May 20, 2016: Cleveland May Face Lawsuit Over Convention Permits, IMAX to Launch Virtual Reality Experiences, N.F.L. to Return Money For Patriotism Events

1. CLEVELAND MAY FACE LAWSUIT OVER CONVENTION PERMITS: The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is threatening legal action against the City of Cleveland if it doesn't take action on march and rally permit applications for the Republican National Convention. In a letter, the A.C.L.U. said event organizers applied for permits in February, but haven't received responses or have been informed that decisions won't occur until two weeks before the convention, which is slated for July 18-21. The New York Times: "The A.C.L.U.’s letter said that such delays would interfere with the applicants’ First Amendment rights. It was written on behalf of Organize Ohio, a group that has joined nearly 30 others to plan an antipoverty march during the convention; Citizens for Trump, which supports the presumptive Republican nominee; and John Penley, an antiwar activist from New York. 'Nominating conventions are important for individuals and organizations to assemble and express their points of view on issues they care about — in other words, to engage in quintessential, protected First Amendment activity,' said the letter, which was signed by Freda J. Levenson, the legal director for the A.C.L.U. of Ohio, and Norman Siegel, a prominent civil rights lawyer from New York. 'The city’s decision to delay the granting or denial of permit applications for another seven weeks threatens to stymie' the groups’ right to free speech, the suit added." http://nyti.ms/23YQN9b

2. IMAX TO LAUNCH VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES: IMAX is the latest big name to venture into the world of virtual reality. The company, known for its giant movie screens, announced it will debut VR experiences in malls and multiplexes later this year. The Wall Street Journal: “The plan comes as IMAX and Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Thursday announced plans to collaborate on a camera that will capture 360-degree images made to be experienced on virtual-reality headsets. The camera is expected to be ready for commercial use in roughly 18 months. IMAX is in partnership with the Swedish technology developer Starbreeze AB on its location-based VR initiative. It will use Starbreeze’s VR headsets and initially, games, though it hopes to encourage filmmakers to use the camera it is making with Google to create entertainment content as well. IMAX is planning to launch six VR locations world-wide this year, starting with one in Los Angeles. After that, the company hopes to expand further, including in China, where it has a large presence.” http://on.wsj.com/1WFRgOu

3. N.F.L. TO RETURN MONEY FOR PATRIOTISM EVENTS: The N.F.L. will return $723,734 to taxpayers, an amount it was paid by the Defense Department to host patriotic military events at games. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the money return on Thursday in a letter in response to Arizona senators John McCain and Jeff Flake’s criticism of the N.F.L. and other professional sports leagues for accepting money to host “paid patriotism” events that honored the military. USA Today: “The events included full-field displays of the American flag, enlistment and re-enlistment ceremonies and emotional reunion events in which a service member returned to the surprise of family members. … In his letter, Goodell said the league hired the auditing firm Deloitte & Touche LLP to review 100 agreements involving NFL teams covering four seasons, 2012-2015. Auditors attempted to determine what portion of the contracts went toward legitimate recruiting promotion and how much was for activities honoring the troops. Goodell said the auditors erred on the side of counting the payments as going toward honoring the troops. The senators' report found $6.8 million worth of those contracts contained elements of paid patriotism. Of those paid-patriotism contracts, $6.1 million were paid to the NFL. The rest went to teams in the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer.” http://usat.ly/1ThILIP


INDUSTRY NEWS

The Convention Industry Council’s 21st annual Hall of Leaders Celebration and Pacesetter Awards will take place October 18 in Las Vegas. 


INDUSTRY NEWS

Convene, a workplace hospitality and event space network, has raised an additional $20 million in a Series B extension, which completes a $35 million financing round. The additional funding was led by Brookfield Property Group.

* LOCAL NEWS *

AUSTIN:  Status Properties has acquired Transmission and the Fun Fun Fun Fest. CultureMap: http://bit.ly/1sCLgtL

BOSTON:  Radio 92.9's 23rd annual Earthfest will take place Saturday at Hatch Shell. Performers include Fitz and the Tantrums, the Strumbellas, and Joywave.

LAS VEGAS:  The Licensing Expo will take place June 21-23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival has released the lineup for the festival, which slated for September 23-25. Mumford & Sons, J. Cole, Major Lazer, The Lumineers, G-Eazy, The Shins, and Jane’s Addiction are all on the bill.

LOS ANGELES:  Anna Wilhelmsen is now the public relations manager for the Bouqs.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The new luxury hotel East, Miami, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference on Monday. The 352-room hotel in Brickell City Centre is from Swire Hotels.

NEW YORK:  Thanks to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, the 70th annual Tony Awards are able to return to the Beacon Theatre on June 12. New York Daily News: http://nydn.us/1svfmyG

La Nuit en Rosé will host its flagship summer event from June 9-11 on the Hornblower Infinity Yacht. The event will feature a rosé wine pairing dinner from American Express, live music, more than 150 participating wines, bites from New York chefs, and an indoor lounge housed with luxury brands Chandon, Thomas Pink, and Guerlain.

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Harold Clurman Lecture Series will host a conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Toni Morrison, and Sonia Sanchez on June 15 at Ambassador Theatre.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals' New York City chapter will hold its annual 2016 Fundraising Day June 17 at the New York Marriott Marquis. The event will include exhibits, sessions, and panel discussions covering all aspects of the fund-raising process. The event's keynote speaker will be Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, president of State University of New York College at Old Westbury and pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Jim Gross is the new general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld.

PHOENIX:  Experiential hospitality management firm Enchantment Group has appointed Tracey Anne Slavonia as chief marketing officer.

TORONTO:  The 13th annual Woofstock Festival, an outdoor dog event that features a fashion show, stunt show, dog pageant, and branded pet products, will take place May 28-29 at Woodbine Park.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Texan pastry pop-up Republic Kolache is crowdsourcing suggestions for where it should open a brick-and-mortar shop. Washingtonian: http://bit.ly/1TrXOOn

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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