South America Focus: Q’s With Wesley Cullen, OVG’s VP of International Venue Development

Oak View Group, the parent company of Pollstar, once again disrupted the live industry when it announced a partnership with Live Nation and GL Events in 2021 to develop a new 20,000-capacity arena in São Paulo, Brazil, and it doubled down on its commitment to Latin America one year later by hiring Wesley Cullen as vice president of international venue development.

Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cullen previously served as general manager at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and boasts more than two decades of experience in the industry. Cullen set aside some time to chat with Pollstar to talk about the South American market and its potential, as well as the importance of venue development in the region.

Pollstar: How did you get into the live business – and specifically, how did you get involved in working in Latin America?

Wesley Cullen: It’s such an important moment for us in Latin America, and for OVG too. The short answer is that my love for the region comes from the music and the culture. I was born in Spain to American parents, so I’ve been around the joy and power of Latin music since I was born.

I believe Latin music can change the world. Professionally, after working international tours, I arrived in Latin America with the opportunity to join the business of the Coliseo. I fell in love with the island and experienced that when we have business leaders who can bridge the cultures, there’s a lot of impact and business that can be created.

It’s been amazing to see this explosion of Latin music because the artists seem to take their countries with them, helping their homeland in the process.

It is amazing. It’s also great how receptive and curious fans are. The attention it brings to the country and culture has real economic impact, too. From tourism to trying new products at their local shops.

I think there’s something really interesting to look at in the role venues play in the development of artists. Digital streaming creates the explosive growth of artists like Bad Bunny – it’s an innovation that’s created so much opportunity. The original platform is a stage. I think it’s interesting to consider the role of a new arena in a market. It’s what I’m so excited about for São Paulo. We will be filling a void in the São Paulo venue ecosystem just as the Coliseo did for Puerto Rico, and every iconic arena has done for its community. Every city deserves a great arena.

When you go to a market internationally that has never had a world-class arena, the impact that it has on the aspirations of the artist and what they believe is possible and the role it plays in the ecosystem, can be really positive and impactful.

The impact can be most apparent on the artist side, but what happens on the production and business side behind the stage, in the ecosystem can be transformative. The relationships that are developed and ideas shared contribute to the creation of new music and also the growth of the industry overall. That’s what venues are for – bringing people together!

For a business that is now in the billions, how is it that it has been difficult for some of the nations to catch up with the demand?

[A lack of] land; funding – no indoor sports; private sector and support of fans who have demonstrated there is demand.

When we’re talking about large cities, the first major obstacle can be finding suitable land. Smaller cities may have more land options, but less population to drive the success of the venue.

If there is a good space to develop the venue, someone needs to lead that initiative. In many markets, that has been the government, often with sports teams. OVG and partners in many countries see the opportunity and believe in privately funded, music-forward arenas.

Each market has its own complexity, from inflation to currency and costs of construction. It takes visionaries to believe in the industry and demands from the fans.

In the case of Latin America, the newest arenas have been privately funded, from CLK group with Movistar Bogotá to La Nacion with Movistar Buenos Aires and OVG next with the São Paulo arena.

The naming rights sponsorships, something Movistar has done multiple times now, demonstrate that brands in the region recognize the value of arenas. We’re seeing more examples of success, generating more confidence to place these bets, being from the entrepreneurs that are leading the charge to the banks that are doing the financing, the brands that are supporting it and everyone is coming through.

What can you tell me about the growth of the Brazilian market?

I absolutely love getting to know the country, and the music is incredible. The more you get to know Brazilian music, the more you want everyone to enjoy it. There is so much to be discovered. For OVG, in the case of São Paulo, it’s a belief in betting on the future development of Latin America and a focus on capital cities.

São Paulo is one of the top five cities in the world and doesn’t have an indoor arena. It has phenomenal venues of other sizes. For a city with over 20 million people and a growing market with passionate music fans, OVG saw the opportunity to make that investment. If you look at what is happening with the shows that already do go down there, the market has a strong fan base, they love entertainment and to go out, and the artists that go there love to go. Brazil has a strong network of promoters and amazing festivals such as the iconic Rock in Rio and newly launched The Town in São Paulo.

Is there a market other than Brazil that you feel is relatively untapped and primed for something big further down the line?

We believe that once São Paulo comes online, we’ll see growth in touring and arenas throughout the capitals of Latin America and strong secondary markets. From Mexico to Peru, there are passionate fans, incredible artists, athletes and performers in markets with opportunities for new or modernized venues. 

I think it’s only a matter of time. It’s wonderful to have seen the continued development over the last few years. When São Paulo launches, I think we’ll accelerate the continued development of venues in communities and economies that are ready, which will eventually hopefully be all of them!

What other challenges still exist in South American markets?

The challenges in terms of touring and successfully booking the arena will be the economic environment. Most of the countries face issues with inflation as well as with currency. Each one is unique, and doing business in any developing region is not going to be for the faint of heart. You do have to adapt; you have to be very pendiente (aware) because things can change from when things go on sale with a show until it happens. It also means that you’ve got a lot of really sharp, really focused people on the business who have always made it work. The improvised way of getting things done has successfully gotten things done, and it’s those people who are the experts in their market that are now helping to formalize and develop it.

What are Oak View Group’s plans with Latin America? What’s driving that interest?

We’re very focused on São Paulo and all in on a great arena for the city. It’s part of the OVG commitment to positively disrupting the industry; going out and saying, “Where are there voids we can fill and opportunities to elevate the experience for artists and fans and improve the business?”

The challenge is that there are so many opportunities, in Latin America and globally. The challenge is to determine how we best focus our efforts, who are the best partners for us and then looking at the timing and phasing of different projects. We’re focused on São Paulo as our own OVG-developed and operated venue, and exploring conversations about partnerships and where we can offer expert advisory services.

As we add a game-changing piece to the arena routing and infrastructure in Latin America, how can we contribute so that every venue that is part of this tour or is being developed in the region can be as good as it possibly can be, and that the people that are leading that can be as successful as possible so that the region continues to thrive for everybody?

We believe in the region. We congratulate the intrepid professionals who have built the industry and are excited to be part of the next era of live entertainment in Latin America.