Facility Management Post

In the world of sports they are suffering financial strains and changes due to the economy. There have been closed offices, lay offs, minor professionals leagues also have folded. However, throughout the financial strains and economical changes there are creative ways a facility manager can bring revenue, during slow times.

            There have also been tremendous financial cuts in the college world of sports. In Florida, football team the Florida Gators according to the Orlando Sentinel has been affected. Team Hats, jackets, and shirt sales has dropped and in 2009 football ticket prices were not increased, which was a reward to the fans. In other smaller colleges there were severe budget cuts and some sports eliminated on campus altogether. However, as a facility manager there are ways to create revenue to avoid these types of situations to occur. As a college student they are always looking for the next big event at their college.

            Since, I have experience in the field of event planning, I will first look into an event, or concert to generate funds for the college campus to keep their athletic department running. College students love entertainment and celebrity artist coming to their school to perform. As facility manager I would plan for a celebrity concert and sale tickets. I would choose a popular mainstream artist that I have a secure business relationship with, to perform for the College for free, but for a news worthy cause. This will be a mutual benefit between the college and the entertainer. The entertainer will gain press and philanthropic recognition, while the college will be able to keep their athletic department going by ticket sales. All proceeds earned from ticket sales will go to the college athletic department. Of course I would prepare this concert in advance for a great outcome and sale the tickets for $25.00.

            When a new arena or stadium is built it generates revenue because it’s new and the sports fans will want to support their favorite team. As a facility manager when there maybe economic losses for the bigger teams than college leagues, there are different approaches that are needed. The amenities in the facility is what matters most, you want to attract your customers by having the amenities they want at their fingertips. For example, I live in NYC and in my downtown area of Brooklyn rap icon JAY Z has partnered up with Brooklyn to build a stadium in the middle of downtown area where all the shopping malls, food, and businesses are located in Brooklyn. Many residents are complaining about the traffic that will be increased in their area, while others are excited that new jobs will be generated.

            Currently, the stadium is still in construction and is expected to open in mid 2012. In the Bronx area of NYC currently there is Yankee stadium where all the major baseball games occur. Yankee stadium has been in the Bronx for a very long time and is considered a historic site. The main key to success as a facility manager at the new stadium in Brooklyn would be to make sure the amenities are much better than Yankee stadium. As a facility manager I would make tickets reasonable and affordable for the fans, but I will apply a kids section for playtime, restaurants, better seating, a wider range of parking, High definition technology and more. The attraction of the facility will definitely generate revenue. The best key would be the best customer service and different amenities for all different groups of people.

 Video Link: : http://www.viddler.com/explore/sparkle1/videos/8/

RESOURCES:

http://www.frbatlanta.org/pubs/econsouth/econsouth_vol_11_no_3_sports_draw_fans.cfm

http://www.slideshare.net/celsesser/unit-3-sport-facility-management-and-event-planning

Posted By: Sparkle Callahan 

Tiger Woods sex scandal & his financial losses in 2009

I think Tiger Woods story of committing adultery on his wife was the biggest sports business story of the decade. It was a shock to millions of supporters, fans, family and media across the world when allegations of mega sport star Tiger Woods was cheating on his wife with multiple sex affairs. Due, to this high profile scandal Tiger Woods lost much respect from his fans, media and lost his wife, but on a financial scale he lost 22 million dollars worth of endorsement funds in year 2009. As one of the highest earning American athletes according to sports illustrated annual "Ranking 50" in 2009 Tiger Woods was making $92 million dollars in endorsements and in 2010 he was making $70 million. That is a 22 million dollar declination of endorsements in Tiger Woods financial lifestyle.

Some of the endorsements that backed out on Tiger Woods was AT&T, Accenture, Tag Heuer, Gillette, Gatorade, Electronic Arts, and Upper Deck. However, NIKE remained faithful as a sponsor of Tiger Woods as they saw his downfalls as something that will soon pass and Tiger will be back at sports greater than ever. Nike has been sponsoring Tiger Woods since 1996 and pays him 30 million dollars a year. Tiger Woods loosing endorsements also had an effect on his management company IMG. Tiger Woods lost of his endorsements cost his management 4.6 million dollars in fees. His sex scandal also cost him the following:

$180 million in personal earnings
$110 million in advertising income
$23 million in tournament prize winning
$30 million in fees of 3 golf courses
$17 million in appearances fees
$591 million in industry losses
$96 million of the woods brand EA sports Golf video games
$40 million in lost PGA tour ticket sales

As a multimillionaire this sex scandal in 2009 cost Tiger Woods alot of financial damage and lost of fans and a divorce from his wife. I believe this was the biggest business sport story in the decade because of the amount of Tiger Woods losses and although I'm not a huge Golf fan I knew all about the allegations set on Tiger because of the media. This case against Tiger was very high profile and it was scene and heard daily in 2009 when it first hit the tabloids.







Posted By Sparkle Callahan

Resource Links:

http://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-lost-22-million-in-2010-endorsements-2010-7

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2010-06-20-endorsements-tiger_N.htm

CNBC Video Link:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1368367744

Interview with Celebrity Publicist/Manager Soulgee McQueen

Interviewer: Sparkle Callahan

Guest: Soulgee Mcqueen Celebrity Publicist/manager

Company: Mc Queen media Entertainment

Sparkle: Thank you for allowing me to interview you about the topic “Negotiation” within the entertainment industry.

Soulgee: Your welcome!

Sparkle: When negotiating a deal for your clients how do you separate the people from the problem? In other words how do you contain your emotions when it seems you may not be getting all you may expect for your client?

Soulgee:  My first approach when negotiating during meetings with different industry professionals is breaking the ice with them. Breaking the ice with them causes everyone to get comfortable. I may start out with talking about something we all have in common besides the project at hand. My emotions will never be involved because my main focus is atleast to walk away with something more than what I came in with. Emotions affect many negotiating deals because of unrealistic expectations that are set. Go into these meetings with an open mind to get an understanding and hear different point of views.

Sparkle: In every meeting do you obtain mutual benefits when negotiating for your client?

Soulgee: Honestly speaking some projects require more than one meeting, but the best thing about that is, when you have 2 or 3 meetings about the same client project you can almost guarantee there is some interest from the other party. The mutual benefit in this case for me would be I had more than one meeting, and now I have new ideas to pitch. Most times with new talent I see a situation such as this as a mutual benefit. In this circumstance it is considered mutual benefits because we both have a shared interest in regard to the same new client.

Sparkle: When representing new talent does their status of being a new artist have an affect on your negotiation approach?

Soulgee: I’m very well known in the industry for breaking and representing new talent. When negotiating new talent to music labels I have to present all their accomplishments thus far. I have to sell them to the labels and be confident of the great success they can produce. But, because I been in the entertainment business for quite sometime now most labels show interest because of my experience. New talent is most times the best talent to break because of their new status. In my experiences I found breaking new artist much easier than mainstream artist.

Sparkle: Thank you again for taking the time to sit and converse with me.

Soulgee: Your very welcome!

Posted By: Sparkle Callahan

Top Music Executive L.A Reid moves to Epic Records

Whats new? On June 16, 2011 word spread out that Long time music Executive L.A Reid new label home is now Epic records starting July 2011. A few months back L.A Reid left his long time home Def Jam records to be a judge on a music singer competition reality show tiltled "X FACTOR." L.A Reid will be reunited with acts he discovered and developed such as pop R&B star Usher and PINK. L.A Reid title at Epic will be chairman, he will be replacing songwriter Amanda Ghost whom controversial topics almost destroyed the company. Epic has already signed a new group called "Duo Karmin" who gained instant notoriety from there youtube cover of Chris Brown. L.A Reid has a great passion for Pop music and is currently looking for the next Rihanna, Kanye West or Lady Gaga. These artists are the kind of artist that are stars and are mutually assets to record labels. There is talk that L.A Reid will also gear Epic records towards more Urban releases as well. Which may not be a great look, although Epic has many Pop acts. Many acts will also be joint venturing with Epic records from labels such as Sony, Jive records and RCA. Acts like "OutKast" and Britney Spears will more than likely be apart of this new joint venture. Many say L.A Reid is bringing back the times when he first made a name for himself.230 L.A Reid on the T.V show X FACTOR is also giving out record deal contracts to the winner and 5 million dollars in cash. The winner will receive a recording contract with Epic records if they win. Some say it is very beneficial to the acts because they have an expert week after week telling them musical advice.288 There is also an open door for Hip Hop talent with likes of Jay Z, Lil Wayne and Drake. L.A Reid is taking nothing but superstars.





Posted By Sparkle Callahan
Entertainmentweekly.com
Billboard.com

New Reality Show "Ice LOVES Coco" premiers June 12th on E Television

New reality show "Ice LOVES Coco" premieres on sunday June 12th on E! Television network. The show will be about Ice T and his lovely wife Coco ultimate love and passion as a couple. Co-starring will be their new addition to the family, Old english bull dog and family pet, Spartacus. I have been seeing so many different video trailers promoting the show and it actually looks very interesting and funny. The show is compared to the old show "I Love Lucy." The show depicts their love life but also the humorous co-stars, which are also apart of their lives. I hear that Coco have a very fierce and sassy LGBT assistant who adores her and knows exactly what Coco loves. Also she has another assistant, which is very laid back, serious and make sure everything is top notch for Coco. Some of the characters of the show also include Coco's mom, sister, best friend, nieces and nephews.

Another part of the show is the renewing of the couple vows. Although they have been married for 10 years their love is like the 1st day they met. Ice T and Coco prepares for the renewing of their vows and the occasion takes place in Los Angeles at the "W" hotel. Some of the celebrity guests include Pimp magic Don Juan, comedian Katt Williams, rapper Snoop Dogg, old school artist Flavor Flav, and Ice T Hip Hop artist "KnightPKF." The renewal of the vows ceremony was catered with red velvet cupcakes, mini cheeseburgers, french fries, and macaroni and cheese. There also was a red carpet in which photographers captured the above photo of them walking to the hall where the ceremony would be held. There is so much more to the show as I hear and see the promotion taking place on the internet and the E network. As a publicist I'm so excited to see more of the show on sunday June 12th at 10:30pm on E! television.

Posted by Sparkle Callahan

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/05/04/ice-loves-coco-video/

http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/ice_loves_coco/index.html

Walking In My Own Shoes

Above is a picture of Dariel Pulliam my client and Best Friend who was of the LGBT community, I love him dearly and he will never be replaced. He was a awesome hair and make-up stylist to the stars, and so genuine at heart rest in peace poodie until we meet again. Dariel Pulliam definitely "Walked in His own Shoes."

Anti Gay bullying has become an epidemic in todays society amongst the LGBT community. However, overall bullying in school has became just as bad, because another kid may be different. Although, some kids maybe gay some may not be but only perceived as Gay. Dealing with this kind of abuse from your peers at an early age of 13-17 can be very devastating. I'm very inspired by Joel Burns sitting in front of the city council discussing the abuse of bullying and the effect it is having on teens. As Joel spoke he went along a list of names that actually killed themselves because they were teased in school. Asher Brown took his father gun and shot himself he was 13, Billy Lucas was perceived as gay and then hung himself he was 15, Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh 13 years old hung himself and the list goes on. Teen suicide is raging in schools because children are being bullied, teased, pushed, shoved and embarrassed.

I have many friends and family members that are gay and they are the sweetest people to ever know. I don't see them as different I just see that their sexual preference is different. There are many things as friends we may not like the same of, for instance we may not like the same soda, or candy but we are still friends. Im so inspired by Joel telling his personal experience as well, that when he was younger he was teased and called gay because he was a little more sensitive than his peers. Telling your personal story allows you to help others get through when they see someone their able to relate too. It is very hard telling your personal business, but when teens are killing themselves and you have their same story it is time to speak out. Joel admonished the teens to get services and encourages them by saying " Give yourself a chance to see that life gets better." Even in the midst of Joel pain he is still able to encourage others because he can see the need for help. he goes along to say "If you feel alone things will get better, please stick around, please live long enough to be there to see it, things will change." Joel was also young teen Gay but he surpassed the temptation of suicide and he is speaking out to let that gay young teen know, if he made it through they will also. I titled this blog post "Walking in My Own Shoes" because everyone has their own set of problems, some may be the same but we all have to walk in our own destiny, the main key is to survive.


Posted by Sparkle Callahan

Reference:

Title: Joel Burns Tells Gay Teens "It Gets Better"

http://www.ted.com/talks/joel_burns_tells_gay_teens_it_gets_better.html

Entertainment: Underground Music Awards Show in NYC for Independent Artists

It is important to network and stay current within your specific industry. I have chose to speak about and be apart of the Underground Music awards in NYC as this show caters to the underground and Independent artist, whom have made an impact for that specific year of the wards show. Because my company Plentykashflow Entertainment is an independent label and provide talent management services it is definitely imperative for me to attend this event as a judge or an attendee. At this event the new and independent artist will showcase their talent and have their fan based to show and prove their talent is worth a record label signing them. At this event you have record label executives from major labels as speakers to educate the new talent on the music industry. There is always a huge chance that a new talent maybe signed at this event. There are A&Rs, radio representatives, industry managers etc at this event. Although, this showcase is for new talent, most times mainstream artists attend to show their support, ICE T, Jadakiss, styles p, Fabolous and much more have shown their support over the years. Giving out awards at this showcased shows the new and independent talent that their craft is being recognized. This event is annually and every year I show my support because it is always new talent that I can be an encouragement to.

What I love most about this award show is that it is not just catered to the music realm, but it also caters to DJ's, producers etc. The Underground Music Awards has 37 categories to show the new talent their accomplishments are appreciated by giving them an award. Because this event is only annually artists wait patiently and work hard the entire year to get a award. This event is a ticketed event for those that are not being honored and some of the proceeds will be donated to the Hope for Haitian Children Foundation. Many current mainstream artists actually has been signed by a major label from their showcase at the Underground Music Awards. Artists such as Nicki Minaj, Freeway, Papoose and much more. I admonish all new talent and independent artist to attend this event even though its ticketed if you are not being honored, because you never know who you just might meet. Its always possible you can be sitting to a major executive from a label, that can change your career path. The Underground Music Awards is the best place for an independent artist and new talent to showcase and network their talent.






http://www.undergroundmusicawards.com/
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/08/18/21900024.aspx

Posted By Sparkle Callahan
Twitter: @sparklecallahan