| |
By
Guy Dunston
In the UK domestic arenas industry, we are currently celebrating an
unprecedented level of success and buoyancy, backed by the release of
statistics from the National Arenas Association (UK) in early April.
The widely anticipated figures, which were announced at the recent
International Live Music Conference in London, revealed a 29 percent growth
in attendance and a 16 percent increase in the number of event performances
in 2007 compared with the previous year. In the same period, average ticket
prices have also increased from £30.45 (US $59.88) in 2006 to £36.86 (US
$72.45).
At The NEC Group, we have been seeing this success reflected in our two
world-class arenas: The NEC Arena
(12,500 capacity), which is located eight miles from Birmingham’s city
center on the same site as flagship venue The National Exhibition Centre,
and The National Indoor Arena (13,300 capacity), which is adjacent to The
NEC Group’s other venue and leading European conference venue, The
International Convention Centre, in the heart of Birmingham city center.
In 2007, almost 1 .5 million visitors were attracted to our arenas through a
portfolio of more than 240 event performances, potentially the most diverse
in the UK arena market.
Alongside all the major UK concert tours, including The Police, Foo
Fighters, Justin Timberlake and The Killers, we hosted the Horse of the Year
Show, the All England Badminton Championships and Crufts, the world’s
biggest dog show. We also staged the European Indoor Athletics
Championships, an arena opera production of La Traviata and 13 comedy
events.
Competitive Advantages
Managing two arenas in one city gives us a unique selling point over other
UK venues. We can offer alternative solutions to promoters if their
preferred date is not available at one arena, and our team can steer
organizers to the most appropriate venue, based on their requirements.
Through effective diary management and the expertise of our skilled sales
team, we can offer an unparalleled level of flexibility to our customers,
maximizing the number of occupancy days across both venues.
For example, over the Easter weekend last year, The NEC Arena and The NIA
were both contracted, so one of The NEC’s exhibition halls was transformed
into an 8,000-seat arena in order to
stage the all-important Davis Cup tie
between Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Having sister venues located alongside each arena gives us another
invaluable advantage — The NEC Arena is directly linked to 200,000 square
meters of covered, interconnected exhibition space within The National
Exhibition Centre. Events can make use of the arena space and exhibition
halls, giving visitors the opportunity to combine exhibition and live-action
elements.
Being on The NEC site
also gives The NEC Arena a massive amount of outdoors
space around the venue itself.
 The Horse of the Year Show, for example, uses
some of the 20,000 on-site car parking
spaces to construct 800 temporary
stables, equestrian exercise and warm-up areas,
and horsebox parking.
We also frequently stage
events that co-locate between The National Indoor
Arena and The ICC, offering
organizers of some of the UK’s largest
conventions — such as the British Small Animals Veterinary Association — the
opportunity to combine the award-winning facilities of the UK’s premier
conference center with 5,500 square meters of exhibition space in the arena.
Discovering the Future
While we are immeasurably proud of the success enjoyed by our venues, we
need to maintain this level of hard work and development that has been
undertaken by our dedicated and professional teams.
Last year, we launched The Ticket Factory, our in-house box office, which
sells tickets not just for shows at our own venues, but also for events
staged across the UK — an initiative that has enabled us to gain a foothold
in the lucrative ticketing market.
As ticket prices are increasing, so too are the expectations of audiences,
and it is our job to ensure that as a venue, we remain one step ahead of our
visitors’ expectations, whether they are the audience, promoters, artists or
contractors.
This forms a part of The NEC Group’s company ethos — that our venues are the
places where our visitors can come to discover the future. This vision will
soon be a reality, with a £25 million (US $49.18 million) redevelopment of
The NEC Arena due to transform this 28-yearold venue into a vibrant,
21st-century total entertainment experience.
This redevelopment, which is due to be completed in autumn 2009, will
feature new seating, bars, restaurants and cutting-edge technology in one
24-hour entertainment destination.
Space opposite The NEC Arena has also been earmarked for the construction
and development of a groundbreaking leisure and entertainment complex, with
a large casino at its heart, while the concourse and VIP suites at The NIA
are also due to receive substantial upgrades.
I hope that you will be able to join me in Anaheim in July, where I will be
taking an opportunity to present more on our future plans at The
International Pavilion.
fm
Guy Dunstan is general manager, Arenas, forThe NEC Arena and The NIA in
Birmingham, England. He may be contactedatguy.dunstan@necgroup.co.uk.
The annual Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress Showcase was held May 4-7 at
the Skycity Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. The City of Sails
played host to this key industry event with more than 260 delegates in
attendance.
“The Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress and Showcase was an ideal
opportunity for members of the VMA and their industry suppliers to highlight
their latest products and to foster stronger, more supportive mutual
relationships amongst VMA members as well as non-member organisations,” says
John Benett, executive officer of the Venue Management Association (VMA).
“The 2008 event was also the first year of the VMA’s affiliation with the
IAAM, so it was great for our members to be able to share in all the
benefits of being joined with such a significant organization.”
Hosted by comedian and author Terry Williams, high-profile guest speakers at
the event included Lois Appleby, board member for the 2011 Rugby World Cup;
Sandy Hollway, senior consultant to the consultancy company TFG and former
CEO of the Sydney Organising Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games; and Steve
Peters, CFE, IAAM president and founder and president of VenuWorks.
Run over four action-filled days, the Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress
and Showcase featured seminars on hot environmental topics, including “Going
green and being responsible” and “Climate change and its effect on venue
management,” as well as subjects such as risk and disaster management for
venues, defining and delivering value, and recruitment and retention of
casual staff.
The Skycity Convention Centre hosted all of the conference’s seminars as
well as the Congress Gala Dinner on May 6.
“We were delighted to welcome the Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress
Showcase to Skycity Auckland,” says Simon Jamieson, general manager of the
Skycity Hotel Group Auckland. “All 260 of the conference delegates stayed at
the five-star Skycity Grand Hotel, so it was fantastic to be able to
showcase all of the entertainment, accommodation and dining options we have
at Skycity to VMA members while they enjoyed their stay in Auckland.”
New Members
In other VMA news, a president and new officers were elected for the new
council, which took effect May 7, 2008, during the Congress.
Steve Romer, director of operations at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition
Centre, was elected president for the next 12 months. “I have the honour and
privilege after six years on the council to be elected president of the VMA,”
Romer says. “I look forward to serving our membership over the next 12
months and will ensure that the VMA continues to deliver the many first
class educational benefits and appropriate networking opportunities to our
membership at large. The VMA is already in a strong position both
financially and operationally and I look forward to further strengthening
our affiliation with IAAM.”
Romer paid tribute to the leadership and vision provided by immediate past
president Rod Pilbeam, executive director of AEG Ogden, who has served the
role of president for four years.
“I am especially delighted that Rod has been elected to the executive
committee in the role of treasurer so
we can benefit from his wide experience and expertise as we move into a new
development phase of exciting programs and added services to members,” Romer
says. “This is essential in creating the continuity of programs that Rod has
implemented during his tenure.
“Together, with the executive direction of the association headed by
executive officer John Benett and his team of highly professional
administrators, Zena O’Shannessy, Debi Chalmers, Maria Lamari and Irena
York, the VMA is in a sound position to achieve
these goals.”
Other councillors elected as office bearers at the same time are:
• Lee Kessler (Sydney Entertainment Centre), Vice President
• Brian Morris, Secretary (MOPT)
• Rod Pilbeam, Treasurer
(AEG Ogden)
• Monique Marks, Executive Committee member
(Blue Tongue Stadium)
• Steve Hevern,
Executive Committee member (AEG Ogden) fm
Mike Kelly, CFE,
Having spent the last two years in
Thailand at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, I had gained some
insight into the growth of the convention and exhibition industries in Asia.
Now, having moved to the China National Convention Center (CNCC), I have the
opportunity to see China’s performance in an Asian context.
The CNCC will initially serve as the International Broadcast Center for the
Beijing 2008 Olympics. The bulk of public assembly facility development in
Asia is driven by major sporting events or international fairs. The
540,000-square-meter (5.4 million square feet) CNCC development site
includes the new 333-room, 5- star InterContinental Hotel; the new 443-
room, 4-star CNCC Grand Hotel; and two 14-story office towers. In addition,
there are significant retail and commercial mixed-use operations built into
the CNCC convention and exhibition centers.
Contrary to much of the positioning occurring in the public assembly
facility sector in China and in Beijing, the CNCC has chosen to focus on the
convention’s and meeting’s industries as a business platform with particular
focus on the international sector. While the 6,000-seat plenary hall and the
attached 24,000-squaremeter (240,000 square feet) exhibition hall are
convention focused, they are all part of a convergence of commercial
activities.
For Beijing and for China, this development is a significant statement that
China is ready to compete for expanding regional and international meetings
business.
In recent years, international conferences in Asia have seen significant
growth both in numbers and, in some cases, market share, as compared with
other continents. The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
is generally accepted as the authoritative voice in the international
meetings industry. For the period ending 2006, ICCA indicated that while the
majority of headquarters of international associations and organizations
will remain firmly in Europe (60 percent) and in North America
(24 percent),
there have been changes in where exhibitions are being held. At the end of
2006, Asia found itself ahead of North America in terms of global
continental market share. By ICCA’s measure, in 2006 the number of
international meetings held in Asia was 1,025 (18 percent market share) and
in North America, 649 (11 percent market share).
By itself, this is a dramatic shift, but for the countries concerned in
Asia, it is only the beginning of a process long overdue. The number of
Asian members in international associations has always been greater than the
resulting number of international meetings coming to Asia. That imbalance
will increasingly be addressed as Asia finds its confidence and collective
voice in the meetings industry.
China Leading the Way
So, where does China fit in the international meetings mix? Granted, China
continues to be very exhibition focused. There is a belief in venues in Asia
that exhibitions derive better yield than conventions. Since it’s all
about better return on investment, this is a compelling philosophy. However,
there is a flaw. The concept would have better legs if the number of
financially viable exhibitions was infinite. However, even the largest
Chinese cities and markets can only support so many concept shows. At some
point, China will discover what most other jurisdictions have — that
exhibitions alone won’t fill the dance card. After taking into account the
domestic concept shows and after adding the odd international exhibition,
owners will find there is still a hole in the calendar. The venues industry
requires a business mix of meetings and exhibitions to achieve and optimize
occupancy.
To the point, despite its almost mesmerizing focus and investment on
exhibition’s infrastructure, in 2006 China had some success in the
international meetings sector. China was ranked 14th by ICCA in terms of
total international meetings. This ranking was enhanced by the fact that
China ranked seventh in terms of total international business tourism
attendance with 181,265 delegates. While some countries would be satisfied
with that kind of performance, China sees it only as the first step on a
longer journey.
Over the past several years, the focus for public assembly facility
development investment in China has been on the construction of exhibition
centers. Mainland China has always been envious of the success with
exhibitions Hong Kong has achieved. However, Hong Kong’s unique geographic
and regional financial hub status has been overlooked. “Build it and they
will come” is not a sustainable financial or political philosophy but has
been exercised with some abandon in China. There does appear to be some
discipline coming into the industry and into the marketplace as more and
more of the exhibition venues open and face the hard realities of
competition.
The results of a recent government report on the development of the Chinese
Convention and Exhibition Industry suggested economic activity in 2006 was
buoyant:
• 4,000 exhibitions were held in China
• Direct income to organizers and venues was RMB $14 billion
(about USD $2
billion) Indirect income to the exhibitions support industry was RMB
$126 billion (USD) 17.5 billion)
• Meeting organizers’ income was RMB $10 billion (roughly USD $1 .5 billion)
• Meetings industry economic impact was RMB $100 billion (USD $14 billion)
The numbers, without year over year or other location comparisons, are less
meaningful, but there is every indication that the convention and exhibition
industries are growing. It would be beneficial to separate the financial
impact of conventions from exhibitions. These two industries are often
co-joined but are essentially and in some instances dramatically different
with both different decision makers and decision criteria.
The Meetings Environment
Growth in the convention or meetings sector has occurred despite some
rigorous regulatory requirements on the introduction of international
exhibitions and conventions into China. If you are considering hosting or
co-hosting an international conference or exhibition in China, it’s
important to understand that there are approvals
 required at several levels
of government.
As with every country in Asia, China is anxious to host international
conventions and to attract the economic impact that thousands of
international delegates attending those conferences generates. However,
things are never that simple in China. The right to hold an international
conference in China can only be exercised with formal approval by the appropriate authorities.
China categorizes international conferences into four distinctive groups:
• Held by China government departments
• Held jointly by domestic and international organizations or institutions
or held by a
domestic organization under the auspices of an international
organization
• Held by an international organization, institution or company
• Held by an international convention or exhibition organizer who
moves an existing
convention or
exhibition to China from overseas
It is fair to say that approval gets more difficult as you progress down the
list. But a similar process occurs everywhere. The difference is that in
Western realms, conference organizers seek political support rather than
approval.
So while the process is different, the attraction of conferences and the
economic impact they generate is a key objective in China. The introduction
of new exhibition and convention space inventory by private and public
ownership authorities almost dictates a more liberal and expansive approach
to regulating bids for international conventions and exhibitions. The
Beijing 2008 Olympics may signal the development of a new willingness for
international visitation. That is good for China and the impact will be felt
with increasing continental meetings market share for Asia. fm
Mike Kelly, CFE, is
executive general manager of the China National Convention Center. He may be
contacted at mike.kelly@cnccchina.com.
|
|
Back to Facility Manager
Contents
