Orlando's Viability as a Concert Destination

Live or Die Magic · July 16, 2007

Below are a couple of great articles in today's Sentinel about Orlando's concert options as well as a comparison between us and Tampa.

UCF Arena is building our star power

The new UCF Arena, to open this fall, will be more than a sports venue. Its top acts could be music to your ears.

Jim Abbott

Sentinel Pop Music Critic

July 16, 2007

A big part of watching a concert at the UCF Arena always has been finding a way to forget you were watching a band on a basketball court.

That's easier said than done, especially when pressed against unforgiving wooden bleachers, craning the neck almost 90 degrees to see the stage.

Basketball: 1. Rock 'n' roll: 0.

This fall, however, look for concerts to even the score. The new $52 million UCF Arena, nearing completion next to the 1991 arena, is a 10,000-seat building that will dwarf its predecessor in size and creature comforts.

The new arena's managers plan to aggressively court concerts -- Ben Gibbs, the building's assistant general manager, envisions a "50-50 mix of sports and live entertainment."

In a landscape that also includes House of Blues at Downtown Disney, Hard Rock Live at Universal's CityWalk, the rebuilt Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, a vibrant downtown club scene and the prospect of a state-of-the-art performing-arts center, the UCF project is a promising development, says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of industry trade magazine Pollstar.

In addition to 9,000 reserved seats (replete with armrests and cup holders) in the arena's one-tier bowl, other features of the new center include 500 prime-view club seats with access to a VIP lounge. The design by HOK Sport, the firm behind Oriole Park at Camden Yards and other sports landmarks, also features 16 luxury suites as well as two larger loge box areas and a president's suite. There is the capacity for 1,000 more seats on the floor.

"Everybody used to consider us a secondary market, but now, with all the new state-of-the-art facilities, we've expanded into a major market," said Colleen Flynn, senior talent buyer at Hard Rock Live in Orlando. "It might not be as cool as a venue that's in New York, but the options here are definitely beautiful and easy to work with." A few years ago, she says, Hard Rock wouldn't have been able to draw iconic stars such as Tom Jones and Diana Ross, two recent concerts there.

Whether the new UCF Arena becomes a major player will depend on what kind of talent it draws, according to one frequent concertgoer.

"It depends on what they book," said Thomas Scott, 46. A graphic designer at Walt Disney World who runs his own Eye Noise graphic-design company, Scott estimates that he goes to about three concerts a month.

"I'm past college age, but I still like a lot of current music. If they book the right act, then I'd definitely be there. I'd be interested in seeing it if it's more comfortable than the Amway Arena."

The initial slate of shows at the new arena include comedians Bill Cosby on Sept. 13 and Carlos Mencia on Sept. 21, and country stars Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson on Oct. 21.

Bongiovanni says that midsize arenas, such as Silver Spurs and the new UCF Arena, fill an important niche in the current touring business.

"In terms of the future of the business, the conventional wisdom is that there will be a lot more shows that fall in the 5,000- to 10,000-seat range versus those capable of doing 15,000 or 20,000," Bongiovanni said. "At the same time, there's no doubt that the very top A-list artists will want to play the biggest, newest building around. So if the [Orlando] Magic build their building, it'll be a real advantage because the newest state-of-the-art building will be in Orlando."

Jim Mallonee, vice president of bookings for Live Nation/House of Blues in Florida and the Carolinas, estimates that HOB and Hard Rock present about 300 shows a year in Central Florida.

"Our area is very blessed," he said. "We've got good downtown clubs in the Social and BackBooth. Allen Johnson [Orlando Centroplex director] is one of the best building operators in the country. So there's something for everybody."

Although Pollstar doesn't keep rankings of tour markets, Bongiovanni says that Orlando does a nice job of attracting national acts. Geographically, Orlando faces similar problems as Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia, two markets that aren't on the way to anywhere, he says.

"Once you get there, where do you go? But Orlando is well positioned because if a tour is determined to go all the way to Miami, they go right by" Orlando.

To snag such a show, Orlando competes against Tampa, a busy market that also is equipped with large and midsize arenas, as well as the 20,000-seat Ford Amphitheatre.

"Will Orlando get shows more often than Tampa? It's a tossup," says Jon Stoll, president of Fantasma Productions, the heavyweight concert-promotion company that has been a Florida fixture since Stoll founded the company in 1977. "They have arenas; you have arenas. They have midsize venues; you have midsize venues. For a promoter, it's all about taking the right bookings, not necessarily all the bookings."

Pollstar's Bongiovanni says that as Central Florida's population grows, scheduling tours that hit both Orlando and Tampa could become common, especially with a wealth of competitive venues.

"Now we see that in L.A.," he said. "Orange County [California] used to be one market, but now there are so many people there, acts find they can play Staples Center and the Honda Center in Anaheim on the same tour."

For now, folks at the new UCF Arena are more concerned about putting it on the map for Orlando residents.

"It's not just a college facility," Gibbs said. "It's a community facility."

Jim Abbott can be reached at jabbott@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6213.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/ucf/orl-u...oll=orl_tab01_layout

Orlando vs. Tampa: The experts weigh in

July 16, 2007

If there's a perception among locals that big shows don't stop in Orlando as often as they do in Tampa or other Florida cities, it's worth recalling that the Amway Arena has hosted Billy Joel, Bob Seger, Eric Clapton and Blue Man Group in recent months, all ranked in the top 15 in Pollstar magazine's midyear Top-100 Tours list.

When it comes to competing with other cities, promoters and industry observers say there's more involved than the building alone, although a new building never hurts.

Two opinions about Orlando vs. Tampa:

Gary Bongiovanni, Pollstar's editor-in-chief: "When you have two suburban metro areas, most shows will play one or the other. There's no doubt that the very top A-list artists will want to play the biggest, newest building around. If the Magic build their building, it will be an advantage because the newest, state-of-the-art building will be in Orlando."

Jon Stoll, founder and president of Fantasma Productions: "If they [tours] come this far south, they will play Miami or West Palm Beach, and we think an artist can also play Orlando and Tampa and Jacksonville. Will Orlando get more shows more often than Tampa? It's a tossup. They have arenas, you have arenas; they have midsize venues, you have midsize venues. It's all about taking the right bookings, even if not necessarily all the bookings."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/ucf/orl-u...oll=orl_tab01_layout

Live or Die Magic · July 16, 2007