McCue Joins SMG

SMG had some big shoes to fill with the departure of Mike Evans in June, but the facility management company has finally found its match in Jim McCue.

McCue joins the ranks of SMG as Sr. VP of entertainment from his previous position at ArenaNetwork. He’ll oversee a staff of seven in the sports and entertainment division from company headquarters outside Philadelphia.

“He’s a perfect fit for our division,” Sr. VP of business and development Bob Cavalieri told Pollstar. He added that SMG recently reorganized the segment, which is charged with driving all types of content into its facilities, from concerts to sporting events to family shows.

Reporting directly to McCue in Pennsylvania will be VP of entertainment for arenas Jon Petrunak and Bob Papke, VP of entertainment for theatres.

Other SMG officers on the team include VP of entertainment for special events Chris Wright in New York and four regional venue GMs – Bob Belber, Cyndee Pennington, Jerry Goldman and Dan Spellens.

McCue brings more than 25 years in the industry to the new role, previously holding senior positions at House Of Blues Concerts, the Rose Garden Arena, First & Goal and Palace Sports & Entertainment. He also worked as an agent at ICM before entering facility management.

“I’m very excited. It’s a great growth opportunity for my career,” McCue told Pollstar. “My focus is going to be growing our relationships with the key agents, the key tour promoters and I think especially our venues with the regional promoters.”

McCue also plans to tap his previous experience producing and marketing offerings such as Walking With Dinosaurs for SMG, adding that he expects the genre of family entertainment to become increasingly diverse in the future with “a host of opportunities.”