How Millennials Are Influencing The Design Of Arenas

If one hasn’t yet appreciated the influence of the “Millennial” generation, it’s probably time: not only has it had its influence on popular culture in general, or more specifically changed the way concerts are performed, or how they are provided, it is changing the look of arenas, and at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. 

– Philips Arena Rendering

Venues like Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, home to the NBA’s 76ers, and Philips Arena in Atlanta, home to the NBA’s Hawks, are being ripped apart and put back together again with the specific intent of repurposing them for the younger crowd. The general love and need for suites, and their annual revenue, is being reformatted because of the needs of a different generation.

Arena general managers, or at least those that follow the building and rebuilding of venues, might raise their eyebrows at that: “suite revenue” could possibly be a thing of the past.

“You’re absolutely right about that strategy,” Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin told Pollstar. “Today’s concertgoer, that is of a certain age, doesn’t go to concerts alone. They bring their social networks with them. So instead of 18,000 linear seats, all the same, and a few boxes called suites, we have created seven or eight different seating configurations.”

Philips Arena is on the front end of a $192.5 million renovation that will decimate suites, reducing them from 90 to less than 20, opening the upper level so that fans can walk the entire 360 degrees around the bowl, and removal of many walls to improve sightlines.

It’s influenced by Millennials, who love the experience, and open spaces. The suite areas will now be about tables, with curtains, where people can choose to make their “experience” public or private. The same goes for the Wells Fargo Center, where suites are being redacted and the wide-open areas are being produced, and the “velvet rope” experiences are being created at a potential cost of $200 million.

“We’ve talked to our architects, and surveyed the fans, and tried to understand what the Millennial generation is all about,” Wells Fargo Center President John Page told Pollstar. “A lot of these areas were kind of exclusive, and not real open.  A lot of that has changed. The ability for fans to interact and just at the end of the day make the guest experience that much better.”

To that effect, the building will be improving its parking operation, increasing the food & beverage offerings, and rebuilding the suites.

“We pulled out all the old millwork, pulled out the carpet, took out a glass separation wall,” Page said. “We moved the drink rail nine inches.  We made these suites feel much more open, much more modern and added the technology piece to tie in to the Comcast X1 platform.”

“There’s a new generation of fans who have unlimited entertainment options at the stroke of the remote for Netflix,” Rob Johnson, author of Millennial Rebooot and VP of business for Jackbox Games, told Pollstar. “But if you create a velvet rope and a shareable experience, you’re going to have a winner on your hands. As these venues are designed or redesigned, they’re for the next generation.  Now, as a fan, how are these experiences shareable? And what we’ve learned over the years, if you can’t share an event, were you really there? That becomes the focus from your entry into the building.”

Koonin noted that much of the redesign is inspired by Las Vegas, with its pool parties and bottle service and VIP experiences, which not only explains things like a Zac Brown restaurant or a Killer Mike barbershop but a courtside bar.

“The weekend pool parties can add double digits to a casino’s revenue,” he said. “The cabanas, and bench seats and table service. But a real key in all of this is to work with the concert promoters in finding and creating the new experiences. That’s what our plan is.”