FANCENTRIC - The Fan Journey is the Experience! Christopher J. Kinnan
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- Business
About Us
The Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (IIFX) was founded in 2020. IIFX’s vision is to be the leading and most trusted global authority on providing exceptional, memory-making fan experiences for the sports and entertainment industry. The Institute focuses on the fan journey and creating the ideal fan experience for its member organizations, one that results in increased revenue, sustainable growth, operational efficiency, a diversified workforce, new and repeat attendance, and maximized health, safety, and security through best practices, innovative technology solutions, and high-quality services. IIFX produces content and events and facilitates dialogue and collaboration around its core areas of expertise.
Our FANCENTRIC Podcast Series explores topics about the sports and entertainment industry that should interest all fans throughout their journey. Our guests include visionary industry thought leaders, advanced practitioners, authors, technologists, and fans from around the world. We are bound together by passion and the incomparable skills of visionary thought leaders throughout the international community. Along with our technical and subject matter experts, we discuss new ways to change the world’s sports and entertainment fan experience for the better.
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FANCENTRIC - Why Sports & Entertainment Venues Need to Prepare for Protests and Security Threats
Copyright 2024 by IIFX
All Rights Reserved
Recorded 4/24/2024
Dr. Lou Marciani, Director & Co-Founder of IIFX, and Jim Mercurio, former Executive VP & General Manager @ Levi's Stadium and President of JCM Events Management & Consulting, LLC, host our free FANCENTRIC livestream and podcast.
Watch and learn how sports and entertainment leaders prepare their venues and staff to protect their fans and staff by preparing for protests and security threats long before any event. Sports and entertainment events are about the spectacle, something that protestors and malevolent actors seek to use to their advantage.
Join Dr. Lou and Jim as they query their guest panel about their experiences in preparing for protests and security threats, including developing action plans and training their staff to respond to almost any protest or threat condition.
MODERATOR: MIKE HARTNETT, VICE PRESIDENT OF VENUE SECURITY FOR ILITCH SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
MIKE HARTNETT currently serves as Vice President of Venue Security for Ilitch Sports and Entertainment. In this position, he is responsible for leading the daily security operations and event-based security for Little Caesars Arena and its office buildings, Comerica Park, Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill, Pine Knob Music Theater, Meadow Brook Amphitheater, the Fox Theater and Fox Office Centre, Little Caesars Global Resource Center and throughout the District of Detroit. Mr. Hartnett is focused on creating a safe and secure environment for guests, colleagues, clients, athletes, and performers across all venues in the Ilitch Sports and Entertainment family.
PANELISTS
LAURIE GOODELL serves with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Office of Security Programs, focusing specifically in the Active Assailant Security branch on preparedness resources, training, and assessment for stakeholders within the critical infrastructure of the United States. She has been integral to the development and release of the Vehicle Ramming Self-Assessment Tool and CISA’s Vehicle Incident Prevention and Mitigation Security Guide, scheduled for imminent release.
POLICE LIEUTENANT KENDALL BELL oversees arguably the busiest, most successful, and professional events planning section in the world. Each year this section plans over 8500 events. The events range from our New Year’s Eve celebration, the NFL Draft, and Pro Bowl, the NHL All Star Weekend, the Electric Daisy Carnival, Life is Beautiful, Allegiant Stadium (Raiders, Concerts, and other events), T Mobile Arena (Vegas Golden Knights, Concerts, Sporting Events), Conventions (CES, SEMA, JCK Jewelry Show), Music Award Shows (Billboard Music Awards, the Grammy’s, the Latin Music Awards), Parades, Presidential visits, and many more.
SENIOR COMMANDER BRAD HAZELETT has been with the Saint Paul (Minnesota) Police Department for 27 years. He played key roles in planning, operations and leadership during the 2008 Republican National Convention, 2018 Superbowl, and the riots related to George Floyd and Daunte Wright. In 2023, he was promoted to Senior Commander and took charge of the SPPD Special Operations Unit. SOU provides public safety planning and staffing for all large public events, parades, festivals, protests, and demonstrations. In 2024 he rejoined the SPPD SWAT team as a team Commander.
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations. -
FANCENTRIC - Why Sports & Entertainment Venues Need to Prepare for the Weather
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY IIFX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Recorded 20 March 2024 by IIFX
Join Dr. Lou Marciani, Director & Co-Founder of IIFX, and Jim Mercurio, former Executive VP & General Manager @ Levi's Stadium and President of JCM Events Management & Consulting, LLC, for our free FANCENTRIC podcast.
Russ Simons, Chief Listening Officer and Managing Partner @Venue Solutions Group and Tom Bedard, Senior Manager of Emergency Operations join the discussion.
Fans, Sports & Entertainment leaders, and anyone with an interest in the legal liability posed by weather incidents that threaten business and event operations should enjoy this discussion.
Learn how sports and entertainment leaders prepare their venues and staff to protect their fans and staff during adverse weather conditions.
Join Dr. Lou and Jim as they query their guest panel about their experiences in preparing for adverse weather, including developing action plans and training their staff to respond to almost any weather condition.
The National Weather Service reports that more than 30 people a year die from lightning strikes in the United States, most during some outdoor sports or entertainment activity. There are 20-25 million lightning flashes in storms across the United States each year.
Are you and your venue staff prepared? Learn from the weather experience of our guests.
Over the past three and a half decades, Russ Simons has been involved in nearly every facet of the sports and entertainment facility industry, from design and construction to operations, marketing and PR, safety and security. At Venue Solutions Group (VSG), Russ directs the firm’s organizational analysis, operational consulting, guest experience benchmarking, and safety, security, and risk management efforts. VSG is a team of former senior facility managers who evaluate building systems, operations, management, facility condition, guest experience, safety and security, and sustainable operations. Russ has worked with team and facility operators at every level from collegiate to all U.S. based major professional leagues. Russ’s work goes hand-in-hand with architects and engineers to design facilities that are safe, operationally efficient, revenue positive and sustainable. He has worked with a wide variety of clients, including the Orlando Magic, San Diego Padres, Indiana State Fair, Pittsburgh Steelers, Reliant Park, Texas A&M University, The Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta, and the historic Keeneland Equestrian Facility. Prior to creating VSG, Russ was a senior principal with global design firm Populous. There, he managed the firms’ facility operations, evaluation, and analysis group which assisted public assembly venues in all operational aspects.
Tom Bedard is a meteorologist and emergency manager with over a decade of experience in severe weather. Specializing in weather safety planning, Tom has developed weather training courses currently in-use by FEMA’s National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, he has implemented weather safety services at hundreds of venues across North America, and he has helped develop best practices for how private weather services support event operations. He currently resides in Bentonville, AR where he works as a meteorologist and emergency operations center senior manager.
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations. -
Why Sports and Entertainment Venues Need the SAFETY Act
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY IIFX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Recorded 2/6/2024
Dr. Lou Marciani, Director & Co-Founder of IIFX, and Jim Mercurio, former Executive VP & General Manager @ Levi's Stadium, for our free FANCENTRIC podcast.
Fans, Sports & Entertainment leaders, and anyone with an interest in the legal liability protections afforded by the SAFETY Act for sellers of qualified anti-terrorism technologies (QATTs) should join the IIFX Live Stream event on 6 February 2024 at 11 AM Central time.
Learn how these technologies could save lives in the event of a terrorist attack.
Join Dr. Lou and Jim as they query their guest panel about their experiences in earning SAFETY Act Designation and Certification for their technologies and venues. Learn from their experiences and from the legal expertise of our guests.
The SAFETY Act Designation and Certification programs emerged in the 2002 Homeland Security Act. According to the Department of Homeland Security, SAFETY Act liability protections apply to "a wide range of technologies, including: products, services, software and other forms of intellectual property that are designed or modified to identify, detect, deter, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the impact or harm arising from an Act of Terrorism. Protections apply only to claims arising out of, relating to, or resulting from an Act of Terrorism."
This live stream event starts at 11 AM Central on Tuesday, 6 February 2024.
Our panelists include:
RICHARD FENTON
Vice President/CSO
Corporate Security & Safety
Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
JOHN PETRONE II, Esq.
Senior Managing Director
Petrone Risk
www.petronerisk.com
KATHLEEN GRIGGS
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Databuoy Corporation
www.databuoy.com
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations. -
FANCENTRIC - EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS - ARE YOU AND YOUR VENUE READY
COPYRIGHT 2023 BY IIFX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS - ARE YOU AND YOUR VENUE READY
Recorded: 12/06/2023
Fans, Sports & Entertainment leaders, and anyone with an interest in Emergency Preparedness should watch the IIFX Live Stream event recorded on 6 December 2023.
Dr. Lou Marciani, Director & Co-Founder of IIFX, and Jim Mercurio, former Executive VP & General Manager @ Levi's Stadium, hosted our free FANCENTRIC podcast.
This live stream event explores the importance of emergency preparedness in mitigating risk, creating emergency response teams, training your staff, types of emergencies you should prepare for, and the policies, procedures, and plans you should always have ready to go.
Join Dr. Lou and Jim as they query their guest panel about fan behavior. Our panelists include:
DARCY LEUTZINGER, PhD
Director of Security, UWM
President, Premier Training Services
LINDSAY GIETZEN, PhD
PA-C, PhD | Program Director, DMSc/DHSc
University of the Pacific, School of Health Sciences
Sacramento | Stockton | San Francisco
B. TILMAN JOLLY, MD, FACEP
Principal
KBMA Solutions
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder
Columbus Street Partners
JOHN PETRONE II, Esq
Senior Managing Director
Petrone Risk
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations. -
FANCENTRIC Live Stream - What is Going on With Fan Behavior?!
COPYRIGHT 2023 BY IIFX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FANCENTRIC Live Stream 1
What is Going on With Fan Behavior?!
Recorded: 11/13/2023
42:31 (minutes:seconds)
Dr. Lou Marciani and Jim Mercurio are the hosts for our FANCENTRIC live stream and podcasts. This inaugural livestream event explores the behavior of fans during sports & entertainment events. Join Dr. Lou and Jim as they query their guest panel about fan behavior. Hear from:
MARIO COUTINHO
Vice President of Stadium Operations and Security
Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club
DAN DONOVAN
Founder + Managing Partner
Stratoscope
LINDSAY GIETZEN
PA-C, PhD | Program Director, DMSc/DHSc
University of the Pacific, School of Health Sciences
Sacramento | Stockton | San Francisco
DARCY LEUTZINGER
Director of Security, UWM
Owner, Premier Training Services
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations. -
FANCENTRIC TECH - Genetec and Capitol One Arena - An Innovative Fan Security Partnership
COPYRIGHT 2023 BY IIFX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FANCENTRIC TECH - Genetec and Capitol One Arena - An Innovative Fan Security PartnershipRecorded: 11/6/2023
Dr. Lou Marciani, Director and Co-Founder of IIFX interviews Sylvester Servance, Director of Venue Security of Monumental Sports & Entertainment about how they use Genetec Inc. security capabilities throughout the Capitol One Arena, their e-Sports Arena, an office complex, and the practice facility for the Washington Wizards and Mystics . They discuss:
Importance of security technology in the Sports & Entertainment IndustrySecurity Best Practices and developing security threat profilesThe role of Genetec security solutions in protecting fans, teams, and artists during sports & entertainment eventsHow Genetec solutions integrate with surveillance cameras, access control systems, and other security capabilitiesAccess control, video surveillance, facility management, and other security capabilities that Genetec provides.Genetec success stories at Capitol One ArenaThe role of analytics in sports & entertainmentWays Genetec solutions can make key points along the fan journey frictionlessHow Genetec solutions can help enhance the fan experienceGenetec Inc. is a global technology company that has been transforming the physical security industry for over 25 years. Today, the company develops solutions designed to improve security, intelligence, and operations for enterprises, governments, and the communities in which we live. Its flagship product, Security Center, is an open architecture platform that unifies IP-based video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), communications, and analytics. Founded in 1997, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Genetec serves its customers via an extensive network of certified channel partners and consultants in over 159 countries.
Genetec Inc. is a leading member of the IIFX Xperience Consortium.
The FANCENTRIC Tech Talk is a podcast series produced by the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience and its Xperience Consortium.
About the Xperience Consortium
The Xperience Consortium is a worldwide industry technology ecosystem and think tank focused on innovation and the fan journey. The Fan Journey is the Experience! The Xperience Consortium helps the sports & entertainment industry discover and deploy innovative solutions that move the industry forward in its quest for a frictionless, premium fan journey. The XC is focused on sports & entertainment organizations seeking:
Increased RevenueSustained GrowthSustainable and Efficient OperationsFrictionless Fan JourneyGrowing & Diversified Fan BaseImmersive, Memory-making, Premium Fan Experiences
About the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience
Founded in August 2020, the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience (www.iifx.org) is building the leading and most trusted authority on the ‘Fan Journey’ for the sports and entertainment industry. IIFX provides training, industry content creation, Fan Journey best practices, consultancy, and business and education services to domestic and international sports & entertainment organizations.