BRIGHT LIGHTS
The second year of VenuesNow’s All-Stars differs greatly from the first and perhaps any that will come afterward. COVID-19 stopped the live industry in its tracks in March and left event professionals with many more questions than answers.
You’ll see the effects in our list of honorees, some of whom stood out in 2020 for their ideas and efforts to revive the business in the face of a pandemic and make important changes necessary for fans to return to sporting events and concerts.
But we’ll also continue traditions begun with our first class of All-Stars in 2019. Once again our editorial team has identified, researched and debated people and venues from across the industry and heard the opinions of those who work in it. We evaluated individuals for factors that included documented excellence, innovation, financial success, commitment to diversity, and leadership in their field, in addition to their response to the challenges that 2020 has brought.
Again we tried to recognize people at multiple levels of the business, not just those at the top. Some of the rising All-Stars you see today will undoubtedly return to the list in later years, with new responsibilities and fresh achievements.
This was the year not just of COVID but also of a more urgent examination of diversity in our culture and our workplaces. At VenuesNow, we began a feature called Venue Voices that you will continue to see. We made progress in diversity on our All-Stars list this year, but as in our industry, that progress must continue.
In a year that has provided some low moments, it was a pleasure to immerse ourselves in identifying the people and buildings that are doing big things, both those that made the list and others that did not, at least not this year. We introduce to you our 2020 VenuesNow All-Stars. We hope you enjoy reading about some old acquaintances and some new faces among them.
Thank you to our 2020 VN All-Stars Presenting Partner
Thank you to our 2020 VN All-Stars Sponsors
Scott Bailey
President, Opry Entertainment Group
Ryman Hospitality Properties
Lisa Baird
Commissioner
National Women’s Soccer League
Brittanie Boyd
Senior Vice President, Marketing,
Philadelphia 76ers
Rich Claffey
Executive Vice President, Venue Management
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
Jonathan O’Neil Cole
Principal & Owner
Pendulum Studio
Mark Davis
Owner
Las Vegas Raiders
Dayanny De la Cruz
Executive chef, Hard Rock Stadium
Centerplate
Chris Donohue
VP, Business Strategy & Partnerships
See Tickets
Jonathan Emmett
Principal and Design Director
Gensler
Michael Evans
President
Live Nation Arenas
Jaime Faulkner
CEO
E15 Group
Matt Feldberg
Co-Founder
Hotbox
Dayna Frank
CEO / Board President
First Avenue Productions/ National Independent Venue Association
Tom Garfinkel
Vice Chairman and CEO
Hard Rock Stadium/Miami Dolphins
Sean Gleason
Commissioner
Professional Bull Riders
Daniel Griffis
President of Global Partnerships
Oak View Group
Ebony Hattix
Senior Manager of Box Office Operations
FedExForum /Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Healy
Senior Vice President of Venue Operations and Guest Experience
Texas Rangers
Alyssa Henry
Head of Seller and developer business units and infrastructure engineering
Square
Amy Howe
Global Chief Operating Officer
Ticketmaster
Susan Somersille Johnson
CMO
Prudential Financial
E. Stanley Kroenke
Chairman and owner; Developer
Los Angeles Rams; SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park
Amy Latimer
President
TD Garden
Frantzer Le Blanc
Corporate Director of Operations
Oak View Group Facilities
Zachary Leonsis
Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives; General Manager
Monumental Sports & Entertainment; Monumental Sports Network
Ken Martin
General manager, Sports & Entertainment
Solutions Group, Cisco
Jose Mola
General Manager, Sports Operations
ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World
Patricia Olinger
Executive Director
Global Biorisk Advisory Council
Paula Portz
Chief operating officer
Legends Project Development
Sherri Privitera
Senior Principal / Americas Regional Board Member
Populous
Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe
President & CEO
San Diego Convention Center Corporation
Art Rodriguez
Vice president of operations for sports and entertainment
ABM Industries
Juan Rodriguez
Executive vice president and general manager
BBVA Stadium
Erin Schnieders
Senior Vice President, Venues
National Basketball Association
Ann Marie Simpson-Einzinger
Co-Founder & Co-Chairman
Mixhalo
Corissa Smith
Vice President
AECOM Hunt
Kim Stone
GM
Chase Center
Mark Tester
Executive Director
Orange County Convention Center
Katie Tuten
Co-Owner; Co-Founder
The Hideout; Chicago Independent Venue League
Dana White
President
UFC
Karri Zaremba
SVP, Product – Ballpark Experience & Ticketing
Major League Baseball
Gillian Zucker
President of Business Operations
Los Angeles Clippers
VENUES AND MORE
Drive-In Concerts
All-Stars: Innovation
VENUES AND MORE
Globe Life Field
All-Stars: Stadium
Arlington, TX
VENUES AND MORE
Staples Center
All-Stars: Arena
Los Angeles
VENUES AND MORE
Count Basie Center for the Arts
All-Stars: Theater/ Performing Arts Center
Red Bank, NJ
VENUES AND MORE
Avant Gardner
All-Stars: Club
Brooklyn
VENUES AND MORE
Las Vegas Convention Center
All-Stars: Convention Center
Las Vegas
VENUES AND MORE
Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
All-Stars: New Building
Nashville
VENUES AND MORE
Dodger Stadium
All-Stars: Renovation
Los Angeles
