06-17 SMG 40Th Anniversary Spotlight
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SMG 40th Anniversary After 40 years of privatizing management of public assem- bly facilities, from the original Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans to the latest, Shenzhen (China) World Exhibition & Convention Center, from BOK Center in Tulsa to Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., and happily in McCormick Place, Chicago, and U.S Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, “there is still a lot of headroom in our industry,” said Wes Westley, president and CEO, SMG. Westley heads a mature company he reorganized by specialized divisions and leads a manage- ment team of seasoned professionals with an average tenure of 20 years. When Westley arrived, the company managed fewer than 30 venues. Today, it manages 232. 36 VENUES TODAY JUNE 2017 SMG’S DNA SCREAMS HOSPITALITY 40-year-old venue management firm, founded by Hyatt Hotels, has grown from 30 to 232 facilities by LINDA DECKARD veryone at SMG, a firm that that creates specialized divisions by type of (Clockwise from top left) The Greek Theatre, has matured and defined an business — stadiums, arenas and theaters, con- Los Angeles; Savor food service at Moscone industry that privately manages vention centers, Europe, and food — allows for Center, San Francisco; Auto show at Cobo publicly-owned venues, from a customized approach to clients. “It also Hall, Detroit; John Paul Jones Arena, the CEO to the front lines at allowed us to develop a team of specialized Richmond, Va.; Mercedes-Benz Superdome, E New Orleans; Hall & Oates and Tears for venues around the world, professionals for each division,” said Westley. preaches hospitality and customer and client “The overall growth of the company is Fears at BOK Center, Tulsa; Eye of Passion service, tracing SMG’s genesis to Hyatt Hotels, what I am most proud of. When I joined, we Savor Food Service at Moscone Center; Paul the epitome of hospitality. had fewer than 30 facilities. Today we have McCartney at BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.; “Our senior management team is com- 232. This 40th anniversary is a milestone we all McCormick Place, Chicago; Cobo Hall, prised of seasoned professionals; their average celebrate, since most of us have been with SMG Detroit, a waterfront convention center tenure with the company is 20 years. That for more than half of its existence,” Westley expertise, level of professionalism and consis- told Venues Today. tency has allowed us to develop best practices Maureen Ginty, EVP, marketing services systems and procedures that set us apart,” said and human resources, has been with SMG Wes Westley, SMG president and CEO. since 1991 – 26 years this month. She joined Those roots and senior management team after Aramark had purchased one-third of the combined with an organizational structure CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 > JUNE 2017 VENUES TODAY 37 VT SPOTLIGHT SMG’S DNA... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 survive with tier upon tier of management. tracts to SMG, of which Aramark was half private management company, which was “We are close to the action,” Ginty added. owner by then. Hyatt and Aramark bought Ed then owned by Hyatt Hotels and Ed Snider of Westley was very instrumental with his Snider of Comcast Spectacor out in 1998. the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia vision for SMG, Ginty said of the Marine who When Aramark and Hyatt sold to Spectrum. became president in 1994 after three years in American Capital in 2007, SMG was able to “I came from a multibillion dollar organ- finance with SMG. “You better accept a lot of enter the food business in an aggressive way, ization and then they brought Wes down from personal responsibility. That’s why Marines get bidding on non-management contracts with multibillion-dollar Aramark. The idea was to stuff done. You better be that type of employee.” regularity, a prohibition when that would have add a little more structure to the company,” Westley puts the emphasis on customer been competing with the parent company. The Ginty recalled. service. And he never loses track of the num- company had always had legacy food contracts But the trick, and SMG’s success, is to not bers. “You’re in business to make money. If we through its Hyatt hospitality roots, beginning make it too corporate. “You keep that entre- lose track of that, things go wrong. That’s the with Moscone Center, San Francisco, but in preneurial spirit. We’ve been able to inject hard decision-making. Sometimes you’d love 2007, it became a stand-alone division. processes and systems and approaches corpora- to do something for the short-term buzz but, in Expansion into Europe was a result of tions use but in a more entrepreneurial envi- the long term, it’s not good for the company. acquiring Ogden Entertainment, which had a ronment and it’s really gelled,” Ginty said. It’s like parenting,” Ginty said. footprint in Europe, notably with Manchester What Westley did was make SMG a more In 2000, SMG purchased Leisure (U.K.) Arena. Westley immediately saw the matrixed organizational structure, Ginty said. Management International and, soon after, need to sell the team, plug the losses and turned “Now it’s flatter. The decision-making is flatter.” Aramark bought Ogden Entertainment the arena around financially. Since, they have Contract management like SMG pursues cannot Services and spun the venue management con- CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 > WE CREATE EXPERIENCES THAT UPLIFT THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. Congratulations to SMG World on 40 Successful Years © 2017 Feld Entertainment, Inc. © Disney © 2017 MARVEL © 2017 Sesame Workshop © Disney 2017 MARVEL Sesame Inc. Feld Entertainment, © 2017 38 VENUES TODAY JUNE 2017 SMG is Celebrating 40 years of success! 40 years is a milestone moment in the life of a company. From our very first account, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, an account we still manage today, to our portfolio of more than 230 accounts, we celebrate them all. All year long we will remember and celebrate our terrific employees and clients. It’s been an amazing history, and we look forward to a fantastic future. Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Venue Management VT SPOTLIGHT SMG’S DNA... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 added numerous accounts, most recently Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, and Aberdeen (Scotland) Conference Center, both premier exhibition centers. Westley sees considerable growth potential internationally. Another highlight is growth into manage- ment of National Football League (NFL) sta- diums, a lot of that to EVP Doug Thornton’s credit. Thornton started his career with SMG as GM of the Louisiana Superdome, New Rendering of Bristol Orleans, now Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (U.K.) Arena. Winning the Chicago Park District’s iconic, historic venue, Soldier Field, in 1999, two years before the renovation, was a highlight in SMG’s SMG EUROPE IS ON A ROLL growth for Thornton. “It was a big market and International growth is at the forefront of SMG’s future plans. In June 2017, SMG announced historic stadium. The Philadelphia Convention management of what will become the largest convention center in the world, Shenzhen Center was another big one,” Thornton said. (China) World Exhibition & Convention Center, 4.3 million sq. ft. of exhibition space under In 2015, US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, one roof. the first NFL stadium that was RFP’d within In Europe, they will open two new arenas over the next few years, Bristol Arena to the in a 10-year stretch, was awarded to SMG. west of London, which is being developed with Live Nation and opens in 2020, and Hull Arena Thornton never tires of the conversations in the north of England, opening in 2018, said John Sharkey, SVP, SMG Europe. about having a third party run an NFL stadi- The new Aberdeen (Scotland) Convention Center, which SMG was selected to manage um and, with six such accounts, he has bench- along with the existing venue, opens in 2019. marks and best practices to prove his point, but And in January 2015, SMG acquired CGC Catering and Events. “That was a big acquisition those are always sweet wins. for us. They look after a number of racecourses,” Sharkey said. SMG combined its existing “The reason we were hired [in venue beverage business with CGC. Typically, food is rolled into management in contracts in Minneapolis] was to manage the bottom line, Europe. create value, create utilization and community “Basically from Hull to Aberdeen to Bristol, we’re on a roll,” Sharkey said. involvement,” Thornton said. Built with tax It was just 17 years ago that acquisition of Ogden Entertainment opened up the European money, part of the thesis of these big stadiums market for SMG. Since then, SMG has added to that core group, including Leeds Arena in is to make them open to the people. England. They also manage three arenas in Poland and one in Germany. On the theater side of the equation, man- While the UK is a fairly mature venue market, SMG is always looking for opportunities, agement of The Greek, Los Angeles, was a big Sharkey said. one. “It’s an iconic facility that everyone “We’re absolutely focused on making sure we don’t have a U.S./U.K. division. We are one knows, like the Superdome,” Thornton said. company. I work closely with Gregg [Caren] and Doug [Thornton] and Shaun [Beard] for a “It gave us the opportunity to have SMG recog- collective approach across the businesses. It lends itself well to walk in matrix,” Sharkey nized in the L.A. market. We have a great rela- said. tionship with the LA Parks and Recreation Content is always the driver, whatever the country the venue serves. Boxing is a strong District. Last year, we returned $6.5 million of product throughout the U.K.