Gretchen Claffey
West Regional Booking Director – Arenas | ASM Global
The city of Oakland losing its NFL team, NBA team and impending loss of its remaining MLB franchise after the 2024 season has been a sore spot for sports fans in the East Bay. However, concerts have been one big silver lining putting the city’s arena back into the black.
“Oakland Arena (had) its biggest year of events ever in 2022 coming out of the pandemic with new arena competition in the market,” Gretchen Claffey, vice president of booking for Oakland Arena and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, which share the same parking lot. “It was very rewarding for us to prove ourselves during such a pivotal time, and I will never forget having two nights of Paul McCartney and two nights of Pearl Jam in the same week.”
The new competition she speaks of comes mostly in the way of Chase Center across the Bay, the San Francisco Warriors’ arena that opened in 2019 after calling Oakland home for almost 50 years. The loss of the team meant an open calendar and an aggressive booking strategy, leading to opportunities for Claffey, who is proud to have “cemented Oakland Arena as the Northern California home of K-pop,” starting with boy band superstars BTS in 2017.
“Since then, we have hosted 16 K-pop shows, and it’s been very cool to watch the genre grow in such a short amount of time,” said Claffey. Upcoming shows at the arena include Usher (two nights), Grupo Firme, Seventeen (two nights), Kirk Franklin, Disney On Ice and more. Claffey’s role extends to central California arenas in Stockton and Fresno and Kent, Washington.
After time at agencies including WME, she credits former Oakland Coliseum general manager Chris Wright with bringing her to Oakland in 2017, a role she’d like to play for others coming up in the industry.
“In situations where I have influence, I want to ensure that internships and entry-level jobs pay a livable wage,” said Claffey. “I’d also like to continue to find ways to bring attention to this industry and opportunities to young people who might not even have it on their radar.”
She says she’s excited to see the continuing multicultural live music trend, including South Asian and East Asian concerts, including the arena’s first Canto-pop show, an April 5 concert with Hong Kong boy band Mirror. Much like being open to different genres and styles of music when looking for booking opportunities, Claffey says to be similarly open-minded in all aspects of your career.
“Say yes to as many concerts and networking events as your social battery allows; you never know who you might meet or what you might learn,” she said. “Do your homework and research venues, bands, and executives you might meet so you’re not caught flat-footed in any conversations. I’d also advise to always lead with kindness. It can be a stressful industry but there’s always a better long-term outcome when everyone comes at situations with a calm, problem-solving mindset.”
