Omnivex software is usedby Portland Trail Blazers,Portland, United StatesDeliver real-time messaging to improve efficiency and ensure accuracy.Scale your network as business requirements change.Deliver targeted, intelligent content.Encourage interaction & improve <strong>the</strong> customer experience.Adapt to accommodate new applications & department needs.One Solution. Many Applications.Learn more at www.omnivex.com© 2012 Omnivex Corporation. All rights reserved.Omnivex is a registered trademark of Omnivex Corporation.
Getting From Streetto SuitePart I: ParkingYes, we really are talking about parking in this article. While it might not sound exciting,it is of noted importance to premium seat customers, helps set <strong>the</strong> tone for <strong>the</strong> overallevent experience, and is a profitable revenue stream for new and older facilities.By Peter Titlebaum, Ed.D, University of Dayton and Debbie Titlebaum, MBAQuick HitsIn a recent research projectto uncover <strong>the</strong> purchaseexpectations of premium seatholders, parking was notedas an important factor for<strong>the</strong>se top customers.Newer facilities have a fargreater number of premiumparking spaces than in pastdecades to capture <strong>the</strong> profitpotential of this revenue stream.Older facilities have optionsavailable to upgrade <strong>the</strong>irparking services withoutsubstantial renovations.Some teams now offervalet parking. The Texas Rangersmanage valet services whilecreating profit opportunities bylinking parking to Lexus,a luxury sponsor.Editor’s Note: There have been no buzzwords used as frequently as“Fan Experience” over <strong>the</strong> past couple years in <strong>the</strong> sports industry.But what exactly is <strong>the</strong> fan experience for premium customers? Andwhat should it be? Over <strong>the</strong> course of this series of articles researchedby Dr. Peter Titlebaum and Debbie Titlebaum, SEAT will investigateall <strong>the</strong> nooks and crannies of <strong>the</strong> event experience from soupto nuts, from street to suite. There are many critical components, butit starts, as does our series, with parking. Check back in <strong>the</strong> springissue as <strong>the</strong> series continues.Luxury is <strong>the</strong> expectation set at <strong>the</strong> time of a premiumseat purchase. But even before <strong>the</strong> event begins, it canbe muddied by parking difficulties, customer serviceshortfalls, and o<strong>the</strong>r value-losing logistical mistakes.Think of parking as a necessary evil. It is like a referee: we allknow that <strong>the</strong>y are important to <strong>the</strong> game, but no one wants<strong>the</strong>m deciding <strong>the</strong> outcome.The same can be said for parking. Many older facilities arehampered by <strong>the</strong> fact that parking was not part of <strong>the</strong>ir upkeepprogram; <strong>the</strong>refore, little attention was given to <strong>the</strong> quality orflow of parking services. While many people come early to<strong>the</strong> game, generally, everyone leaves as soon as <strong>the</strong> game concludes.Facility administration has tried in vain to convincepeople to stay longer; however, when <strong>the</strong> event is over, manyguests prefer to leave <strong>the</strong> arena or stadium immediately. Thisoften creates a bottleneck when as many as 100,000 fans tryto leave at once.Different factors affect parking depending on <strong>the</strong> sport. In<strong>the</strong> NFL, with only ten games a season, fans seem to be morereconciled to stay through <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> game. But in a sportlike baseball with more than eight times <strong>the</strong> game/event frequency,some are inclined to leave after <strong>the</strong> 7th inning stretch.If <strong>the</strong> facility staff shifts from service mode to clean-up detail,it encourages <strong>the</strong> public to follow suit.The First Event Touch PointIn a recent project, our research group uncovered <strong>the</strong> purchaseexpectations of premium seat holders and contrasted <strong>the</strong>mwith <strong>the</strong> actual experiences from <strong>the</strong> perspective of those whosell luxury seats. A total of 49 professional sports organizationsresponded to <strong>the</strong> survey out of a possible 122. All of <strong>the</strong>“Big Four” leagues were represented: NFL (14), MLB (13),NBA (11), and NHL (11).Little variation was found in <strong>the</strong> responses between <strong>the</strong>74 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATWinter2013
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