Local Venues Come Together To Make Big Events Happen
By R.V. Baugus
In case you missed it, there has been a lot going on lately in Min- neapolis. There is also a lot that will be taking place there in the next 365 days as well. While the XXIII Winter Olympic Games recently wrapped up in PyeongChang, South Korea, another set of Roman numerals also completed a run with the LII Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and a Philadelphia Eagles 41-33 win over the New England Patriots. Fancy numerals aside, Minneapolis is such a hotbed of activity in the sports, convention, and theater business that it was decided the best way to handle this issue’s cover story was to spotlight the city and Of course, it was not only the stadium that got a chance to shine
before the world, but several other local venues as well, most nota- bly the Minneapolis Convention Center that hosted the Super Bowl Experience, better known as the NFL’s interactive theme park where guests got player autographs, played games, took photos with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and more. Nearby Nicollet Mall weighed in with a 10-day, free outdoor fes-
tival and concert. Neighboring St. Paul, a 15-minute drive from Minneapolis, hosted the Super Bowl Opening Night on January 29 at Xcel Energy Cen- ter where fans got to see players and coaches. Finally, fans witnessed players and celebrities in media interviews on Radio Row at the Mall of America in Bloomington. It was enough to keep one’s head on a swivel, which if you think about it is what the Super Bowl is geared for these days, a far, far cry the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with trophy namesake Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers beating the Kansas City Chiefs, 35- 10.
How have the times changed since that original game on January to have been simulcast in the United States by two networks. NBC had the rights to nationally televise AFL games, while CBS held the rights to broadcast NFL games; both networks were allowed to tele- - lege marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling State University, another far cry from Justin Timberlake performing with a special tribute to Minnesota’s own Prince.
There is a certain charm and spirit in watching local venues work so closely together for any event, be it a Super Bowl, Final Four, visit by a dignitary, Olympic Games, and a whole list that goes on and on. As you will discover in reading the cover feature story, several people from several venues happily discussed their niche and role in making sure that the entire city put forward its best foot for others to see.
Heck, the locals even welcomed some typical February Minnesota
weather, if for no other reason than to show the world how the na- tives play in the winter. Why pretend there is not cold weather when there is? Better yet, why not put on display how said weather is a positive for those who call Minneapolis home as well as those coming from outside the state? The Super Bowl scene shifts in 2019 to Atlanta, Georgia, and the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Atlanta Super Bowl LIII Host Committee Executive Director, and long-time IAVM member Carl Adkins has been posting like crazy on social media to let everyone plans to host the world’s largest party. In case anyone forgets when and where the game will be played,
there is even a clock counting down on the
www.mercedesbenzsta-
dium.com website. Personal Update: This is your magazine, not mine, and I try very
much to keep personal items out of Facility Manager. That said, however, just as I used the last issue to share about the book I wrote about my wife, Tanya, I wanted to let the IAVM family know that slightly more than three years after her passing that I proposed to (and even got a “yes”) Charlotte Walden Cariker. Charlotte and I met in 2015 in Grief Share class, two wayward and confused hurting souls who lost spouses two months apart. As we talked through our grief and what it is like to lose the love of your life, we discovered we had quite a bit in common even beyond a tragic, deathly circumstance and discovered a happiness and void Thank you ALL for your love expressed to me over the recent
years, as I have done my best to rebuild my life. No family is greater than IAVM, and I am truly blessed and fortunate to serve as this magazine’s senior editor and to call so many of you dear friends. FM
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