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Be Careful Playing in the Sandbox

By Jon Dorman

It’s your sandbox. A local promoter once uttered these words during a settlement at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Why some of us fail to realize this is puzzling, to say the least.

Let me take a moment and explain what the phrase “It’s your sandbox” means to me. In a nutshell, if performers want to reach out to a large number of fans at one time, they need a large venue in which to perform. If promoters want to put together events and sell large amounts of tickets, they also need a venue. We run the venues that performers and promoters need. The venues are our sandboxes.

That said, running these facilities does not give us the right to hold it over their heads. However, it does give us the right to charge a fair price. After all, it takes a lot of money to keep these facilities running.

Far too often, building managers who refuse, or are unable to go too far in negotiations because of how they are set up, are being accused of being uncooperative and unwilling to work things out when it comes to agreements with promoters. When dealing with concerts and other events, some acts, agents and promoters actually believe that facility managers are the enemy. The facilities, and the people who manage them (that refuse to cave in to the demands of the promoters and agents), are considered the ugly stepchild at concerts. We are, more often than not, considered to be an obstacle that has to be overcome and “dealt with” in an effort to entertain the masses.

To the contrary, some facilities devalue their product by going to the opposite extreme in order to secure events. Due to pressure from city leaders, managing authorities, or corporate sponsors and suite owners, some venues are actually caving in to the demands of the agents, acts, and promoters and literally giving the venue away in an effort to land more and more events. This is done in the hope that they will recoup expenses at the concession stands and in the parking lot. Prices to park become very high, and I think we’ve all seen prices at the concession stands.

Another local promoter once said to me, “Your best deal becomes your standard deal.” Think about that for a minute. For those new in the business, this is a good quote to hang on to. Once you choose to cross the line as far as what you can and cannot do rent and “deal” wise, you have crossed it for good.

“The customer is not
always right, but they are
always the customer.”

We, by nature of the business, are really not that competitive when it comes to booking concerts. For the most part, agents and acts know who their market is and where they will sell the most tickets. However, when agents are trying to decide how to route an event, guess who is first on the list and guess whom the promoter will fight for? Certainly not the facility that is unable to come off the rent by leaps and bounds. It may seem like a good idea at the time, reducing your rent or charging no rent at all, but by doing that you undervalue your product, along with everyone else’s.

This in the long run may get you more events and more dates to the prom, but by hosting more events with less and less revenue to show for it, you will soon run the facility into the ground and have no money to keep it in working order. Soon the people you report to, and we all report to somebody, will make the decision that the costs outweigh the benefits of providing entertainment options for the local populace. When that happens, everyone from the locals to the performers lose.

This is not all said to make us unbendable and uncreative with our promoters. Remember, they are our friends. Without them, most of us would be out of a job. Each situation has a uniqueness that can be handled differently. Sharing in some of your concession or parking revenue after a certain point, if allowed, is always a hit. It is okay to be creative as long as it is fair to everyone and no one gets hurt in the long run. You have heard all your life that, “The customer is always right.” I am saying, “The customer is not always right, but they are always the customer.” It is up to us to keep them happy but there need to be boundaries.

I am not suggesting that we set an industry standard for rent and expenses; only that we become somewhat more unified as to what we do and how we do it when structuring rent deals for promoters. This will become a necessity if we are all to share in what little is actually out there.

Since the terrible events of September 11th, we have all seen that the concert business as a whole has changed. There are fewer acts out there that need large venues and those that do seem to need to charge as much money as possible to make up for the fact that they are touring less. Patrons have re-evaluated their need to spend disposable income on entertainment; not to mention the fact that several of the acts have hit the price break of their demographics. Therefore, being creative is a must. Just be careful not to get too creative.

Remember, it is our sandbox and everyone wants to play in it. You may think it is neat at first, having everybody in your sandbox, but when they leave and they have taken all your sand, what are you left with?.

Jon Dorman is deputy director of the TD Waterhouse/Orlando Centroplex in Orlando, Florida, and can be reached at jon.dorman@cityoforlando.net.