Voices From The Trenches: Bernie Punt, Bryce Jordan Center

It’s part of the Arena Network and, among other notes of interest, the venue where Backstreet Boys filmed their video for their 2000 hit “The One” and where portions of Aerosmith’s 1998 live album were recorded. Along with Punt’s many duties, he is probably the industry leader in “dad jokes.”

Tell us the story of your life.

Born in Darby (outside Philly), grew up in Exton (a ‘burb of Philly), went to Penn State (got rid of my Philly accent with a speech dialect class), moved to the DC area (first low-paying job), moved back to state college (because of a woman), started a business (called Go Bonkerz), which was an indoor entertainment facility for both kids and adults.

While the Bryce Jordan Center was being constructed, Bob Howard (GM) and Robb Larson (marketing) would frequent my business because they both had kids. They asked me how was I always busy when I didn’t advertise and I said I worked out deals with all the local businesses and media outlets. Unfortunately, I was also going through a divorce with the person that made me move back to state college, so I asked if they had any openings. I eventually became the marketing director after a year and the rest is history. It was a perfect fit.

What is the current social climate at Bryce Jordan Center?

We always have to work hard to bring in national touring acts because of the size of our market, but we’re still rocking after 20-plus years.

Considering it is a university venue, have you made any adjustments lately regarding students’ sensitivities?

We actually utilize some funds from the students’ activity fee to offset the cost of tickets. It’s a win-win for everybody. The students can see someone like Kanye West for a reduced price, and the show still gets the full price of the ticket at settlement.

You have three shout-outs

I wish I had 10 shout-outs. Bob Howard (retired GM) for entrusting me with enough creative freedom to almost be dangerous and for always being by my side.

Jim Delaney (Activate Sports) for being the most innovative person I have ever met. He inspires me both professionally and personally. Tammy Koolbeck (VenuWorks), who taught me the balancing act of working hard and having a personal life. She is a role model for me.

What is the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

That I grow blue potatoes for a micro-brewery and I turned down many job offers from larger markets. I answered two because I sometimes don’t follow instructions.

What are you listening to, and how are you listening to it?

In the car: Howard Stern on Sirius. At my office: Pandora and I even pay to not have commercials (mostly reggae). In my kitchen: old school iPod (’80s/’90s grunge). In “Club Bernie” (converted my 1930s garage into a playroom): albums, CDs (Mansun and Cocteau Twins EPs) and my friends get an hour with their phone’s playlist.

Please mention one to three concerts that are memorable for either good or bad reasons.

Bruce Springsteen’s recent concert this past April (the tour said it was one of the most energetic crowds of the entire tour). Pearl Jam closing out their tour in our building in 2003 as they played to almost 1 a.m. Hosting Paul McCartney last October. We had people coming in from as far away as Europe and Japan to see this show.

As for venue communication / PR / marketing, what have you, what advice would you give to newcomers?

Don’t take no for an answer and don’t ask for permission; ask for forgiveness. Your gut instinct is usually right.

You were one of the first to call the Bill Cosby debacle. Care yet to explain why?

His manager couldn’t fly in the day we hosted him (in 2000) so I was elected to be his handler that day. As a guy from Philly (and a fan), I was honored and thrilled at the same time. Long story short, he was not happy with the fact that I was going to be his liaison with the building (he thought he was going to have a college coed helping him out that day). He made sure my day was going to be very long, surly one. By the evening, I had to threaten him that he wasn’t going to get paid in order to get him on the stage.

Afterward, I swore off Jello pudding. My GM, Bob Howard, even called Cosby’s agent and told him he was never to set foot in our building again. When the allegations started coming out about him recently, I thought to myself, well, Karma truly is a bitch.

What is one of the best/most innovative marketing campaigns you’ve seen?

Pokémon Go! It’s crack cocaine for your phone, and when it launched this past July, it almost took over the world by word of mouth. Genius.

Hey, thanks for those tickets. Seriously, how often do you hear that?

I usually get, “Can you get me any good seats? I’ll even pay for them.”

What is one thing you’d like to see changed in either venue management or the industry as a whole?

Wipe the slate clean with disproportionate artist guarantees and excessive service charges. Obviously everyone trying to make a living in this business just told me to pound sand. But let’s look more closely at this: because some artists will only half-fill a venue then require flex seating, Groupon options and two-for-ones after the onsale. It’s obvious there is a price-point issue.

The majority of the public are not going to purchase an over-inflated ticket price. What’s worse, they are going to wait until the last minute for the reduced ticket price or even stop attending altogether.

Most fun you’ve had while clocked in.

Having an in-depth conversation with Butch Vig (Nirvana, Garbage) about the genius of Brian Wilson’s music. Garth Brooks letting me re-seat people in the front row from the farthest reaches of the venue (he performed 11 shows here). Keeping Fred Durst and Bobby Brown (on separate occasions) from being arrested.