Author: Don Muret

Kings Shake Up Cocktails With Tech

A TOAST TO TECH: The Nina app connects to digital devices on liquor bottles to regulate pours. (Courtesy Golden 1 Center) With Nina system, suite patrons use app that measures pours to make drinks The Sacramento Kings have adopted another layer of self-serve technology at Golden 1 Center. The NBA team is expanding the use of a mobile system for ordering mixed drinks in premium spaces after testing it in five suites and one loft at the 5-year-old facility. It follows Zippin, the big leagues’ first checkout-free convenience store, which debuted in October. The new hard liquor system, developed by Nina, an 18-month-old Israeli firm, allows suite patrons to make cocktails using a mobile application that measures pours. It connects to a digital device on top of the liquor bottle that controls the amount of alcohol being poured. The Kings are acting as a beta test and at this point… Continue Reading Kings Shake Up Cocktails With Tech

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Seattle’s Premium Areas Get Interactive Feel

 OUTSIDE THE BOX: The Space Needle Club, shown in a rendering, provides views of Seattle’s iconic tower. (Courtesy Oak View Group) Rockwell Group’s designs for new arena put emphasis on social spaces The premium experience at the New Arena at Seattle Center will focus largely on grab-and-go concepts in tech-driven club spaces to attract the Generation Z consumer, according to project officials. Oak View Group, the developer behind the $1 billion transformation of the old KeyArena, on Thursday released initial renderings of suites, clubs and a food hall, all designed by The Rockwell Group, a New York interior design firm. (OVG also owns VenuesNow). Populous is the architect of record for the project, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021. “We’re spending $100 million (alone) on these clubs, thinking outside the box and making the building much more social, interactive and on demand,” said Tim Leiweke, Oak… Continue Reading Seattle’s Premium Areas Get Interactive Feel

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Mentoring Program Grooms Construction Managers

Students in the ACE Mentor Program of America tour the Levi’s Stadium construction site in Santa Clara, Calif., before it opened in 2014. (Courtesy ACE) Since its start in 1995, ACE has introduced high schoolers to potential careers Sports and entertainment venue construction, like most sectors in the building industry, has struggled over the past several years to meet the demand for qualified workers. The severe shortage in skilled labor dates to the Great Recession. It started when thousands of blue-collar workers left to pursue other jobs and never returned to construction, said general contractors, architects and others developing arenas, stadiums and convention centers.  Apart from skilled labor, fewer experienced construction managers are entering the market to oversee the development of public assembly facilities, said Steve Hofmeister, a managing principal with Thornton Tomasetti and co-leader of its structural engineering practice.  “There’s no shortage of top-flight engineering talent, but I see… Continue Reading Mentoring Program Grooms Construction Managers

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Levy takes over Carolina Panthers’ food service

Levy replaces Delaware North Sportservice as the food provider at 24-year-old Bank of America Stadium. (Don Muret/Staff) Levy adds fourth Charlotte sports venue to its portfolio Bank of America Stadium is going through major upgrades to accommodate the Carolina Panthers and an MLS expansion team. The teams’ newest move has Levy taking over the venue’s food service. Chicago-based Levy replaces Delaware North Sportservice, which ran the NFL team’s food and retail for the past 10 seasons. Legends and Fanatics are competing for the stadium’s merchandise operation, sources said, but at this point, it’s unclear which company will manage that piece of the business. Rick Abramson, Delaware North’s chief customer officer, confirmed the switch in food vendors. Abramson was principally involved in Sportservice signing its agreement in early 2010 with the Panthers under their old owner, Jerry Richardson. David Tepper acquired the Panthers in July 2018.  Panthers President Tom Glick did not return… Continue Reading Levy takes over Carolina Panthers’ food service

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