“Some people see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”
As a child of the ’60s, I remember Bobby Kennedy using this George Bernard Shaw phrase.
Throughout my 35-year facility and event management career, I have tried to use this concept as my guiding light for innovation. Having started my career during the construction phase of the Capital Centre and still going strong today on the new downtown Louisville Arena, I have tried to understand why people do things the way they do. What I frequently have not seen is a predilection for people to innovate creatively in ways that fit their market and circumstances. All too frequently people merely copy the latest state-of-the-art facility. They visit great new facilities and tell their architects that they want one just like the last.
Having visited many facilities, the ones I like the least are the ones that don’t let me know where in the world I am while in the facility. I truly believe that each facility should reflect its own context-based identity. Merely replicating the latest facility does not do justice to what a truly great building can be in its community. In today’s lingo, the business model can be realized while specifically resonating with the primary tenant/team and the community. I believe that what we accomplished in Charlotte is a perfect example of an arena that reflects the values and identity of its community.
The evolution and progression of facility innovation during my career has been incredible. When I started, arenas were just developing their own identities as a building type. Previously, professional and collegiate indoor sports as well as concerts and family shows were played in post-World War II type auditoriums. These buildings had proscenium stages on one end and seats on the other three sides. Innovation started with facilities like Madison Square Garden (at Pennsylvania Station), the Los Angeles Forum, and the Capital Centre in Landover, Md.
Silberman says it’s crucial to incorporate
design elements that reflect the identity of
the community. He’s currently working on
the new Louisville Arena, shown in the
rendering above.
Here are just some examples of what was introduced at the Cap Centre in 1973:
The first suites designed into the plans from the beginning. At the time there was no such phrase as “business model” but the idea was to take nosebleed locations and derive greater revenue from the location by creating a “sky suite.”
Loge boxes. These smaller facilities, tucked just beneath the sky suites, were the forerunners of similar seating concepts that are embraced today.
Portal boxes. Located just above every portal, or “vomitory,” these boxes took baseball’s box seat idea into an arena setting.
Computerized ticketing. For the first time ever an arena embraced nothing but computerized ticketing at the box office, all entrances, over the telephone, and at ticket outlets. The Internet had not yet been invented, so online ticketing was still more than 20 years away.
Center-hung video. As a way to give everyone in the arena a closer view of the action at all events, and to make for a better experience in the upper bowl sections, the first four-sided color projection video and scoreboard was introduced. It was dubbed “Telscreen.”
Theming. As an aid to wayfinding through an arena that was completely symmetrical with four major entrances, a system of signage was developed that reflected the heritage of the nation’s capital.
As great a building as the Capital Centre was, the state-of-the-art and the necessities of the business model caused the building to be obsolete in 24 years. Why? Here are some of the innovations that progressed throughout the years.
Club seats. I credit Jerry Buss as the author of the club seat. The Forum could not physically add suites, but Buss created a seating concept called “Senate Terrace” from general lower bowl seating.
Lower bowl suites. The Palace of Auburn Hills and Tom Wilson innovated by bringing suites much closer to the action.
Basketball-specific seating geometry was innovated in Phoenix by Jerry Colangelo. The America West Arena/US Airways Center also spawned a wave of new NBA construction.
Media and player accommodations. Mark Cuban embraced the player areas as valuable recruiting tools.
Accommodating a variety of events. As touring shows became more sophisticated with their technological needs, arenas needed to keep pace. Buildings needed to be able to create theaters within arenas and club settings within theaters. Back-of-the-house needs were catered to.
Club seats evolved into even newer, more niche-oriented seating types. In Philadelphia, party suites were developed and restaurants had views of the action.
In Tampa, hospitality lounges took advantage of the warm weather and created outdoor terraces and plazas enlivened by food and beverage locations.
The San Antonio Spurs, Nationwide Arena in Columbus and the Minnesota Wild all moved the needle further along by embracing “bunker suites,” terrace tables, loge boxes and children’s play zones.
Theming went to the max with the introduction of Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This arena pays homage to the classic field houses that dot the landscape all throughout Indiana. Thanks to Andy Dolich, FedEx Forum in Memphis is another great example of a facility uniquely matched with its location.
Upgrading the finishes. Look at the Anaheim, Dallas and Los Angeles facilities and credit them for creating aesthetically impressive edifices.
Another Silberman project, Time Warner Cable
Arena in Charlotte, found innovative ways
to incorporate the latest technology.
Technology. TimeWarner Cable Arena in Charlotte is a great example of keeping pace with technology: innovatively themed center-hung video scoreboard that uses all LED technology and no fixed alpha-numeric displays; ubiquitous Wi-Fi throughout the arena; and a concert-quality sound system and permanent lighting that is on a par with touring rock ’n’ roll shows.
Innovation will always continue as long as there are new buildings and new market needs and niches. Here are some ideas for the near and not-too-distant future:
Continuation of facilities as the cornerstone of their own development spheres. The Cardinals, baseball and football, provide great examples. The Krafts’ project in New England is another one to watch.
Profusive new uses of LED video. As prices come down and technology gets better, LED video displays will be prominent on building exteriors in a Times Square manner. Interior concourses will use LED displays to create a colorful boardwalk-like appearance of ever-changing messages and advertising.
Food and beverage experiences will get more localized and branded as the new Nationals ballpark has done. Menu boards will be transformed from static displays to even more instantaneously changeable LED displays.
Renovations will be more necessary than ever before. Capital improvement plans will be ongoing and part of everyday business. What the Red Sox have done in Fenway Park is astounding.
Social-networking tools will be used to create adult fan zones within facilities.
The challenge will continue to be: How can we provide great value for our fans in a way that will win long-term relationships from generation to generation? It has been done by many and will continue to be as long as the specific question is asked and addressed: How can we do it better … in a way that makes unique sense for us … in our market … for our fans?
Barry Silberman (bsilberman@earthlink.net) is president of Barry Silberman Consulting.
