SVG Sit-Down: Venue Edge's David Saphirstein on Driving In-Venue Content for Five Bowl Games, Other December Events Latest additions to the schedule: San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl at Petco Park, SRS Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As a major player in the fan-experience space, especially for college football programs, Venue Edge is closing out 2021 with an expanded schedule of events in December. Leveraging relationships within the industry and the company's seventh year working with Florida Citrus Sports, it will play a vital role in the in-venue fan experience for a number of college football bowl games this month: the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois on Dec. 17 at Orlando's Exploria Stadium), the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl (UCLA vs. No. 18 North Carolina State on Dec. 28 at San Diego's Petco Park), the Cheez-It Bowl (No. 19 Clemson vs. Iowa State on Dec. 29 at Orlando's Camping World Stadium), the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Wisconsin vs. Arizona State on Dec. 30 at Allegiant Stadium), and the Vrbo Citrus Bowl (No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 22 Kentucky on Jan. 1 at Camping World Stadium).
This is an exciting bowl season for Venue Edge. Additionally, the company is impacting other major events: last week's Mountain West football championship between Utah State and San Diego State at Carson, CA's Dignity Health Sports Park, the Pop Warner Super Bowl Dec. 4-11 at Camping World Stadium, the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match on Dec. 30 at UCF, and the Under Armour All-America Football Game on Jan. 2 at Camping World Stadium. It will also again support the Big West and Mountain West Basketball Championships.
SVG sat down with Venue Edge founder David Saphirstein to discuss working on two new bowl games this year, how the company develops ideas for fans in attendance, what it will be like to produce a football game in a baseball stadium, balancing an onslaught of games in a short period, and more.
Venue Edge will provide in-stadium elements for the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
How did Venue Edge's partnership with the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl come about?
We'd been working with the Mountain West Conference on their basketball championships on the campus of UNLV. The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl used to be played at UNLV before moving to Allegiant Stadium, so [Las Vegas Bowl] Executive Director, ESPN Events, John Saccenti asked the Mountain West for some recommendations on groups to help them with their fan experience in a bigger stadium. That's how we ended up with Las Vegas Bowl. Then, San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl CEO Mark Neville called John for our help with [the Holiday Bowl's] move from SDCCU Stadium to Petco Park. It has been great because we know that, if we can get work through word of mouth, we're starting to build up our reputation by what we do and how we do it.
Are any new in-venue ideas planned for these bowl games? What is the creative process like?
It's huge to have fans filling stadiums again. Even last year, the bowl games that we worked on did have smaller crowds, so it was about engaging those fans but also engaging those that weren't in the stadium. That continues. This year, there's an excitement of going to a bowl game in person since it hasn't been done [at full capacity] in a couple of years. Both the Las Vegas Bowl and Holiday Bowl are looking to make a bigger splash than they normally would since they'll be in new venues. They both have great history, but how do we use this opportunity to make these games feel more important?
Overall, the creative process is different with each partner. In the case of Las Vegas, we had started with the Good Sam Vegas Kickoff Classic in September [between BYU and the University of Arizona] and continued to develop our strategy. We asked what was important for these two fanbases to see inside the venue and what kind of atmosphere [the event producers] wanted us to create. With this feedback, we created a brand that would work in both the Kickoff Classic and the upcoming bowl game.
As for the Holiday Bowl, we worked with a creative marketing agency that had come up with a look that would be used for promotions on billboards all over San Diego as well as for other ads. We used that look and took it to the next level by tying it into the in-person environment.
Venue Edge was given a rehearsal at Allegiant Stadium during the Good Sam Vegas Kickoff Classic between BYU and Arizona on Sept. 4.
On the other end of the spectrum, after our lengthy history working with Florida Citrus Sports on the Cheez-It Bowl and Vrbo Citrus Bowl, we've become extremely integrated into their workflows. For the former, Cheez-It is a great partner because they really like to innovate, push their brand, and have some fun. Since that game was live with fans last year, they had cheese wheels in the end zones and stands. These two bowl games have been around for a long time; we want to keep things fresh through new entertainment and sponsor activations.
Lastly, all of these bowl games are at a neutral site, so we're also trying to attract local football fans who don't have an allegiance to either team. For that, we tap into the pageantry and passion that comes with college football and collegiate sports in general.
How are you and the team going to produce elements for a football game in a non-football stadium?
We are experienced in doing this. The Cure Bowl has been and will once again be played in a soccer stadium, but how are we going to make the Holiday Bowl feel like a football game while being played in a ballpark? It s
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
SVG Sit-Down: Venue Edge's David Saphirstein on Driving In-Venue Content for Five Bowl Games, Other December Events Latest additions to the schedule: San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl at Petco Park, SRS Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor 
