Cara Vanderhook
Vice President, Marketing and Communications Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater & L.A. LIVE
It’s never a shock to hear that the biggest arena in Los Angeles is busy, but when it’s quantified, it can be a little bit breathtaking.
Just consider what happened at Crypto.com Arena and the adjacent Peacock Theater and L.A. Live in just the first 41 days of 2024.
“We hosted seven LA Kings games, eight Clippers games, 12 Lakers games, the 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Jan. 6-7, along with the 75th Primetime Emmys on Jan. 15 and the 66th Grammy Awards and Grammy Premiere Ceremony and Red Carpet on Feb. 4, which was an amazing show and logistically challenging with the weather, but pulled off with our incredible teams working with The Recording Academy and LAPD,” said said Cara Vanderhook, vice president of marketing and communications for the downtown LA arena, adding that the campus hosted three concerts, a family show and high school basketball tournament as well. “I am also pleased to report the Grammy ratings were up 34% from 2023.”
That run of dates included another momentous occasion, one that hit home for those at the arena especially.
“To close out the incredible run, the campus came together on Feb. 8 to officially unveil Kobe Bryant’s statue in Star Plaza, with a last-minute curve ball of an atmospheric river the weekend before requiring a tent build out while hosting multiple receptions at Peacock Theater and Crypto.com Arena,” she said of the Lakers icon who died unexpectedly in a plane crash in early 2020.
Vanderhook, who in April marks 20 years at the arena, finds time to experience live music as a fan (she’s a Stagecoach superfan and saw Taylor Swift three times at SoFi Stadium) while leading the team that gets the word out about all the live music at Crypto.com Arena (and all the other events that keep it one of the world’s busiest arenas).
She sees plenty of success from women, but says there’s still plenty of work to do, too.
“I often quote the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg by saying ‘women belong in all places where decisions are being made’ and I do believe that women in the live business have made this quote come to life and play out in the boardroom, at venues, promoters, agencies and artists but we still have work to do and mountains to climb,” she says. “The changes I would like to see are companies continue to promote and work to support women in their professional goals and provide an environment where women feel on a level playing field as their male counterparts.”