Bob Newman Tional Events, in Addition to Having COO, AEG Facilities Partial Ownership in More Than a Dozen Sports Franchises
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EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW CONCERT VENUE DIRECTORY sources that are able to create and support bookings. We have AEG Sports that creates and operates events such as the Amgen Tour of California and Bay to Breakers run in San Francisco that impact fans and communities beyond tradi- Bob Newman tional events, in addition to having COO, AEG Facilities partial ownership in more than a dozen sports franchises. We understand uniquely a ob Newman, AEG Facilities’ chief operating sports team’s integration into a officer, isn’t an easy guy to catch up with. And venue. We live it every day, whether B it’s in one of our own buildings or considering he has oversight of buildings on four a building that we’re supporting through management or other operating services. We’re able to continents, it should come as no for David Beckham to kick a ball You joined AEG Facilities two bring our experience to the table surprise he spends a lot of time on around. years ago. What drew you to with any venue we work with. the road. So Pollstar decided it’s time We can say, “We live your life the company? But Pollstar did catch up with we all met Bob, even though he every day. Here’s what we do for Bob in between stops in “New Jer- has already had a very successful The opportunity with AEG Facili- ourselves to make ourselves better, sey, London, Berlin, Poughkeepsie, 20-year career as a public facility ties is an example of how, every and we’d like to apply those same Shanghai and Beijing,” as AEG executive, including sports man- once in a while, you’re given an best practices for you.” spokesman Michael Roth joked. agement, marketing, sales and open window. This is one of the It applies also to AEG Global Actually, it wasn’t much of a joke operations of venues large and windows where you look at what Partnerships, which is our indus- – we’re pretty sure he wasn’t really small. is on the other side and say, “Wow, try’s leading sales and sponsorships in Poughkeepsie. Bob’s responsibilities include I have got to jump through it.” entity, which continues to create He has a lot of territory to cover. acquiring venues in key markets, It was an opportunity to do groundbreaking partnerships be- When we talk about worldwide fa- promoting tours and developing things in our industry that hadn’t tween some of the world’s leading cility management, AEG Facilities programming to capture not only been done before. AEG is a com- consumer brands and our venues, is hard on the heels of companies “butts in seats” but eyes on screens pany with assets and resources tours, festivals and other assets. like SMG and Live Nation with utilizing AEG’s broadcast capa- already in place and a commit- The relationships they conti- 55 of the world’s top venues either bilities and relationships. ment to grow those assets and nue to establish and expand are owned or managed across the globe. He’s also working with AEG’s resources even further. unparalleled in our world. But what makes AEG Facilities myriad other divisions to get the It’s the character of the com- An example of this is with so remarkable isn’t even the sheer most out of the live entertainment pany to ultimately support and Nokia in North America. What number of venues under its aus- experience, and do it seamlessly, benefit venues across the globe began with one sponsorship pices, but the vision beyond the whether it be 50 Michael Jackson while creating experiences for our has grown to naming rights at four walls of its most spectacular concerts in London, a world cham- guests that will impact their lives multiple venues. In Europe, the buildings including London’s O2 pionship boxing match, World Cup in very positive ways. O2 brand is synonymous with Arena and the multi-venue L.A. soccer matches or the Grammy With 55 elite venues affiliated sports and entertainment venues Live complex in Los Angeles, to Awards. with AEG Facilities across four with their naming rights for the name but two. Bob hails from Bloomfield, Conn., continents that host more than O2 Arena in London and the The O2 World in Berlin has holds a bachelor of science degree in 6,000 events annually, we take O2 World in Berlin. recently opened, and Stockholm, marketing from the University of very seriously our mandate to Sweden’s Globen Arena is another Connecticut and a master of science create memorable experiences for At least two of those named world-class European venue that in sports management from the Uni- the 40 million guests that attend venues are within the broader carries the AEG stamp. A deal with versity of Massachusetts. events in our venues each year. L.A. Live project, which goes Ogden IFC in Australia brought the He’s active in the International far beyond just building venues. Acer Arena in Sydney into the fold. Association of Assembly Managers, With so many divisions, how The 2008 Summer Olympic Games was a panelist at the International does AEG accomplish this on Yes, L.A. Live is a great example of in Beijing created even more oppor- Sports Summit and is on the board multiple venues that are all inte- a global scale? tunities for AEG in the increasingly of directors of the national Asso- grated into the master plan of a important Asian market. ciation of Consumer Shows. That Overall, AEG is a company with sports and entertainment district. And then there’s all those soccer is, when he’s not on a plane to many components that all fit These types of developments are stadiums including the Home Poughkeepsie or Beijing. together to form a whole. not appropriate everywhere. But Depot Center in Carson, Calif. – Bob resides in Los Angeles with In addition to AEG Facilities, when they are anchored by venues which is much more than a place his wife Kelly and daughter Allie. we have AEG Live and all of its re- such as Staples Center, the O2 20 2009 Edition CONCERT VENUE DIRECTORY EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW Arena and perhaps O2 World, we Then, you take those best can combine such venues with practices that you develop in restaurants, bars, cinemas, a mu- your own venues and your man- seum and other entertainment agement experiences – both the options to create a true destina- great experiences and the chal- tion point that will attract mil- lenging experiences – and inte- lions of guests annually. grate and share that with the rest In Los Angeles, it did create of your network. other opportunities for sponsors Once you start sharing posi- such as Nokia to broaden their tively back and forth, that’s when sponsorships and allow them to things really start to take off. One reach a far wider demographic. thing we pride ourselves on is the Those are examples of just the network of facilities that we have resources, and how it all comes across four continents talk to together. It really becomes a each other all the time. snowball coming down the hill; They do not operate in a it just gets bigger and bigger. vacuum. They share information on a regular basis among our net- With all of the attention on work. They are venues that have ANSCHUTZ ENTERTAINMENT GROUP President/CEO Tim Leiweke joins thrived by building on each oth- sports and entertainment, it’s Bob Newman outside the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live before the first of three Prince easy to forget that AEG owns ers’ success and supporting each concerts in a single night, at separate venues in the complex, March 28. or manages a large number others’ success. of buildings. You get leverage and a synergy that truly is material if you have a the hospitality options that the By opening a brand new AEG Facilities has 55 facilities network of buildings that operate O2 has in it, from the suites to building in London, or the worldwide across four conti- collectively. the premium clubs and chairman new buildings that are going to nents. The venues are, thankfully, rooms, even to escalators. open in China, there’s always an a network of elite venues located Vertical integration is a buzz We’re able to take the same ex- opportunity to take what you’ve in the world’s greatest markets. term lately. Is AEG working perience to Berlin with the open- learned and raise the bar. ing of O2 World. Again, when we We’re very focused on market toward that kind of model? You take your relationships success and ensuring that, no look at various markets, we have with your partners in the industry, matter what the opportunity, we I don’t know how much of what we the ability to take what we’ve whether it’s a corporate partner, can make a material difference do is vertical as opposed to hori- learned, what we think are great or your vendors, and bring those and a positive impact on what zontal. You’d have to map it out. models, and apply them and tailor opportunities to them as well. we’re delivering to the table. But when we say “best prac- them to their community. What you’re seeing around tices” it doesn’t mean we have We don’t think that’s vertical the world and in North America Are there advantages to to do it ourselves. We have lots integration as much as it is smart is that we are creating a whole building and owning venues of great partners out there.