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PAFMS at Oblebay turns 20

Beer Belly Not Always What it Seems

Arnold Believes There will be No "Terminations: If Teams come to LA

The Lights are On, The doors are Open and We're Ready for Business

TEAM Coalition Holds Meeting in New York

 

        

  

Many know it simply as Oglebay. Others chalk it up as that Wheeling Feeling. But whatever you want to call the Public Assembly Facility Management School at Oglebay, just make sure you wish it a happy birthday this year with the 20th edition of the school taking place in June.

Not only has the school grown beyond anybody’s wildest dreams in the two decades it has taken place, but a new Graduate Institute now is also part of the mix. It indeed has taken quite a leap forward from 1986, when 53 students and 12 instructors took part.

It is interesting to note that articles from that first school talked about the important issues of the day — namely crowd management and guest safety. Sound familiar to today’s facility manager?

Denny Magruder, who then as now calls Wheeling home (it was the Wheeling Civic Center then, and now the WesBanco Arena) signed up for that first school by hand delivering his registration form.

Times have changed. PAFMS sells out and is the acknowledged school to set industry practitioners on the way to a cherished Certified Facilities Executive (CFE) designation. Serving as instructors and regents for that first five-day school (and their affiliation at the time) were: Al Antee, Louisville Gardens; Richard Bensen, IAAM executive director; Donna Dowless, Lakeland Civic Center; Dexter King, Boise State University Pavilion; Doug Logan, Ogden Allied Facilities Management; Bob Mayer, Tulsa Convention Center; Charles Neustadt, Baltimore Arena; Steve Peters, Iowa State Center; Truman Reed, Saenger Theatre; Frank Russo, Monitor Production, Inc.; Walter Schatz, Westchester County Center; and Loris Smith, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

A light-hearted segment on CNN about a product called the “Beer Belly” has proven to be anything but a laughing matter within the public assembly facility management industry and among its stewards.

The Beer Belly, as its name implies, is a device worn under a shirt that holds one’s favorite adult beverage and gives the wearer the look associated with a beer belly. The aired piece talked about how the device is often never even called into question as the wearer gains admittance into an event. The primary incentive spelled out in the program is that the product helps a fan avoid paying the costs usually associated with purchasing a beer at an event.

Unfortunately, there are other ramifications as well, including the amount someone could drink from the Beer Belly (which has a tube that can pour beer directly into a cup), as well as the fact that it is simply illegal to bring such products into venues.

Jill Pepper, executive director of the TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) Coalition, sent a letter on behalf of the coalition — as well as the thousands who work at sports and entertainment venues — to the CNN reporter who profiled the product.

Pepper noted the “serious consequences that would create a very difficult situation for the hundreds of thousands of people who work in sports stadiums and the millions of people who attend sporting events each year.”

Pepper added that while not allowing outside alcohol into venues does serve to generate revenue for the concessionaire and the team, it also ensures that those whose jobs are to serve the patrons of that stadium can do so safely.

“The combination of poor judgment, too much alcohol, and the attitude of getting away with something that is against the rules really isn’t all that funny,” concluded Pepper.

She did acknowledge, however, that the program at least served as a heads up to venue managers everywhere who will now be looking for an abundance of people trying to enter their facilities with “beer bellies.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C a l i f o r n i a Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made it known that he wants the National Football League not only to return to Los Angeles, but to do so with two teams. The actor-cum-governor met with a number of NFL owners and believes that there is enough room for two teams in the City of Angels.

Schwarzenegger said that there is “enough room and enough audience to have two teams. We just have to all work together and make it happen.”

Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest television market, has been without an NFL team since the Raiders and Rams both left after the 1994 season. When the NFL expanded in 2002, the new team went to Houston after Los Angeles leaders couldn’t agree on a suitable site for the team.

Both Anaheim and Los Angeles are in the market for a team. Anaheim’s plan calls for a new facility near Angel Stadium, which was converted to a baseball-only complex after the Rams left, while the Los Angeles plan is to construct a stadium inside the existing Los Angeles Coliseum, home to the Rams from 1946-1970 and the Raiders from 1982-1994.

 

 

Just six months after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast, the New Orleans Arena reopened in a big way, producing tangible evidence that the city is also bouncing back. The first three events turned new pages of history and exemplified the first six years of the arena.
The first event of the reopening on March 4 delighted 7,400 opera fans attending “A Night for New Orleans” hosted by the New Orleans Opera Association.

A standing room only crowd of 17,744 rocked the arena on March 8 for the New Orleans Hornets first home game since the storm.
Finally, the third event was the “Celebration of Hope” on March 11 and 12, presented by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Foundation along with spiritual leaders from throughout the Greater New Orleans area. An overflow crowd of 13,600 stood spellbound inside while an additional 1,500 watched on giant video screens on an exterior ramp.

“Reopening the arena has been a top priority for us and we are very pleased that the building is now back in business just six months after one of the largest natural disasters in our history,” said Doug Thornton, regional vice president for SMG.

Added Glenn Menard, SMG’s general manager of the arena: “This tells the nation the lights are on, the doors are open, and we’re ready for business.”

The TEAM Coalition met on May 4 in New York to discuss a number of key issues with its members.

IAAM Executive Director Dexter King, CFE, and Jack Bunning, IAAM Foundation Director, attended the meeting held at the offices of Major League Soccer. The TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) Coalition meets twice a year to update a number of areas including finance, marketing, training reports, the evaluation committee report and membership committee report.

In particular the group has already had an active year in the marketing area. The “Responsibility Has Its Rewards” campaign has grown from a sweepstakes promoting the designated driver programs for various leagues into a full-fledged safety campaign with applications for all TEAM board members including cross-marketing  among leagues and corporate members and an avenue for state highway safety offices to become engaged in sports marketing for traffic safety messages.

In addition to IAAM, other Coalition members include Major League Baseball, NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Soccer, NCAA, National Association of Broadcasters, ESPN/ABC, NHTSA, Aramark, Sportservice, Beer Institute, Contemporary Services, Live Nation, Anheuser-Busch, Miller Brewing and Coors Brewing. The IAAM Foundation also provides funds to the TEAM Coalition.