Adventures In Venueland

BONUS EPISODE – Snap the ball and laces out as we kick our way into this fun detour episode taking a look inside the College Football Playoff National Championship with Brett Daniels, Senior Director of Communications and Branding for the College Football Playoff . Hear about the preparations leading into the game, how they handle signage and the marketing rollout without knowing finalists, and th...

From the South Bay to the Valley, from the West Side to the East Side – we head to Los Angeles for this episode to chat with Kishore Ramlagan, the Manager, Marketing & Promotions at Hollywood Park , SoFi Stadium & YouTube Theater . Kishore takes us along for the ride through his unconventional career path – from playing soccer and being a fan to joining the industry through an internship with the...

BONUS EPISODE – OH!… IO! Ohio rock legends unite as we go behind-the-scenes of a unique charity event, VetsAid , which recently gathered iconic Ohio rock bands at Nationwide Arena to raise funds for veterans charities in the state. We chat with Tracy Hedrick, Chief Marketing Officer for Ohio State University Department of Athletics and Business Advancement, who walks us through how the event came...

It’s Tulsa time! For this episode we rock the BOK with Meghan Blood, Director of Marketing at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hear all about Meghan’s journey into live events, from college in Oklahoma to working in Dallas and now at one of the most cutting-edge arenas in the country in Tulsa. We discuss artist gifting, fan activations, artist welcomes, back-of-house murals and clings, and all the 3...

From the Live Music Capitol of the World to the Country Music Capitol, we catch up with Mark Salazar for this episode, the Arena Marketing Assistant at Bridgestone Arena , who recently moved from Austin to Nashville. Mark, who is early in his live events career, walks us through his adventure, from gigs with C3 Presents and Austin Radio Network, to finishing school while getting experience and als...

Step inside the studio with us for this in-person interview with Janice Jimenez, Marketing Director at Climate Pledge Arena , live from the Amazon Music Artist Lounge located backstage at Climate Pledge Arena. As we visit Seattle to plan the upcoming EAMC conference , Janice tells us all about Seattle’s amazing new arena and it’s many features and initiatives. Hear about some of the incredible cli...

BONUS EPISODE – In honor of spooky season, enjoy this ghoulish bonus episode which goes inside a hauntingly unique event, the Thriller Parade & Halloween Festival in Lexington, KY. 🧟‍♀️ Grab your favorite goblet of blood and undead dancing shoes as we chat with Amber Luallen, Superintendent of Cultural Arts & Events at Lexington Parks & Recreation , which plans and produces the event. Learn how t...

It’s Episode 5️⃣0️⃣ of Adventures In Venueland! We’re celebrating by heading to the beautiful Isla del Encanto – Puerto Rico. Joining us from San Juan is Wesley Cullen, VP of International Business Development for Oak View Group . Hear all about Wesley’s exciting role with OVG, which has her focusing on new venues they’re developing internationally, like a new arena coming soon to São Paulo, Brazi...

Cruise down South Figueroa in the City of Angels and you’ll find Crypto.com Arena , Microsoft Theater , and L.A. LIVE – a mecca of entertainment in Los Angeles. Join us as we catch up with Cara Vanderhook, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and learn all about the happenings of a district that houses four professional teams, the largest stage in California, and some of the biggest awa...

A music-loving rockstar dad with legendary hair – this episode we grab our sunglasses and head to Orlando to chat with former thespian and current Marketing Division Manager at Orlando Venues , Kirk Wingerson. Kirk guides us through his adventure, from the outback of Australia to the swamp of Gainesville, from touring Broadway and interviews with luminaries like Lin-Manuel Miranda to his current r...

Wax the coping and drop into the half pipe with us as we skate down to sunny Phoenix, Arizona to talk with Steven Kargol, Director of Arena Marketing at Footprint Center , home of the Phoenix Suns , Mercury , and Rattlers . Come with us on this episode’s adventure, as Steven takes us through his career – from a skater kid attending Vans Warped Tour, to multiple stints on the promoter and venue sid...

Grab your favorite sunglasses and meet us stage left as we chat with Angela Lanza, self-proclaimed theater kid and Director of Event Marketing at Vinik Sports Group in Tampa, Florida. Angela tells us all about the venues VSG oversees – Amalie Arena (pronounced like family) and Yuengling Center – and how they have navigated two years filled with extreme success and unexpected residencies. Hear all...

From west Philadelphia, born and raised, working with venues is how she spends most of her days. Join us for a discussion with Dr. Debonair Oates-Primus, VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Oak View Group . Hear about the work Dr. Deb is doing with OVG – working with venues to track diversity within their organization and with the businesses they work with, and then identifying opportunitie...

BONUS EPISODE – Having a ruff day? Furr-get your worries and head backstage for this paw-sitive, off-the-leash, episode with Live Nation Pawduction Manager, Backstage Bowie. 🐶 We chat with all around awesome person and Bowie’s owner, Lindsay Gjerde, who’s a regional Production Manager for Live Nation. Lindsey tells us about when she first started taking Bowie around with her on show days, how it...

Go for a cruise around Charm City, as we chat with Baltimore-based live events PR legend, Edie Brown. Edie takes us through her career from her beginnings in PR at the Baltimore Convention Complex in 1979 to when she decided to start her own PR firm in 2020. Hear stories about family friend Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters fame, decorating back of house for a Pavarotti show, meeting previous presidents,...

Head with us to the sunny state of Arizona, where we catch up with Kelly Lovell-Taylor, Marketing & PR Officer at Tempe Center for the Arts . Kelly, who recently won the Impact Award at the 2022 EAMC Conference, talks about her involvement in the creation of the Tempe Black Employee Alliance , the first black employee group established in any government organization in Arizona. She walks us throug...

Plunge into the Land of 1,000 Lakes with our very first LIVE episode of Adventures In Venueland, recorded in front of a live audience in the Twin Cities at the Event & Arena Marketing Conference . We chat with Kosha Irby, Chief Marketing Officer at Professional Bull Riding , and 2022 EAMC Hall of Fame Inductee. Kosha tells us all about his career journey from Conference USA to WWE to PBR, how he f...

Lalaland returns as we collect another guest from the City Of Angels with Samantha Marker, Social Media Manager at SoFi Stadium , YouTube Theater , and Hollywood Park . This episode rounds out our Adventures In Venueland team, as Samantha tells us about her involvement with the podcast as well as the Event & Arena Marketing Conference. She walks us through her career so far, from red carpet hoppin...

We hike down to the Grand Canyon State and catch up with Kate Girotti, Regional VP of Marketing for ASM Global and Assistant GM of Gila River Arena in Glendale, for this Venueland adventure. Kate tells us about her roles in ASM, which takes her around to venues all over the country and beyond to assist with marketing strategies, building openings, and optimization. She talks about leveraging the e...

BONUS EPISODE – What's that around the corner? Is it an in-person EAMC conference for the first time in three years? We're only four weeks out from the return of the Event & Arena Marketing Conference, which brings together the brightest minds across live events and venues to discuss marketing, publicity, group sales, and more. For those unaware, Adventures In Venueland was created through relatio...

Start your engines, grab your skateboard, and get ready as we drop into an action sports filled interview with Jessi Armstrong, Director of Marketing & Fan Experience for Thrill One Sports & Entertainment , the company that produces properties such as Nitro Circus , Street League Skateboarding , Nitro Rallycross , and Ridiculousness' Thrill One Media . Jessi talks about what it’s like to work for...

The stars at night are big and bright 👏👏👏 as we head deep into the heart of Austin, Texas to catch up with Jeff Nickler, SVP for Oak View Group , and project lead for the brand new Moody Center which opens with its first public event tonight ! Hear how the country roads of West Virginia led Jeff’s career to the hotel industry in Miami, a cutting edge arena in Tulsa, running Arena Alliance in an...

This is no desert mirage, we’re chatting with Gina Rotolo, VP of Marketing & Communications for Coachella Valley Firebirds , a freshly-hatched AHL team who will be nesting at Acrisure Arena , the brand new Oak View Group arena coming to Coachella Valley, California. Gina, who is currently in Texas but will soon relocate, tells us all about the new team and arena, which has a diverse senior leaders...

Oaktown what’s good? For this episode we head to the Bay Area to talk with Lionel Bea, Director of Operations & Co-founder of Bay Area Productions , an urban event production company based in Oakland, with a focus on hip hop, R&B, gospel, blues and comedy acts. Lionel also serves as SVP of Black Promoters Collective , a coalition of six of the nation’s top independent concert promotion and event p...

Kick on the lasers and wait for the bass to drop as we catch up with Jace Cohen, Co-founder of Versa . Jace’s company specializes in talent buying and festival experiences, and he shares how they have adapted and innovated over the last two years. Hear about how they launched the first major festival in Wuhan, China in 2018, bringing huge electronic acts overseas for the massive event. Jace walks...