VNC Panel Announcement: Driving Revenue Inside The Building

Spenser Genesy of tvg Hospitality, Chad Gregory of Legends Global, Bret Hartley of Oracle and Adam Stover of Populous are confirmed as speakers on the VenuesNow Conference panel “Concessions/Premium: Driving Revenue Inside The Building.”

In this panel, top food service professionals will address how new strategies are improving service and boosting revenue at sports and entertainment venues. Topics include POS enhancements, flexible offerings, design features that support premium and concession sales, new technologies like cashless systems and AI, event-specific menus, and advanced data collection and analysis.

Seattle Kraken Owner Samantha Holloway To Open 2026
VenuesNow Conference

VNC 2026 takes place Sept. 29-30 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, marking VNC’s return to the Emerald City for the first time since 2021. Produced by Pollstar and presented by Marsh and Oracle, VNC brings together live entertainment, sports, and venue executives to address the industry’s most critical operational, financial, and strategic dynamics. 

Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway will open VenuesNow Conference. Holloway is also the managing partner of One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the umbrella brand for the Seattle Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, and One Roof Foundation. During the opening fireside chat, Holloway will share her perspective as a technology entrepreneur, investor, and operator, and will discuss how she brings her founder’s mindset to sports and live entertainment, combining operational rigor and data-driven decision-making with a strong focus on the fan experience. 

Additional confirmed speakers taking part in VNC panels, keynotes and town halls include Chris Granger and Emily Lindahl (Oak View Group), Sean Saadeh (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment), Kosha Irby (All Elite Wrestling), Mike Hayes (UTA), Craig Newman and Bruce Solar (Paladin Artists), Paz Aparicio (Movistar Arena Madrid), Denis Sullivan (Feld Entertainment), Gary Hutchinson (Oak View Group), Laura Chiplin (Tottenham Hotspur), David Powell (Ethara), John Page (Acrisure Arena), Thayer Lavielle and Sara Dean (The.Team), Bryan Bedford (Cisco), Kevin Devore and Ryan Zoukis (ME Engineers), Greg Farley (MD Energy Advisors), Dani Stern (Honeywell), Adam Stover (Populous), Mike Sciortino (UBS Arena), Declan Weir (Stantec), David Reed (ModeScore & ActiveScore), Aaron Thomas (Columbus Arena Sports & Entertainment), Wesley Cullen (Oak View Group), Guy Dunstan (Co‑op Live), Kaity Dychala (PWHL), Gina Rotolo (Acrisure Arena), Ashlee Stokely (Nissan Stadium / Tennessee Titans) and Luke Tingle (Daktronics).

VNC follows the inaugural Secure Venues Summit on Sept. 28 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, which is being launched by Oak View Group & Prevent Advisors. The event is programmed specifically for safety, risk management, and venue operations leaders, and will feature a Keynote address on the “State of Security in America: Trends, Evolution, and Adversaries in Preparation for the 2028 Olympics in LA” by Voviette D. Morgan (SVP, Safety & Security, LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games) and Mike Downing (CSO/President, OVG/Prevent Advisors).

Also taking place Sept. 28 is the pre-conference VNC Golf Classic, a separately ticketed event providing executive networking on the course prior to the afternoon SVS breakout sessions and opening reception.

To register for the VenuesNow Conference 2026 or the Secure Venues Summit, or for schedule updates and venue information, visit venuesnowconference.com and securevenuessummit.com.