VenuWorks Unveils Events Division

VenuWorks is creating a new Events and Entertainment Division, including booking and promotion, and has tapped three industry vets to lead it.

The division is expected to bring more events to VenuWorks buildings and will be under the direction of Andy Long, VP for events and entertainment.

Long has been a VenuWorks regional VP since 2009, after starting as the national director of business development. Prior to VW, he served as GM of the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., executive director of the Iowa Events Center in Ames, Iowa, regional marketing director for Feld Entertainment and director of marketing for the Nutter Center, among others.

Joining him on the new team is Phil Potter, the company’s longtime national director of programming. Potter will continue to work with promoters and agents to bring concerts and attractions to VW venues.

Also joining the new division are Tammy Koolbeck and John Siehl. Koolbeck, a regent with IAVM’s Public Assembly Management School, has overseen Super Bowl services for the last four years in her capacities as VP and national director of marketing for VenuWorks.

Siehl, a past president of IAVM, joined the company in 2010 as national director of support services after leading operations at HARA Complex and the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.