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Facility managers continue to explore new ways
to reap more potential profits from their venues. Premium seating areas
offer plenty of revenue potential. In today’s marketplace, facility managers
are faced with the challenge of giving premium-seating customers the best
entertainment experience for the price of their tickets. Part of this
challenge is giving the customer the best seat available in terms of
comfort, quality and price. More and more, the demand is increasing for
greater value, particularly in seating.
Facility Manager recently interviewed Clarin’s Steven J. Luttazi,
senior vice president of sales, sports and entertainment, and asked him to
address some of the new ways facility managers can add value through
portable premium-seating solutions.
Q: What are premium seats?
A: “Premium seats generally are in
luxury suites, which offer a private environment and additional surrounding
amenities or the seats closest to the action or performance. Both areas
offer amenities such as ‘in-seat’ service. Usually, these areas offer
seating solutions with a greater degree of comfort and service for the
ticket holder.”
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Patrons in the premium
seating area of last year’s All-Star game were allowed to keep
these customized chairs, provided by Clarin Seating. |
Q: Why portable premium seating solutions versus
a fixed seating solution?
A: “You can get your patrons closer to
the action. Facility managers everywhere are increasing their revenue by
pursuing a configuration that offers more of their customers an experience
as close to the action as possible. Portable seating gives them flexibility
to adjust their configurations. The versatility of increasing the portable
premium seating footprint actually gives facility managers more options for
multiple types of events during the lifetime of the facility.”
Q: What are some of the comfort features
available in portable premium seating?
A: “Utilizing upgraded fabrics and
leathers certainly adds to the experience and gives the patron the feeling
of being in a premium seat. Many new types of materials, including faux
leathers, high-end fabrics and many selections of new vinyls, are giving the
facility manager a greater selection to choose from. “In addition to the
upholstery, different types of contoured foam seats and back panels are
being utilized to give the patron a more upscale seat. The seating shape and
size are important. Ergonomic construction and the appropriate widths to
give a premium patron the space that they want are important. Waterfall seat
cushions and tucked-style back cushions are becoming more popular. Cup
holders are used frequently and add greater value, especially in the premium
VIP sections of the facility. “
Q: How can portable premium seating help
facility managers market their facility?
A: “Since portable
premium seats are so close to the action, they get a lot of TV and still
camera time. I may be biased, but premium seats look pretty inviting to me.
Along with great looking seats, facilities or teams often brand their
courtside seating by exhibiting team or corporate sponsor logos on the
premium chair backs. Any unoccupied seats give viewers, and often a national
audience, a reminder of the venue and a heightened awareness of the facility
or corporate sponsor.”
Q: Can facility managers take advantage of logo
branding in premium areas when the naming rights or venue sponsorships may
change?
A: “This dynamic is more and more
common. In order to maximize their revenues, facilities often choose to or
are forced to change their names. In fact, it is especially important to
improve branding soon after names are changed, and logos in premium areas
are a great way to do it. Facility managers also may want to factor in the
potential that their premium-seating solutions are engineered to facilitate
logo replacement in order to avoid total seating replacement costs. In fact,
our logo-covered seat backs can be replaced with new ones exhibiting a new
logo.”
Q: In what other ways are facilities adding value through portable premium
seating?
A: “We have started to work with facilities, professional
franchises and college teams to include the ownership of the actual premium
seat in the purchase of their tickets. That’s right — the patron gets the
chair as a commemorative souvenir after an event or successful season. They
get to own the exact chair that they sat on at a rare concert event or have
a keepsake to remember the retirement ceremony of one of their all time
favorite players. Season ticket holders can own the seat that they sat on
during a championship season. “MLB’s All-Star game held at Comerica Park in
Detroit last year is an example of how it works. We produced customized
Tiger All-Star game logo chairs and the patrons who purchased tickets in the
premium seat area located behind home plate owned them after the game. Each
fan now holds a lifetime reminder of their premium seating experience. The
Tigers gave each premium patron a one of a kind souvenir, they strengthened
the loyalty to their team and the revenue from their Tiger’s Den seating
increased substantially. Programs like these are easy to implement and
execute with our experience in the area. The Tigers were very happy with the
process.”
Q: Can premium portable-seating solutions help facility managers respond to
the diverse needs of their communities?
A: “Why not? The public always seems to like the freshness of new events,
and facility managers need to respond to these changing demands. The
flexibility of portable premium seating helps to ensure that venues can
maximize the potential of a premium seating area in response to an
increasingly wider array of events. All communities and venues are unique. I
can say this based on my experience. I have advised many facility managers
on unique configurations of premium seating areas. “In response to
diversity, we have developed a broad array of premium-seating solutions. Our
new Contour Series combines with our VIP Series to allow facility managers
to tailor seating to multiple target segments of their communities by
establishing multiple tiers of premium seating prices.
Q: Can every venue offer premium-seating areas?
A: “Sure. Again, it is a question of seating diversity and flexibility.
Premium seating prices can vary around the country. Some facilities decide
that they only can deliver a small amount of the top-of-the-line
premium-seating solutions. We know that. In response, we have developed the
Contour Series, which exhibits many of the same comfort seating features of
our VIP Series including contoured high-density molded seats and flexible
web suspension, but at a lower price. The economics allow more venues in
more areas of the country to expand their premium seating areas and maximize
their take from each event.
Q: What is the future of portable premium seating?
A: “I think that the future is very bright. The adoption of premium seating
in facilities continues to roll across the country. Portable premium seating
gives the attendee a quality experience that helps facility managers
differentiate the entertainment experiences at their venue. “We know that
every facility faces many challenges to remain a vibrant part of their
community. We are always listening and looking for new ways to help create a
better entertainment experience for the customer.”
Steven J. Luttazi has over
nine years of experience in the Sports & Entertainment industry while
working for Clarin Seating. He can be reached at 508-528-9708 or via
e-mail at
sluttazi@clarinseating.com. |
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