Management: December 2024

Faces + Places

 

TONY PEREIRA

Tony Pereira, a veteran stadium manager who spent 37 years with the Seattle Mariners, recently took the job of manager of operations and events for the Cactus League Baseball Association, a nonprofit committed to strengthening the spring training industry in Arizona, pegged as a $700 million economic driver annually for state tourism. Pereira’s position is a new role within the association, which dates to 1947, the year MLB teams first staged spring training in Arizona. Pereira will manage the operations layer of the organization, which consists of a six-member executive board made up of officials representing the municipalities and MLB teams that run spring training parks. In addition, he will oversee the Cactus League’s annual Hall of Fame ceremonies, Sponsor Appreciation Days and Legislative Day, a networking event with local and state politicians to lobby for public funding and overall support of spring training complexes.

GOLDENVOICE

 

Goldenvoice, the California-based promoter that operates venues and produces major festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach as an affiliate of AEG Presents, announced the promotions of Becky Rosen-Checa, Montreh Nariman-Hassanabadi, Chavanté Flakes and Candace Mandracia. The four talent buyers will assume elevated roles in key Southern California venues and festivals. Rosen-Checa has been a talent buyer for the historic Roxy Theatre and El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles and will transition to overseeing bookings for the Fox Theater in Pomona and one-off shows in the Los Angeles area. She will also contribute to the company’s shows at Los Angeles Historic Park and Brookside at the Rose Bowl as well as festival properties Palm Springs Surf Club and Desert Air. Nariman-Hassanabadi takes on a new role after serving as a talent buyer assistant. Flakes has been promoted to talent buyer at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles Mandracia ascends to booking shows for San Diego area venues like Rady Shell, Humphreys and Pechanga Casino, joining a team that includes John Wojas, Lea Swanson and Jenn Liebelt.

PREMIUM PARKING

 

Premium Parking has signed a deal with ASM Global to provide free-flow parking operations and technology for the facility management firm’s venues across North America. The parking vendor’s services are tied to modern Cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence camera technology for mobile payments. Premium Parking, whose headquarters are in New Orleans, Louisiana, operates in more than 40 cities across the U.S.

NEW AUGUSTA ARENA

 

The Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority announced Oak View Group will continue to provide venue management, hospitality and partnerships services for Bell Auditorium as well as the new Augusta arena, scheduled to open in 2027. The contract extension is for 10 years with a 10-year option. As part of the agreement, OVG, parent company to VenuesNow, is investing $10 million into the project. The new 10,500-seat arena, expected to include suites, loge boxes, a private club lounge and a connection to Bell Auditorium, a 2,700-seat theater that reopened on May 31 after going offline for a year to undergo renovations.

MODA CENTER

 

The Portland Trailblazers and Moda Center have rolled out Oscar Sort, a recycling robot powered by artificial intelligence, for the coming NBA season. The technology, operating on the arena concourses, helps divert waste from landfills by guiding fans to correctly sort their compostable, recyclable and reusable items. The Blazers’ goal is to turn the sometimes confusing chore of figuring out which bin to distribute waste among multiple receptacles into a simplified and engaging experience. In addition, Oscar provides real-time data on bin capacity, which reduces the need for staff to manually check bins and change partially filled bags, further cutting waste.

ALEX PATTON

 

Oak View Group has named Canadian music industry veteran Alex Patton senior director of booking for the company’s Canadian Alliance. Based in the OVG Canada office in Toronto, Patton will report to OVG Canada President Tom Pistore and Joe Giordano, vice president of OVG Stadium, Arena and Theatre Alliance.Patton will spearheaded OVG’s strategy for Canadian Arena Alliance, OVG-managed Canadian entertainment and sports properties, and Hamilton Arena, the 18,000-seat arena undergoing renovations in Hamilton, Ontario, scheduled to reopen in late 2025. Patton’s experience includes time at Live Nation, Endeavor and The Agency Group, and she is actively involved in multiple industry organizations. Oak View Group is parent company to VenuesNow.