Author: Brad Weissberg

Esports: Nonstop Action

Esports: Nonstop Action

Posted by | Apr 3, 2019 |

Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, has become an annual site for an ESL “Counter-Strike” tournament. (Helena Kristiansson) As in U.S., competitive gaming boom drives innovative design overseas The esports industry is exploding. Revenue is expected to exceed the billion-dollar mark for the first time in 2019, according to gaming market research company Newzoo. With that kind of money up for grabs, purpose-built arenas are being constructed at a breakneck pace and multipurpose venues are keeping up with the demands of hosting esports events by adding in technology and adapting to the needs of a new kind of venuegoer. Esports is hot in the U.S., where new esports venues opened in cities such as Las Vegas, Arlington, Texas, and Oakland and Burbank, Calif., last year and another was just announced for Philadelphia, but it’s a trend that’s producing new venues all over the world. “Esports are a global phenomenon,” said Brian Mirakian, director… Continue Reading Esports: Nonstop Action

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Cantone Means Can Do

Cantone Means Can Do

Posted by | Apr 3, 2019 |

Tom Cantone received the inaugural Executive of the Year Award from the G2E Global Gaming Conference in 2013. (Courtesy Mohegan Sun) Mohegan Sun exec still helping redefine casino entertainment business When Tom Cantone was recruited to Atlantic City’s Sands Casino Resort in the 1980s, casino entertainment consisted of faded stars and topless girls. Cantone wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to do better.  “I wanted to open the doors to pop culture and get the hottest, latest and greatest to play at the Sands,” Cantone recalled. “Every agent back then shied away from booking their contemporary acts to play a casino. I felt like an army of one out to convince all the agents and managers that there was money to make playing a casino venue who has the same demographic profile as the people who buy their clients’ records, go to their clients’ movies and see their clients’ shows.” Convincing hesitant… Continue Reading Cantone Means Can Do

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Michigan’s FireKeepers Is Cooking

Michigan’s FireKeepers Is Cooking

Posted by | Apr 3, 2019 |

Tim Allen plays Michigan’s FireKeepers’ 2,170-capacity venue, the Event Center. (Courtesy FireKeepers) Venue keeps that Midwestern flavor FireKeepers Casino Hotel City:  Battle Creek, Mich. Venue: The Event Center Capacity: 2,170 The FireKeepers casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Mich., is less than two hours from Detroit and less than three from Chicago, two huge live music markets.  “Tours will play here even if they’ve played one of the big cities,” said Jim Wise, vice president of marketing at FireKeepers. “We mostly draw from a 50-mile radius, so it’s everywhere from here to northern Indiana and western Ohio. Business is good at the Event Center, FireKeepers’ 2,170-capacity live event venue. Hard ticket sales account for 65 percent of the inventory, and most shows sell out. “The facility stands on its own as a cash-ticket venue,” Wise said. “It’s the same thing happening in tribal casinos in Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Jackson and… Continue Reading Michigan’s FireKeepers Is Cooking

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Seneca Gaming: Two Rooms, Two Approaches

Seneca Gaming: Two Rooms, Two Approaches

Posted by | Apr 3, 2019 |

Seneca Allegany Resort’s outdoor amphitheater has a capacity of 6,000. (Courtesy Seneca Gaming) New York venues have their own identities SENECA RESORT CASINOS City: Allegany, N.Y./Niagara Falls, N.Y. Venue: Seneca Allegany Events Center/Seneca Niagara Events Center Capacity: 2,380 inside; 6,000 outside/2,232 inside; 6,000 outside The Seneca Gaming Corp. owns two casino properties in upstate New York with live event venues. They’re both called the Events Center and Seneca Gaming books them both, but don’t get the idea that they’re indentical twins. “Buffalo is the main feed for both properties,” said Christian Printup, Seneca Gaming’s senior executive director of entertainment and special events who books both venues. But Seneca Allegany Resort, a little more than an hour south of Buffalo near the border with Pennsylvania, draws attendees from Erie, Pa., and Ohio, he said. Eighty-five miles away, Seneca Niagara Resort, blocks from the famous falls, pulls from Rochester and Southern Ontario. … Continue Reading Seneca Gaming: Two Rooms, Two Approaches

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Management: April 2019

Posted by | Apr 3, 2019 | ,

Move of the Month Venue Solutions Group hired Richard Andersen as chief illuminations officer. In his new role, Andersen will be responsible for the VSG Advantage Training, a portfolio of customizable training programs. Andersen, who was CEO and president of Seafair in Seattle, is a former chairman of the International Association of Venue Managers board of directors, and was president and CEO of Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta; executive vice president of the San Diego Padres and general manager of Petco Park; and founder of Lighthouse Consulting Group.   Baltimore Convention Center’s senior sales manager, Elizabeth Berry, was named Convention Sales Professionals International’s association board president, a one-year position. The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau named Andy Conklin executive vice president of sales and marketing, Jenell Walton vice president of communications and strategic development and Jason Dunn group vice president for diversity sales and inclusion.  Seattle summer festival Seafair promoted… Continue Reading Management: April 2019

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