Call Sheet #294: Madison Square Garden Owners Buy L.A.'s Forum, Wyndham's Credit Card Problem, Shazam Adds Olympics Data

BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #294 — Wednesday, 06.26.12

++ Sponsored by Event Leadership Institute ++

Compiled today by Beth Kormanik in New York
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 * INCOMING *

1. NEW LIFE FOR THE FORUM: The owners of Madison Square Garden purchased the Forum in Southern California, former home to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, for $23.5 million. They are planning a $50 million renovation to turn the venue into a high-profile concert hall. Los Angeles Times: "But it faces entrenched competition from the region's other entertainment hot spots amid a challenging climate in the concert business. The owners of Staples Center said they don't fear a rivalry with the East Coast impresarios. They were quick to raise questions about the security of the neighborhood surrounding the Forum and dismissed it as a 'class B' venue." http://lat.ms/MWwnFQ

In other venue news, the soon-to-open Barclays Center, future home of the N.B.A.'s Brooklyn Nets, announced it will require basketball fans and concertgoers to walk through metal detectors upon entry. The measure is a first for the region. New York Post: "During the NBA playoffs last year, the league required all teams to use metal detectors as the country was on high-alert following the death of Osama bin Laden. But few sporting venues nationwide use metal detectors regularly, leaving those that do — like the Staples Center in Los Angeles — in the minority." http://nyp.st/Ou9Ua6

2. NAME THAT OLYMPIAN: Fans of the Shazam app are familiar with using it to quickly identify songs they're listening to. Now, they can use it to help them follow the Olympics. Mashable: "In a partnership with NBCUniversal, Shazam will encourage viewers to use its free mobile app to see event schedules, medal counts, athletes' bios, news and photos, as well as to vote in polls, participate in social media discussions and download NBC Olympics apps." http://bit.ly/NIQn3g

Ever dreamed of producing the opening ceremony for the summer Olympic Games? Or doodled ideas while watching the show? Here's a chance to show off your design chops: We're inviting event designers, producers, marketers, and other creative industry professionals to submit their concepts for the event—ideas for entertainment, set/stage design, lighting, special effects, social media approach, and other components. We'll publish a selection of our favorites on BizBash.com. More details here: bizba.sh/LwKXrs

3. WYNDHAM DATA BREACHES: New York Times: "The Federal Trade Commission charged Wyndham Worldwide and three hotel and resort affiliates on Tuesday with allowing three breaches of its corporate data files in two years, resulting in the electronic theft of the credit card data of hundreds of thousands of the hotel chain’s customers." http://nyti.ms/MY8YU0

4. CORT C.E.O. TO STEP DOWN: Paul Arnold, chairman and chief executive officer of CORT, announced he will retire July 1. Jeff Pederson, CORT’s president since 2006, will step in as C.E.O., while continuing his role as president.


++ A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: Event Leadership Institute ++

Check out our newest mini-class: Alternative Projection Shapes & Surfaces, with Brandt Krueger of metroConnections. 21 minutes, 4 chapters. Take your event to the next level with tips from this class. www.EventLeadershipInstitute.com


* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON: The Rose Garden Party, benefitting ParkARTS, is Thursday at the Back Bay Fens.

The Water Street restaurant at the Harbor View Hotel in Martha's Vineyard is now available for private events. With ocean views, the space holds 100 for dinner and can host receptions for 200.

Rachel Klein, the new executive chef at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, has revamped the menus for on-site eateries Asana, M Bar and Lounge, and Spa Cafe. The new menu has lobster beignets and steak and eggs with poached truffled duck egg.

CHICAGO: Association Forum of Chicagoland's annual meeting drew record-breaking attendance last week with 559 registrants.  

The Association of Travel Marketing Executives wraps up its two-day conference at the W Chicago City Center today. Keynote speakers include Mark Bergsrud, senior vice president of marketing at United Airlines.

John G. Oakley has joined Swissotel Chicago as director of sales and marketing.

LAS VEGAS: The list of honorees for the Las Vegas Hospitality Association Distinction Awards was announced by association president Bryan Kroten at the organization’s June meeting. The recipients that will be honored at a dinner September 20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center are Larry Lee (posthumously), Mandalay Bay's Chuck Bowling, Tropicana's Lynda Richardson, Destinations by Design's Debby Jacobs, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

LOS ANGELES: Eyewear brand Warby Parker kicked off its summer-long partnership with the Standard with a pool party at the downtown hotel Saturday. Poolside entertainment came from DJ Niki Roberton and the She's.

Neil Johnson was appointed national director of hotel sales for the west region for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. He'll work from Las Vegas.

The JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live is now offering food-truck catering as an alternative to traditional convention luncheons.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI: DJ Irie, the official DJ of the Miami Heat and Carnival Cruise Lines and personal DJ to actor Jamie Foxx, is forging strategic partnerships with brands such as Verizon Wireless, Adidas and Heineken, and becoming a celebrity in his own right. Miami Herald: http://hrld.us/Lvkfl6

NEW YORK: We know of an opening for an events & marketing manager at a large fashion brand. Interested? Email us at  [email protected].

Kyle Hulcher has joined LFB Media group as account supervisor.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

SAN FRANCISCO: The San Francisco Travel Association announced that the city welcomed 2,872,000 international visitors in 2011, an increase of nearly 10 percent over 2010 and a nearly 30 percent increase over 2009.

Sir Francis Drake Hotel has appointed Marlene Chavira as senior sales manager and Lindsey Berg as sales manager.

TORONTO: Canada Day will be celebrated at Fort York July 1 with tours of soldiers' barracks at the fort, muscat shooting demonstrations, and music.

WASHINGTON: Jeff Black of Black's Restaurant Group, named restaurateur of the year at the Rammys Sunday, offered an apology for his speech in which he criticized "bloggers." Instead, he said in a statement that he meant to refer to "people who come to the restaurants and make threats of negative posts for 'freebies' or to skirt the rules."

New York's Angelika Film Center & Cafe is opening an eight-screen theater in Fairfax along with a cafe, lounge, and concession stand with a global fusion menu from chef Lee Ann Wong. It is slated to open in September. http://bit.ly/MxVp2m

The annual National Air and Space Museum Mars Day! is July 13. The family-friendly event includes hands-on educational activities, and visitors can talk to scientists active in Mars research and learn about current and future missions. BAE Systems is sponsoring the event.

The annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity is Thursday at Nationals Park. More than 10,000 people expected to attend the Republican-Democratic showdown. Event Farm being used for all ticket sales and sponsor ticketing.

The Atlas Society is hosting its Atlas Summit Friday-Sunday at the the Renaissance Hotel.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 



With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Alexandra Brandt, Rose Chevalier, Julia Elstrodt, Beth Kormanik, and Anna Sekula in New York.

BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com. 

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