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The North
Tower Suites at the Palace of Auburn Hills are available with one-night
packages that include VIP seats, access to
a private lounge, HDTV, private restrooms
and fine dining — served by a butler. Photo courtesy of Dan Lippitt.
By Laura Blodgett
In a major trend sweeping stadiums and arenas across the country, unused
space is being reinvented in many different ways at all different price
points. From bunker suites carved out underneath the stands to
mini-suites catering to a smaller group to private club memberships that
go along with the price of individual seats, stadiums are trying to
accommodate everyone to maximize revenue.
“There are a lot of different ‘neighborhoods’ of price
points in stadiums and arenas, and the venues are continually figuring
out how to tweak them,” explains Bill Dorsey, executive director,
Association of Luxury Suite Directors. “It used to be a stadium might
have one club, then two. Now some have six or seven clubs with each one
having a different feel — a large one for mass market, a really small
and intimate one for a different approach, and so on.”
Dorsey explains that the bricks-and-mortar feel of
suites is being replaced with more of a high-tech feel — complete with
more high-tech toys. “We’re going to see larger flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi
access, the ability to interact with food and beverage service via
touch-screen TV, 24-hour Internet access—especially for those suites
which are being billed as executive briefing centers where companies can
hold meetings off-hours.”
Another trend is the custom branding of suites, known
as suite art, in which the suite owners can brand their suite with the
design of their label or logo and welcome customers with messaging on a
flat-screen TV. “The ability to turn the suite into a piece of signage
that can be altered, customized and branded for themselves will really
take off. This will enable suite owners to write off more of the cost of
the suite as a marketing tool,” Dorsey says.
Loge Suites
In a marketing move to greatly improve both the fan experience, as well
as its bottom line, the Phoenix Coyotes, with the help of the Salt Lake
City office of H.B. Stubbs Companies, designed and installed eight
semi-private mini luxury loge suites in place of traditional standard
seating at their home at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
The team approached H.B. Stubbs Companies, who had made
design improvements to their existing Rinkside Club, with the idea to
create proprietary seating that was less expensive than current luxury
suites as an alternative to regular seating. Fans are able to have the
same excitement and marketing benefits as a luxury suite at a more
affordable price. The response from fans was so great that the Loge
Suites were sold out while still under construction.
 “It really was a stroke of brilliance on the part of
the Phoenix Coyotes,” says Scott Stubbs, president and CEO, H.B. Stubbs
Companies. “They were able to serve their diverse fan base with more
affordable proprietary seating while creating additional revenue simply
by upgrading existing space.”
Ron Campbell, vice president of premium seating at Jobing.com
arena and Phoenix Coyotes hockey club, explains that these suites were
developed to go after some of the area businesses that couldn’t
necessarily afford a 12- or 18-person suite but wanted a space to
entertain. The Loge Suites seat four with an option to purchase an
additional two standing room seats on a per game basis. “With these
companies, it’s also about time — it’s hard to find 12-18 prospects for
120 events annually. It’s a lot of entertaining,” he says. “With loge
boxes, they can go after that business on a smaller scale. It’s more
manageable.”
Campbell, who came to the Coyotes from the Anaheim
Ducks, says that the mini-suite concept really entered the sports arena
world within the last three years. “When I first started with the Ducks
in 1996, suite products and the club seating concept was at its peak.
Now we have to be more creative with packaging. We’re starting to see a
trend to the all-inclusive package, making sure ticket price includes
parking, event tickets and food and beverage.”
The Loge Suites, which sold for $40,000 apiece for the
2006- 2007 NHL hockey season, created a revenue generator above and
beyond regular seating. The cost of the design and installation per
suite was fully realized by the Coyotes in the first year, not taking
into account any additional revenue on ancillary services such as food,
beverage, parking and souvenirs.
The Suites are located throughout the top of the lower
bowl of the arena. The eight Loge Suites are semi-private personalized
suites with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art audio and video
components. With frosted glass perimeters and a locking door, the box
seats up to six people. H.B. Stubbs Companies worked with the existing
look and feel of the arena, including the upgrades they had made to the
Rinkside Club, and used those same finishes and materials.
“The boxes blend so well with the arena that they look
like they’ve always been there,” says Susan Fisher, senior account
director, H.B. Stubbs Companies. The space is comprised of a personal
seating area with standard seating and drink rail with a view of the
arena, as well as a built-in 13-inch LCD TV in the countertop and
30-inch screen in each box.
Features include executive style seats with Corian counter
tabletop, hardwood floors and spacious room for client entertaining, a
fully furnished lounge area complete with bar stools for additional
eating, two flat screen televisions, Loge Suite nameplate, designated
Loge Suite concierge, four tickets to all professional sporting events,
concerts and family shows, VIP parking passes, membership in exclusive
Rinkside Club, all-inclusive food and beverage for all Coyotes home
games, complimentary game programs and game notes for every Coyotes home
game and a monthly calendar detailing upcoming events.
In addition to the loge boxes, H.B. Stubbs Companies
also designed and installed an even more cost-effective alternative:
Loge Tables. These eight semi-private reserved mini-boxes are comprised
of a half round executive table enclosed by a screen. With seating for
four, the tables face the arena and include two flat screen televisions,
dedicated service staff and company nameplate on stool backs and wall of
fame. The cost per table was $28,000 for the 2006-07 NHL season. The
alternative seating options have been so successful that the team is now
looking for additional space to add more boxes and tables.
Bunker Suites
The Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons, went all out
when they converted some unused storage space into five of the
highest-priced luxury suites in the stadium. This concrete space located
under the stands was being used to store backboards, mats and other
items the team used occasionally such as during NBA conference finals.
Within nine months, the space was transformed into five lavish suites
with private club, which came with four front row VIP seats and an
additional eight seats.
“The suite holders really get the full experience,”
says David Wieme, director of strategic communications, Palace Sports &
Entertainment. “The suites are located just down the hall from the
player’s locker rooms. They get to enter through the loading dock with
the team, pass to the court through the player’s tunnel, and sit in one
of four VIP front-row seats they receive as part of their package. What
we’re looking to offer in that situation is something that is unique
that not a lot of people experience, something unexpected. At $400,000
apiece, the five suites are sold out on five year contracts. In less
than a year, the space we nt from generating zero revenue to $2 million.”
Wieme explains that imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery. “The Houston Rockets and LA Lakers do the same things, neither
to the extent we did, but we traveled to several stadiums beforehand to
take a look and thought these suites were a great idea.”
In addition, when the Palace built its 65,000 square
foot Comcast Pavilion addition last year to house a food court, bar and
private club, they decided to dig down one more level below the food
court and build an additional eight bunker suites. “We decided to make
it a three-story project and use the space under the food court as
well,” Wieme says. “Now the space houses eight beautiful suites with a
stone and woodwork theme and a private club.”
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Laura Blodgett is a freelance writer based in
Ann Arbor, Mich., who covers business topics for publications such as
the Oakland Business Review and The Ann Arbor Business Review. |
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