"April 16, 2012
Staging regular non-baseball events at Fenway Park is now a core tenet of the Fenway Sports Group business model, with concerts, hockey, soccer and other events frequent occurrences at the ballpark, each key revenue drivers to expand upon a Boston Red Sox team that has been sold out continually since 2003."
March 31, 2012
By Craig Davis, Sun Sentinel
It was a scene unlike any ever seen in a major league stadium. Considering the participants, it was downright bizarre.
Published March 26, 2012
The Minnesota Timberwolves will decrease the number of suites in the Target Center from 56 to 40, the latest NBA team to cut its highest-priced premium seating inventory.
The University of Louisville men's and women's basketball programs are among the most prominent in the nation, but to attract NCAA tournament games and other high-profile events, the university needed a new facility.
Published March 26, 2012
A media titan known for his hard-charging personality and take-no-prisoners approach, Ohlmeyer has taken to retirement with the same gusto that he approached his career, where he is one of the most accomplished executives in the history of American television.
Published March 19, 2012
Dynamic pricing gathers steam, but will consumers push back?
Published February 27, 2012
By Eric Fisher, Staff Witerr
Connectivity continues to challenge sports venues. Can they keep up, and who will pay for it?
Bill Schlough, San Francisco Giants senior vice president and chief information officer, looks at the Wi-Fi network serving AT&T Park, and the industry at large, and sees a daunting, almost discouraging reality.
Published February 27, 2012, Page 17
Over the past five to eight years, mobile technology for sports concessions has largely been one continuous trial run as teams and food providers determine the best model for generating revenue without ruining the fan experience.
Published January 16, 2012
By Don Muret, Staff Writer
SportsBusiness Journal review finds roughly $9 billion in construction deals in play over the next five years, giving hope that improvements will continue
Published January 9, 2012
By Fred Dreier, Staff Writer
One year after launching the Mission Control social media hub at the Prudential Center, New Jersey Devils officials say the team has begun to monetize the program, producing $500,000 in revenue from new and renewed marketing partnerships, according to Rich Krezwick, president of Devils Arena Entertainment.
Published January 2, 2012
By Michael Smith, Staff Writer
Bernie Mullin, whose firm assists universities with ticket sales and marketing, says you don’t build a church for Easter. The sports equivalent is that you don’t build a stadium for your largest crowd.
But after years of an unabated arms race in college football that has seen stadiums expand to massive sizes, some schools are on the verge of outgrowing their ticket demand."
Published April 12, 2010
More than a year ago at a dinner of industry executives, the question was asked, “What are you spending most of your time focused on?” There was the usual mix of answers about revenue growth and big-picture vision, but one top NFL executive said plainly, “I’m trying to figure out how I can compete with a 52-inch HDTV that one puts in their living room and watches our games and has a better experience than coming to the stadium. Now help me figure that out!”
Published November 1, 2010
DAVID BROUGHTON
Published November 1, 2010
What trends are you watching in premium seating?
Published November 1, 2010
By Fred Dreier, Staff Writer
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment brought construction crews into Toronto’s Air Canada Centre in June to tear down the walls to 12 of the arena’s 40 platinum lounges. The demolition created a 4,100-square-foot luxury space, called the Chairman’s Suite, which officials hoped would provide more flexible buying opportunities for the club’s high-end customers.
Published November 1, 2010
By Don Muret, Staff Writer
Twenty years after the fact, Madison Square Garden is finally putting its best customers down low in the bowl.
The plans for MSG’s $800 million renovation call for putting most of the project’s 96 suites much closer to the action, compared with the 89 units that were added at the top of the arena in 1991.
Published November 1, 2010
By Bill King, Senior Writer
During the stadium binge of the 1990s, the sports architecture firm then known as HOK built three baseball parks that each included more than 100 suites for three teams: the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians.
As the recession has dampened demand for suites, all three of those teams are searching for ways to reconfigure what are now vacant suites into areas that meet today’s consumer appetite."
Published November 1, 2010
By Don Muret, Staff Writer
TD Garden is one big league facility the sports industry points to as a model for adjusting premium-seat inventory to meet demand.
The Boston arena, now 15 years old, opened in 1995 with more than 100 suites and about 2,400 club seats. Those two products were sold on multiyear terms, and the investment covered tickets to Bruins and Celtics games and first rights to buy concert tickets.
Published November 1, 2010
By Don Muret, Staff Writer
The Cleveland Indians are searching for answers to resolve a tremendous amount of excess suite inventory at Progressive Field, a ballpark that opened in 1994 with 130 skyboxes on three levels.
Newer MLB facilities opened with less than half that total. Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, combined, have 105 skyboxes tied to long-term leases. Target Field, the Minnesota Twins’ new park and a facility the Indians have toured for new premium seat ideas, has 54 suites.
Published November 1, 2010
The first major premium seat upgrades at the Edward Jones Dome since it opened in 1995 have paid big dividends for the St. Louis Rams.