.

SEAT: Is the system up and running? Do you have any no-table clients or references that have used the system?

SeatSub: TMFD works very well. Our clients over the last couple of years include the Sacramento River Cats, Rochester Redwings and Austin Toros.

eventIQ: Yes. We have processed 1.3 million registrations for about 23,000 events. Teams, venues and ticket holders themselves love In-viteRight, including, AEG, the Kansas City Chiefs, Marriott Hotels, and ATB Financial.

TicketOS: TicketOS has 15 customers running the software that manages over 500,000 tickets annually. Notable clients include Bank of America, Capital One, and Pepsi/Gatorade.

Luxium: Portland Trail Blazers are going live at this time.

SEAT: Can the system work for an individual corporation? Can it also work for a team? What is its intended audience?

SeatSub: Because TMFD is an online system, its architecture is flex-ible enough to allow businesses as well as professional sports teams to benefit by its use. TMFD is intent on delivering value to all inter-ested parties of a live sports event.

eventIQ: Both. We have individual box and ticket holders that buy the system and use it for managing all their RSVPs and registra-tions and tickets (corporate special events, staff Christmas parties, seminars, golf tournaments, dinners and galas) along with managing their season tickets. InviteRight’s customer base is the same as the teams.

TicketOS: The system was designed by corporations for corpora-tions (sorry Courtyard). The intended audience is a corporate user that wants to entertain customers or prospects. CFOs tend to love the system because it automates processes that are typically manual and gives them a unique control over ticket purchases.

Luxium: The system is designed for the teams and the teams’ suite holders. It provides them many options to increase revenues and keep their suites active in the primary market, rather than lose rev-enues to the secondary markets. ROI for the teams is about 500% annually or higher.

SEAT: How does your product differ or distinguish itself from the competition? SeatSub: TMFD is focused on increasing attendance at live sporting events for the benefit of professional teams, season ticket holders and other interested parties. We work with customers to help them find the right people to use their tickets while saving time and money. TMFD has an internationally recognized brand name with a history of providing an exceptionally high level of customer service.

eventIQ: InviteRight is well priced and provides a balance of key functionality and integration to existing team systems while ensur-ing that the team’s brand, image and key renewal and revenue goals

are met. It is effectively in between competing products in terms of functionality and purpose at a low price. InviteRight is NOT a full suite/inventory POS system. Teams can view how well tickets are being used, but it does not replace food and beverage systems and InviteRight is designed to be used before the game, not during the game. InviteRight is more than suite holder ticket management in comparison to competing products. Teams and their ticket holders can use it to invite guests and track RSVPs for special events, and it is designed to integrate to team and ticket holder CRM systems.

TicketOS: TicketOS in the only ticket management system that of-fers digital ticket conversion and a robust employee purchase system. Digital tickets are very popular and allow corporations the flexibility to email tickets up until game time. Teams love the idea of an em-ployee purchase system because companies offering tickets for both professional and personal use tend to have a higher utilization rate which translates to a greater chance of renewal business.

Luxium: Luxium is the only product that does all of the following:• Provides free tools to suite holders to manage tickets and

electronic guest invitations.• Allows suite holders to order food and souvenirs online.• Manages all suite inventories.• Automatically prepares lease and rental contracts.• Automatically manages fractional suites including, 1/2’s,

1/4’s and even 1/8’s.• Shows available rental suites at a glance per event.• Provides the ability to resell available suites.• Operates over a database that allows for full management

reporting.• Connects to other systems used by the teams – including

CRM.

SEAT: Is there anything else you would like to mention that we have left out here? SeatSub: TMFD is offering the next ten teams that partner with us the opportunity to provide this service at no cost to season tickets holders or anyone else, including sponsors, for the upcoming season. Why not try it? It costs you nothing and offers a good likelihood of significant upside.

eventIQ: Haven’t I said enough yet?

TicketOS: TicketOS can be run as a self-service option or a full-service. Self-service simply means the customer loads and fulfills the tickets. Full-service means the TicketOS trained professionals receive the tickets from the team, load the ticket inventory and fulfill orders on behalf of the customer so they never have to touch a ticket.

Luxium: Any team that has not sold ALL of its suite inventory for ALL events and ALL games should contact Luxium at [email protected] to request a personal ROI calculation for your stadium. It could be the best single investment you will ever make. #

For more information, each ticket management provider can be con-tacted via the following:SeatSub: Franco Cirelli, [email protected]: Dave Bodnarchuk, [email protected]: John Wallace, [email protected] Luxium: Bruce Lazenby, [email protected]

The days when tickets are left in the desk drawer of a person who has no incentive to make certain

the tickets are utilized are dwindling.

S E A T 43

44 S E A T

Becoming a part of the experience.

dimin.com P 913.384.3488

Boston Celtics Courtside Club with Ellerbe Becket

Being part of the experience is really what watching a game at Allen Field House is all about. Experiences are what make connections and draw people together. For the Booth Hall of Fame Basketball Experience, the University of Kansas Athletic Department wanted nothing less.

Gould Evans brought on Dimensional Innovations to transform the Hall of Fame space into a completely interactive and engaging space. DI detailed, engineered, fabricated and installed a reaction time interactive, vertical jump interactive, wingspan interactive and on the air interactive. Visitors can connect to KU’s website at touch screen stations or look up famous players and game highlights.

This addition to the Booth Hall of Fame has transformed a static space into a highly interactive and engaging environment that is a destination spot for fans that visit Booth Hall.

“Dimensional Innovations, together with its technology partner, provided us with outstanding and fan-friendly AV interactives which have helped make the museum come alive in so many ways. With these interactives fans can immerse themselves in the Kansas Athletics experience.”

—Candace Dunback, Curator, Booth Family Hall of Athletics

Interaction+Experience Design · Branded Environments · Signage+Wayfinding Design · Engineering · Specialty Fabrication · Installation

S E A T18

F E A T U R E

As a leading provider of special event and venue insurance, K&K has partnered with the ALSD to offer a new program to suite owners and renters. This program provides affordable event liability protection in a unique new format designed specifically for ALSD members.

Image courtesy of Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

ALSD ad.indd 1 4/18/2009 1:14:50 AMBuyers Guide fall 09.indd 27 9/28/2009 9:07:05 AM

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The Infusion of Technology Across Sports and Entertainment

The Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology (SEAT-IT) and the ALSD continue to help bring the top technology companies to the realm of sports and entertainment. Motorola and Insight are back for more in 2010. And they come armed with the latest and greatest in IT products and solutions.

By Christine Stoffel, Executive Director, Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology

Technology continues to be the cornerstone of North America’s sports stadiums and arenas, personified by every new or renovated

building across the continent. Stadium and arena Owners, General Managers and Presidents are looking to their Chief Information Of-ficers, Vice Presidents and IT leadership to provide them with infor-mation on the newest innovative technologies that will compel fans and empower the team or venue to deliver dynamic, interactive fan experiences. Clearly, the fan experience is near the top, if not the number one issue today across sports and entertainment. "Our new stadium will be an entertainment destination, and more than just a great place to watch a game,” described Jerry Jones, Owner and Gen-eral Manager of the Dallas Cowboys prior to opening up the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. One of the many goals for the SEAT-IT Consortium is to bring IT leaders and technology vendors together, in hopes that they can change the business of the sports and enter-tainment industry by leveraging pioneering technology solutions for fans to embrace.

The SEAT-IT and ALSD conferences are successful, in part, due to partnerships with corporate sponsors that understand the need to drive the fan experience through technology. Being a spon-sor is a commitment to our industry. Corporate partners are making a statement that they believe sports and entertainment to be a valid industry for their company to invest in year after year.

Each year, IT Division sponsorship grows, which is a key dem-onstration that the sports and entertainment industry is becoming a vital vertical of business across the technology community. Two of our top-tier sponsors for the IT Division are Motorola, Inc. and InsightConnected(SM) Sports.

MOTOROLA, INC.Motorola has been at the forefront of communication in-ventions and innovations for more than 80 years. They have achieved extraordinary accomplishments along the way — such as making the equipment that carried the first words from the moon, and leading the cellular communication revolution with the development of the world’s first handheld cellular phone, the DynaTAC 8000x. More recently, Mo-torola has staked out a position at the forefront of 4G tele-communications. Motorola holds a market-leading position in WiMAX deployments around the world. During the 2009 SEAT-ALSD conference, Tom Moore, Director of Motorola Sports & Entertainment, presented Motorola’s technology so-lutions relating to the sports and entertainment industry. The presentation demonstrated Motorola’s commitment to creat-ing dynamic solutions to enhance the fan experience.

INSIGHTCONNECTED(SM) SPORTS As a global technology solution provider, Insight has joined forces with entertainment giants such as ISC, NASCAR, the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins to deliver unique interactive fan experiences. Insight is a technology solutions provider serving global and local clients in 170 countries. Today, thousands of clients, including more than 80 percent of the Global Fortune 500, rely on Insight to acquire, implement and manage technology solutions to empower their business. Insight also provides software and li-censing services globally.

Insight has continued to be a proud supporter of the SEAT-ALSD IT Division for three years. Insight’s executive leadership team is dedicated to developing a National Prac-tice centered on the sports and entertainment industry. As the business of sports technology continues to grow vigorously, Insight is committed to providing a menu of powerful solu-tions to the sports and entertainment community by leverag-ing their expert team of resources and product development specialists.

We appreciate the level of sponsorship these companies have pro-vided to our SEAT-IT group and their commitment to creating in-novative technologies for sports and entertainment. The SEAT-IT organization will again partner with the ALSD in 2010 at the 4th Annual Conference for SEAT-IT leaders in New York City to bring together Motorola and Insight, as well as other technology profes-sionals across sports, entertainment and collegiate organizations.

Each year, IT Division sponsorship grows, which is a key demonstration that the sports and entertainment industry is becoming a vital vertical of business across the technology community.

48 S E A T

SESSION ONE:

IT Executive Round Table DiscussionIT professionals across sports and entertainment have the opportu-nity to talk about topics and share ideas with their peers. The session is moderated by an IT executive from the sports and entertainment industry.

SESSION TWO:

Inside the Stadium of the FutureModerated by John Avenson, VP of IT for the Minnesota TwinsLearn about technology innovations and their impact on the sports and entertainment industry. Hear lessons learned from leading in-dustry IT executives from the newest and most incredible stadiums and arenas across the industry.

SESSION THREE:

Digital Media Asset Management in Sports and Entertainment Panel and audience discussion around the concept of digital media asset management. Discover the pros, cons, lessons learned and best practices presented by leading companies in this technology space, as well as IT executives across sports and entertainment.

SESSION FOUR:

CRM: Taking It Beyond the Customer RelationshipIn this session, panelists will talk about leveraging CRM and third party tools.

SESSION FIVE:

The Dynamics of Technology in Sports and Entertainment…Straight from the League ExecsModerated by Mike Morris, VP of IT for MLB Mr. Morris will lead a dynamic discussion with CIOs and Executives from NHL, MLB, ISC, NBA, MLS, NFL and PBR around the fu-ture impact of technology across sports and entertainment.

SESSION SIX:

Executive Coaching/Professional Mentoring Presented by Dan Rossetti of Ascention Sports PartnersLearn coaching advice to help IT executives hire and retain the best talent for IT organizations, tips to build better relationships, and how to coach and mentor your IT staff to be successful as individuals and as a team.

SESSION SEVEN:

Social Networking: Future Impacts on Sports and EntertainmentLeading social networking executives discuss the evolution of social networking, security, impacts on the industry, measurements of suc-cess and the future of social networking.

SESSION EIGHT:

Cloud Computing: Advancing the Economics of NetworkingCloud computing experts discuss Data Center as a Service, Infra-structure as a Service, Software as a Service, pros and cons of cloud computing and proactive data center monitoring.

Each year, the SEAT-IT program continues to grow. The infusion of technology is evident by the social-ization of technology solutions within every business unit in a sports or entertainment venue. SEAT-IT’s desire is to educate, inform, network and innovate together to change the approach by which sports and entertainment leverages technology, and to build a strong IT community of leaders that bring remark-able experiences to fans and customers across the world. #

Visit Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology online at www.seatconsortium.com.

The infusion of technology is evident by the socialization of technology solutions within every business unit in a sports or entertainment venue.

The 4th Annual SEAT-IT Conference in New York City is expected to be the biggest and best conference for IT leaders to date. The following is the agenda, to be presented June 27 – 30, 2010, which has been carefully crafted by our dedicated IT Steering Committee comprised of IT leaders across sports and entertainment:

S E A T 7

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IOM_SEAT_FullPage_8d75x11h25_outlined.pdf 9/21/2009 8:31:28 PM


50 S E A T

Dr. Peter Titlebaum, Associate Professor at the University of Dayton and Research Director for the ALSD and Dr. Heath-er Lawrence, Assistant Professor at Ohio University, have

teamed up to begin examining this significant and under-researched area. During the fall of 2009, the researchers conducted Phase One of a multi-phase project related to suite administrators/coordina-tors. Five teams from each of the five major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and MLS) were surveyed to gain knowledge about the luxury suite industry. The sample included teams in all market sizes. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the per-ceptions that luxury suite administrators/coordinators have about their position. The results indicated that little is known about the time commitment, role expectations and training associated with the position.

The current recession has made it clear that sport is not as recession-proof as was previously thought. As a result, corporate America has drastically reduced spending on what could be con-strued as non-essential, even frivolous, business functions. So al-though suite administrators/coordinators work for the suite client, they are still important to teams and venues. In fact, they may have a better understanding of suite usage than anyone else. They also have the ear of the suite buyer and believe they play a critical role in the renewal process. For all of these reasons and more, teams and venues should take an interest in engaging suite administrators/coordinators in a more active way.

When asked what suite administrators/coordinators thought was their MOST IMPORTANT role in this position, the top five answers were: 1. Being able to order food and beverage easily and quickly 2. Making sure that tickets are being utilized3. Tracking the use of the suite for current and prospective clients4. Making sure hospitality is responsive to their company needs5. Being involved in the renewal process

These responses help paint a clearer picture of how individuals see their role as a suite administrator/coordinator.

It is valuable to understand both what is important and what is not important to these professionals as well. The two items that were considered LEAST IMPORTANT in the role of suite admin-istrators/coordinators were:1. Receiving additional rewards for taking on this role within the organization 2. Receiving direction from the suite buyer on the role of being the suite administrator

Question: Why do ALsD professionals need to understand luxury suite administrators/coordinators?

AnsWer: understanding suite administrators/coordinators impacts the way venues and teams approach their interactions with people filling these important roles. All individuals who work in premium seating need to understand the impact of these unsung professionals who play a large role in business practices within the luxury suite industry.

Before introducing new information about suite administrators/coordinators, a definition of the role is needed. Suite administrators/coordinators are as-signed by a company/suite owner to coordinate suite activity and disburse ticket inventory. More specific responsibilities include: acting as the liaison be-tween the team and suite owner, acting as the liaison between suite users and the suite owner, choosing the menu and placing the food and beverage order and facilitating the event-day catering and other ser-vice functions.

Inside the World of Luxury Suite Administrators and Coordinators

Buyers Guide fall 09.indd 31 10/5/2009 2:03:42 PM

52 S E A T

These responses echo recent sentiments across positions and industries, where much of the population considers themselves for-tunate just to be employed. It is evident from the responses to these questions that suite administrators/coordinators do not have a clear sense of their influence over the initial and ongoing success of the suite. If they understood that the suite owner needs to fully value their investment, and could do so through better information and service levels, they might see how they could hold the key to success. Further, if they felt empowered and better understood how their role plays such an important part in purchaser satisfaction, overall per-formance would improve. And with access to relevant information, they could implement changes throughout the season.

Another area under investigation was identifying what adminis-trators/coordinators believe are the important factors for a company when deciding to purchase or renew a suite. The questions help shed some light on the decision maker’s thought process.

The most highly rated reasons by administrators/coordinators are a hint to what suite buyers perceive to be the MOST IMPOR-TANT factors when purchasing/renewing a suite:1. Customer service provided by the organization and caterer2. Entertaining existing business clients3. Food and beverage costs4. Entertaining new business clients5. Impact the suite has on a company’s ability to keep and gain business

The reason this information is important to ALSD members is that most of the items on this list are measurable, but not all are directly tied to commonly used ROI formulas. Much work is still needed on tracking this information so a better case can be presented to the suite buyer on the effective use of the purchase based on their own unique set of criteria.

The study also explored some general open-ended questions with the hope of using the responses to develop surveys in a later phase of the study. A few of the questions are highlighted below along with responses that sparked the interest of the researchers.

Question: What do luxury suite administrators/coordina-tors do?

Answer: Today’s suite professionals perform a balancing act. They are trying to make sure everyone has a good time, a comfortable experience, and a memorable event. They do this while being re-sponsive to game-day issues and making sure to utilize the suite in-vestment to the maximum.

Answer: The goal is to make sure service is excellent, the suite is clean, and the equipment is working. They also make sure that the attendants are taking care of the guests and serve as a liaison with the caterer and team representative if there are any problems.

Answer: Suite administrators/coordinators manage requests, ticket allocation and guest invitations to the suite. They also receive tickets and process game switches (when rained out). Some process these requests through e-ticketing technology for efficient ticket ordering and delivery. In addition to these responsibilities, they handle lost tickets, access to extra quality tickets, and last minute ticket cancel-lations, as well as the financially critical role of making sure all seats in the suite are filled.

Answer: Managing the suite experience, as well as the ticketing lo-gistics, is a considerable role for what is typically a part-time posi-tion. Added to this is the challenge of containing costs associated with suite catering. The suite administrators/coordinators must manage the budget by controlling the overages in food and beverage expense for events where they are often not even present.

Question: Is there education that teams or arenas could provide to make life easier for suite administrators/coordinators?

Answer: Suite administrators/coordinators are looking for best practices examples in areas such as corporate branding and alterna-tive suite uses both in and out of season. They want help in schedul-ing client meetings and in gaining information on who owns the other suites and how they use them.

Answer: It would be helpful to have a listing of all the services that can be provided by the venue to create a unique experience at the game, such as visits by former players and coaches. Providing re-search on popular food and beverage choices and cost effective or-dering (i.e., flexibility in size of orders) would be helpful. Earlier in-volvement with the caterers during a suite holder pre-season meeting at the park would also be informative in advanced planning.

Question: What are the factors that most impact your role as a suite professional?

Answer: Tracking the cost of the suite and having access to high demand events are important as are ensuring ticket utilization and return on investment. Having the ability to order extra tickets for the suite or facility, receiving the tickets quickly and being able to

suite administrators may have a better understanding of suite usage than anyone else. they also have the ear of the suite buyer and believe

they play a critical role in the renewal process.

54 S E A T

change requests are important. It is necessary to make sure the ben-efits that come with having a suite are realized.

Answer: Communication is a key, such as easily making catering order changes when needed or deciding on a standard menu for the season. The Suite Services Department must be informed and orga-nized so they can answer questions in a timely manner.

Answer: Suite planning time is spent internally with management trying to figure out who gets what game and how to get high-level decision makers to the suite.

After reviewing the responses, a few themes emerged that are noteworthy.

• Some suite professionals look at the position as a perk, even though it is only one of many duties. They are also quick to point out that the role is not all fun and games as many may think.

• Suite administrators/coordinators are looking for better ways to conduct business. Email would be a logical solu-tion for many. The ordering of tickets, even overflow suite tickets, could be easily handled through email even utiliz-ing the suite’s account to facilitate the monetary transfer. The current method of communication, the fax, is out-moded, inefficient and time consuming.

• Suite administrators/coordinators are looking for ways to deal with those who are not satisfied with their game selec-tion and would like a larger variety from which to choose. Without a system of ticket prioritization, an environment is created that elicits aggression from those who do not re-ceive premium game tickets. It is left up to the suite ad-ministrators/coordinators to allocate the request for tickets that should have been handled systematically rather than subjectively.

• Suite administrators/coordinators are generally appointed by the CEO of corporate suite clients as an added duty to their existing job responsibilities. More often than not, these employees have no formal training in their role of suite administrator/coordinator and need education to do their jobs effectively.

This is an area that the ALSD could enhance because previous re-search has shown that those who sell suites believe suite buyers highly value ROI/ROO information, but do not know how and if the suite buyers are accurately measuring it. At present, the industry consists of suite administrators/coordinators who are on the front line, but have no sense for their own influence over customer satisfaction and renewal. This could be an opportunity for the team/venue to provide education to the suite buyer and their administrator/coordinator on internal measures of ROI/ROO.

If this information is intriguing, plan to learn more on June 30, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at the annual ALSD Conference. Join the researchers at the presentation, “Knowing Your Customers.” Any team/venue interested in participating in future research in the area of luxury suite ownership, sales, marketing, or suite administrators/coordinators should contact Dr. Peter Titlebaum at [email protected] or (937) 229-4222. #

Peter Titlebaum, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor of Sport Manage-ment at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

Heather Lawrence, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Sports Ad-ministration at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

Managing the suite experience, as well as the ticketing logistics, is a considerable role for what is typically a part-time position.

suite administrators must manage the budget by controlling the overages in food and beverage expense for events where

they are often not even present.

S E A T 11

Interactive suite views

Online venue presentations

Hospitality e-brochures

channel1media.com

416.531.6111


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Coming AttractionsThe winter doldrums are in effect for much of the country. But whether our brethren

in the Mid-Atlantic and their “unseasonal” 30+ inches of snow believe it or not, the magic eraser of spring is percolating. So while we stock up on groceries and hunker down

next to our fireplaces, know that there is so much to look forward to. Opening Day is six weeks away. And like the pitchers and catchers who reported to

spring training last week, in the spring of 2010, the ALSD will be green and growing.

Also Coming This Spring: A New LogoA New WebsiteA New Media PlatformA Renewed ALSD

Connect with the ALSD on Linkedin:

Bill Dorsey: www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-dorsey/5/332/201

Pat McCaffrey: www.linkedin.com/pub/pat-mccaffrey/9/27b/54b

Amanda Verhoff: www.linkedin.com/pub/amanda-kuntz/a/870/156

Jared Frank: www.linkedin.com/in/jaredfrank

Follow the ALSD on Twitter:Jared Frank: @SEAT_Editor

Become an ALSD Fan on Facebook:www.facebook.com/pages/Association-of-Luxury-Suite-Directors/112032714717

In the Next Issue of SEAT:State of the Food & Beverage IndustryArrival of Major League Soccer in PhiladelphiaMarketing Your Venue in the Second GenerationOrlando Magic’s Service Standard Upgrades

PLUS:Conference Breakout Session AnnouncementsKeynote Speaker Highlights

SEAT-Ad-Arthur9.indd 1 1/27/10 9:35:13 PM

S E A T 19S E A T

Perlick is proud to be the FIRST companycertifi ed by the ALSD.

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Too Much Open Suite Inventory?Find Your Suite Spot

We Bring You Suite CustomersNo Cost to Teams • No Risk to Teams

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Your National Per Event Sales Force

For team participation, call: Pat McCaffrey VP/Business Development Association of Luxury Suite Directors 513 674 0555 x106 An ALSD Benefit Program

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