SEAT Summer 2011

1. S E A T
leading the premium seat industry www.alsd.com SUMMER 2011
Pu b l i s h e d b y t h e As s o c i a t i o n o f Lu x u r y Su i t e Di r e c t o r s
Member E ditorial:
How Jake B ye & the S t. Louis
Rams S ell Suite P artnerships
Page 16
Member H ighlight:
“Rally Rob” and Tulsa’s
Entertainment Well
Page 32
An Analysis of B est Practices
Utilized by Suite D irectors
Page 60
RELIVE THE ALSD CONFERENCE IN PHOTOS: F ind Yourself at LA LIVE Page 46
The Destination Suite
PLUS: Why is the ALSD going to M inneapolis in 2012? PAGE 40
Cambria’s Design S tudio at Target F ield

2. Ice Machines Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA SeriesIce Machines
Ice Machines Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA Series
Contact us for details on our stadium programs and these Marvel’s exclusives!
Installation service•
Stainless steel or your choice of color•
Team logo graphics applied with SonicImage•
TM
technology
For more information on Marvel’s top of the line products, visit our website or call 1-800-223-3900
www.marvelrefrigeration.com
Wine Cellars Refrigerators Refrigerated Drawers ADA SeriesRefrigerators Refrigerated Drawers
The Preferred Stadium Brand
of Undercounter Refrigeration

3. Relax responsibly .
®
Imported by Crown Imports LLC, Chicago, IL 60603
Your Away Team

4. TWO WORDS:
SPECIAL. TREATMENT.
MOTOROLA HOSPITALITY SOLUTIONS
Whether entertaining business clients, closing a major deal or socializing with family or friends, your
customers look to make the most out of their entertainment dollar.
Service, state-of-the-art amenities, and an overall exceptional experience are a must. Exceed their
expectations. Equip your staff with mobile voice and data solutions so they can offer the ultimate in
entertainment satisfaction. Afterall, everyone loves to be treated like a VIP.
MOTOROLA, MOTO, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2011 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more information, please visit us at:
www.motorolasolutions.com/hospitality

5. Elite Risk Services, Inc. is pleased to be
THE OFFICIAL INSURANCE PARTNER OF THE ALSD
We recently launched a newly enhanced third party liability insurance policy that
is designed to protect suite owners and managers each and every time you rent
a suite to a third party.  Separate your liability and pass the minimal insurance
premium on to the renter or tenant.
WHAT DOES IT COVER?
• Third Party Liability
• Property Damage or Bodily Injury (specific to the damages or injuries
the client may cause or is held responsible)
• Separates the suite manager, the venue and the suite owner from
the renter or borrower of the suite
• One low premium that can included in the suite rental agreement
Visit www.suiteinsurance.com  
or call Kevin Kurtz at 800-596-0969 ext. 105
 

Elite Risk
Insurance Solutions
License # 0G40499

7. #SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 5
S E A T
Published by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors
COVER STORY
40 POLISHED BRANDING
One company surfaces as a preeminent branded sports marketing
partner. Visit the “facility” at Target Field, a destination suite that is a
world of its own – Cambria’s Design Studio.
PLUS: Learn why the ALSD is going to Minneapolis in 2012.
BY AMANDA VERHOFF
FEATURES
46 ALSD 2011 IN PHOTOS
This year’s ALSD Conference and Tradeshow at LA LIVE was one for
the ages. In this year’s show recap, SEAT relives the memories of all the
events through the lens of SuiteCaptures photography. See if you can
find Waldo, or even yourself.
54 HOW TO WIN DESPITE LOSING
Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only
thing.” But for many ALSD members, winning on the field is an
uncontrollable variable. Instead, teams focus on what they can control –
creating superior customer service and memorable experiences.
BY RYAN MIRABEDINI
60 AN ANALYSIS OF BEST PRACTICES UTILIZED
BY LUXURY SUITE DIRECTORS
ALSD members completed two surveys earlier this year – one for sales
professionals; the other for service professionals. The results are now
unveiled.
BY HEATHER LAWRENCE, PH.D.
68 ALL CITIES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
SEAT presents a summary of the four-part series, investigating suite
pricing across a multi-variant landscape in the NFL, NBA, NHL and
MLB. The researchers then aggregate all teams and break them down by
geographic location to further investigate the business of sports.
BY DR. PETER TITLEBAUM AND DIANE BRANCA, MBA
74 CREATING PREMIUM SPONSORSHIP ENGAGEMENT
WITH TECHNOLOGY
Sponsor presence in stadiums and arenas once consisted of simply
splashing static logos around the venue. Not anymore. Welcome to
the era of dynamic environments.
BY JUSTIN WOOD
About the Cover: The Minnesota Twins and Cambria have created a unique branding
partnership, highlighted by Cambria’s Design Studio at Target Field.
SUMMER
2011
Contents continues overleaf
40
46
74

8. Association of Luxury
Suite Direct ors
Chairman Bill Dorsey
Executive Director Amanda Verhoff
President Jennifer Ark, Green Bay Packers
VP, Business Development Pat McCaffrey
Director, Sponsor and Partnership Development Dene Shiels
Editor of SEAT, Website Director Jared Frank
National Sales Manager Scott Hinzman
Membership Director Ryan Mirabedini
Design Carole Winters Art + Design
Director of Finance Dan Lindeman
Financial Account Manager Vickie Henke
Director of Interactive Media John Tymoski
Executive Committee
Chris Bigelow, Bigelow Companies
Brian Bucciarelli, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts
Greg Hanrahan, United Center
Tom Kaucic, Southern Wine & Spirits
Pat McCaffrey, ALSD
Kim Reckley, Detroit Red Wings & Olympia Entertainment
Board of Direct ors
Janie Boles, Auburn University
Natalie Burbank, Utah Jazz / Salt Lake Bees
Richard Dobransky, Delaware North Companies
Trent Dutry, US Airways Center
Chris Granger, National Basketball Association
MIke Guiffre, Pittsburgh Penguins
Adam Kellner, Chicago Bears
Gerald Kissel
Debbie Massa, ROI Consulting
Scott O’Connell, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
Mike Ondrejko, Legends Premium Sales
Richard Searls, New York Red Bulls
Tom Sheridan, Chicago White Sox
Peter Titlebaum, University of Dayton
Published by Venue Pub. Inc. Copyright 2011. (All rights
reserved). SEAT is a registered trademark of the Association
of Luxury Suite Directors. SEAT is published quarterly and is
complimentary to all members of the Association of Luxury
Suite Directors.
Association of Luxury Suite Directors
10017 McKelvey Road, Cincinnati, OH 45231
513 674 0555
[email protected]
6 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
DEPARTMENTS
8 NEW ALSD MEMBERS

14 ALSD STAFF EDITORIAL
Editor’s Note
BY JARED FRANK
The Myth of Ownership (Page 18)
BY BILL DORSEY
16 ALSD MEMBER EDITORIAL
How Do You Ask for the Sale?
BY JAKE BYE
22 ALSD MEMBER Q&A
24 INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATION
NEWS
Cleveland Indians devote suite to its social
media initiative
ALSD adds three members to its Board of
Directors
Is tailgating the next new revenue stream?
30 ON ALSD.COM
32 MEMBER HIGHLIGHT
SEAT visits with:
Rob Gardenhire
Director of Marketing
and Business Development
Tulsa Drillers
BY JARED FRANK
80 COMING ATTRACTIONS
Please Recycle This Magazine
S E A T
Published by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors
SUMMER
2011
SPORTS & entertainment alliance in technology
S.E.A.T. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Christine Stoffel, Founder, S.E.A.T. Consortium
Chris Wood, S.E.A.T. Chief Technology Advisor/Coordinator
S.E.A.T. 2011 STEERING COMMITTEE
Bob Jordan, New Meadowlands Stadium Co.
Casey Bookout, University of Oklahoma
Craig Neeb, International Speedway Corporation
Chip Foley, Forest City Ratners
Chris Dill, Portland Trail Blazers
Dan O’Neil, National Hockey League
Dennis Mills, Major Events International
Jim Darrow, Ilitch Holdings/Detroit Red Wings
John Avenson, Minnesota Twins
Kevin Naylor, Indiana Pacers
Larry Bonfante, United States Tennis Association
Lorraine Spadaro, DNC Boston, Inc/TD Garden
Mike Morris, Major League Baseball
Nancy Galietti, National Football League
Peter Surhoff, Major League Baseball
Paul DelGuidice, National Basketball Association
Paul Barber, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Richard Searls, Red Bulls Arena
Roger Baugh, London 2012 Olympics
Sasha Puric, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Steve Conley, Boston Red Sox
Shane Harmon, New Zealand 2011 World Cup Rugby
Tod Caflisch, New Orleans Hornets
Wayne Wichlacz, Green Bay Packers
34
24

9. TO K E N S & ICO N S
...recycled nostalgia
tokens-icons.com 877-558-7404
offers inventive gifts
crafted from game used pucks, stadium seating,
arena floor, even game used jerseys. We work
exclusively with real, existing materials that
are filled with your venue and team history.
GAME USED
AUTHENTIC
Game Used Pucks
Game Used Jerseys
TO K E N S & I CO N S
. . . re c y c l e d n o s t a l g i a

10. 8 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Erin White
Director of Special Projects
Rome Braves
755 Braves Blvd.
Rome, GA 30161
P: 706-378-5100
[email protected]
Tom Ramaley
Principal
ColorLink
2211 Braemar Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46814
P: 260-602-8604
[email protected]

Scott Campbell
Principal
ColorLink
2211 Braemar Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46814
[email protected]
Lisa Raterman
ColorLink
1615 Park Road
Fort Wright, KY 41011
P: 859-578-9720
[email protected]
Steven Ayres
President
Rocket 55
325 Cedar Street, Suite 102
St. Paul, MN 55101
P: 612-418-2787
[email protected]
Kyle Johnson
Creative Director
Rocket 55
325 Cedar Street, Suite 102
St. Paul, MN 55101
[email protected]
Jeannie Ayres
Project Manager
Rocket 55
325 Cedar Street, Suite 102
St. Paul, MN 55101
[email protected]
Macy Johnson
Project Manager
Rocket 55
325 Cedar Street, Suite 102
St. Paul, MN 55101
[email protected]
Dave Neff
Associate Director, Suite Sales & Services
Indiana Pacers
Conseco Fieldhouse
One Conseco Court
125 S. Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
P: 317-917-2831
[email protected]
Bret Cadenhead
nQativ
5414 68th Street, Suite 200
Sentry Plaza III
Lubbock, TX 79424
P: 806-687-8500
[email protected]
Marvin Crossnoe
nQativ
5414 68th Street, Suite 200
Sentry Plaza III
Lubbock, TX 79424
[email protected]
Kathy Cadenhead
nQativ
5414 68th Street, Suite 200
Sentry Plaza III
Lubbock, TX 79424
[email protected]
Larry Landusky
nQativ
5414 68th Street, Suite 200
Sentry Plaza III
Lubbock, TX 79424
[email protected]
Nancy Powell
Sales Representative
MobileBytes
41 Far Pond Road
Southampton, NY 11968
P: 631-356-3566
[email protected]
Martin Skulnik
COO
MobileBytes
41 Far Pond Road
Southampton, NY 11968
P: 570-807-2642
[email protected]
Michael Reynolds
Sales Manager
MobileBytes
41 Far Pond Road
Southampton, NY 11968
P: 570-233-0358
[email protected]
Britton Miller
Director, Client Services and Special Projects
Washington Nationals
Nationals Park
1500 S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20003
[email protected]
Kathy Hilgendorf
Premium Services Manager
Delaware North Companies
Sportservice at Busch Stadium
405 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
P: 314-345-9160
[email protected]
Mike Mungiello
Director of Suites
Calgary Flames Hockey Club
555 Saddledome Rise SE
Calgary, AB T2G 2W1
Canada
P: 403-777-5323
[email protected]
Kelvin Ang
Student
DeVos Sport Business Management Program
University of Central Florida
12050 Lexington Summit Street
Orlando, FL 32828
P: 315-450-1420
[email protected]
Caitlin Brown
Student
Duke University
610 W. Morgan Street, #212
Durham, NC 27701
[email protected]
Veronica Morrison
Radiant Systems, Inc.
3925 Brookside Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30022
[email protected]
Lindsey Nealis
Manager of Premium Seating Services
Chicago White Sox
U.S. Cellular Field
333 W. 35th Street
Chicago, IL 60616
P: 312-674-5350
[email protected]
Jorel Cuomo
Managing Partner
iConcertTickets/Premium Seating, Inc.
2263 NW Boca Raton Blvd, #20
Boca Raton, FL 33431
P: 561-672-7103
[email protected]
Jen Greenberg
Assistant Director of Client Services
Executive Suites
Verizon Center
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
601 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
P: 202-661-5042
[email protected]
Ginger Seidel
National Ticket Company
PO Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
P: 570-672-2900
[email protected]
Mark LaCoste
National Ticket Company
PO Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
[email protected]
Gary Chabot
National Ticket Company
PO Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
[email protected]
Jason Mauser
National Ticket Company
PO Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
[email protected]
R. Clay Jensen
Vice President of Ticket Sales & VIP Services
Utah Jazz/Salt Lake Bees
EnergySolutions Arena/ Miller Motorsports Park
301 West South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
P: 801-325-2544
[email protected]
Kristen Buchanan
Hospitality and Events Assistant
Carolina Panthers
800 S. Mint
Charlotte, NC 28202
P: 704-358-7864
[email protected]
New ALSd Members SUMMER 2011

12. 10 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Chrystal Rowe
Marketing Manager
Carolina Panthers
800 S. Mint
Charlotte, NC 28202
P: 704-358-7488
[email protected]
John Wells
Executive Director
Erie County Convention Center Authority
809 French Street
Erie, PA 16501
P: 814-480-6012
[email protected]
Charles Iverson
Director of Finance, Administration
Erie County Convention Center Authority
809 French Street
Erie, PA 16501
P: 814-480-6058
[email protected]
Ronald Desser
Director – Facilities
Erie County Convention Center Authority
809 French Street
Erie, PA 16501
P: 814-480-6015
[email protected]
Dawn Betza
Coordinator – Publicity/SE
Erie County Convention Center Authority
809 French Street
Erie, PA 16501
P: 814-480-6010
[email protected]
Naiden Kremenliev
4Topps, LLC
121 Fayette Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
P: 704-281-8451
[email protected]
Joe Bellissimo
CEO
4Topps, LLC
121 Fayette Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
P: 336-480-6413
[email protected]
Adam Pennington
Gametime
64 Taxter Road
Irvington, NY 10533
[email protected]
Doug Jackson
Gametime
64 Taxter Road
Irvington, NY 10533
Neil Martin
Gametime
64 Taxter Road
Irvington, NY 10533
Jeff Kroll
Manager, Premium Services
Minnesota Twins
Target Field
1 Twins Way
Minneapolis, MN 55403
P: 612-659-3672
[email protected]
Bob Price
President /Owner
One Furniture Group
6520 Airport Center Drive
Greensboro, NC 27409
P: 336-235-0221
[email protected]
Grant Buckborough
Senior Director of Ticket Sales
Phoenix Coyotes
6751 N. Sunset Blvd, #200
Glendale, AZ 85305
P: 623-772-3369
[email protected]
Stew MacDonald
Chief Revenue Officer
Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club
11230 110th Street
Edmonton, AB T5G 3H7
Canada
P: 780-409-5860
[email protected]
Crystal Haunte
Premium Seating Manager
Stockton Arena
Stockton, CA 95203
P: 209-373-1485
[email protected]
Jordan Hergott
Spec Seats
348 Hauser Blvd, #113
Los Angeles, CA 90036
P: 323-954-7100
[email protected]
Al Hergott
Spec Seats
348 Hauser Blvd, #113
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Harvey Hergott
Spec Seats
348 Hauser Blvd, #113
Los Angeles, CA 90036
David Yang
Spec Seats
348 Hauser Blvd, #113
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Keith Gentili
That’s My Ticket
165 Main Street, Suite 101
Medway, MA 02053
P: 508-553-1900
[email protected]
Dean Macchi
That’s My Ticket
165 Main Street, Suite 101
Medway, MA 02053
Russ Havens
That’s My Ticket
165 Main Street, Suite 101
Medway, MA 02053
Stefan Macchi
That’s My Ticket
165 Main Street, Suite 101
Medway, MA 02053
Scott Jablonski
Director, Club Analytics & Reporting
National Hockey League
1185 Avenue of the Americas
14th Floor
New York, NY 10036
P: 212-789-2688
[email protected]
Rob Mulhall
Information Manager, Club Analytics & Reporting
National Hockey League
1185 Avenue of the Americas
14th Floor
New York, NY 10036
[email protected]
Janice Thissen
Vice President
Acme Ticket
16 Sheffield Street
Toronto, ON M6M 3E6
Canada
P: 416-249-9163
[email protected]
Bill Kerson
President
Acme Ticket
16 Sheffield Street
Toronto, ON M6M 3E6
Canada
Patrick Duffy
Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales and Marketing
Partnerships
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay Lightning
401 Channelside Drive
Tampa, FL 33602
P: 813-301-6525
[email protected]
Paul Wallace
Senior Director of Executive Suites & Operations
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay Lightning
401 Channelside Drive
Tampa, FL 33602
P: 813-301-6606
[email protected]
Andy Blackburn
Assistant Director Premium Sales and Service
Chicago Cubs
1060 W. Addison
Chicago, IL 60613
P: 773-404-4142
[email protected]
Christina M. Ramos
Partnership Services & Fulfillment Coordinator
Orange Bowl Committee
2301 Collins Avenue, #527
Miami Beach, FL 33139
P: 305-341-4725
[email protected]
Jeffrey Wilen
Organizational Development Strategist
Cleveland Indians
Progressive Field
2401 Ontario Street
Cleveland, OH 44115-4003
P: 216-420-4157
[email protected]
New ALSd Members SUMMER 2011

13. Branded Tickets
TM
is a full color personalization service that
seamlessly integrates with your basic ticket design to allow Suite,
Club and Premium Seat clients to “Brand” their tickets by adding
logos, images or messages.
John Watlington [email protected] 804.598.9107 www.ptx.cc
30 Mill Street Wheatland, Pa. 16161 Toll Free: 800.941.1070 Fax: [phone]
High Impact, Premium Quality, Astonishingly Affordable
Branded Tickets
TM

Connect. It’s Time.
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
122 122 122 122 122E E E E E10 10 10 10 10
122 122 122 122 122 122E E E E E10 10 10 10 10
Book-1158
AAEBAAFABEAFBEAFAAFABEAEFABBAEBEEA
124298296448
AAABAEFFEBAABEAFAFBAAEAAFAFEBBAEEAAAEFBAAAEFBAEEABBEBABEEBEBAAEABFEAAAAAFFAFAEABAAFEBBEBEAAAFEBEFABAEAAABAEBEEABEBBAEBEBEABEEAABFABAFEEA
723598134416 366037 195927 005104950439 488448281779
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
111 111 111 111 111G G G G G11 11 11 11 11
111 111 111 111 111 111G G G G G11 11 11 11 11
Book-1077
AAAEFBAAAFBEABEFAEBBAEAABFEEBAAFEA
604009167012
AAEABEBAEBAFBEAFAEBABEABBEEEABEBEAAAABAEFABBEEBBEEAAAFEBAEBAFFBAEAEAAAAEFBAABAEFAFAAFFEABAFAAFAAEEBBEAAAEBAAFEABEBEBEBAABEBEEABAFABAFEEA
842498197684 727603042483 607222388867 128459491479
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
111 111 111 111 111K K K K K2 2 2 2 2
111 111 111 111 111 111K K K K K2 2 2 2 2
Book-1088
AAAAFFABAEFAEEBABABBEEEFABAEFBAAEA
000834763936
AAAEBAFEFBAAFAABEABBEEEBABEAAFEBEAAAAEFBAAEAFBEBEBAFAAEBAEABFBEAEBEAAAAAFFAFBAEAABEAFBEBEAEEBBABEBEAEAAAEFBAAAABFEBEAFAAEEBBEABEBEBABEEA
243618761904 609759812791 008342953095 367098678419
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
113 113 113 113 113F F F F F1 1 1 1 1
113 113 113 113 113 113F F F F F1 1 1 1 1
Book-1093
AABAEBEEEABBBAEAFAFEBAEABBEFAAAFEA
483741691011
AAEABEBAEBAFEBAFAFAAEBBAEAFBFEAAEAAABAEBEAABFEABBEEBAEBEBEAAFAFBEAEAAAAEFBAABAEFEEBBAAAAFFAAFAFEFBAAEAAAAEBAFEAAFBEABBEEBABEBFAAEAAFEBEA
842489814163 487076482196 607230774436 2487 10192304
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
121 121 121 121 121F F F F F2 2 2 2 2
121 121 121 121 121 121F F F F F2 2 2 2 2
Book-1128
AABAEBEAAEBFBEAFABEFAAEBFAAFAABEEA
484798655618
AAEABEBFEBAAEABFAFFAAAEFAABABEEBEAAAABAEFBEFAAEEABBBEEBABEEABBEFAAEAAAEABEBAFFAAFAEBAABEAFEFABABBAEEEAAAABAEFEBBEAEBAFAEBFAABAEBEABEBEEA
843580333202 726537686165 846658423973 728689564849
Justin
SMOAK
2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONS
MOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAYAPRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 20117:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs.
APRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO
7:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
9953565121 9953565121 9953565121 9953565121
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567Void
SATURDAY
April 30, 2011 - 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
001
000
SATURDAY
April 30, 2011 - 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
122 122 122 122 122D D D D D9 9 9 9 9
122 122 122 122 122 122D D D D D9 9 9 9 9
Book-1149
AAAEBAFAEBAFABEFAFBAEABAFEABEABEEA
242409830528
AAABAEFEAEBBBAFAEFAFAAFABAEAAFEBEAAAEABEBAFAEBBEAAFBAEFAEBAAFEFABAEAAAAEFBAFABEAAAEBFBAAFEEBAFAAEEBBEAAAAEBAFEAEBBEBAEBEBFAAAFABEBEBEAEA
725745551504 849221081239 608547788967 245782562995
TM TM
GAME 5 GAME 4 GAME 3 GAME 2 GAME 1
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010
7:15 PM
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
7:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010
7:30 PM
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PRICE INCLUDES $2.00 SURCHARGE AND
10% ADMISSION TA X ON BAL ANCE.
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
SEC SEC SEC SEC SECROW ROW ROW ROW ROWSEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT SEAT
BIND
101 101 101 101 101G G G G G10 10 10 10 10
101 101 101 101 101 101G G G G G10 10 10 10 10
Book-1026
AAAAFFAEBBAEEFABAAFAFAAFBEAABEBEEA
001639999649
AAAAFFAEFABABAFEAFBAEAABAEFFFAAAEAAABAEBEFAAEBFAEBABEEABEBBAEFEABAEAAAEFBAAAAAFFAAAFFBEBEAEABFAAFAAFEAAAAAFFAABEBEABAFEFAABEFAEBAEABBEEA
003905837233 488158611638 367777958022 004979185810
Triple-A Affiliatetacomarainiers.com
Dustin
ACKLEY
I N AU G U R A L S E A S O N AT T H E N E W C H E N E Y STA D I U M
2 0 1 1 S E A S O N T I C K E T S
L U X U R Y S U I T E
Justin
SMOAK
2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONS
MOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAYAPRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 20117:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs.
APRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO
7:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
9953565121 9953565121 9953565121 9953565121
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567Void
Justin
SMOAK
2010 Pacific Coast League
2010 Pacific Coast League
Adam
CHAMPIONS
CHAMPIONS
MOORE
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
SECTION ROW SEAT
D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B D U G O U T C L U B
FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAYAPRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 20117:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs. TACOMA RAINIERS vs.
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs. TACOMA vs.
APRIL 15, 2011 APRIL 16, 2011 APRIL 17, 2011 APRIL 18, 2011
SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO SACRAMENTO
7:05 PM 7:05 PM 1:35 PM 7:05 PM
9953565121 9953565121 9953565121 9953565121
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
VO VO VO VOI I I ID D D D
ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567 ACCT# 1234567
EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH EBJAIMEIIKAEEICEJBBDEGIAH
Book # 377 Account # 1234567Void
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
FRIDAY
April 29, 2011 - 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
This pass compliments of
Admit One - Nontransferable
0126 0001
0676 0551
0801
SATURDAY
April 30, 2011 - 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
No coolers permitted in the Pit Stop Club or pits.
Not valid for grandstand or pit admission.
Located inside the Historic
Old Dominion Building.
ADMIT ONE
Pit Stop Club Admission Ticket
This pass compliments of
001
Personalized Dynamic Brand Activation

14. 12 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
James Schrader
President
International Micro Systems
200 Racoosin Drive, Suite 106
Aston, PA 19014
P: 484-482-1600
[email protected]
Charlotte Jensen
Vice President & Director, Sports and Entertainment
ABM Industries, Inc.
165 Technology Drive, Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92618
P: 714-553-7925
[email protected]
Krista Rammelsberg
Director of Special Events
University of Washington
3910 Montlake Blvd.
Seattle, WA 98195
P: 206-616-1180
[email protected]
Chip Suttles
Director, Technology
Vancouver Canucks
800 Griffiths Way
Vancouver, BC V6B 6G1
Canada
P: 604-899-7412
[email protected]
Eric Mastalir
Vice President, Corporate Partnerships
San Jose Sharks
HP Pavilion at San Jose
525 West Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
P: 408-999-5863
[email protected]
Eric Erdlen
Chief Revenue Officer
New York Mets
75 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10019
P: 212-485-4881
[email protected]
Luke Solomonson
Principal
Matchday Intelligence
Barrio San Martin 26A
Bloque I, Portal 1, Bajo 1A
Zurita de Pielagos, Cantabria
39479
Spain
P: [phone]
[email protected]
Brittany Ward
Sales and Marketing
SMG-Reliant Park
One Reliant Park
Houston, TX 77054
P: 832-667-3976
[email protected]
Clay Kowalski
Director, Premium Sales
Houston Astros
501 Crawford Street
Houston, TX 77002
P: 713-259-8310
[email protected]
Allison Chin
Executive Suites Coordinator
New York Islanders
1255 Hempstead Tpke
Uniondale, NY 11553
P: 516-501-6752
[email protected]
Rich Rossi
Manager, Corporate Partnerships
New York Islanders
1255 Hempstead Tpke
Uniondale, NY 11553
P: 516-501-6823
[email protected]
Alberto Accion
CEO, President
RWB Hospitality, LLC
901 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403
P: 612-767-4821
[email protected]
Jason Kirksey
PR Coordinator
Georgia Dome
1 Georgia Dome Drive
Atlanta, GA 30313
P: 803-920-6820
[email protected]
Jeff Tucker
Vice President of Sales
San Francisco Giants
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: 415-972-2252
[email protected]
Sara Hirsch
Sales Executive
San Francisco Giants
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: 415-972-2231
[email protected]
Candice Keener
Luxury Suite Account Manager
San Francisco Giants
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: 415-972-2048
[email protected]
Casey Conroy
Luxury Suite & Business Center Coordinator
San Francisco Giants
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: 415-972-2046
[email protected]
Christian Chapman
Premium Seating Account Manager
San Francisco Giants
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: 415-972-2268
[email protected]
Dave Brooks
Senior Writer & Assignment Editor
Venues Today Magazine
PO Box 2540
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
P: 714-378-5400
[email protected]
Emily Fox
Director of Marketing and Operations
Concept Artists, LLC
462 Broadway, Suite 540
New York, NY 10013
P: 212-343-0956
[email protected]
Mike Ondrejko
Chief Operating Officer
Legends Premium Sales
634 Frelinghuysen
Newark, NJ 07114
P: 862-902-5484
[email protected]
Heather England
Director of Guest Services
University of Arkansas Athletics Department
Razorback Athletics
Bud Walton Arena
1270 W. Leroy Pond Road
Fayetteville, AR 72701
P: 479-575-6904
[email protected]
Scott Schiff
Director of Ticket Sales
Harlem Globetrotters
400 E. Van Buren, Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85004
P: 602-707-7011
[email protected]
New ALSd Members SUMMER 2011

15. ����������������������������������������������� � ������ �������� ��

16. 14 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Editor’s note by Jared Frank
I
t is a Tuesday afternoon in August in Dallas
which oppressively means: it is Death Valley
time outside. And who wants to work, who
wants to think during Death Valley time?
Fifty-plus days and counting of 100 degree tem-
peratures this calendar year will fry a man’s brain,
not to mention an egg on the sidewalk. The plants
in the backyard are no longer green and growing;
rather, they are brown and dying. The cockroach-
es, crickets, ants, spiders, baby lizards and freakish
mutant Godzilla bugs have all migrated into my
bathroom to beat the heat and maybe, just maybe,
find a drink of water. The cicada choirs have been
singing for months; the birds have fallen silent.
It is too hot to chirp. The dried-out creek beds
no longer provide a refreshing drink to wet their
beaks. It has not rained in weeks. Hell, I have not
seen a cloud in weeks. The dog days of August
have a rabic bite.
Perhaps more so than ever before, we need a
change of season. We need the different angle of
the September sun and the shorter days that it
brings with it, beckoning the air to crisp and the
leaves to fall. We need the rain to return to wash
away a summer that left much to be desired. The
NFL lockout wore us out. The NBA lockout is
still wearing us out. The volatility of Wall Street
and the recession that never really went away is
exhausting. The debt ceiling crisis is a daily con-
versation. I mean, really? Debt, ceiling and crisis
– three words we never want uttered consecutively,
an unholy trinity. The United States Congressional
representatives and their unimaginative bickering
do not speak for me. When the NFL CBA was
finally agreed to, Patriots Owner Bob Kraft said,
“The debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal
was.” I never want life to be easy. But nor do I
want it to ever feel this hard.
Stated differently, I do not feel shocked. And
I am not in awe of anything. That is the way I
feel right now, and I bet a lot of you in the sports
industry out there feel the same way – like the
steadfast heat of the world has created a pressure
that is practicing pugilism on you. And you are
tired, worn out and weary, fed up with being a
mere punching bag. But do we feel weary because
the world has made us feel this way or simply
because it is August?
Either way, we need shock and awe in the
best way – to be inspired again, to see things
from a fresh perspective. And there is reason for
encouragement. The Weather Channel app on my
iPhone says it will only be 100 degrees on Friday,
down from the 109 I felt on Sunday. Moreover,
at the time this note is being read, a new football
season has begun, and MLB pennant races are in
full swing. It is a time of beginning and ending.
It is time for the seasons to change. It is time to
feel shocked and surprised, awe-inspired onto new
challenges.
We need the fall to begin, and the rain to fall.
And I know that it will. Soon enough the clouds
will form, the thunder will roll, and the lightning
will strike our senses of urgency. Our vigor and
vitality will become watered and excited once
again which demands just one question: What will
we do with our newfound energy? Will we prattle
through another passing fashion until the Arab
spring of August returns next year? Or will we
adopt a doctrine of shock and awe to again spawn
the contagious, feel-good pride of yesteryear? The
choice is ours.
How do you plan to be shocked and awed in the next season?
Email me at [email protected].
Also connect with me on social media (See Sidebar).

Shock and Awe
Connect with me on
www.linkedin.com/in/
jaredfrank
and follow me on
www.twitter.com/
SEAT_Editor
for daily updates.
Here is a sampling of my tweets:
VIP Club 100 level in new Dynamo Stadium sold out.
90% of seats in President’s Club and VIP Club 200
level also sold.
Model suite built @ Progressive Field. Indians are
renting test suite anticipating full-scale renovation.
Dog and a ballgame with @KTsportsmarket. Discuss-
ing #socialmedia & other #sportsbiz
with the #RoughRiders.
NO Hornets get aggressive w/ 100 events in 100 days.
The organization aiming to sell 10,000 season tickets.
UNM granted license to serve alcohol in club levels.
Ends long fight between university & city councilors.
Leiweke: “(Sports and entertainment) is one of the
greatest industries today full of entrepreneurs,
risk-takers and visionaries” #ALSD2011.
Many thanks to @tribetalk, @MarkShapiro & Mike
Mulhall for a great experience in the #Indians
#SocialSuite. You guys have something here.
Congrats 2 Leah Leahy, Dana Petrie & all our other
#ALSD friends at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins &
@delawarenorth. Enjoy Lord Stanley’s Cup!

From the last issue of SEAT-”But first, I’m looking
forward to a long Mavs playoff run.” Congrats 2 Frank
Hubach & the rest of @AACPlatinum.

#LSU exploring expansion of Tiger Stadium. New
suites and club seats could be added to the south
end zone.

17. This side of Ad to face outside edge of page.
This side of Ad to face spine.
Spring USA Seasons Ad ALSD Fall 2011 8.5” x 11” Trim

18. A
re you interested in purchasing a
suite?” The answer to this question
that all of us in sales and marketing
are looking for seems to be more
elusive with each passing season. Perhaps the fo-
cus should not be on the answer, but rather how
we are asking the question. In St. Louis, as in
all markets, we have been forced to reinvent the
way we handle our executive suite partnerships.
We employ three primary strategies to make
this happen: create year-round partnerships with
our suite holders, utilize assets and relationships
across all areas of our organization, and focus on
value as opposed to price by avoiding the dreaded
“discount”.
Creating a 12-month partnership for suite
holders seems a bit like stating the obvious, but
it has become increasingly important as the ex-
pectations of our partners continue to grow. This
idea is even more relevant in the NFL with our
16-game schedule and our 7-month offseason.
With limited touch points in the form of home
games, our focus has been to extend the 10-game
season into a 15-20-game season through access
and experiences during the offseason.
Let’s face it; the majority of people we deal
with at this investment level can purchase the
majority of entertainment options at their
disposal. What they cannot purchase is private
access to our organization, our facilities and our
leadership. The events that are not debatable are
the ones congruent with your respective league’s
offseason calendar. In the case of the NFL, these
would be the schedule release, the NFL Draft
and training camps, all of which have become
part of the standard expectation for all of our
partners. Where we have been able to make
headway is with the unexpected touch points
such as fantasy camps with suite holders, where
they practice, learn and interact with our coaches
as players would, trips to the NFL Hall of Fame
to leverage not only the St. Louis Rams but the
power of our league and its history as a whole,
and private dinners at our coach’s home during
traditionally quiet periods in our offseason.
Regarding the last idea, it takes a very engaging
and very willing coaching staff to make this one a
reality. In St. Louis, we are blessed to have both.
It is not the ideas themselves that are para-
mount – we all have ideas – it is the planning
and the execution of a consistent calendar of
touch points. We in sports often proclaim that
“there is no offseason” regardless of our role. The
challenge becomes making this statement ring
true for our suite holders through an engaging
partnership that remains consistent throughout
the year.
Selling suites and premium seating in 2011
is nothing like what it has been in recent years.
As companies struggle to justify a large expense
based on hospitality alone, it has become increas-
ingly imperative to give them another reason to
come on board. Suites have always been viewed
as a tangible sale but as this process evolves, we
have been forced to view them as more of an
intangible, in essence selling a partnership with
other assets that come with an executive suite.
This could include any number of marketing
assets or elements of a civic or community part-
nership, all of which are necessary for a company
to justify such an expense to their board, their
executives or their investors.
In the past, our model has been to keep dis-
tinct lines between community affairs, sponsor-
ship and suite sales with at times three contacts
within our organization for one partner. We have
recently broken down these barriers and empow-
ered our sales and service group to sell across all
channels, creating lists of “borrowed” inventory
available to each seller. This inventory could be
in the form of editorial pieces on our community
page, service projects employing Rams’ and our
partner’s employees, radio inventory, in-game
inventory, player appearances and essentially
anything else that can be monetized.
This approach has worked externally, particu-
larly with our newest suite partners who are will-
ing to discuss a civic or marketing partnership
more readily than they are suites or premium
seating. This process has also made a noticeable
impact internally by creating sellers and service
people who are more educated and confident to
speak to all areas of the business, not just their
own. So often we have three pots of inventory,
and it is easy to fall into “that sign belongs to
sponsorship” or “that event belongs to ticketing”.
Borrowing these assets has allowed us to sell and
renew suites that would have otherwise been
lost while also creating a more dynamic selling
environment and improving communication
throughout the organization.
Perhaps the easiest answer to selling more of
anything is to reduce the price, have a “sale”, or
offer a discount. For something as dependent on
the long-term relationship as a suite or premium
seating sale, this is an extremely dangerous
strategy to employ. So often it may make sense
in the short-term, but the price you pay, literally
and figuratively, in the long-term with current
and future partners will far outweigh whatever
reduced revenue you secure in the here and now.
Our firm belief is that a consumer makes
decisions based on value far more than price,
and this idea holds even truer for the corporate
sale. It is nearly impossible to go backwards
from a pricing standpoint due to circumstance
then approach that partner with a price increase
without throwing in the “kitchen sink” as we like
to say. If we as an organization do not view the
value of our product independent of context then
16 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
How do you ask for the sale?
ALSD Member editorial by Jake Bye
We have broken down
barriers and empowered
our sales and service group
to sell across all channels,
creating lists of “borrowed”
inventory… This approach
has worked with our suite
partners who are willing to
discuss a civic or marketing
partnership more readily
than they are suites or
premium seating.
[continued on page 78]

19. tables for the sports & entertainment market
800.327.2548 | fax: [phone]
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an OFS Brands
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R O C OD E S I G N E D B Y M I C H A E L W O L K

20. 18 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
The Myth of Ownership:
Is It Good To Be the King?
Is professional sports ownership what it used to be? The author believes that the days when teams
could be purchased cheaply and when owners had the upper hand are long gone. Here’s why
…
Editorial by Bill Dorsey, Chairman, ALSD
P
rofessional sports, beyond the winning
and losing, is a revenue race. It has
been since Red Grange laced them up,
since the Babe hitched up his pants,
and since the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn
to the greener pastures of the growing City of
Angels. Players, over the years, have fought with
owners. Over the years, owners have begrudg-
ingly given the players if not what they wanted,
what they decided they were worth. Time was,
the owners held the upper hand.
But times change. I am not exactly sure of the
precise moment in time, but I believe it began
to change in the 1970s with the emergence of
former Major League Baseball Players Associa-
tion Executive Director, Marvin Miller, and
aggressive player representation. Miller was a
game changer for the players, forming one of the
strongest unions in the United States. Author
Studs Terkel said this: “Marvin Miller, along
with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, is one of
the two or three most important men in baseball
history.”
It was the age that first ushered in big price,
big name free agents such as Catfish Hunter and
his 5-year, $3.5 million contract with the Yan-
kees, an unheard of amount at the time. Another
of those players, Curt Flood, took his $90,000
a year and thumbed his nose at Major League
Baseball. “A well-paid slave…is still a slave,” said
Flood. “I am a human being. I am not a piece of
property. I am not a consignment of goods.”
Gentleman, Start Your Engines
Players began getting smarter and around that
time, began getting more money. And for own-
ers, they were more or less forced to pay market
value.
To help pay for the players, the revenue
race started heating up. And everything began
speeding up. Thus began the age of free agency,
arbitration, drafts on television and college
sports televised, creating stars before they had
a chance to shine in the galaxy of professional
leagues. Players got agents; agents signed con-
tracts on behalf of players with sponsors; players
became brands. Then they became celebrities at
extremely young ages, and thanks to things such
as fantasy sports and video games, started to
become appreciated beyond their local markets.
The leagues saw there was opportunity in
players becoming brands and began merchandis-
ing players’ images far beyond baseball cards and
into apparel of all shapes and sizes. The media
took note of the opportunity and gave birth to
a new brainchild of biblical proportions. ESPN
begat ESPN2 begat ESPN Classic begat
ESPNU. The leagues saw this and also began
their own media outlets. Everyone wanted a
piece of the action. The revenue race was on.
“Gentleman, Start Your Engines.”
Eventually, players began to figure out ways
to circumvent these middle men. Today, Twitter
and Facebook have come into being, and players
can control, in a sense, their own fan clubs on
a national/global level. Suddenly, thousands of
people seem to find it fascinating what a player’s
opinions are or what he bought at the grocery
store, not just his or her statistics. Players are
beginning to claim ownership and monetize
their “names.” Use of names and images is no
longer restricted to the “express written consent
of Major League Baseball.” Some players claim
they own their own images now.
With all the fame and, in some cases infamy,
came higher salaries. Much higher salaries.
Extraordinarily higher salaries. It is almost hard
to fathom that the NCAA Men’s Final Four was
not nationally televised until the late 1960s, or
that Pete Rose left Cincinnati to win an MVP
Award in Philadelphia, because the Reds could
not pay him $400,000 for hitting over .300 and
getting 200-plus hits a year for about 20 years.
Just a few years earlier, Major League Baseball
could not fathom such an uprising from a player.
The Major League minimum salary in 1968 was
only $10,000 – up from $6,000 the year before.
The Reds could not afford Pete Rose’s salary
then, which is just a little more than the Major
League minimum now.
Going Down the Madness Route
Now, the player’s value is firmly established, and
the owners need to find ways to pay for these
new generations of heroes, less they go on to
another team, and the owners become berated
24/7 on local talk shows and national TV and
radio for not paying for their players. Why those
cheapskates! Fans who would drive across town
to save four cents a gallon on gas think nothing
of the owner who refuses to pay $3.6 million a
year for a journeyman second baseman who can-
not hit his way out of a paper bag.
The fans routinely believe players deserve mil-
lions, even without proof of performance. The
owners must pay these salaries, they claim. After
all, owners are billionaires. They can afford any
amount of money. Ask any sports reporter who
If [owners] cannot find a way
to pay the salaries to be
competitive, in most cases,
they will not win. I f they
do not win, people do not
come. I f they do not come,
they cannot afford “not-so-
free-agency.”

21. has never read a balance sheet but seemingly
knows the value of everything else. Or ask any
player who did not have to toil for 30 or 40 years
of hard work, taking calculated gambles in the
first place to get to where they can afford to own
a team in the second place. How billionaires be-
came billionaires is rarely questioned. Now that
they are billionaires, then they are under some
kind of strange obligation to commit financial
hari-kari with the teams they own.
Bernie Mullin, who has been President for
three different teams in three different leagues
puts it this way: “There are three groups that
think the owner owes them every penny he has
that must be spent on acquiring and paying
players – the fans, the media and the players.”
According to Mullin, the same issues hap-
pen in Europe in the premier soccer leagues.
“The fans expect the owner to spend whatever
it takes to win. Every attractive player must be
signed, and that’s what Liverpool, Chelsea and
Manchester United are pressured to do.” Stan
Kroenke, owner of Arsenal Football Club says,
“No, I’m not going down that madness route.”
The result of this is a general misunderstand-
ing by the media and most fans of what it is
really like to own a professional sports franchise.
It is what I call: The Myth of Ownership.
The truth? No longer do the owners control
the players. The players probably have had the
upper hand since the time of the great Curt
Flood. The days when players, even the best All-
Pro players, had to almost beg to get a small pay
increase are over. Have a good year or two, and
players are set for life. For two lives.
The players clearly have the edge now. The
age of publicly purchased buildings, one of the
owners’ last big edges, seems to be ending. You
do not see as many new builds now (maybe
because everyone already has a great place to
play already). But you will not see as many new
buildings for the next ten years. Cities will not
vote for them, and owners cannot afford them
(and neither can taxpayers pay for them).
You need a couple billion dollars to build a
world-class venue these days, not a mere $500
million. Even if owners could afford them, there
is a catch-22 to all this – the new builds create
additional revenue, but more than half of it goes
back to the players, while only a certain part of
the financial risk of building out can be credited
back to the collective bargaining agreements.
In other words, the owners take the risk but
cannot partake as directly in the reward as their
own employees. And if they do take the risks
and can afford great players because their coffers
are full, they may be asked to pay back some of
this money in the form of a luxury tax or some
other form of a big market/small market revenue
share deal that is so commonplace to maintain
competitive balance. Not many businesses are
run like this. It is a byzantine process.
Billionaire Versus Millionaire
Squabbles
Thus, lockouts are occurring, two of them this
year and maybe more coming. Atlas is shrug-
ging. “No mas” say the owners to a very skeptical
public and players who do not believe what the
owners are telling them.
The work stoppages happen to some extent
because owners can no longer afford to pay their
own players. Salaries have skyrocketed. Owners
are losing money. In all of sports, about half of
them claim to be losing money. In the NBA, 22
of the 30 teams claim to be losing money.
David Stern has provided the National Bas-
ketball Players Association (NBPA) with very
detailed financial information that is audited
by independent firms that claim a $370 million
loss. The NBA, to become solvent, wants a $45
million hard cap and players to take huge 15%
to 25% reductions in pay. The NBPA contends
the $370 million in losses are accounting tricks
related to debt service from owning the team
and amortization losses taken by the team.
Legitimate accounting practices to be sure, but
not really representative of an actual dollar loss.
The true losses are not nearly what they say they
are, say the NBPA representatives.
Perhaps. But the public, reeling from a reces-
sion, has no appetite for these billionaire versus
millionaire squabbles.
The public sees owners as “billionaires.” Thing
is, they were billionaires to be able to afford
the team in the first place; they rarely become
billionaires by owning the team. You rarely hear
sympathy for owners who have lost millions of
dollars, because they are billionaires, and they
can afford the loss, so says the public. At least
not recently when too many owners are losing
money and team valuations have stopped going
up...at least not as dramatically as they were.
Times have changed, and owners, those evil
billionaires, who pay 38% of the taxes as part of
the top 1% in this country, seem to be on the
wrong end of the class warfare that is going on
at this moment in time. It is not so good to be
king of professional sports these days. The “new
owners” have millions of dollars in debt service,
unlike the “old owners” who have seen their
investments go through the roof. The advantages
have largely gone away for the new breed of
owners which is probably why the NBA has had
six franchises sold since 2005, and the NHL, a
very healthy league at the moment, has teams
going back home to northern climes where the
Buffaloneons roam. In other words, where the
fans are.
This is just reality, and the reality is a need
for revenue to keep pace. The owners need to
find ways to pay for these salaries. If they cannot
Owners take the risk but
cannot partake as directly
in the reward as their
own employees. A nd if
they do take the risks and
can afford great players
because their coffers are
full, they may be asked
to pay back some of this
money in the form of a
luxury tax or some other
form of a big market/small
market revenue share deal
that is so commonplace
to maintain competitive
balance. N ot many
businesses are run like this.
It is a byzantine process.
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 19

22. 20 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
find a way to pay the salaries to be competi-
tive, in most cases, they will not win. If they do
not win, people (with some exceptions like the
Cubs) do not come. If they do not come, they
cannot afford “not-so-free-agency.” The spiral
effect takes place, and teams become perennial
second-division teams and second-class citizens
in the cities where they are supposed to be
heroes. When a critical mass of fans stop com-
ing to the games, the result is inevitable – the
team owner decides it is time to pull up stakes
and move the franchise. That is the story of the
Rochester Royals which became the Cincinnati
Royals in 1957 which then became the Kansas
City-Omaha Kings in 1972 which moved to
Sacramento in 1985 and now, apparently, may
held over to Anaheim in the near future. Maybe
that is how the West was really won.
Owners usually move when they cannot
make money where they are. And they usually
sell when they are tired of losing money and
want to get whole again. The professional sports
landscape is littered with owners who have
escaped from pro sports never to return again,
sadder but wiser.
If There Is a Will, There Is a Way
It has always been a revenue race. Teams search
very hard to find any way they can to maximize
their revenues. First, there were the media rights
fees – TV and Radio. Then, there were the venue
fees – concession rights, signs, etc. Then about
25 years of venue construction led to premium
seats, sponsored spaces, naming rights and
higher costs of concessions.
Lately however, it is clear that owners and
team presidents are starting to look outside the
walls of the venues. Parking is now reportedly
the second highest profit center for a team in
the venue besides ticketing. Concessions are re-
portedly third now. With the revenue race in full
swing, it is clear now that the action has moved
outside the venue.
Or into cyberspace. High tech is starting to
be monetized. Smartphone apps, sponsorship of
new media and “digital rights” have all helped
keep players in the tall clover. Secondary ticket
companies have gone online and are paying
teams sponsorship fees to capture the team’s
already existing customers.
If there is the will, there is a way to make
money. Empty spaces under stands are being
monetized. That crawl space under the stands is
now a hip bar. That backroom janitor’s closet has
been transformed into an upscale club.
Again, not just inside the venue, but outside.
The Dallas Cowboys can draw 20,000 fans
on game day outside the walls of the venue.
STAPLES Center, under AEG’s umbrella, has
built itself a city outside the venue. Others are
following suit in Philadelphia, Miami and other
cities who are building entertainment districts,
attempting to get fans away from their high-
definition TV sets and not just into their venues,
but also into the local restaurants and bars or
into overnight stays at the hotels next door.
The game has become part of a total package
experience.
The Hero Business
Yes, it is about money. The hero business, which
is the philosophical underpinning of the entire
business of sports, is about money. The teams
and leagues and media create heroes who are
larger than life and then have to find a way to
feed the monster that they created. People make
emotional purchases for their sports teams and
sports heroes, and the money that flows in keeps
the players happy until their careers are over in
about five years. End of bright lights, big city.
Fame is fleeting. Beauty fades. What have you
done for us lately?
Reality sets in for the players. “The athletic
celebrity recedes into twilight,” said Curt Flood.
“Time draws him from center stage to the wings
to oblivion. It converts him from celebrity to
recent celebrity to former celebrity and finally
emancipates (or condemns) him to whatever he
can make of himself in the world at large.”
Curt Flood died too young at age 59. He
battled more than Major League Baseball; he
also battled cancer, alcoholism and many other
issues. His life was in many ways, tragic. The
sport he loved had abandoned him in many re-
spects. In 1994, during MLB’s longest strike, the
year they did not play the World Series, Curt
Flood addressed the players association and was
given a standing ovation. MLB may have never
embraced him, but the players remembered him.
A similar reality sets in for the owners. And it
is no longer as good to be king as it was before
Curt Flood became a free agent.
Do you believe the majesty of ownership is a myth?
Write to Bill at [email protected], and connect with him on
LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-dorsey/6/125/76a.

COMING UP NEXT:
ALSD MEMBER
Q&A
The public sees owners as
“billionaires.” Thing is,
they were billionaires to
be able to afford the team
in the first place; they
rarely become billionaires
by owning the team. You
rarely hear sympathy for
owners who have lost
millions of dollars, because
they are billionaires, and
they can afford the loss, so
says the public.

24. 22 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
ALSD Member Q&A
M
embership in the Association of Luxury
Suite Directors comes with many ben-
efits. SEAT Magazine, the ALSD Pre-
mium Seat Sourcebook and Member
Surveys, including our popular Salary Survey, are
a few favorites. But the greatest benefit is being a
part of the community. We all have access every-
day to a mindshare of over 1,000 members from
across all sports and leagues. How often do you
take advantage of these like-minded contacts?
When your organization has a question of any
sort related to premium seating, do you think to
ask your peers within ALSD?
We’re all in this together. And we’re all in this
together for the entire year, not just for the four
days we spend together in-person at the confer-
ence and tradeshow. Let the ALSD help you
reach your fellow members, all 1,000 of them,
at one time. We'll help you find your answers.
That’s the true benefit of membership – not
ALSD Member Questions, but ALSD Member
Answers.
Here’s how you submit your questions:
• Send your Member Question exactly how
you want it posted to members to Aman-
da Verhoff at [email protected] OR
• Visit us on the web and submit your
Member Question at www.alsd.com/
content/member-questions. Please note
- members must be logged into www.
ALSD.com to submit questions.
• When submitting a question, include
all contact information, including your
Name, Organization, Title, Address,
Phone and Email Address so respondents
can reach you in the way most appropriate
to completely answer the question.
• ALSD tracks all responses and archives
answers on www.ALSD.com.
• Member Questions are sent to TEAM
AND VENUE MEMBERS ONLY to
avoid solicitations.
This page also serves as an introduction to the
newest department in SEAT Magazine. Along
with the archived Q & A’s that will begin to ap-
pear on the web, we will publish a few conversa-
tions each quarter in SEAT. Below are a couple
sample questions for those of you not familiar
with the format:
Sample Member Question
Member Question:
Bottled Beer vs. Canned Beer
ALSD Member asks:
• Does your venue use/stock bottled beer in
the suite refrigerators (vs. canned beer)?
• What are the advantages and disadvan-
tages to using/stocking bottled beer over
canned beer?
• What are the advantages and disadvan-
tages to using/stocking canned beer over
bottled beer?
• Would there be a reason to stay with
canned beer over bottled beer?
Answer 1:
Bottled beer is of course high-end; however,
our campus does not recycle bottles, only alumi-
num and plastic. There is a push for recycling on
campus by the President’s Office. Bottles are also
heavier, so if the refrigerators have glass shelves,
the shelves break under the weight. We have not
decided the direction to go for this upcoming
season.
Answer 2:
We use only canned beer at our venue. Bottles
do break and also are considered by many con-
cert promoters to be weapons. Bottles are slightly
larger and are more costly. Email me direct if I
can be of any other assistance.
Answer 3:
Our arena stocks glass bottled beer, 12 oz.,
into all of the refrigerators. Stocking bottled beer
is nicer looking when using it in suites to enter-
tain clients/guests. Canned beer will fit better
in the fridge and can be stacked. This means we
would be able to hold more beer in the fridges
for large events. The only reason I would use
canned beer versus bottled beer is the quantity
you would be able to keep in the fridge.
Answer 4:
We mostly use canned beer as much as
possible, with the exclusion of specialty beers
that are only available in bottles. A couple of
advantages of using cans: Requires less space in
garbage and can be compacted, canned products
stack more easily in fridges, as well as cooler stor-
age spaces (space is always a challenge), less need
for bottle openers, which sometimes disappear in
the suites.
Sample Member Question
Member Question:
In-Suite F&B Ordering
ALSD Member asks:
• How do suite clients - both licensees
and single event renters - order food and
beverage in your venue? I am looking for
samples of online software being used,
as well as internal and external business
processes.
Answer 1:
Our university suite holders (season and
single game) receive a catering guide prior to
each season that includes the expanded menu
and multiple ordering options – they can call/
fax/email the catering office directly to place the
order, or they can order via the online system
Catertrax, which is the most popular ordering
option. Information on this software can be
found at www.catertrax.com.
Answer 2:
Here at our soccer venue (150 executive boxes)
most of our licensees will pre-order through their
account manager or via a custom built online
solution that we have. Those who don’t pre-order
can order on the day with the waiting staff who
have an iPad and app which has the full menu
and can send orders to the kitchen through
MICROS. I hope that you find that helpful, but
let me know if you would like further info.
Answer 3:
Our long term suite holders order online
through elevy.com, a website provided by Levy
Restaurants. Our single game buyers contact the
Levy suite ordering hotline. Levy provides the
software.
Answer 4:
We have just changed catering providers to
Delaware North Sportservice and they are about
to introduce EMBS – from some of our existing
clients who use it with other venues, they are
quite happy with the way it works.
COMING UP NEXT:
living social
with the
Cleveland indians

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• Refrigeration capacity of 5.3 cubic feet
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• Commercial stainless steel handle
• ADA24R and ADA24RGL come with a locking door
• ADA24RGL is ENERGY STAR
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Our undercounter refrigerators will have you ready for game day.
With a digitally controlled convection cooling system, your drinks
and snacks will chill quickly and stay cool all through the game.
With the capacity to store over seven cases of cans, you won’t
run dry if you go into overtime. Four full depth removable shelves
insure that you can fit whatever you need to make the most of the
day. U-Line. Ready for game day since 1962.
Lincoln Financial Field
Citizens Bank Park
TD Banknorth Garden
Gillette Stadium
Verizon Wireless Arena
Dunkin’ Donuts Center
Agganis Arena
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Nationals Park
Honda Center
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Comerica Park
Progressive Field
Paul Brown Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Nationwide Arena
PNC Park
Great American Ball Park
Canal Park
USTA Billie Jean King National
Tennis Center
Minute Maid Park
Louisiana Superdome
Frank Erwin Center
Coors Field
Invesco Field at Mile High
Pepsi Center
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Morrison Stadium
Camelback Ranch
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
United Center
Lambeau Field
Bradley Center
U.S. Cellular Field
Soldier Field
Xcel Energy Center
Conseco Fieldhouse
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New Orleans Arena
Cleveland Browns Stadium
All Pro Freight Stadium
Quicken Loans Arena
5/3 Bank Ballpark
Miller Park
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To learn more, please visit u-line.com
Please come by and visit us
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in Booth # 600
U-Line Refrigeration is keeping it cool in stadiums across the nation:

26. 24 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News
A
s part of its growing social media focus,
the Cleveland Indians are recognizing
Twitter followers and Facebook fans
of the team and rewarding those social
media users with free tickets to an Indians game.
While this prize sounds great by itself, if one
then considers that those free tickets are for
seats in a suite, the legitimacy of social media for
the Tribe can be seen clearly in the crosshairs.
Dubbed the Indians Social Suite presented
by Time Warner Cable, Suite 356 on the Press
Suite Level of Progressive Field provides the
“first interactive Major League ballpark experi-
ence” according to the Indians Social Suite
online application (http://cleveland.indians.
mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/social_suite.jsp). The
online application process largely determines
who is invited into the suite for each game. Fans
are asked to fill out information such as how
they use social media, their favorite Cleveland
Indians memory, and what game they would
like to attend. “We go through the applications based on the date that applicants choose, their
social media levels of acumen, and what they’re
doing out there in the space,” explains Rob
Campbell, Digital Media Coordinator for the
Indians. “Then we’ll fill the schedule homestand
to homestand.”
The Indians have had a tremendous response
thus far. The team announced the Social Suite
on March 23rd before the season started and by
Opening Day had over 600 applications for the
season. “We have a rolling wait list of 200-250
people that we try to fit in wherever we have
spots available,” reveals Campbell.
The capacity for the suite is 18 if SROs are
included, but to ensure everyone gets a seat,
the Indians invite only 12-14 people for each
game. The team invites in pairs, providing two
tickets per applicant so each attendee will know
someone else going into the suite. But with the
common thread of Indians baseball, it does not
take long for guests to become friendly with one
another and share user name information. “It
gets interesting when attendees start tweeting
each other, sitting just two seats apart,” smiles
Campbell.
The primary demographics in the suite are
mid-20s to mid-30s split 50-50 between male
and female. The Indians have also invited fami-
lies on Sundays which are KeyBank Kids Fun
Days at Progressive Field. “The demographics
are definitely a sweet spot that we’re trying to
hit,” Campbell states. “Through social media,
we’re able to reach new fans, ones that are im-
portant to the future.”
Aside from its exclusive Wi-Fi network and
outlets for charging smartphones, laptops and
tablets, the Indians Social Suite is similar to
all others at Progressive Field. It is a relaxed
environment where guests are encouraged to
wear their Indians gear, talk baseball and enjoy
a hot dog and a beer. The hope is guests become
brand ambassadors for the Indians, but the team
does not require any posts on Twitter, Facebook
or blogs while in the Social Suite or after. “The
main thing we want to do is bring people here to
have a positive experience,” Campbell says. “We
of course want people to share that experience,
but we don’t require ‘x’ number of tweets or posts
per game. We just want people to come out and
have a good time at Progressive Field.”
When the initiative first started, the Indians
were not entirely sure in what direction the
conversation would go, but they were not overly
concerned with the possibility of critical com-
mentary. According to Campbell, the feeling has
been overwhelmingly positive. By and large,
Cleveland Indians devote suite to its social media initiative
The Indians Social Suite rewards social media users and establishes new connections with fans
Meet your new ALSD BOD members, p.26
Member Highlight: Rob Gardenhire, p.32
“[The Tribe S ocial Deck]
gave us inroads into
communications channels
that we had never been a
part of before; and now
by dedicating a suite to
this initiative, you see how
important [social media] is
to the organization.”
[continued on page 78]
Social Butterflies: Rob Campbell explains the 25-35 years old, 50-50 male-female split in the Social Suite: “The demographics are
definitely a sweet spot that we’re trying to hit.”

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28. 26 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News
ALSD adds three members to its Board of D irectors
Mike Guiffre, Adam Kellner and Scott O’Connell began service at the 2011 ALSD Conference and Tradeshow in Los Angeles
Mike Guiffre
Director of Premium Seating and Group Sales
Pittsburgh Penguins
[email protected]
Michael Guiffre will begin his 13th season with
the Pittsburgh Penguins this year, his seventh
as Director of Premium Seating. He began with
the Penguins as an intern after college, working
in the group sales department before being
promoted to Manager of Ticket Sales and then
to the premium seating department. Michael
attended the West Virginia University (WVU),
where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Sport Management while working with the ath-
letic department to gain experience in the sports
business field. He is single and currently resides
in the North Hills suburb of Pittsburgh.
Adam Kellner
Director of Premium Hospitality
Chicago Bears Football Club
[email protected]
Adam Kellner is the Chicago Bears Direc-
tor of Premium Hospitality. He oversees all of
the team’s premium seating sales and service
initiatives, including Suites, Skyline Suite Seats,
United Club Seats, PSL sales and Season Ticket
Priority List sign-ups. Adam joined the team in
2001 to manage the team’s New Soldier Field
PSL sales campaign and supervise all tickets for
the team’s 2002 season at the University of Illi-
nois. Prior to the Bears, Adam worked in various
ticket sales and service roles for the Chicago
Wolves, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and
Tampa Bay Lightning. A native of Gainesville,
Florida, Adam received a Bachelor’s degree in
Sports Business from the University of South
Carolina and earned a Master’s degree in Busi-
ness from the University of Central Florida. He
and his wife, Tracy, have two daughters, Morgan
(3) and Aubrey (1).
Scott O’Connell
Director, Suite and Premium Seat Sales and
Service
Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
[email protected]
Scott joined the Minnesota Twins in November
of 1984 as a season ticket representative. He
annually has led the ticket sales department in
ticket sales and revenue generated. Promoted
to Director of Ticket Sales prior to the 1998
season, Scott has been instrumental in the
development of Twins season ticket programs
and packages during his time with the ballclub.
In 2007 Scott was promoted to Director of New
Ballpark Development and was responsible
for the sales and marketing of all suites and
premium seating at Target Field. As the team
transitioned into its new home at Target Field,
Scott assumed the position of Director of Suite
and Premium Seat Sales and Service. This posi-
tion allows Scott to personally address the needs
of all suite and premium seat clients by servicing
an elite segment of season ticket holders that
have ownership in venues previously not avail-
able to Twins season ticket holders. A graduate
of Brown Institute, Scott had a career in broad-
casting prior to joining the Twins organization.
Scott is a native of South St. Paul and currently
resides in Woodbury with his wife Pam, son
Mick and daughter Allison.
Mike GuiffreAdam KellnerScott O’connell

30. 28 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News
Is tailgating the next new revenue stream?
The revenue race that dominates professional sports today is starting to look more closely at ideas outside the venue walls
B
uildings such as Cowboys Stadium in
Dallas and others where people can watch
games outside the venue are starting to
catch people’s attention. Other examples
include the American Airlines Center also in
Dallas and AEG’s LA LIVE outside STAPLES
Center where in both cases, there are large
video boards and expansive concourses outside
the venues to entertain fans. One of the largest
potential new areas of revenue growth is this one
place where nearly everyone must be at before
and after the game itself – the parking lots.
According to some, parking is now recog-
nized as the second most profitable area in a
venue’s revenue stream. And it does make sense.
Once the blacktop is laid down and the lights
are put up, there is very little in the way of up-
keep. It is not labor intensive as are concessions.
No chefs, no distribution trucks, no food spoil-
age. And parking is an absolute necessity for the
vast majority of the venues in North America.
Now teams, concessionaires, parking compa-
nies and municipalities are all looking to cash
in on a decades-old trend – tailgating. It is a
time-honored tradition, especially in college and
professional football, but until recently, very few
teams had much control over it.
Cashing in on Tailgating
Those days are starting to change. Enter a new
concept from Pat Boone All-American Meats
called Tailgate in a Box. It is an attempt to mon-
etize all the food that is not being purchased
inside the venue. And it is doing it in a way that
will encourage usage by making it easier for the
non-committed tailgater who may or may not
tailgate because frankly… it is just too much
work.
“Logic dictates that there must be a group of
people who do not want to pack up a grill or put
things on ice but who do like the idea of tailgat-
ing,” says Bill Dorsey, Chairman of the ALSD.
“I submit to you that premium seating is a great
place for this idea to start. Tell me another
area in the venue where everyone already has
assigned parking places. Tell me another area
where the people who own these parking passes
do not want to disrupt their day with buying
food, bringing in a grill or putting beer on ice.”
“I personally think this is going to be another
new revenue stream and like a lot of new rev-
enue streams, it may begin with those who have
the most disposable income,” Dorsey concludes.
“Premium seating is often the test market for
new venue ideas.”
A few teams have already looked at this
concept. The Indianapolis Colts host a VIP Tail-
gating Event across from Lucas Oil Stadium.
It is held in a hospitality tent that holds up to
500 people, and it is an all-inclusive price for
food and drink. There are TVs in the tent and of
course, if it rains, fans are covered. It is a varia-
tion of the theme.
The Green Bay Packers have set up a similar
situation with their Tundra Tailgate area, a free
area in which fans can enjoy the game and have
food and drinks without even having a ticket to
the game. The tent is heated which is a big deal
in Green Bay in the winter. It allows fans who
cannot get into a sold-out venue a place to be a
part of the Packer experience outside the venue
walls.
Charitable Components of
Tailgating
There is another area of this strategy that is
intriguing – royalty programs. Pat Boone All-
American Meets donates a 7% royalty back to
affiliate program users, i.e., teams and venues
that utilize the service. So for example, if a large
alumni association uses these branded Tailgates
in a Box, a percentage of the procedes go back to
the alumni association. On game day, far-flung
alumni spread across the globe can purchase
their Tailgate in a Box, grill out and give back
to their school. It acts very much like an alumni
donation. Teams, venues and concessionaires can
use the 7% as a strict profit center also, without a
donation involved.
Donations are tough to come by these days
for cash-strapped Americans. Gary Tedder,
Senior Vice President of Business Development
for Accredited Members, Inc., the company
[continued on page 78]
“I personally think
[tailgating] is going to
be another new revenue
stream and like a lot of
new revenue streams, it
may begin with those who
have the most disposable
income. Premium seating
is often the test market for
new venue ideas.”

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32. 30 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News
On ALSD.COM
Connect with the ALSD on LinkedIn:
Association of Luxury Suite Directors Group Page:
www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=918457
Bill Dorsey:
www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-dorsey/6/125/76a
Amanda Verhoff:
www.linkedin.com/in/amandakuntzverhoff
Jennifer Ark:
www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-ark/6/44b/1b5
Pat McCaffrey:
www.linkedin.com/pub/pat-mccaffrey/9/27b/54b
Jared Frank:
www.linkedin.com/in/jaredfrank
Dene Shiels:
www.linkedin.com/pub/dene-shiels/10/b97/b8
Ryan Mirabedini:
www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmirabedini
Follow the ALSD on Twitter:
Jared Frank:
www.twitter.com/SEAT_Editor
Ryan Mirabedini:
www.twitter.com/Ryan_ALSD
Like the ALSD on Facebook:
Association of Luxury Suite Directors Group Page:
www.facebook.com/AssociationOfLuxurySuiteDirectors
ALSD Social Media
FROM FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/A ssociationO fLuxurySuiteD irectors
ALSD Conference and Tradeshow Photos: Los Angeles, CA
ALSD on Location: CLeveland, OH
Living Social: Jared’s visit to Cleveland included a night tweeting
from the Indians Social Suite at Progressive Field.
UP-TO-THE-MINUTE
INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATION
NEWS
www.alsd.com/news
More details of the proposed 49er stadium
revealed
HNTB calls its design “an outdoor entertainment
venue.”
www.alsd.com/content/more-details-
proposed-49er-stadium-revealed
New Orleans H ornets get aggressive with
100 events in 100 days
The organization is aiming to sell 10,000 season
tickets by mid-September.
www.alsd.com/content/new-orleans-
hornets-get-aggressive-100-events-100-
days
New to ALSD.com
ALSD Member Q&A
www.alsd.com/content/member-questions
Team Case S tudies Brought To You
By ALSD S olution Providers
www.alsd.com/content/team-case-studies
Korbel co-brands party suite to celebrate
Angels 50th A nniversary
The activated space delivers brand recognition
while enhancing the fan experience.
www.alsd.com/content/korbel-co-brands-
party-suite-celebrate-angels-50th-
anniversary
Pop the Bubbly: Before and after images of the Korbel suite at
Angel Stadium. Images from the Angels World Series Championship
combined together with Korbel are a great tie-in to the team’s 50th
Anniversary.
Smell the Roses: ALSD Conference attendees at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.

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34. 32 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
A Conversation with Rob Gardenhire
Director of Marketing and Business Development, Tulsa Drillers
I
t’s baseball season; it’s Shark Week; the OU
Sooners are about to start summer camp.
Life is good for Rob Gardenhire. While tak-
ing a break from these pleasures and escaping
the oppressive 30-plus consecutive days of 100
degree heat in Tulsa, Rob cools off with nostal-
gic tales of laundering jock straps and introduces
his alter ego, “Rally Rob”.
Whether he is managing suites or trying to
convince the state of Oklahoma and his wife
to let him marry Bob Stoops, Rob’s approach is
always the same – beast mode.
SEAT: My spies tell me you are a crazy, die hard
OU Sooners fan and season ticket holder. Does
it make you nervous at all that the Sooners are
preseason #1 in the Coaches Poll?
Gardenhire: A little bit. You know, who knows?
If we could have avoided losing to the teams
we shouldn’t have lost to last year, we probably
would have won the National Championship a
year ago. So anything can happen.
SEAT: But what do you think will happen?
What’s your prediction for the Crimson and
Cream this year?
Gardenhire: Florida State is going to be a
tough test. And the OU-OSU game could end
up being the biggest that it’s ever been. I think
we could see two undefeated teams there, and
the winner goes on to play for the National
Championship.
SEAT: After a few years of teaching and coach-
ing in the Dallas area, what made you decide to
make the move to the sports business industry
and take your current position in Tulsa?
Gardenhire: When I was an Athletic Director
a couple times early on in my career, I realized I
needed more education on the business end of
things. So I enrolled at the University of Dallas
and got my MBA really for the sole purpose
of getting into an athletic department at the
college level.
About a year from graduation, I realized I
didn’t have a ton of experience with marketing
and promotions and selling and these kinds of
things that everybody was telling me I needed to
have. So I took an internship with the Conti-
nental Baseball League, which was based out of
Dallas. It had three teams in the [Dallas-Fort
Worth] Metroplex and one in Houston. I did
that in the summer of ’07 while taking nine
hours and having a young family. I did every-
thing from laundry to workers comp to payroll.
It was nuts but a great experience. It opened
the door for me here in Tulsa. I was born here,
and my wife grew up here. So that’s why we
eventually decided to come back here with a
little luck at the Baseball Winter Meetings in
’07. I ran into these guys from Tulsa. They had a
job come open, and here I am.
SEAT: Sounds like you have certainly paid your
dues.
Gardenhire: Yeah I guess I have. No more doing
laundry at two o’clock in the morning for me.
SEAT: Alright, time for the most important
question of the day, who the hell is “Rally Rob”?
Gardenhire: [Laughing] Rally Rob is a fan of
the Tulsa Drillers who often out of frustration
for long work days and extra inning games will
show up wearing various outfits, most recently a
Drillers hard hat and an old Drillers jersey. He
will come out and yell pretty loudly, loud enough
to be heard by the 500 fans that are still in the
ballpark after the 15th inning.
The story goes back to a doubleheader we
had in 2009 on a Sunday night, the last day of
a homestand. The way we do doubleheaders is
we’ll do two seven inning games. The first game
went to nine innings, and the second game went
to 16 innings. So at two in the morning after
about the 12th inning, Rally Rob was born. He
changed outfits after each inning in hopes of
rallying the troops.
SEAT: From your Twitter feed, I see you are a
fan of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.
I need you to help explain that phenomenon to
me, because I just do not get it.
Gardenhire: For me, I think it goes back
to a love for big animal movies, whether it’s
Anaconda or Jaws or anything like that. Any B-
movie that has to do with a large animal, I will
definitely sit down and watch.
SEAT: Does your wife watch Shark Week with
you?
Gardenhire: She will watch Shark Week with
me. It doesn’t get any better than that – a guy
who works in baseball and is gone most of the
time, and when he comes home, all he wants to
do is watch Shark Week. It’s real romantic.
SEAT: What is this #beastmode hash tag I keep
seeing on your Twitter feed?
Gardenhire: The #beastmode hash tag is
inspired by Kevin Butcher, my Assistant Busi-
ness Development Manager. Kevin stole it from
[Toronto Blue Jays outfielder/third baseman]
Jose Batista. Recently, the joke has been that we
were going to pitch an event to do here at the
ballpark. So we were going to go “beast mode”
on our management and get this event done.
Sure enough, management went “beast mode”
on us and said no.
Industry and Association News: ALSD Member Highlight
By Jared Frank, Editor, SEAT Magazine
“[My wife] will watch Shark
Week with me. It doesn’t
get any better than that – a
guy who works in baseball
and is gone most of the
time, and when he comes
home, all he wants to do is
watch Shark Week. It’s real
romantic.”
COMING UP NEXT:
ROB’S BALLPARK
IS A WELL OF
ENTERTAINMENT

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36. Industry and Association News: ALSD Member Venue Highlight
T
he Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A affiliate of
the Colorado Rockies, have struck enter-
tainment oil. By abandoning the economi-
cally limited Drillers Stadium at the Tulsa
County Fairgrounds in favor of the gushing
geyser that is the state-of-the-art ONEOK
Field, the Drillers are producing black gold in
the form of corporate and family entertainment.
Built in the art deco style of architecture char-
acteristic of the historic Greenwood District of
downtown Tulsa, the ballpark embraces the city’s
culture and its oldest and most popular profes-
sional sports franchise, a baseball club that has
played for over 100 years. “It’s not hard to get on
the phone and talk about Tulsa Drillers baseball
with anybody, even if it’s a cold call,” contends
Rob Gardenhire, Director of Marketing and
Business Development for the Drillers. “People
have fond memories of the Drillers here in Tulsa
that date back a long way. We’re entrenched in
this community.”
The major league amenities available at
ONEOK Field begin with its 23 suites, 19 more
than the Drillers had at the old ballpark. Eigh-
teen suites are sold at 5-, 7- or 10-year deals;
two are sold on a nightly basis; and two are
40-person suites. The Drillers also have a suite
of their own that the club donates frequently,
hosts the players’ wives in and uses for family
functions.
Because ONEOK Field is a private-public
partnership in which $30 million came from
private donations, one of the double, 40-person
suites is reserved for ballpark donors. Twenty-
one of the donating groups have access to the
suite a number of times per year based on their
giving level. The second 40-person suite is the
ballpark’s naming rights suite. ONEOK, Inc.,
one of the largest natural gas distributors in
the United States, together with the ONEOK
Foundation secured a $5 million, 20-year nam-
ing rights deal.
ONEOK Field’s capacity is 7,833 fans. The
seating bowl is comprised of 5,200 seats, 212
of which are club seats, which according to
Gardenhire have been sold out for the ballpark’s
first two years. Some of the club seat amenities
include a padded seat, a drink rail, a side table
and in-seat food and beverage service. Club seat
holders also have access to the air conditioned
Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac, which is
directly behind home plate on the ballpark’s
suite level. Tycoon’s offers a full service bar, food
service, two 42” plasma TVs and an energetic,
social atmosphere.
Other premium and group seating options
include the Coors Light Refinery Deck, an
exclusive, upscale environment with a full service
bar and seating for up to 200 guests, and the Oil
Field Picnic Pavilion, which can host more than
1,000 guests in a shaded outdoor hospitality
environment with access to the TD Williamson
Kids Zone.
Introducing ONEOK Field: Tulsa’s Entertainment Well
Tulsa is annually a top minor league market. Now it is a top minor league market with major league amenities
such as ONEOK Field, home of the Tulsa Drillers.
By Jared Frank, Editor, SEAT Magazine
34 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
“The ballpark is now a true entertainment venue. We
really have something for everybody now whereas at
the old place, you had to leave the stadium and leave the
action to be able to do anything besides watch baseball.”

– Rob Gardenhire, Tulsa Drillers

38. The Drillers also have a 2,380 square-foot
Conference Center located on ONEOK Field’s
suite level. Patrons benefit from the latest in
audio-visual technology to showcase their latest
products and space to comfortably accommodate
groups of 25-200 guests. The Drillers Confer-
ence Center can also be combined with the
Coors Light Refinery Deck to grow meeting
capacities.
All of these premium opportunities allow the
Drillers to compete for entertainment dollars
in a saturated minor league marketplace that
includes the Tulsa Talons (AFL), the Tulsa Oil-
ers (CHL) and one professional franchise – the
Tulsa Shock (WNBA), all who play at the three
year old BOK Center. The NBA Development
League’s 66ers also call Tulsa home, playing in
the Tulsa Convention Center. “It’s definitely a
healthy competition. It keeps us on our toes,”
says Gardenhire. “We feel we offer the most af-
fordable and most entertaining product both on
the field and in the stands.”
The entertainment value “in the stands” is
ONEOK Field’s greatest improvement over
the old ballpark, which was a place where fans
had to really love baseball to have a good fan
experience. Now with changes to the ballpark
setup, such as an open-air 360 degree concourse,
whether fans are seeking a baseball game, fun
with the family, great food or just a cold beer
and a hot dog, ONEOK Field provides them
all. “The ballpark is now a true entertainment
venue,” Gardenhire proclaims. “We really have
something for everybody now whereas at the old
place, you had to leave the stadium and leave the
action to be able to do anything besides watch
baseball.”
The aforementioned BOK Center, which
came online almost two years prior to ONEOK
Field opening, paved the way in some respects
for the Drillers ticket sales success. The BOK
Center created a culture of ticket buying in
Tulsa, which it never had, largely because the
city never had great venues before. “It certainly
aided us to have a venue come in and get people
adjusted to what suite life is like and what club
seats are like,” explains Gardenhire. “When
we walked in and offered our product, a lot of
times it was a little more affordable with some
different features, but it was in line with what
the BOK Center had done. They set the bar,
and we tried to hopefully set it a little higher in
some ways.”
These lessons learned from the BOK Center
will also serve ONEOK Field well when it
begins to host concerts and other events. The
Drillers just announced their first concert on
October 1st, the Greenwood Music Festival, a
contemporary R&B showcase featuring Kem,
The Whispers and Mint Condition.
Food and beverage is provided to ONEOK
Field by Professional Sports Catering (PSC).
PSC owns two minor league baseball clubs and
operates concessions for twelve others. They
employ five full-time staffers year-round at
ONEOK Field to serve Drillers baseball and
all the events booked at the new facility on
non-game days and in the offseason.“PSC does
a great job of staying on top of our issues and
serving as a sounding board for us throughout
the year,” says Gardenhire.
More than half of food and beverage orders
Top: Cold Certified: Fans can enjoy an upscale hospitality
environment with full service bar at the Coors Light Refinery Deck.
Bottom: Creating a Higher Standard: Premium amenities at ONEOK
Field, such as Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac, are redefining
corporate hospitality in Tulsa.
Industry and Association News: ALSD Member Venue Highlight
36 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011

39. What’s your
Wi-Fi done for
you lately?
©2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other
marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated
companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
AT&T Wi-Fi Services provides the KEY to a complete integrated Wi-Fi infrastructure
providing smooth, continuous connectivity throughout your stadium to keep your
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Wi-Fi connectivity is a critical necessity for all stadiums today. Designing, implementing and
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40. 38 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News: ALSD Member Venue Highlight
Drillers social media
tops Double-A baseball
The Tulsa Drillers are #1 – in social media
following that is. The following of Drillers
team pages, over 23,000 total fans through
Twitter and Facebook combined, ranks first in
Double-A baseball and ninth overall in all of
the minor leagues. The organization benefits
from using social media to solve customer
service problems and to give their customers
a voice. “Customer service has been the most
powerful aspect of our social media,” explains
Gardenhire.
Gardenhire has a post-it note on his wall
to remind him of how far the organization has
come. As written on the note, on June 17, 2008,
the Drillers were at 732 Facebook fans. “That
day is when I got the green light to roll with this
thing,” Gardenhire beams. “We’ve blown it up
ever since.” The team now has 19,453 fans
who “like” the team’s Facebook page.
The Drillers have a six man team plus two
interns who get together every other week to
look at what the organization is doing in the
social media space. It really is an all-hands-
on-deck, team approach, one that allows the
promotions personnel to answer promotions
questions and Gardenhire to answer market-
ing and ticketing questions. “The folks who are
allowed to respond are very knowledgeable
about what our product is, and who we are as
an organization,” says Gardenhire. “So we’re all
able to stay in the same voice.”
Social media offers the Drillers creative,
video and promotions teams the outlets to keep
their fans on their toes through giveaways and
offers that the Drillers otherwise would not be
able to do. And as Gardenhire likes to point out,
“it’s all free.”
– J.F.
come via the Drillers online suite catering form,
which was set up by PSC and is administered
by the catering manager at ONEOK Field. “We
always want to put the ball in the hands of our
customers,” Gardenhire states. “It’s a lot easier
than calling an order in and dictating over the
phone.”
What’s Gardenhire’s best memory from year
one at ONEOK Field? “I’d have to say opening
night and the last game of the season.” The
Drillers had a capacity crowd on opening night,
an evening worthy of a celebration, consider-
ing how much effort had gone into getting to
that point. “After the game, we had a chance to
crack some beers with the guys and enjoy that
moment.”
By the end of ONEOK Field’s inaugural sea-
son, the Drillers had set an all-time attendance
record for professional baseball in Tulsa with
408,183 fans. “After the last game, it was neat to
say, ‘Hey, we did it. We pulled it off ’.”
As is always the case, there was much learned
from year one to apply to year two. One of the
Drillers notable improvements this season is
the customer service management of premium
patron relationships. The Drillers have hired
higher quality personnel across the entire suite
level from bartenders to suite attendants. “We’ve
got some folks who have been shifted around
to some better roles that suit their strengths,”
says Gardenhire. “The minute our fans park,
we want to start affecting their experiences in a
positive way. We’ve done a lot better job of that
this year.”
“We’ve been sold out which is great,”
continues Gardenhire. “We’re coming into our
third year next year with some of our contracts.
So that’ll be a big challenge for us to renew
that business and keep things moving forward
as they have been.” With the overall financial
stability of the region and now the amenities
to cater to this strength, ONEOK Field should
remain a rich entertainment well for years to
come. #
Want to network with Rob? Here Is His Business Card:
Rob Gardenhire
Tulsa Drillers
Director of Marketing & Business Development
(O): 918.574.8308
[email protected]
ONEOK Field
201 N. Elgin Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74120
xxxxx
ONEOK Field at a Glance
Capacity: 7,833
Number of Suites: 23
18 multi-year leases
2 nightly rentals
2 40-person suites
1 suite owned by the Drillers
Number of Club Seats: 212
Event Spaces: 4
Tycoon’s Stadium Club by Cadillac
Coors Light Refinery Deck
Oil Field Picnic Pavilion
Drillers Conference Center
Concessionaire: Professional Sports Catering
Architect: Populous
Builder: Manhattan Construction
Construction Cost: $39.2 million
Owner: Tulsa Stadium Trust
Operator: Tulsa Drillers
Naming Rights: ONEOK, Inc. ($5 million,
20 years)
“The minute our fans park, we want to start affecting their
experiences in a positive way. We’ve done a lot better job
of that this year.”

– Rob Gardenhire, Tulsa Drillers
COMING UP NEXT:
The Destination
Suite

41. CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN
WITH A NIKE GIFT CARD
Redeemable In Stores and Online
No Expiration
No Fees
Corporate Discounts Available
ORDERS AND INQUIRIES
Call: 877.220.6453
Email: [email protected]

42. 40 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
S
uite branding is not a new concept in the sports indus-
try. Nevertheless, it has been met with somewhat slow
adoption and relative ambiguity. Accordingly, few teams
or companies have truly strived to find the formula for success.
Until now. One industrious duo, comprised of the Minnesota
Twins and Cambria, has engineered one of the most prosper-
ous partnerships in suite branding to date. Cambria, the fami-
ly-owned, Le Sueur, Minnesota stone surface manufacturer, is
refining its branding and has produced – and more importantly
is utilizing it to its fullest potential – one of the most inventive
branded spaces in the venue marketplace: Cambria’s Design
Studio at Target Field.
Background
Peter Martin, Executive Vice President of Marketing and
Residential Sales at Cambria, explains that early on Cambria
felt the need for more than mainstream marketing to promote
its products. He says, “We wanted to get into a medium that
allowed us to differentiate ourselves and also to a certain extent
have some unique ownership of it.” That said, while still in its
infancy in 2002, Cambria teamed with the Minnesota Twins
to brand the Cambria Skybox Suite in the Metrodome. Since
then, Cambria has installed not only countertops, but any sur-
face ripe for its quartz surfaces in the Minneapolis market and
beyond. In all, no fewer than 15 North American partnerships
exist. Coupled with the company’s passion for sports, particu-
larly baseball, Cambria’s branding platform has morphed into a
premier partnership model in sports marketing.
Perpetually Premium
To appreciate a product’s quality, you have to see it, feel it and
experience it. Cambria’s product and potential purchasers are
both, in a literal and figurative sense, upscale and polished.
For that reason, there is not a better place for clients to absorb
a product’s appeal than on an exclusive premium level in a
stadium or arena. Posh premium amenities further persuade
high-end clientele to remain in the captive environment that
allows for key demonstrations, networking and interaction, and
reinforced aesthetic and performance opportunities.
At Target Field, the most posh premium space exists on the
first baseline, in two 16-person suites that have been combined
and built-out into Cambria’s Design Studio. Marty Davis,
Cambria’s President and CEO and longtime advocate for the
Twins organization, worked with Scott O’Connell, Twins Di-
rector of Suite and Premium Seat Sales and Service, and Dave
St. Peter, Twins President, to develop the concept for a party-
sized suite with 32 external seats and 12 internal seats. From
there, the Twins worked hand-in-hand with Cambria’s archi-
tects and designers on the suite layout. The photos included
in this article illustrate the finished product, a custom double
One company surfaces as a preeminent branded sports marketing partner.
By Amanda Verhoff, Executive Director, ALSD
Polished Branding

43. Cambria entertains 100-125 times a year in the Design Studio, including
all Twins home games and numerous non-game day events. Food and
beverage options are available for each event, and C ambria personnel are
on-hand for each game and non-game day event.
Branding Bullseye: Cambria’s
activation at Target Field hits the
mark for its guests.
A Cambria Client on the Design Studio:
Creative Surfaces, Inc., a national manufacturing company of custom store fixtures, signage and countertops for
the retail, automotive and casino industries, is one such customer who, after experiencing the Cambria Design
Studio, felt the product was the right fit.
“We have enjoyed the benefit of using the Cambria Design Center with our customers. The trips in their
entirety are an experience, from the bus ride, where we mingle and get to know our customers to the amazing
experiences at the games to the product knowledge gained by the plant tours and interactions with our Cam-
bria representatives. Our customers get a sense of what Cambria is all about when they see the outpouring of
generosity from our Cambria representatives during their trip. The experience has definitely turned a local custom
home builder into a Cambria believer. A customer confided that after seeing the total Cambria package, he knew
that Cambria was right for his high-end homes and demanding customers. As we follow up with our customers
on the trip, we see a repeating pattern – it wasn’t any one thing that stood out, it was the ‘Cambria experience’ as
a whole that is the resounding sentiment.”
– Jud Pins, CEO/President, Creative Surfaces, Inc.
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 41

44. 42 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
suite with floor-to-ceiling Cambria finishings. Moreover, it
illustrates branding at its best, as the suite replicates possible
designs and fittings for commercial and residential projects.

Partnership Parameters
In the 10-year lease contract, Cambria agreed to pay for the
double suite construction and installation of materials. Upon
contract expiration, Cambria will have the opportunity to re-up
or terminate the lease. If terminated, the Twins can leave the
suite as is if the team wishes, or the suite can be returned to
its original condition, financed by Cambria. From the Twins’
perspective, the contract outlines few limitations, but of im-
portance, advertising needs to stay contained within the suite
and not extend into the hallways or exterior of the suite. One
key contractual component is that the Cambria partnership
includes signage behind home plate, supplementing the brand’s
visibility to those in the stadium and to those in the television
viewing market.
The Davis family, owners of Cambria and avid baseball
fans, also receive tickets to the Champions Club as part of the
agreement. The family seldom is not in attendance at home
games. O’Connell believes that the synergy and long-standing
relationship between the Davis family and the Twins made
contractual and branding negotiations smooth and, in fact,
entertaining. Davis was one of the first to select his space in the
park, and O’Connell recalls visiting the two largest suites along
the first baseline, and Davis remarking, “I want them both!”
Dub It a Destination
Decorating a suite with a company’s materials is only the be-
ginning of a comprehensive plan to promote brand awareness.
Cambria has taken the following steps to ensure its brand is
promoted efficiently and frequently. In no particular order:
• Cambria refers to its party suite as a Design Studio. Draw-
ing on innovation in its truest sense, Cambria decided that
“Design Studio” conveyed a more meaningful connotation
than luxury suite. “A private-engagement, by-invitation-only
studio that highlights our products’ capabilities” is Cambria’s
intention.
• A Vice President of Sales for Cambria doubles as bartender
in the Design Studio for Twins home games. Not only is he
versed in the world of olives and twists, but he is fluent in the
company’s lingo and product lines.
• Cambria offers educational courses in its suite. On the com-
mercial side, architects and designers have yearly continuing
education needs, much like doctors or lawyers. Cambria offers
certified courses, often combined with stadium tours, which
carry credits for associations in the market segment. Cambria
holds instructional courses before games or during off days,
the former with entertainment and hospitality to follow dur-
ing the game.
• Cambria entertains 100-125 times a year in the Design
Studio, including all Twins home games and numerous
non-game day events. Food and beverage options are avail-
able for each event, and Cambria personnel are on-hand for
each game and non-game day event. The Twins are more
than happy to accommodate distinctive food and beverage
requests.
• The Twins often refer to the suite as a destination, as it is a
cut above the rest in terms of luxury and amenities. Twins
Hospitality By Design: Cambria
explains its designation of Design
Studio in place of luxury suite:
The Design Studio is “a private-
engagement, by-invitation-only
studio that highlights our products’
capabilities.”

45. • Enter into the partnership only when strong synergy
exists between the client and the team.
• Whether considering a redesign or a new build, bring
your best client in early and offer them the best
space.
• Because brand visibility is the main objective, en-
courage use on non-game days as well as game days.
• Put it in writing. Include as much detail as possible
about the contractual items, payments and return of
the suite to the original condition.
• Offer more than branding. Package the branding op-
portunity with prime signage or club seats.
• Ask permission to showcase the branded suite. To
a team or venue, branding is not a new idea, but to
your clients and prospects, it might be. You will need
a model to display.
• Because the suite holder will value the added visibil-
ity, ask for authorization to leverage the suite for the
team or venue’s benefit.
• Contract it at the customer’s cost if you must; offer it
as a renewal incentive if you can.
• Encourage the client to do more than entertain.
Holding educational seminars is a meaningful ap-
proach to get potential clients into the suite.
• Use it as your own sales tool. Get your other suite
holders’ creative juices flowing.
• Embrace a partner who embraces sports. A strong
partner is never a stranger to the ballpark.
• Educate the client on how to leverage the branded
suite. Remember, the team is the expert in the sports
marketplace.
• Make it a destination, and brand it in namesake as
well if it makes sense for the product.
• Look for ways the sponsor’s product can upgrade
your venue, aside from the suite itself.
• Map out the client’s objective early on. For instance,
if the client’s goal is exclusivity, ballpark tours
through the suite are not appropriate.
• Recognize the right opportunity. Offer the opportu-
nity to outfit all suites, a club area or an entire con-
course with a client’s product if they want stronger
market penetration. Help brand just the client’s suite
or exclusive area if market penetration is already
strong.
• If possible, showcase the product as it would be used
outside of the ballpark.
Suite Branding for Dummies –
Tips for Teams Considering a Suite Branding Opportunity:
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 43

46. 44 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
alums frequent the suite with Cambria’s permission, which
they value greatly. Affiliation with Cambria from former
players only strengthens the brand.
• The Twins utilize the suite, with permission, for non-game
day events. O’Connell stated that MLB League Meetings
were held in the suite, and Cambria is always open to permit-
ting the Twins access to the suite for private functions.
• The Twins often incorporate the suite in the ballpark tours
offered to guests. Cambria was hesitant at the onset as the
suite was to be an exclusive experience, but Davis committed
to the additional exposure and is open to the showcase.
Recognize the Return
Return on investment is tough to track in any business.
Sports marketing is no different, but Cambria recognizes that
an “experiential” method works well. Peter Martin believes,
“measurement sometimes occurs just from what we hear, feel
and see in the marketplace. It is hearing from people who have
had experience with your product.” That the suite is staffed
for each ballpark event is of utmost importance, in accordance
with hearing feedback from customers. Cambria also takes note
of testimonials from customers who have viewed advertise-
ments at the park or on television. A more concrete method of
branding ROI is tracking new business that results purely from
a hosted event in the suite, in a nutshell, utilizing the tickets
and sponsorship opportunity the company has been given.
Cambria, in its product and personnel, embraces the opportu-
nity to be seen, and in doing so, keeps a finger on the pulse of
the marketplace.
Another appeal for Cambria at Target Field is the baseball
game itself. While Cambria prides itself on its presence in
several professional sports venues, such as in the NBA’s Amway
Center in Orlando and the NHL’s Xcel Energy Center in St.
Paul, the company realizes that baseball, for one, offers more
games, equaling more exposure. What’s more, there is a bit
more “downtime” during a baseball game, a slower paced game
than say hockey or football. Finally, the absence of in-game and
halftime events allow more time for entertainment to occur in
the suite. By a gut feeling, Martin suggests that “the absorption
rate may be a little higher in baseball.”
The Trend to Brand
The Cambria suite is truly a world of its own. Perhaps that is
why Scott O’Connell affectionately calls it a “facility” when
referencing it. Its wow factor was not initially deliberate by
Cambria or the Twins, but as is evident in the photos, it cer-
tainly became a welcomed outcome. O’Connell recognizes it as
a marketing opportunity and seizes it by allowing select suite
clients and prospects into the suite. The Twins offer clients
the freedom to decorate their suites, and they are clear about
the financial and design responsibility from the outset – suite
holders have to cover payment of the suite build-out and the
suite’s return to its original state. Most clients and prospects
understand, and some are warming up to the idea, namely the
10-year lease holders who see it as an investment.
The Twins exercise caution however when exhibiting Cam-
bria’s suite, understanding that some will wonder “why can’t I
have this in my suite.” The companies that “get it” realize that
Cambria’s own products led to the result of the branded De-
sign Studio. Those same companies were the first to have their
creative juices flowing in their own suites. For instance, General
Mills displays a giant Wheaties box in its suite. With built-in
bat in hand, guests have the opportunity to pose for pictures
“on the Wheaties box.” O’Connell believes the trend is growing
as companies embrace the right opportunity to highlight their
product or service. Ultimately, most companies do not offer
surfaces to outfit a suite like Cambria does, but nonetheless, the
best-informed clients discover they can too exploit their own
products in a successful branding situation.
In the End
For most teams, suite branding is not a new concept, but it
comes with questions. Who will pay for the build out, the team
or the client? What if a company defaults on its lease, and the
team is stuck putting the suite back to its original form? What
is the true ROI value to the client, and how can the team
explain how it is measured? Yet some teams, like the Minne-
sota Twins, understand that with risk comes reward. The Twins
create branding partnership models that ensure long-term rela-
tionships with its clients. In the situation of the Cambria suite,
branding not only adds to the overall sponsorship package and
the ballpark’s appeal itself, it helps strengthen the relationship
between the team and Cambria, helping to alleviate many
of the abovementioned uncertainties. Cambria realizes that
the visibility at Target Field leads to brand association in the
ballpark and beyond. In the end, the team reaps the benefit
of a uniquely adorned suite, ripe for showing off, while the
company reaps the benefits of potential clients regularly seeing,
feeling and most importantly, experiencing its products. #
Do you have a client who you can approach with this idea?
Write to Amanda at [email protected], and connect with her on
LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/amandakuntzverhoff.
The “Facility”: The Design Studio
is a world of its own, serving
specific marketing goals of both
Cambria and the Twins.
More on MLB on
ALSD.com:
Indians construct
model suite at
Progressive Field

47. So Why Minneapolis?
The ALSD historically attempts to hold our annual conferences in the cities with the most state-of-the-art
venues. Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins, is, in our opinion, the best new ballpark to come
around in a long time. The fact that it won the “Facility of the Year “ from Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal
helps substantiate our claim.
But there are more reasons for Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Wild’s Xcel Energy Center is often cited as the model for new hockey arenas being built in
North America, and some believe it will some day reach nearly iconic status, like the Wrigleys and Fenways
of the sports world. It has got a few years to achieve that kind of status, but the building has clearly been the
model used for so many arenas built in the past five years.
But there is more.
The ALSD Conference is nomadic. The idea is to give regions a chance to host the ALSD show. It has been a
while since we were in the Midwest, about a decade. This allows people who are regional a chance to travel
more easily.
The cost. Let's face it – the Midwest is less expensive than New York and Los Angeles. For those teams on
tighter budgets, you will find the hotel costs are around $100 less per room per night. Not only that, but the
food is less costly and in most cases, so too is the flight in, because we are in the middle of the country.
Need more reasons?
The ALSD is trying to reach out and grow our College and University Division. TCF Bank Stadium, the home of
University of Minnesota Golden Gopher football, is state-of-the-art. It is quite possibly the best new college
football stadium built in the last decade.
Tell me more.
OK, we will. There are two seasons in Minneapolis – July 4th and winter. We are there over the July 4th week, in
one of America's most beautiful cities during its short summer season. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the foli-
age is breathtaking. About 40,000 people live in Downtown Minneapolis which hosts many summer festivals
and has a “regionality” that is nearly unmatched. The city has been ranked the best bicycling city in the coun-
try, so it is perfect for our active attendees, with 46 miles of streets with dedicated bike lanes and 84 miles of
off-street paths. And for those who like the indoors – and more specifically shopping indoors – the renowned
Mall of America awaits.
Give me more.
Minneapolis is one of only 14 cities to have all four major sports. This allows league meetings to thrive, be-
cause all four leagues call it their home.
What's not to like?
Minneapolis offers great facilities, a Midwest location and affordable plane and hotel prices for the budget
conscious. We are excited about Minneapolis, and we look forward to seeing you there.
– Bill Dorsey, Chairman, ALSD
COMING UP NEXT:
WHERE’S WALDO?
#ALSD2011 RECAP IN
PHOTOS
CAN YOU FIND YOUR-
SELF?
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 45

48. 46 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
In Photos
A
fter the completion of the 2010 ALSD Conference and Trade-
show, I thought there was no way our New York show could be
topped. That was until I arrived at LA LIVE this past June. The
2011 conference, the ALSD’s highest attended show to date, was
a show for the ages.
From the events held at the Rose Bowl to Nokia Theatre to STAPLES
Center to Angel Stadium to The Home Depot Center, this year’s tours and
receptions included takeaways for all attendees.
This year’s event was a name dropper’s paradise. Naming off our prolific
roster of keynote speakers was like calling roll for the Mount Rushmore of
our industry: Robb Heineman, Ray Bednar and, of course, Tim Leiweke all
imparted words of wisdom. Additionally, Tom Wilson received the ALSD
Visionary Award. The room was not short of talent.
There were planned and spontaneous celebrity interactions. Nona Sivley,
winner of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, provided behind-the-scenes access for our
Food and Beverage Division. Pat Boone was on hand to showcase his Tail-
gate in a Box. Hollywood celebrities appeared out of nowhere in the hotel bar
following a Rihanna concert next door at STAPLES Center. Outside the JW
Marriott in LA LIVE’s Nokia Plaza, the red carpet was laid out, literally, for
a press conference promoting the upcoming Mayweather-Ortiz fight. If you
check the Facebook walls of a few of our attendees, you’ll see them hobnob-
bing with Victor Ortiz himself post-press conference. I wish I could take
credit for that rendezvous, but that experience went off-script.
Oh yeah, and we learned the new solutions to achieve success in our
transformed industry. The roundtable discussions and educational presenta-
tions were as good as always, if not better. The tradeshow floor was abuzz
with product demonstrations exhibiting the latest and greatest innovations in
the venue marketplace. Wherever you were, you felt the energy of this year’s
show.
There was so much to experience, even I, the intrepid editor of SEAT
Magazine, missed some of the magic. I’m sure you did too. But no need to
fret. Take the following pictorial tour and relive the memories – all the venue
tours and receptions, celebrity appearances, behind-the-scenes access, round-
table discussions, educational sessions, exhibit hall demonstrations, keynote
speakers and networking with colleagues. Find yourself and your friends at
LA LIVE!
A special thanks to SuiteCaptures for snapping all these great shots and
creating these lasting memories.
Still want more? Visit ALSD.com and “like” the Association of Luxury
Suite Directors on Facebook to view more photos.
– Jared Frank

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ALSD Conference ReCap

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ALSD Conference ReCap

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ALSD Conference ReCap

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Win
As many of our ALSD members can attest, winning is
uncontrollable and often hard to come by. Discover how
some teams overcome more losses than wins through
creating superior customer service and memorable
experiences.
By Ryan Mirabedini, Membership Director, ALSD
S
ports provide a very simple concept: there is a winner
and a loser. As Ricky Bobby would say, “If you’re not
first, you’re last.” Just ask any Cubs fan born after
1908. Point being, people inherently love to win and/
or be around a winner. From checkers to the Madden NFL
video game to the local 3-on-3 tournament and so forth, there
is no better feeling that being declared a victor. Combine this
natural human emotion with a team that represents a com-
munity, and we have the microcosm that is professional sports.
Considering this idea, fans want to watch a game or match
where the organization they support is victorious. For any of
a multitude of reasons (small market, bad drafts, injuries, etc.),
some franchises have more success than others. This begs the
age-old question: how can a franchise sell their product when
the performance on the field is underwhelming?
As is common knowledge, the sale of suites and club areas
brings into play several aspects for the company or individual
leasing it. The obligatory statement is that a purchase of this
inventory is a major investment for any client. With that in
mind, a specific venue could have the highest rated customer
service, concessions and facility in the industry, but if the team
is being dismantled by a division rival, the check-ins of “How is
everything today?” are often met with a solemn “It’d be better if
we were winning.”
True. Winning is quite nice, but is it everything? It is clear
that some of the larger markets in the country, e.g., New York,
Chicago, LA and Dallas, have plenty of entertainment avenues
other than sports for local companies, but coincidentally
enough, these cities all have notably successful franchises to call
their own.
On the other hand, take a smaller market like Cleveland. It
is no secret that the city by the lake does not necessarily have
the equivalent incentives as the aforementioned larger markets,
and residents can only visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
so many times before it loses its luster. That leaves companies
like KeyBank, Huntington and other larger companies in the
area with local sports teams as their resource for employee
awards and client entertainment. Take the Browns for example.
Reborn in 1999, they have the second worst record in the NFL
since that time, yet nearly sell out every season. As part of
their submission in the 2010-2011 ALSD Reference Manual,
the Browns claimed their suites to be at 80% capacity which
is quite admirable considering the still lingering effects of a
down economy and poor team performances. When asked as
part of the survey what kind of effect the economy actually had,
the Browns responded, “The economy hurt renewal rates, and
paired with a losing season, made us have to add more value-
added programs.”
Despite Losing
How To

57. FanVision enhances your fans’ game-day experience by
turning your venue into a smart venue. Now they can tap
into ten channels of instant replays, multiple camera views,
statistics, commentary and out-of-market games at your
venue, the moment the action happens. Which means they
get closer to the action than ever before, stay in their seats
and return season after season.
For more information, visit FanVision.com
GIVE YOUR FANS
10 MORE REASONS
TO CHEER.
Welcome to the Inside.
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K

58. 56 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Added value options should not be overlooked as they are a
fantastic way to alleviate some of the lackluster on-field perfor-
mances. Offering suite holders and high-value customers with
access to premium options such as private concierges, exclusive
golf courses, transportation services, major event opportunities
and trips to destinations like Las Vegas create an ability for
customers to see the value in being part of the “club” at no ad-
ditional cost. This is a beautifully ideal way to remind someone
that may be disappointed by a team’s record that while it would
be great to win a championship, it is not a terrible thing to have
gratis accessibility to such rewarding incentives.
The city of Pittsburgh, while often rivaling in competi-
tion with Cleveland, is a very similar marketplace. According
to www.cesus.gov, the population of Pittsburgh in 2009 was
roughly 311,647 compared to 239,760 in Cleveland – close
enough to have several parallels in market size and corporate
dollars. This brings us to the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the previ-
ous 18 seasons, the Pirates have not been able to finish the
season above the .500 mark, but that does not stop the front
office from being successful. “We typically do not sell wins
and losses but instead focus on the things we can control,” says
Chris Zaber, Senior Director of Ticket Sales & Service for the
Pirates. “Providing excellent service and quality entertainment
are just a few.” A valid point when considering how highly
regarded PNC Park, the Pirates home, is considered through-
out the industry.
Zaber also notes, “Outside of that, having the right structure
in place, a well-trained and motivated staff, and utilizing best
practices can go a long way to maintaining your current client
base as well as growing your business regardless of how the
team is performing.” The main point here being that by the
nature of sports in general, there is always a winner and a loser.
That cannot be changed. But a customer can still have a memo-
rable experience if the service is at a high level.
Winning is also cyclical. A team may lose for several years,
but in that time, they also stockpile draft picks and young
talent that in some cases leads to a team’s success. This point
leads to wondering how customers are convinced to have the
necessary patience. Granted, it would be fantastic if every suite
in the inventory of a venue was occupied on 10-, 15- and even
20-year leases, but those days, minus some rare instances, are
long gone. It does not take a certified genius to decipher that
customer service is an integral, if not, all-deciding aspect to re-
tention. What does take true intuition is exactly how to provide
the service necessary to keep morale in a desirable place.
Greg Hanrahan, Senior Director of Premium Seating at
the United Center, has seen the highest of highs (The Jordan
years and the Blackhawks Stanley Cup in 2010) and the low-
est of lows (Post-Jordan/Pre-Derrick Rose and no hockey on
local TV), but no scenario has ever altered his approach to
making sure his premium seat clients continue to return each
year because of hard work and dedication. “We try to provide
the best service possible at all times,” says Hanrahan. “So no
matter what is going on the court or ice, we know our premium
seating guests are having the best time possible at the United
Center.” This type of positive attitude helps the United Center
maintain one of the most respected levels of service on an an-
nual basis in the industry.
According to Hanrahan, “The United Center Premium
Seating Department tries to touch our premium seating cus-
tomers over 100 times a year, not including telephone calls and
emails. We want to be in front of our customers at all times.”
This outlook has served Hanrahan and his staff sufficiently for
17 years now.
Another approach to keeping fans in the stands while the
losses are adding up is to focus on promotions and pricing. For
example, popular bobblehead nights often boost attendance by
up to 10,000 fans. While these priceless, plastic replicas with
springs for necks rarely look like the player they represent,
people will show up in droves to get their hands on the latest
release. Nobody is quite sure why these trinkets work, but they
do, and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
The Kansas City Royals have implemented this kind of
thinking to battle recent losing records but even more so to
reward their passionate and loyal fans. According to Steve
Shiffman, Senior Director of Ticket Sales & Services with the
Royals, they have created wildly popular “Buck Nights.” It is no
secret that food & beverage prices hurt the common fan, but
“The United Center P remium Seating Department tries
to touch our premium seating customers over 100
times a year, not including telephone calls and emails.
We want to be in front of our customers at all times.”
– Greg Hanrahan, United Center

59. Put More
Butts
in your
seats
Premium Seating Leads • Group Sales Leads
Season Ticket Sales Leads • Business Email Campaigns
Current Fan Profile Reports
Full House Entertainment
Database Marketing
[phone] • info@fillthe house.com
www.fillthehouse.com
ALSD Research Partner Since 2007

60. 58 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
on these “Buck Nights”, the Royals offer hot dogs, soft drinks,
pretzels and popcorn for $1 each. Shiffman claims this promo-
tion has provided a “huge spike” on Fridays, so much so that
they often outsell Saturday night games.
As for the Royals premium clients, the staff harps on the fu-
ture of the team, a bevy of young, talented players and hosting
the 2012 All-Star game, which can be seen as a major benefit
for premium customers. By creating an atmosphere such as
this, the Royals put themselves in a position for when that one
magic season finally arrives, they will be ready to cash in on the
goodwill they already embedded throughout the community
and Kauffman Stadium.
So what have we learned thus far? Well, yes, winning does
help quite a bit as we might suspect but by no means defines
the success of sales and services departments of the teams
less fortunate in the standings. Bottom line is the ability of
a professional franchise or a collegiate program to provide a
venue for entertainment and unique business opportunities
despite wins and losses. Having said that, the winning teams
and schools do not stay the same each year. To this point is
exactly why it is integral to have a plan in place to attack when
that special season does arrive. Once that opportunity comes,
which can be quite rare for smaller market teams, it is a battle
to capitalize as best as possible initially, and then be prepared to
maintain the following year(s) if the record happens to go back
to mediocre or less.
Just ask Tom Sheridan, Director of Ticket Sales with the
Chicago White Sox, who was part of the sales staff when the
Southsiders won the World Series six years ago. “We are still
hanging onto our 2005 success,” Sheridan says. “Our formula
has been to continue to give as much season ticket holder
value-added experiences, swag, renewal prizes, gifts and pric-
ing consideration as possible.” Sheridan’s comments express
an ongoing theme of the ability of teams to create such an
atmosphere for their suite holders, club seat holders and gen-
eral season ticket holders that is one with a plethora of team
involvement, return on investment and outright enjoyment.
One area where winning and losing plays much less of a role
is in the minor leagues. Baseball and hockey both have strong
representation in diverse markets across North America, and
because of the liquidity of player movement for these franchis-
es, fans have come to enjoy the games not for the devoted love
of the team, but because the sport is enjoyable to watch, and
the venues charge less money and provide more discounts and
giveaways to make the entertainment value more festive. Again,
this is not to say winning is irrelevant, but for teams like the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Triple-A Baseball), it plays
considerably less of a role. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre President,
Kristen Rose, certainly sees things this way. “The consistency
of the team is different from other sports,” says Rose. “The
game itself, the family entertainment factor and value become
the draw.” She continues by adding, “Fans come to see various
players as they move around, knowing they will be seeing some
of them in the majors in the future.”
This is one of the more beautiful aspects about minor league
sports. The entertainment can range from seeing who will be
the next big star for fanatics, kids areas and on-field entertain-
ment for the tots, and picnic areas in some venues for families
to more casually spend a night at the ball game. But Rose is
also sure to point out that, of course, winning is nice too. “We
have been fortunate to have a record four International League
North Division Titles, and we won the Governor’s Cup in
2008,” she remarks. “We certainly play to win.”
So there you have it. Winning is good, losing is bad and cus-
tomer service trumps all. The moral of the story ultimately rests
with the ability of an organization and a venue to consistently
create an experience at an event that is so memorable and
enjoyable that even when the inevitable losses begin to pile up,
the smiles on the faces of those in attendance last long after the
final whistle blows. #
How does your team or venue achieve sales success despite a losing team record?
Write to Ryan at [email protected].
“Our formula has been to continue to give as much
season ticket holder value-added experiences, swag,
renewal prizes, gifts and pricing consideration as
possible.”
– Tom Sheridan, Chicago White Sox
COMING UP NEXT:
PREMIUM SEAT
SALES AND SERVICE
BEST PRACTICES

61. job number:
date:
client:
advertiser:
please contact thelab at 212-209-1333 with any questions or concerns regarding these materials.
dtp:color:cs: acct: client:
48372_H1_C2-4
10/18/10
MGB
SHA

62. 60 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
An Anal ysis of Best Practices
Utilized by Luxury Suite Direc tors
ALSD members completed two separate surveys in 2011 – Part I: Premium Seat Service
and Part II: Premium Seat Sales. The following is a synopsis of the results from each survey,
as prepared by Ohio University and ALSD.
By Heather Lawrence, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sports Administration, Ohio University
Part I:
Service Survey Analysis
Prepared by: Augustino Adams, Kevin Kelly, Drew Ossakow,
Asown Sayles, Ohio University
ROI Measurement
ALSD asked its members about the use, value and explanation
to clients of ROI measurement tools. Results show that few of
those surveyed have a specific ROI measurement tool for their
clients to use. In fact, only six respondents have a specific tool.
Spotlight Ticket Management is mentioned as being used, or
that there are plans to use them in the future. Concierge Live
is the only other program mentioned. Respondents were also
asked if their clients have ever provided a ROI measurement
tool. Again, the majority of respondents mention no such tool.
Survey takers frequently mention that each client is different.
Many measure their results in some way, with a large portion
seeming to use their own internal spreadsheets.
Client Communication
Regarding continual communication with clients, members
were asked about the most effective method to solicit feedback.
Most effective is one-on-one interviews at tastings or other
events. Coming in a close second is personal phone calls.
Results show that when it comes to getting good feedback,
personal effort makes a difference. To ensure good feedback,
respondents make sure to speak directly with clients over the
phone or in person. The least effective method mentioned is
pre-game surveys, with a majority of respondents finding this
method not effective.
Regarding the frequency and medium used to communicate
with clients, the most frequently used is email messages. A
majority of respondents send emails out over twenty times per
year to each client. Ticket delivery, direct mail and gifts are
frequently used as well, typically less than five times per year.
Phone calls, while a popular method used, vary in number per
year, averaging between 11-15 calls. Finally, social media and
text messaging are used to communicate with clients the least,
each used on average less than five times per year. Further,
respondents make it clear that social media, such as Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn, is one of the least effective methods
to receive feedback, if even used at all, as respondents cannot
depend on these resources when gathering information on
their services.
Touch Point Process
Respondents share that a touch point process is used by their
employer for hands-on engagement and to contact clients
about specials, issues and other important matters. One system
shared is a six week renewal e-mail followed by a contract
follow-up call from the ticket dispatch. A few respondents also
mention “end of season” gifts, birthday cards, event remind-
ers or golf outings as touch points. Another respondent states
touch points, to be effective, should foster a relationship not
just a transaction. Some share that while they try to stay in
regular communication with clients, they do not have a system
in place to know who they touched and when.
Club and Suite Holder Benefits Impact on
Retention
Respondents report that the most effective/useful benefits for
retaining suite clients include:
• Parking benefits
• Suite holder tastings
• Including non-game events
• Ticket delivery systems
Some of the least effective or little used benefits are:
• All-inclusive food and beverage (soda, beer, wine and
hard alcohol)
• Annual suite holder trip to non-athletic event
• Suite-specific website
The same question was asked regarding club seating clients.
The most effective benefits are:
• Parking benefits
• Private event invitations
• Client controlled ticket management systems
• Renewal gifts
The least effective benefits for club seat retention are:
• All-inclusive food and beverage (soda, beer, wine, and
hard alcohol)
• Food and beverage credits
• Using a suite as an amenity
• Personalized gifts
Gifting
There has been little change over the past two years in gifting
budgets. One area that shows a small increase is Ticket Pack-
aging/Delivery; it is the only strategy that shows significant
increase in spending. The other categories (holiday gifts,
Editor’s Note: By using
certain scales of measure-
ment, the survey may be
limited in tracking new
trends and methods. For
instance, a “not effective”
ranking could mean that
members simply have not
attempted to use certain
methods, rather than find
them not effective.

64. 62 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
renewal gifts, small in-suite gifts and other) show little change
or an equal number of respondents that increased to those that
decreased.
The average annual gifting budget per suite reported is
$642.75. The maximum value listed is $4,535.00 per suite, and
the standard deviation for all responses is $1,169.35. While
some respondents have much larger budgets, respondents in
general spend less than $800.00 on annual gifting per suite.
Technology Use for Food and Beverage
Technology is becoming more a part of the premium seat cli-
ent experience. While tablets and smart phones have recently
attained widespread popularity, venue/team suite directors
have not been able to effectively harness them yet. However,
there are other technologies that are very useful in enhancing
client’s premium seating food and beverage service. In par-
ticular, online pre-ordering options are very well liked among
respondents. Additionally, for in-game service, in-suite phones
are effective.
Beverage and Alcohol Policies
Respondents make it clear that inclusive packages that include
soda, water, beer and wine are not suitable in the current
economic environment. The majority of respondents use point-
of-sale and on-consumption-only policies. Fourteen-percent
do include an all-inclusive package as a part of the club seating
experience.
Effective Food and Beverage Strategies
Suites, loge boxes and club seating areas see the most revenue
generated from concessionaire items such as boneless wings,
hot dogs and popcorn. It is interesting to point out that suite
directors state “all-you-can-eat” offerings are quite popular. For
example, taco and burrito bars and dessert carts are the most
well-liked items by clients based on quantity ordered.
Due to the current economic state, there has been a decline
in premium food and beverage sales. Data suggests that
companies are not investing as much in their entertainment
budgets and are spending less on in-stadium food and bever-
age. To combat the decrease, some venues are reducing prices
and creating new packaging with smaller portions.
Technology Strategies for Monitoring
Premium Seating Inventory
Most respondents are reluctant to use technological advances
like cell/smart phone ticketing applications and keyless entry
scanners. To date, most venues have not been equipped with
the resources to support these systems. Data shows that the
most effective seating inventory systems used are e-ticketing or
ticket management programs such as Ticketmaster, My Tickets
or bookit, where staffers can physically count each ticket.
Employee Performance Reward Strategies
Getting fans and organizations to invest in premium seating
has become increasingly difficult in the current recession. This
difficulty has put more pressure on sales and service staffs to
bring in new and retain existing suite holders. Motivating em-
ployees is more critical than ever. Below are the most important
ways to motivate suite directors:
• Annual or semi-annual employee performance evalua-
tions
• Creation/cultivation of a distinctive venue culture for
employees to follow
• Employee recognition
Interestingly, the top three responses do not involve mon-
etary rewards. While incremental raises are the fourth highest
rated answer, it is indicative that employees value recognition
and feedback from their supervisor, which are vital to long-
term career development.
Biggest Issue in the Industry Today
Recently, main issues stem from the economy, contracts and
general uncertainty. Results also show that suites and premium
seating sales are being affected by the age and condition of the
facilities. Clients are seldom investing in out-of-date premium
seating areas that are lacking in technology.
Survey Demographics
Approximately 80% of the members that filled out the survey
are at the director or vice president level on the service side
of the industry. The majority are female with an average age
of between 31 and 35. The Big Four professional leagues are
represented, along with college venues, auto racing venues and
the English Premier League.
Part II:
Sales Survey Analysis
Prepared by: Trevor Allison, ALSD
Prospecting Methods Effectiveness
Respondents make it very clear that when it comes to pros-
pecting for new business, outside sales is the most effective
method. Current customer analysis rates as the second most
effective method.
Results show that the least effective method of sales
prospecting is list buying. The least utilized method with our
respondents is the drip marketing technique.
Effective Suite and Club Level Sales Strategies
Commonly used strategies in suite and club seat sales found to
be most effective are:
• Packaging/selling sponsorships with suites
• Offering non-game day events as part of suite packages
• Offering all-inclusive food and beverage packages with
suites
• Shortening lease terms/years
• Payment plans
Best
Practices
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-
ment, the survey may be
limited in tracking new
trends and methods. For
instance, a “not effective”
ranking could mean that
members simply have not
attempted to use certain
methods, rather than find
them not effective.

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66. 64 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Some of the least effective or least used strategies are:
• Loyalty cards
• Membership clubs
• Virtual ticket selection options
• Per-ticket suite sales
Interestingly, respondents almost unanimously favor strate-
gies that are directly related to cost savings or payment options,
while added-value programs such as loyalty cards or member-
ship clubs are not widely used by organizations. It is important
to point out that loyalty cards and membership clubs are
relatively new concepts in the industry, and the results of this
survey are by no means indicative of their effectiveness; more
studies need to be completed to determine their value.
Food and Beverage Sales Strategies Leading to
Suite Sales
Strategies used in the sale of food and beverage listed as effec-
tive are:
• All-inclusive food and beverage packages
• Allowing catering companies to meet with clients in
regards to menu options
• Adding food and beverage credits to the suite agree-
ment
Some of the least effective or least used strategies are:
• Digital signage
• Tiered food and beverage strategies
• Dynamic food and beverage pricing
It is possible that these strategies are too new for the indus-
try to gauge an accurate response of their effectiveness.
Members listed their annual food and beverage revenues
generated for their different premium seat inventory. The aver-
age yearly revenues are:
• Traditional luxury suites: $14,960,000
• Club seats: $1,162,000
• Loge boxes: $523,000
• Party/Super suites: $234,000
• Stadium clubs: $224,000
Technology Use for Suite and Club Seat Sales
The results prove that technology and advanced database
analytics are becoming more a part of the premium seat sales
experience. In particular, the advancement of technology has
been influential in the retention of existing customers.
According to the data, the most effective form of technology
for suite and club seat sales is database marketing or prospect-
ing software. Other effective methods are flex or suite share
plans, as well as variable pricing.
Eighteen-percent of the respondents claim to use social
media such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for premium seat
sales. Of those respondents, 2% claim that social media outlets
have been highly effective. According to results, the least ef-
fective technology used for suite and club seat sales is dynamic
pricing.
Client ROI Measurement
In regards to ROI measurement tools, 20% of respondents
claim that their teams provide a method of measuring ROI.
Of those who say they do provide ROI measurement tools,
the majority mention using Spotlight Ticket Management
software. Those using Spotlight have just recently begun using
the software.
Thirteen-percent of respondents say their clients use some
sort of measurable ROI tool, and all of those that have pro-
vided ROI did so in the form of a basic Excel spreadsheet.
Premium Inventory
Respondents rated the popularity of their different premium
options in regards to inventory usage. Results establish that
traditional luxury boxes are still the most popular premium
seating option. The premium options ranked in popularity are
as follows:
• Traditional luxury suites
• Club seats
• Loge boxes
• Super/Party suites
• Mini-Suites
• Stadium clubs (with or without seating)
Members listed their annual revenues for each of the preced-
ing premium seating categories. From this information, the
approximate industry averages for revenues generated from
each category are as follows:
• Traditional luxury suites: $6,100,000
• Club seats: $5,300,000
• Loge boxes: $2,520,000
• Super/Party suites: $942,000
• Stadium clubs: $800,000
• Mini-Suites: $420,000
Additionally, respondents described their venues’ future
plans on premium inventory upgrades, changes or new builds.
The majority state no future plans are in order. Of the available
options, the least considered options are those that include
plans to deconstruct parts of the venue in order to add more
suites or club level seating. The option that is currently in reno-
vation/upgrade plans is the construction of a new venue. It is
the association’s belief that there is a strong correlation between
the discrepancies between these two discoveries.
Employee Performance and Reward Strategies
Respondents rated employee reward strategies on a scale rang-
ing from “do not use” to “highly effective.” Seventy-five-per-
cent of respondents claim that they do not use incentive trips
as an employee reward; however the 25%, that do use a trip as
an incentive, rate it as highly effective.
Other effective strategies are:
• Performance based recognition
• Employee performance evaluations
• Incremental raises
Some of the least effective strategies are:
• Organization wide retreats
• Encouraging a distinctive venue culture for employees
to follow
Biggest Issue in the Industry Today
Respondents have shown that there are many issues that orga-
nizations and venues are dealing with in regards to suite and
club seat sales and retention. Recently, the main issues stem
Best
Practices
Editor’s Note: By using certain scales of measure-
ment, the survey may be
limited in tracking new
trends and methods. For
instance, a “not effective”
ranking could mean that
members simply have not
attempted to use certain
methods, rather than find
them not effective.

67. CONVENTION
*/2%$/
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NOVEMBER 2011
RIO DE JANEIRO
T: [phone] E: [email protected] W: www.soccerex.com/global
To join the football world at the Soccerex Global Convention, please contact us on:
BE PART OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST
FOOTBALL BUSINESS EVENT
JOIN kEy FIGURES FROm FIFA, N ATIONAL FEDERATIONS , CLUBS,
LEAGUES, HOST CITIES , SPONSORS , SUPPLIERS AND FOOTBALL
LEGENDS.
THERE IS NO OTHER OPPORTUNITy LIkE IT .

“Soccerex is really one of the premier destinations
for these types of events, bringing the soccer people
together. This is the fourth one I’ve been to and I find
them, for me, more and more productive every time
– more meaningful meetings, more opportunities to
make good connections, more opportunities to see
business take place in the United States.”
Will Wilson
Executive VP, MLS
ALSD_Soccerex.indd 1 15/08/2011 10:48:44

68. 66 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
from the economy, contracts and collective bargaining agree-
ments. Results also show that suite and premium seating sales
are being affected by the age and condition of the facilities.
Clients are seldom investing in out-of-date premium seating
areas that are lacking in technology.
Survey Demographics
Approximately 58% of ALSD members that filled out the
survey are at the director or vice president level on the sales
side of the industry. Twenty-seven-percent are involved in the
management side, and 15% are entry-level executives. Results
show that the majority of respondents work with facilities
affiliated with one of the Big Four professional leagues as well
as concerts, live event and theater performances. There are also
considerable respondents from the college and food and bever-
age divisions.
The majority of respondents are male with an average age
between 31 and 40. Four-percent of the survey respondents
are under the age of 25. The average salary of respondents is
approximately $66,000. #
Ohio University Sports Administration graduate students used
Qualtrics survey software to collect responses. The Ohio Univer-
sity Sports Administration graduate program is regarded for its
excellence in preparing students for careers in professional sports,
intercollegiate athletics, amateur sports, youth sports, sports agencies
and corporate positions with a sport-related component. Under the
guidance of Walter O’Malley, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer
and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the first-ever sports
administration program was started at Ohio University in 1966.
Since its founding, the graduate program has grown an alumni base
of over 1,200 members. If you are looking for a talented, energetic
and knowledgeable young professional to join your organization,
please contact Jim Kahler in the Ohio University Center for Sports
Administration at 740-593-4666. For questions or comments
about this project, please contact Dr. Heather Lawrence at 740-
597-1520.
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Enhance your menu boards with dynamic graphics, videos, TV
feeds and more to drive sales and entertain your customers.
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Best
Practices
Editor’s Note: By using
certain scales of measure-
ment, the survey may be
limited in tracking new
trends and methods. For
instance, a “not effective”
ranking could mean that
members simply have not
attempted to use certain
methods, rather than find
them not effective.
COMING UP NEXT:
ALL CITIES ARE NOT
CREATED EQUAL

70. 68 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
All Cities Are Not Crea ted Equal
I
f you recall our series of articles from the past year, we
found that in the NFL, the value for all teams in the NFC
outweighs the teams in the AFC. In the NBA and the
NHL, the Eastern Conference has a higher value than the
Western Conference. And in MLB, the American League out-
ranks the National League (unless the New York Yankees are
removed from the equation). After reviewing all the data, we
wondered which city or region really has bragging rights over
the competition. To satisfy our curiosity, we investigated what
would happen if we treated all four leagues as just one giant
league known by us as the Great North American League.
All of the teams were broken up into regions regardless
of sport. Geographical location (Northeast, South, Midwest,
West), as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau, played a
significant role in the value of a team. We also combined all
Canadian teams into one geographical area containing its eight
teams. This methodology allowed for a truer gauge of what is
going on in sport by geographical location and by state, and not
by league, conference or division. While a particular sport may
not be of interest to everyone, aggregating the results based on
all sports impacts the landscape.
Teams are broken down and color-coded by region and
sport in Chart 1. The South has the most teams with 36. The
next highest region is the Midwest with 29 teams, followed by
Over the past year, SEAT presented a four-part series on the state of the suite market for the Big Four
leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB). The researchers now aggregate all teams from these leagues,
breaking them down by geographic location to further influence their understanding of the sports
business landscape.
By Dr. Peter Titlebaum and Diane Branca, MBA, University of Dayton

Chart 1
*Note that dollar amount
units are in millions (USD)

71. INDUSTRY CASE STUDY: ALSD MEMBER SUCCESS
F L E Xc o n www.FLEXcon.com
Sponsorship Pops for Korbel with SUITE-art
®
!
K
orbel Champagne doesn’t have a
dedicated suite at Angel Stadium
in Anaheim, California. But, they
do have a brand story to tell the team’s
corporate clients and other groups
who rent one of four party suites on a
nightly basis.
Maria Dinh, Sponsorship Services
Manager, had a unique co-branding
solution. She suggested Korbel take
advantage of the stadium’s “suite
branding” option. Since Korbel had
been the “champagne of choice” and a
partner of the Angels organization for
years, she had an idea of how to link the
two together in the hearts and minds of
the team’s fans.
To transform a plain, generic space
into a showcase of the Korbel brand for
fans of the team, Ms. Dinh proposed
a visual celebration of the Angels’
50th Anniversary.
After selecting images from
the Angels’ photo archive and Korbel
marketing materials, BPGraphics
created dramatic, eye-popping,
wall wraps on SUITE-art
®
materials
from FLEXcon. The result was the
creation of a “Hall of Fame” exhibit-
style environment and a personal
connection between Korbel, the Angels
and their fans.
“Our sponsor (Korbel) was very
happy with the end result,” reports
Ms. Dinh.
BPGraphics completed printing in
just a few days, and installation only
took a day. Best of all, because the
FLEXcon self-adhesive film is quick
and clean to remove, Angel Stadium
can easily switch out artwork to feature
other sponsors’ brand stories.
FLEXcon is the only self-adhesive
film provider certified by the ALSD.
In addition to the SUITE-art
®
wall
opportunities on a nightly basis in
four different spaces is improving
marketability of the suites.
To learn more about telling your
story with SUITE-art
®
, contact Michael
Chevalier, New Business Development
Manager, FLEXcon, by phone at
[phone] or by email at
[email protected]; or
visit www.FLEXcon.com/SUITE-art.
products used for the Korbel/Angels
exhibit, FLEXcon offers floor, window,
counter, table and door products. All
of these films produce graphics with
a brilliance, depth and dimension of
photographic quality.
Enhanced with the dynamic graphics,
the space delivered exceptional brand
recognition for Korbel while enhancing
the fan experience for the Angels’
sponsors. Most importantly, the ability
to offer sponsorship and co-branding
– A D V E R T O R I A L –

72. 70 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
the West with 27 teams. The Northeast comes in next with 22
teams, followed by Canada with eight teams.
While the Northeast has the smallest region in the United
States, it has the highest mean value per team at $665 million
(See Chart 2). When we look at the data for each league, the
Northeast again wins three of the four leagues. The fourth
league is the NHL, where Canada still enjoys bragging rights
as the birthplace of the sport. In this category, the Northeast
comes in a strong second place.
We learned fun facts by breaking team values down by
region, such as what areas of North America have the most
number of teams based on certain sports. For example, MLB
is the leader in the Midwest with 14 teams. The NBA and
the NFL share first place in the South with 11 teams in each
league. Finally, the NHL has the lead with seven teams in the
Northeast.
Next, the authors considered rankings by state to see if any
were significantly different from the others. We grouped the
states into those with four or more teams and three or fewer
teams. This approach is akin to big/small conference cham-
pions. In the “big conference”, California has the most teams
with 15 and has the highest total value at $7.43 billion. How-
ever, when you break it down by the mean value, Massachu-
setts, with just four teams, comes out on top with an average
mean value of $746 million, as shown in Chart 3 on page 72.
Now we shift our attention to the “small conference”
championship (See Chart 4 on page 72). Wisconsin, with
three teams, has the highest total value at $1.63 billion. When
comparing mean values, Maryland takes top honors with just
two teams and a mean value of $728 million. Even if we had
not broken the states into big and small conference champions,
Maryland would have come in second place overall. Not bad
for a state that only has five Fortune 1000 companies in its
marketplace.
This information is relevant because sport is not immune to
marketplace factors or the economy. Teams have relocated for
a new stadium or arena just to help their bottom line profit-
ability. Leagues often consider expansion as a means to increase
revenue for their brands. Conversely, leagues also sometimes
talk of contraction when a team is not profitable. But the last
time a professional sports team folded in the Big Four was in
1952.
Mean Values by Region and Sport

TeamsLow ValueHigh ValueMean Value
NORTHEAST - 22 Teams 22 $415 $1,019 $665
SOUTH - 36 Teams 36 $391 $700 $506
MID-WEST - 29 Teams 29 $396 $659 $491
WEST - 27 Teams 27 $383 $667 $487
CANADA - 8 Teams 8 $303 $406 $335
By Region

TeamsLow ValueHigh ValueMean Value
MLB - NORTHEAST 5 $289 $1,600 $831
MLB - WEST 8 $295 $727 $455
MLB - MID-WEST 14 $331 $726 $406
MLB - SOUTH 7 $316 $453 $393
MLB - CANADA 1 $326 $326 $326
MLB
TeamsLow ValueHigh ValueMean Value
NBA - NORTHEAST 4 $269 $655 $422
NBA - CANADA 1 $399 $399 $399
NBA -WEST 8 $293 $643 $379
NBA - MID-WEST 6 $258 $511 $336
NBA - SOUTH 11 $266 $443 $352
NBA

TeamsLow ValueHigh ValueMean Value
NFL - NORTHEAST 6 $909 $1,361 $1,128
NFL - SOUTH 11 $856 $1,650 $1,113
NFL - MID-WEST 9 $835 $1,082 $973
NFL - WEST 6 $797 $1,081 $933
NFL - CANADA 0 No TeamNo TeamNo Team
NFL
TeamsLow ValueHigh ValueMean Value
NHL - CANADA 6 $183 $505 $293
NHL - NORTHEAST 7 $151 $461 $262
NHL - MID-WEST 5 $153 $315 $227
NHL - WEST 5 $134 $215 $186
NHL - SOUTH 7 $135 $227 $169
NHL
Chart 2
*Note that dollar amount units
are in millions (USD)
Just like any industry, sport has growing pains, and
not all teams and locations have the same value.
The old adage, “location, location, location”, applies
to the business of sports, where not all cities are
created equal.

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74. 72 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Contraction also almost occurred in 2011 when MLB own-
ers voted to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal
Expos. The league avoided contraction when the Expos moved
to Washington, D.C., changed their name to the Nationals,
and moved into a new stadium in 2008. The Twins stayed in
Minnesota and moved into a new stadium in 2010.
This information can empower leagues and teams by un-
derstanding which states or regions in the country support a
particular sport, although there will always be exceptions with
only one team in markets like Oregon, Utah and Oklahoma.
In addition, Canada has provinces that only have one team as
well, such as Québec and British Columbia. This evidence says
a great deal about these communities and the degree to which
they support a professional team.
However, if leagues are making decisions based solely on
profitability and location, the Northeast region appears to
be the strongest candidate for a new team in all sports, as
does Canada for acquiring another NHL team. Sometimes a
community will step up and bring out the welcome wagon to
attract a team. A great example is St. Louis, who put together a
sweetheart deal to get the Los Angeles Rams in 1995. The city
provided the Rams a guaranteed three-year sellout of skyboxes
and luxury seats, paid $29 million in relocation fees to the
NFL, and guaranteed ticket sales of 85% of the Edward Jones
Dome capacity for the next 15 years.
In North America, the sports landscape is still deciphering
how big it can get and in what markets to expand. Just like any
industry, sport has growing pains, and not all teams and loca-
tions have the same value. The old adage, “location, location,
location”, applies to the business of sports where not all cities
are created equal.#
Do you have questions or comments regarding this research?
Write to Dr. Titlebaum at [email protected].








Charts 3 and 4
MORE RESEARCH ON
ALSD.COM:
www.alsd.com/
research
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ACTIVATION WITH
DYNAMIC
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76. 74 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Creating Premium Sponsorship
Engagement with Technology
It was not too long ago that sponsor presence in stadiums and arenas consisted primarily of small,
now seemingly inconsequential signage, merely splashing logos around the venue. Not anymore.
By Justin Wood, Vice President, Dimensional Innovations
B
rands today expect more for their investment and an
opportunity to showcase their commitment to the
team and to the community. Interactive experiences
are providing just that opportunity. By utilizing
technology to add sponsorship value and fan engagement,
brand presence is greatly increasing.
In the past, the “make my logo bigger” strategy often led
to an organization’s brand being completely lost in a sea of a
million other logos. In facilities where nearly every square-inch
of real estate is a potential asset for the team or venue, there is
a real challenge for a brand to separate itself from the rest of
the visual noise that exists. Logos and static signage become
a textural background that, over time, is more difficult to get
noticed. Fans are so oversaturated with the same old stimuli
that it simply gets blocked.
So where is a brand to go to gain the presence they are seek-
ing for the dollars they are spending? How do they insure that
their message does not become background noise? And how
can they make certain that their message can be constantly and
affordably updated with relevant information?
Technology integrated into the built environment goes a
long way towards meeting these challenging goals. In 17 years
of designing, branding and building these experiential spaces,
Dimensional Innovations has seen a tremendous shift to one
of interaction, as opposed to static branding. Especially in
facilities where there is a large season ticket holder base, the
opportunity to use technology as a way to keep content fresh
and enticing is extraordinary.
Dynamic Environments
In recent years, the term “dynamic environments” has been
used quite heavily. What it means in our world is that the built
environment can change and can change easily and frequently.
It also has the ability to respond to users. It simply turns
architecture into a living organism that has the ability to tell an
ever-changing story. Dynamic environments are broken into
several categories with varying levels of functionality and com-
mitment. They each have their own characteristics, deliverables
and, of course, cost implications. Most dynamic experiences
fall into three different categories: Autoactive, Interactive and
Reactive.
Autoactive Experiences
The simplest and least complex of dynamic environments falls
into the category of autoactive experiences. These experi-
ences are characterized by simple digital content dominated
by animated text and graphics. These are incredibly reliable in
delivering targeted messaging for a brand, conveying informa-
tion and invoking an emotional response from visitors. These
can be readily delivered using very simple back-end systems
and re-purposing existing brand content in new ways.
This deployment method was used heavily at Sprint’s East
Gate Sponsorship at Lucas Oil Stadium. With over 25 LCD
monitors in the space, existing messaging for the Sprint brand,
NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts
was easily deployed and constantly updated to keep things
fresh. In combination with simple static graphics and a strong
in-venue activation, this space has been a very effective way
to convey a constantly changing brand message in a very cost
efficient manner.
Interactive Experiences
Since the early 1980s, we have been bombarded with memo-
rable experiences from technology like Pac Man and Space
Sponsorship zones, such as this
one at CONSOL Energy Center in
Pittsburgh, draw in users and
speak directly to them, providing
a personal experience.

77. Invaders. The nostalgia still compels us to engage in today’s
modern games, such as the experiences we get from the
Nintendo Wii or the Xbox Kinect. These kinds of experiences
provide real-time feedback in a game-like environment. They
are frequently used as a way to provide fun and engagement,
while often adding an educational component to the fun.
At the Booth Hall of Athletics at the University of Kansas’
Allen Fieldhouse, low tech and mid tech interactives were used
to tell some of the many stories of Kansas basketball. Interac-
tives include, “On the Air with Max”, which features the game
highlight calls of Max Falkenstein, the longtime voice of the
Jayhawks and “Think You Can Stop Me”, a reaction time
game, which utilizes modified basketballs to test your defensive
skills. The experiences provide a clear connection to the team
while allowing fans to have a great time, and more importantly,
encourage fans to enter Allen Fieldhouse 20 minutes earlier
than they might have otherwise. The cost commitments here
can be relatively modest with the use of LCD monitors and
self-contained CPUs with dedicated IP addresses that allow for
what we call “plug and play architecture”. With a simple elec-
trical connection, a wireless internet connection and, of course,
the floor space, great, dynamic stories are told and created.
Reactive Experiences
In the most sophisticated of experiences, the digital media
is enabled to react directly with the surroundings in the venue.
Through the use of cameras, sensors, etc., the reactive experi-
ence gathers real-time information about the surroundings and
reacts accordingly. This technology has the ability to draw in
the user and then hold them. If correctly done, the experi-
ence “speaks” directly to the user and makes for an incredibly
personal experience.
One of the best examples of a reactive experience is the in-
stallation at Consol Energy Center for the Pittsburgh Pen-
guins. The Penguins’ sponsorship activation with Highmark,
Top: With over 25 LCD monitors and simple static graphics, the Sprint East Gate Sponsor-
ship at Lucas Oil Stadium is an effective way to convey a constantly changing brand
message.
Bottom: The Booth Hall of Athletics at Allen Fieldhouse uses low tech and mid tech to
engage fans and tell the stories of University of Kansas basketball.
#SEATSummer2011 | www.alsd.com | S E A T | 75

78. 76 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
a Pittsburgh-based Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, includes
six different high tech interactives and four different low tech
interactives, with the most unique being the “Put Your Game
Face On” interactive. The augmented reality-based program
allows a user to utilize the 52” touchscreens (magic mirror) to
manipulate his or her image to include a new updated image,
displaying anything from a favorite player’s bobblehead to the
Stanley Cup beard of a favorite player. The screen shot is sent
to a user’s smart phone, keeping the viral nature of this kind of
interactive in full swing. It also provides the impetus for users
to supply their personal information (email or phone number)
to the sponsor to receive a worthy takeaway from engaging
with the experience.
Recently, the collegiate scene has begun to participate in the
premium activations that can be delivered with these sorts of
reactive experiences. At the University of Missouri’s MATC
building, Mizzou Athletics has created an experience that acts
as a recruiting experience, a donor experience, a current athlete
experience as well as a game day fan experience. The interactive
4’ x 15’ touchscreen wall tells the story of all 21 Mizzou sports
in an incredibly interactive experience. The reactive portion
of this experience entails the use of infrared cameras in the
ceiling that force the animated and rather intimidating Mizzou
Tiger to engage each user very specifically as they engage the
touchscreen wall. Mizzou Athletics’ willingness to undertake
a project with such bleeding-edge technology made for an in-
credibly exciting and fulfilling project. The potential for donors
and sponsors to use this sort of experience to tell their stories is
indescribable, and as this technology grows and becomes more
and more affordable, we are going to see it being used for many
different purposes and budgets.
The Future
What we see for the future of technology in sports venues is
congruent with much of what you have already read in SEAT
Magazine. Everything from in-suite ordering for food and
beverage to interactive cameras like the Penguins’ YinzCam
to enhance the fans’ views of the game will become more and
more common. Branded experiences and sponsorship zones
will continue to grow in interactivity in their nature as fans and
users continue to expect more and more from their in-venue
experience. #
Would you like more information on the case studies included in this article?
Write to Justin Wood at [email protected].
Justin is the Vice President of Business Development for Dimensional Innovations, a
Design- Build Experience firm based in Kansas City.
Top: Mizzou Athletics has created a reactive environment that acts as an athlete recruit-
ing, donor and game day fan experience.
Bottom: Interactives, such as “Think You Can Stop Me” in Allen Fieldhouse, provide
real-time feedback in a game-like environment.

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80. 78 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
Industry and Association News, continued
ALSD Member Editorial by Jake Bye
[continued from page 16]
we certainly cannot expect our partners and our
prospects to, a crucial message we consistently
deliver to our staff. Utilizing community and
civic assets, building in sponsorship inventory,
creating a communication strategy, and offering
unique experiences are all ways to enhance the
value of a partnership without compromising its
profitability, something we continually strive for
as a sales group.
Our economic landscape has grown increas-
ingly complex over the past few years and,
contrary to popular belief, professional sports are
not immune to the challenges at hand. So many
leagues and clubs have set the bar increasingly
higher with the programs, events and strategies
they have employed. In St. Louis, we strive to
be a trendsetter and have used these strategies
to build a foundation that will blend short-term
success with long-term organizational goals.
Though our suites and premium seating have
recently endured some challenging seasons, stick-
ing to these principles as closely as we can has
positioned us for success in 2011 and for seasons
to come.
All the best to your club and organization for
the remainder of 2011. Happy selling!
Want to network with Jake?
Here’s His Business Card
Jake Bye
Director, Ticket Sales and Premium Seating
St. Louis Rams
901 N. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63101
(O): 314.425.0506
[email protected]
www.ExperiencetheRams.com
Indians Social Suite
[continued from page 24]
the people who attend seem to have an under-
standing that they are being recognized for what
they have been doing, and it is a pat on the back
to have their own suite and to have a free ticket
to a game.
There will inevitably be questions about per-
formance on the field, but the Indians view such
comments no differently than those made by its
beat writers in the local papers. The organiza-
tion does not have control over the print media
message just as it does not have control over the
social media message. The Indians appear to be
happy just joining the conversation. “People are
going to be talking about the Indians regardless
of whether we engage with them or not,” con-
tends Campbell. “Even if we did not have Twit-
ter accounts or a Facebook page, the conversation
would still be happening in that space. So rather
than sit on the sidelines, we wanted to step foot
on the field and play, engage and interact.”
The Indians Social Suite is one part of a larger
strategy to engage fans through social media.
Team President Mark Shapiro is the primary
driving force behind the push to social media.
Where some other teams and businesses in
general run into the problem of having to sell
social media up the ladder, Shapiro sees value in
it and is an active user himself. “Mark has a Twit-
ter account. He’s monitoring what people say to
him, and he answers their questions,” observes
Campbell. “He’ll also call me once a week with
an idea for a contest to give away tickets.”
The strategy was put in place before last sea-
son after the Indians consulted with Amy Martin
and Digital Royalty. Martin did a baseline senti-
ment study on the Indians brand and brain-
stormed ideas on how to capitalize on it. From
those discussions came the Tribe Social Deck, a
ten-seat section in the left field bleachers. It was
an overwhelming success, which is largely why
the Indians upgraded to a suite for this season.
“[The Tribe Social Deck] gave us inroads into
communications channels that we had never
been a part of before,” Campbell explains.
There are also operational and logistical
benefits of moving indoors to a suite, such as no
glare on laptops, cell phones or televisions. “It’s
a much better experience,” continues Campbell.
“And now by dedicating a suite to this initiative,
you see how important it is to the organization.”
The social media sphere has visibly evolved
from a buzzword to a vital department within
the Indians organization with the driving motive
being building stronger connections with fans.
Although tough to quantify, the Indians have
attributed direct ticket sales through discounts
for select games only promoted through social
media. Campbell believes the larger actual
revenue is realized more by building a brand. “It’s
both a marketing and a sales application for us,”
says Campbell. “We recognize its ability to help
us build a brand and manage the message around
our brand.”
“We put the message out there initially, and
then we listen and interact,” Campbell continues,
“because there’s always ways for us to enhance
our fans’ experiences.”
– Jared Frank
For more information on the Indians Social Suite, contact:
Rob Campbell, Digital Media Coordinator
[email protected]
For more information on Cleveland Indians Social Media, visit:
www.indians.com/connect
To view photos from Jared’s night in the Indians Social Suite,
visit the ALSD on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/AssociationOfLuxurySuiteDirectors
Tailgating
[continued from page 28]
which owns Pat Boone All-American Meats, ex-
plains the charitable component of the program.
He gives the example of large charitable groups
such as the March of Dimes which has millions
of people on their donor roles. If only one-tenth
of 1% of this group would purchase their weekly
allotment of meat products from Pat Boone’s
group versus the grocery store, Tedder says it will
help feed 40 million high protein meals to the
hungry in the United States and abroad.
At the ALSD Conference and Tradeshow this
past June, the tailgating concept was tested in the
exhibit hall. Pat Boone made a personal appear-
ance at the show and according to Tedder, Pat
will personally work with individual venues to
test the concept. How much of a commitment?
According to Tedder, Pat will work with teams at
his music museum home office and do interviews
and media appearances to bring the charitable
aspect of this program to their attention.
For the right program, Pat will even make a
personal appearance and sing the Star-Spangled
Banner. Boone is a huge sports fan and at one
time, he owned an American Basketball As-
sociation team, the Oakland Oaks. A couple of
teams are already talking with Pat about doing a
Charity Night.
According to Tedder, the program is gaining
some traction in the brief time it has been intro-
duced. And why not? In the revenue race that
dominates professional and college sports, here is
another idea that can help teams out. And that
is the bottom line.
– ALSD Staff Report

82. 80 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATSummer2011
coming attractions
T
he fall season is again buying season for the premium
seat industry. The next issue of SEAT will include our
annual Buyers Guide listings which continue to be a
valuable member benefit, the marketplace’s only pre-
mium buyers guide and one-stop shopping resource. Listings
this year will again include a variety of categories, including:
Amenities and Promotional Products
Food and Beverage
Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment
Information Technology
Professional Services
If you would like more information on the Buyers Guide or
want to be included in our listing, please contact the ALSD:
Scott Hinzman
National Sales Manager
513.674.0555 x101
[email protected]
Ryan Mirabedini
Membership Director
513.674.0555 x105
[email protected]
S E A T
leading the premium seat industry www.alsd.com Fall 2011
pu b l i s h e d b y t h e as s o c i a t i o n oF lu x u r y su i t e di r e c t o r s
buyers
guide
2012
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