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By Terry A.
Selzer
THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY
of Venue Managers (EAVM) will have some exciting changes over the earlier
years. First, it will take place 28 August – 2 September 2011 in a new
location, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which is easily accessible from most
European countries by plane, train, car or boat. Classes and accommodations
will be at the Hotel New York, located in the historic former headquarters
of the Holland America cruise line, on the banks of the river Maas. Students
can fly to the Hague Airport in Rotterdam or Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
The NS Hispeed (Fyra) takes only 26 minutes from the Amsterdam airport to
the Rotterdam Central Station. Also, there are high speed trains to
Rotterdam from Paris, Brussels, and Antwerp. The week will kick off with a
reception at the Hotel New York, Sunday evening and classes will follow from
Monday through Thursday.
EAVM will continue the cooperation between IAVM Europe
and Bucks New University, so that students upon completing the classes will
receive post-graduate university credit, which can be used at Bucks New
University or transferred to other universities in Europe. This year,
managers of venues who can document sufficient experience can qualify for
the second year classes and upon completion will receive full credit for
both first and second year of EAVM and the diploma from EAVM. EAVM is a
two-year program consisting of about 15 classes each year and some on-line
assignments.
This year EAVM has gotten many new sponsors, including
the Rotterdam Media Commission, Rotterdam Marketing, VNPF, and AEG (they
have guaranteed to send a number of students to EAVM 2011) that have joined
continuing sponsors such as AON, Stadium & Arena Management and the IAVM
Foundation. Further, the City of Rotterdam will contribute a portion of the
tuition for managers of venues in Rotterdam.
Due to the initiative of Maartje Glas, the Rotterdam
Media Commissioner, we have added new instructors who will teach a double
class on Music Programming for Venues. Also, we hope to have The Association
of Dutch Pop Venues and Pop Festivals (VNPF) hold its congress on 31 August
at the Hotel New York and have EAVM students attend some VNPF sessions, and
EAVM instructors will open one or more of its classes to VNPF attendees.
VNPF normally draws about 200 people to its congress.
Students at EAVM will get to visit the Amsterdam ArenA
and other venues in the Rotterdam -Amsterdam area, to learn about the inside
operations of these venues. Also, as a result of the work of Board of Regent
member Paul Pike, who developed a commercial brief for building the EAVM
brand, students this year will receive from BrandInc a number of products
with the EAVM logo (conference bags, shirts, and trinkets).
Another change for EAVM this year has been the creation
of a Board of Regents, which has already decided to lengthen the time of
each class to allow for more input of practical application of the theory of
venue management taught in each class. Already instructors are working on
updating the monographs and improving the exam questions so they will be
more relevant to the subject matt covered in class. This year, once students
have registered they will have access to Bucks New University electronic
“Blackboard” where course material, pre-school assignments and other
information will be posted. All students will be expected to complete an
assignment on Risk Assessment, and perhaps one other topic, before arriving
at EAVM, and on Monday there will be a group discussion of this assignment
in addition to other classes.
The other major improvement with EAVM this year is that
we have been able to start marketing of the school much earlier than other
years. We have started to distribute our new brochure to a large and diverse
group articles that have already appeared in trade magazines and in the
Metro newspaper in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Dean Chris Kemp will be
distributing the brochure to the large data base of New Bucks University. We
are also reaching out to managers of the new stadiums that are being
constructed for UEFA 2012 football championship to get them to send students
to EAVM 2011. All of these efforts, and others, should ensure that we have a
large first and second year class of students at EAVM 2011.
So, new location, new students, new classes, new
instructors, new merchandising, new site visits, new great networking
opportunities, improved marketing, improved course materials and exams, plus
the return of our experienced instructors and the industry’s leading core
curriculum for venue managers should make the end of summer in Rotterdam an
exciting time for those who attend EAVM 2011.
fm
Terry A. Selzer is chairman of the EAVM Board of
Regents. Contact him at tas@starena.dk
By Guy Hedderwick
THE WHOLE BUILDING ROCKED. No one moved. Was that an
earthquake and if so where? The day was 22 February 2011 close to 1pm.
People jumped onto the Internet to see if it was
Christchurch again. We live in Dunedin, about 220 miles south of
Christchurch. On 4th September 2010 we were woken by a 7.1 quake that struck
Christchurch. It happened at 4:36 in the morning and although buildings had
been damaged there had been no loss of life. I guess we had become a little
glib about the number of aftershocks. I travelled three times to
Christchurch after the initial quake and had experienced the aftershocks on
every visit. The city was rebuilding and life was returning to normal.
Soon the news was coming through that Christchurch had
been hit again by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake but this time it was during
lunch, only 5km deep and centred very near the city centre. Interest soon
turned to disbelief as news started to come through of toppled buildings and
potential deaths. We had a visitor from Christchurch in our offices and we
saw the pain and concern as he tried to contact his family and make
arrangements to get back home.
Television images started coming through of the
devastation. Emotion in the office was high and the tension almost
unbearable. New Zealand is a small country of only 4.2 million people and
every one of us had either family or friends we were concerned about.
The devastation has touched us all. None of us can
comprehend what it must have been like and what it is like now to live
through such a disaster.
Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island of
New Zealand with a population of about 370,000 and one of the main host
cities for Rugby World Cup which kicks off in September 2011, just a mere
six months away. Stadium Christchurch was to host five pool games and two of
the quarterfinals. The stadium had received a $60 million upgrade and the
construction was complete. The stadium and two other venues in the city,
namely the convention centre and arena are managed by a company called VBase
which is an operating company set up by the local council. I work for
Dunedin Venues which has a similar function in Dunedin.
Vbase have issued a statement confirming damage to all
their venues. They have had to relocate from their offices in the centre of
Christchurch to the arena due to significant damage and the closure of the
city centre.
The preliminary reports inform us that the stadium has
suffered some repairable structural damage and significant damage to
fittings and fixtures as well as liquefaction within the stadium including
the pitch. Significant structural damage has occurred to the infrastructure
surrounding the stadium including buildings and roads. The stadium is the
home to the Crusaders who play in the Super Rugby competition. They have had
to move fixtures out of Christchurch and will be playing in Nelson whilst
the damage is accessed.
I imagine the impact on season ticket holders, stadium
members and corporate hospitality will be tough to bear for the management
of the stadium, as will be the potential loss of Rugby World Cup to the
city. Many of the hotels are damaged and six months is little time to
rebuild a city centre. The government will work with the city to do
everything it can to host the fixtures but it will take a miracle, which the
entire country wants to see happen. Everyone here is holding thumbs that
Christchurch can host some games.
Christchurch will recover. It has lost some of its most
beautiful and historic buildings but they are only buildings. The death toll
currently sits at 148 with predictions that it will reach 200. I know many
will feel that this is not a great deal considering the magnitude of the
quake but for a small country this is massive and it deeply touches everyone
of us and makes this New Zealand’s single biggest tragedy.
I have received many messages from my colleagues around
the world expressing their support, prayers and thoughts. We appreciate the
sentiments and I could not imagine what it must be like to have lived
through this ordeal. All I know is that this has affected all of us in New
Zealand but Christchurch is a wonderful city, full of great and brave people
and it will rise again.
fm
Guy Hedderwick is the Commercial Director of
Dunedin Venues in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Contact him at guy.hedderwick@
dunedinvenues.co.nz.
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