Tag: March 2021

Freshening Up the Fieldhouse

BRICK HOUSE: Suite renovations stay true to Bankers Life Fieldhouse’s retro theme. (Courtesy Indiana Pacers) How a $360M refurb will make Indy arena state of the art while keeping it retro Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the first retro-themed NBA arena, celebrates the rich heritage of basketball in the state of Indiana. More than 20 years after the venue opened in downtown Indianapolis, it’s going through a major  facelift to retain its distinction for future generations. The 18,000-seat arena, home to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, was originally designed by the old Ellerbe Becket. It opened as Conseco Fieldhouse in November 1999 with lots of brick, a curved roofline and a tight seating bowl, all features of old gyms dotting the Hoosier State. The venue’s original price tag was $185 million. As the building approaches 25 years old, sports architect Populous designed comprehensive upgrades for the “Fieldhouse of the Future” at a cost of… Continue Reading Freshening Up the Fieldhouse

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Freshening Up the Fieldhouse

Read More

Indiana Prepares for a New Kind of Madness

Indianapolis alone has 100 college basketball games booked in March, more than 30 of them set for Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Indiana Prepares for a New Kind of Madness

Read More

Arena salutes Hall of Famer Irving Azoff

Pacers Sports & Entertainment has named a new space at Bankers Life Fieldhouse after music industry kingpin Irving Azoff.

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Arena salutes Hall of Famer Irving Azoff

Read More

Tom Wilson: A Fine Ride in Detroit

Tom Wilson had an influence over many during his five decades in the business, whether with NBA’s Pistons or the NHL’s Red Wings.

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Tom Wilson: A Fine Ride in Detroit

Read More

Tom Wilson brought back an amphitheater — and the amphitheater business

SHOW AFTER SHOW: DTE Energy Music Theatre, with a capacity of about 15,000, is among the country’s busiest amphitheaters. (Chris Schwegler) Tom Wilson is most closely identified with developing two arenas in Greater Detroit. The sports and entertainment executive’s vision for revitalizing the market’s underperforming amphitheater sometimes gets forgotten among his accomplishments. In November 1990, Palace Sports & Entertainment acquired Pine Knob Music Theatre, now DTE Energy Music Theatre, for roughly $10 million. The Nederlander Organization owned and operated the facility, which opened on June 25, 1972, with a matinee performance by TV heartthrob David Cassidy. Over time, though, it became run-down and was booking fewer than 20 shows over the summer months in the 1980s, Wilson said. Starting in 1991, after Palace Sports took over the shed, Pine Knob was packed with 80 concerts annually.  Some acts such as classic rocker Eddie Money became an annual draw at the… Continue Reading Tom Wilson brought back an amphitheater — and the amphitheater business

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Tom Wilson brought back an amphitheater — and the amphitheater business

Read More

Tom Wilson: As They Said It

HAIL, CAESARS: Wilson was part of the development of Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. “Tom built two of the best venues in North America.”  — Rick Franks “At one time, downtown was (considered) the ‘bad guys.’ Chris Ilitch saw what Tom did in helping develop the Palace from the very beginning. They put a deal together for what turned out to be Little Caesars Arena.”  — Franks “Promoters made so much money (at the Palace) that they kept coming back. We kept telling everybody that it had the best acoustics in the country. We had no idea, but it seemed like it would.”  — Tom Wilson  “We used to preach this … if we take care of the arena, so will our guests. We could put a heavy metal band in there and the building would look just as good when they left as it did when they came… Continue Reading Tom Wilson: As They Said It

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Tom Wilson: As They Said It

Read More

Rodeohouston, a Yearly Highlight, Will Return for 90th Year in 2022

During most of the last century, RodeoHouston has provided a stage for some of the concert industry’s top stars.

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Rodeohouston, a Yearly Highlight, Will Return for 90th Year in 2022

Read More

Punching It Up: A Big Bout in Big D

LIVE! ROUNDUP “Boxing Capital of the World” may not stick as the new moniker for Texas, but American Airlines Center in Dallas has hosted only the second boxing event with fans in the U.S. reported during the COVID-19 era. The first, a Premier Boxing Champions Fight Night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, drew a crowd of 9,024 on Oct. 31. The Dallas event, produced by Golden Boy Promotions, earns the No. 1 ranking on Hot Tickets and occurred on Jan. 2 with 4,218 boxing fans in attendance. Ticket revenue topped out at $353,835. In the main event, Ryan Garcia defeated Luke Campbell for the World Boxing Council interim lightweight title. On the other side of the live entertainment spectrum, three orchestral events land on the chart, two of them at Holland Performing Arts Center’s Peter Kiewit Concert Hall in Omaha, Nebraska, and one at Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center… Continue Reading Punching It Up: A Big Bout in Big D

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Punching It Up: A Big Bout in Big D

Read More

Venues Line Up to Offer COVID-19 Shots

Venues across the nation are joining the effort to vaccinate millions of Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.

Continue Reading Venues Line Up to Offer COVID-19 Shots

Read More
Loading

This Month’s VenuesNow