VenuesNow Conference Panels Preview: Spotlight On Sustainability 

With less than 50 days to go before VenuesNow Conference opens its doors, more speakers have been confirmed including Becky Colwell, General Manager Kia Forum & VP, Live Events at Intuit Dome, Halo Sports & Entertainment, and Graham Rossini, Athletic Director, Sun Devil Athletics. Plus, today’s announcement from VNC offers a look at a few panels devoted to sustainability.

The eighth annual VenuesNow Conference will take place Sept. 9-11 at Resorts World Las Vegas. Presented by Lockton and Oracle, the event marks the debut in the entertainment capital of the world and the first time VNC has expanded to three days. Past events have been hosted in Austin, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Phoenix, New York and Seattle.

New this year will be a day of programming dedicated to sustainability. While environmental stewardship has consistently been a vital discussion point at past VenuesNow Conferences, this year’s focus highlights why sustainable strategies are more essential than ever for long-term success in the live industry.

The sustainability content was carefully curated in partnership with GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership), which is a sustainability network for live event venues, founded in 2021 in partnership between Oak View Group (Pollstar‘s parent company), Fenway Sports Group, the Atlanta Hawks, and Jason F. McLennan. GOAL is the industry’s only sustainability data & benchmarking platform, and has developed a sustainable operations roadmap – the GOAL Standard – designed specifically to enable recognition of sustainability efforts in live event venues.

Panels include “Platform for Impact,” featuring industry leaders discussing their passion for harboring a positive impact every day and “Impact Leadership in Las Vegas,” featuring pioneers of sustainability who call Las Vegas home. Hear from the leaders on what they have been able to accomplish in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

“Hot Button Breakouts: Waste & Energy” are breakout sessions that will dig into tactical solutions on the two most visible and potentially costly topics in venue management. Learn from advocates that are working to tackle these issues and solution providers aiming to help solve them.

“Business Strategy Behind Impact” is a session focused on leaders and how they’ve been able to leverage sustainability for an increase in revenue, booking, and better business practices.

Additional speakers that have recently been confirmed include Michael Drake, Chief Executive Officer, Clemson Ventures, and Dan Griffis, President, Global Partnerships, Oak View Group.

Last week, Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium, was announced as a keynote speaker. Other speakers include Antony Bonavita, EVP, Chief Venues & Development Officer at Rock Entertainment Group and Cleveland Cavaliers, and Noël Largess Mirhadi, Senior Director, Theater Alliance at Oak View Group.

Additional confirmed panels include: “Leveraging Sustainability Initiatives to Drive Sponsorships,” “Energy & Water Conservation: How Do I Reduce My Utility Cost Spend?,” “Waste Reduction: What is Zero Waste and What are my First Steps?,” “The Shifting Economics of University Sports & Entertainment,” “Venues Of Vegas: An Update on Las Vegas A’s,” “Event Operations: Executing the Perfect Changeover,” “Culture Is Currency: Unlocking Revenue Through Representation,” “Booking: Arenas & Stadiums,” “Booking: Theaters & Small Venues,” “F&B Strategy: What Data Tells us About Our Guests,” and “Security Impact on Budget.”

Registration for VenuesNow Conference is open now at venuesnowconference.com. Use the discount code POLLSTAR for 10% off your registration.

Stay tuned for more speakers and panel announcements, as well as details about the host hotel.