Intrust Bank Arena GM Chris Presson had it right when he said in Have You Heard? that the arena can’t control who is on tour and when. He was responding to some heat that IBA has booked mostly country acts since it started announcing performances last month.
After he said it, and after reading more comments today, I started to wonder what acts other arenas in the region have booked around the time IBA opens in January and beyond. And you know what? IBA stacks up quite nicely.
According to Pollstar, these are the acts that have been booked at other arenas in the region in January and beyond (bold indicates those not announced for IBA, which opens Jan. 9):
Sprint Center in KC: Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, George Strait/Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw.
Ford Center in OKC: Brad Paisley, Mayer and Swift.
BOK Center in Tulsa: Strait/McEntire, McGraw and Bon Jovi.
Qwest Center in Omaha: McGraw, Mayer, Bon Jovi and Strait/McEntire.
That’s it folks: John Mayer. Would the Mayer concert be nice to have and increase the diversity of concerts? Sure. But I bet KC would like to have Paisley, OKC would like to have Bon Jovi, and Tulsa and Omaha would like to have Swift. And I’ve had several friends mention that they’re most excited to see Jeff Dunham, who isn’t scheduled to play any of those other cities.
So who is on tour, after IBA opens, that we’re missing here? Remember, you can’t book them if they’re not touring.
We don’t know for sure, but we got an interesting release this morning from Beth King, who handles public relations for the arena. According to the release, there will be “a special announcement of interest to fans worldwide” during an 11 a.m. webcast at BonJovi.com.
So far, there are three known concerts scheduled for the arena, which opens in January. Country star Brad Paisley is the first on Jan. 9. Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is scheduled for March 12, and singer Taylor Swift is set for April 1. Also scheduled for the arena are the Harlem Globetrotters (Jan. 22) and the Professional Bull Riders (May 7-8). The Wichita Thunder hockey team will start playing there Jan. 23.
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer appeared on Fox Business Network today to talk about aviation and the Wichita economy. He was this week’s guest on the network’s Mayor Monday segment.
There’s something a little unnerving about blogging while your van goes hurtling by the Olympic Torch in Atlanta. Nonetheless, a few highlights as the Visioneering Wichita trip to Chattanooga lands on the extremely wet ground in Georgia.
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, and council members Janet Miller and Lavonta Williams paid their own way on the trip. And Brewer, for those of you keeping score from past Visioneering trips, sat in coach. No free upgrades here.
The van I’m blasting through Atlanta in is driven by Visioneering chairman Jon Rolph. So far, I can conclude that Jon’s as good a driver as he is a businessman. Although, there were some tense moments at the HUGE Atlanta airport as most of the tour group left on a bus with no sign of Mr. Rolph and our van. Somewhere on Nicole Howerton’s iPhone is a photo of all of us contemplating a hitchhiking venture to Chattanooga. Or worse, three days of partying in Hotlanta.
Finally, the first scare of the day. Howerton has commandeered our van and we’re heading for a Starbucks, conveniently located, as Jon put it, at a “boondoggle exit.” He has to stop. She has a frighteningly determined look in her eye.
Come back to Business Casual for the next three days. I’ll keep you posted on the backstories.
Kansas got some good publicity this week when CNBC ranked the state seventh in its list of America’s Top States for Business.
According to a press release from the state, the report analyzed each state by examining 40 measures of competitiveness. Those are grouped into 10 categories: cost of doing business, work force, quality of life, economy, transportation, technology and innovation, education, business friendliness, access to capital and cost of living.
Kansas was in the top 10 in work force, transportation, econonomy and cost of living.
From Gov. Mark Parkinson:
“Each time our state is recognized by an organization like CNBC, it confirms that our policymakers, legislators, educators and economic development leaders are making good decisions and positioning us for success. And of course, this ranking speaks volumes about the proud Kansans who comprise our work force, own businesses and continue to drive innovation here.”
Virginia was the top state on the list, followed by Texas, Colorado, Iowa, Utah and Minnesota.
So we have this intern for the summer. Her name is Jessie Gorges. She just got back from lunch and was asked where she went.
“Maybe eating donuts for lunch wasn’t the best idea,” was her reply.
Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that she didn’t like what she had at the Donut Whole. She did. It’s just that, well, you know, donuts for lunch? Like I said, she’s an intern.
Anyway, the conversation quickly turned to where the best donuts are. I am a fan of Lamar’s. So is Carrie Rengers. Jerry Siebenmark swears by Krispy Kreme.
What about you? When it’s your turn to pick up donuts for the office, where do you stop?
Chances are if you’re reading this blog, you also spend time on Twitter or Facebook or some other social networking site. I got a press release from “business relationship and marketing expert” Drew Gerber, CEO of PitchRate.com, pointing out some common pitfalls people make in social networking.
I thought he made some good points, so I’m going to share:
1. Don’t be stingy. Be interested in what others are up to and share. Many people forget to share and only promote themselves. Take an interest in the person behind the code.
2. Share your toys. For every one tip you get; provide 12. Don’t worry, there’s more from where that came from. What goes around comes around.
3. Remember the Golden Rule. It’s easy to talk badly about someone online, but avoid it. Be kind and treat the person the same way as you would if they were in front of you.
4. Let everyone play. Often online can turn into a high school clique situation; the people who are most successful are those who are inclusive vs. exclusive.
5. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. People gravitate toward humor.
6. Try something new. Everyone is bored of hearing/reading the same thing over and over again.
7. The biggest pitfall, Drew might add, is saying you are very busy in a business relationship and then you post nonsense time-wasters like “do you know me quizzes” or guess my favorite movie.
As sometimes happens here at Business Casual Central, a conversation got a little sidetracked. I’m not sure where it started, but it ended with me asking whatever happened to E.F. Hutton (apparently the company’s remains are now part of Citigroup).
Anyway, in my hunt to find out what happened to the company, I ran across this. Enjoy.
We get lots and lots of press releases in our inbox here at Business Casual Central. And frankly, a lot of them are junk. They come from this organization or that PR person based somewhere on a coast and have absolutely no relevance to Wichita, to Kansas, or to just about anything.
Normally, they are met with a quick press of the handy-dandy delete key, never to be seen again. But I got one this morning that caught my eye for some reason. Maybe I’m a little loopy after a restless night, but I found it interesting nonetheless: the 35th anniversary of the Universal Product Code will be celebrated on Wednesday.
How do you celebrate such an event? With a giant UPC-adorned birthday cake, of course.
From the release:
One of the world’s best-known symbols, the U.P.C. comprises a row of 59 machine-readable black and white bars and 12 human-readable digits. Both the bars and the digits convey the same information: the identity of a specific product and its manufacturer.
Originally developed to help supermarkets speed up the checkout process, the first live use of a U.P.C. took place in a Marsh Supermarkets store in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974, when a cashier scanned a package of Wrigley’s gum.It ushered in extraordinary economic and productivity gains for shoppers, retailers and manufacturers alike, with estimated annual cost savings of $17 billion in the grocery sector alone, according to one study.
So when you go to Wal-Mart or Target or wherever on Wednesday, be sure to wish the bar codes a happy birthday.
The articles were a great look into some of the shining examples of the businesses that make our community so great.
The chamber has a couple of events coming up where you can hear first-hand the stories of these businesses. All seven finalists will be featured at Wednesday’s Sunrise Scrambler (7:30 a.m. at the Petroleum Club) and at the Awards Lunch on May 6.
As an added bonus, Wichita State men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall will be the keynote speaker at the lunch. If you would like to attend either event, give the chamber’s Angie Elliott a shout at 316-268-1129.
USA Today has an interesting story that states U.S. companies waste billions annually by leaving on unused computers overnight.
U.S. organizations squander $2.8 billion a year to power unused machines, emitting about 20 million tons of carbon dioxide — roughly the equivalent of 4 million cars — according to a report to be released Wednesday.
We get lots and lots of press releases in our inbox here at Business Casual Central. And frankly, a lot of them are junk. They come from this organization or that PR person based somewhere on a coast and have absolutely no relevance to Wichita, to Kansas, or to just about anything.
I hope you got a chance to 