By Preston Klaus, Mitch Bereznay, Zack Palfey

Today we started with a 7:45 am departure to USC’s campus, where we were able to meet with Allison Citelli, the Director of Events and Business Development for the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission. Allison talked with us about some of the amazing projects she’s worked on and some of her responsibilities within LASEC. She has been a part of the Super Bowl Committee for 2022, College Football Playoff Committee for 2024, MLB All Star Game for 2022, and is currently working to secure a FIFA World Cup bid in 2026 as well as two Rugby World Championships in 2029 and 2031. She gave us some of her background and talked about how she got to where she is today as well. Her job can be extremely frustrating, as potentially a year or more of working on economics, analyzing data, inventing community engagement efforts, media, and so much more. One amazing piece of advice that she gave us about events was to “expect about 80% of things to go right”, because when you’re prepared for that 20% to go wrong, you can get it back on track quicker and more efficiently.

Our next stop today was to the LA Coliseum. The Coliseum is located next to the campus of the University of Southern California and is home to USC football. In the past it has been the temporary home to the NFL’s LA Rams, past host of two Olympics, the World Series, Super Bowls, and even the Pope (The venue will also hold its third Olympics in 2028). So to allow one of the nation’s most decorated stadiums to continue its traditions, USC officials knew that not only did the venue need a refurbishment, but it also demanded innovative solutions to keep it competitive in this busy sports market with continuously evolving venues and stadiums.

History, though, couldn’t be ignored. Using the template of the existing two-story press box, DLR Group designed a way to carve the new 235,000 square feet of space into the existing bowl, touching the existing press box but not eliminating the historic feel of a bowl originally built, and certainly not altering the building’s famed facade. The $315 million renovation required architects, building engineers, and sound engineers to revamp the modernity of the stadium while creating a brand-new, seven-story premium tower. The new Scholarship Tower includes two levels of Founders Suites, dining services, padded seats, a club lounge expected to host events all year; a level of suites that celebrities like Will Ferrell have already signed on for, and a rooftop deck akin to a downtown LA hotel’s rooftop, with 360-degree views and hopes for activities throughout the year.

While the stadium is amazing, it is the USC Football Team and the culture they have created that truly makes the Coliseum what it is. The Trojans all time record 878-354-54, good for a winning percentage just over 70%. They have an impressive bowl record of 34-20, and have won a total of 11 national championships, most recently repeating in 2003 and 2004 behind legendary coach Pete Carroll, his assistant coaches Ed Orgeron and Lane Kiffin, and star players Reggie Bush, Matt Cassel, Matt Leinart, Ryan Kalil, and many other future NFL players.

These players are not even amongst the greatest in USC history, despite going a combined 25-1 over the two seasons. Marcus Allen, Troy Polomalu, Junior Seau, Anthony Muñoz, Bruce Matthews, OJ Simpson, Lynn Swann, Mike Garret, Ronnie Lott, and so many more have helped build the incredible history of the program. The team has competed in 33 Rose Bowls, and have managed to win 24 of them. When comparing them to the second place team in Rose Bowl wins (Michigan with just 8), you can truly understand and appreciate their incredible dominance.

After our visit to USC’s beautiful campus and the LA Coliseum we headed back to LA Live and Crypto.com Arena for a tour and a meeting with executives from Anschutz Entertainment Group. Will Fogerty (Director of Global Support Services), gave us time to explore LA Live’s food options and use the AEG campus discount.

Next, Michael Becker (Senior Director of Event Services at Crypto.com), and Ashley Beach (Manager, Events and Productions at Crypto.com) took us around the arena and showed us the various suites including the owners suite in the center of the arena. They discussed the different requirements to own a suite and how long and how much some suites cost. We then went to went into the premium Lexus Club restaurant where we saw some of Philip Anschutz’s own artwork collection on the walls. Lastly, before heading into the Pepperdine Conference Room we went to the San Manuel Club and observed the luxury seating and perks that come with joining the club, like an all access buffet.

Then we talked with executive Alex Marchán (Executive VP of Marketing of ASM Global) who talked about his role at ASM Mobile which includes amplifying the company’s message, driving ticket sales, increasing fan engagement and revenue, and supporting new business. He also talked about how they manage their 350 venues worldwide, support their 20,000+ live events, and entertain their 164 million guests.

Next, we talked with George Pappas (Vice President of Global Partnerships at AEG) about his various prior roles and what he does at AEG. He talked about how every failure is a learning experience and how he learned from his past mistakes. Then he explained how his role with AEG is to represent everything they can sell to consumers including the naming rights to the now Crypto.com arena. He explained how they went through the process of selecting emerging brands with new trends in the industry and Crypto.com came in with an incredible $30 million a year, $700 million total, offer.

Last but not least, we spoke with Michelle Kajiwara (Senior Vice President, Premium Seating Sales at Crypto.com Arena at AEG) about the challenges of the pandemic, a number of impactful career tips, and interesting new data analysis tools. She talked about different ways they used zoom to get people who wouldn’t have worked together in the company to work together and make a SNL weekend update like production. This created camaraderie within the organization where there was not any before the pandemic while also allowing employees to get better at using the new video conference technologies that they need to be able to use effectively. She spoke about what’s important to do as a new employee which is know your value to the company, don’t be afraid to ask anyone anything, be a resource in any way possible, and be aware of the person you are directly reporting to because they may have your career in their hands. In conclusion, she talked about a data analysis model in which they determine the fence sitters when it comes to suite ticket renewals. This model allows them to focus on the people, who based on multiple data points, are undecided on if they want to renew their tickets aka “the fence-sitters”. This also gives them a good idea on what people are most likely are going to keep their suites and those who will not renew their tickets.

To cap off the day, we were taken to the Clippers Intuit Dome Office. We met up with Syracuse alum Sky Reagan at the Los Angeles Clippers. There, we were shown a preview of the new $2 billion privately funded Intuit Dome set to open in 2024. The (other) dome will be the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers and sit right next to SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. The arena is built in the vision of Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer and meant to be the ultimate home court advantage. Next to the team’s bench will sit 51 consecutive rows of seats to create “The Wall,” a loud house that should rival even the loudest arenas, including the one right on our campus. After the tour, we were lucky to meet with seven Clippers executives from multiple departments, ranging from corporate partnerships, sales, marketing, and analytics. The conversation shifted towards ticket analytics, where many of the staff were knowledgeable about some of the recent industry trends in that area. Specifically, the executives highlighted how they have transformed their brand from being known as “the affordable option” to “the championship standard.” Using analytics and comparison to other LA sports entities, their rising prices and revenue reflected this perception shift. From a guest experience side, they are brainstorming state-of-the-art technology to include in their arena. This includes the largest indoor dual-sided LED scoreboard, a companion phone app for fans, and facial recognition fan tracking software that rewards behavior for positive actions. Not surprisingly, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has instilled a technological buzz to the Los Angeles Clippers organization.

For dinner, our new friends at AEG booked us a private dinner area at Fixins, a soul food restaurant owned by former NBA player Kevin Johnson. After consecutive days of quick dinners, this was our first dinner as a group. Of course, we had to make it special. On our guest list was Lisa’s friend and sorority sister Holly, Brett Greenfield ‘14, ‘18, a Syracuse SPM and LA Immersion alum that we met yesterday at Anheuser-Busch, and the guy that makes it all happen, our sensational bus driver Raul. The food was excellent (especially the fried chicken and waffles) and everyone enjoyed themselves after a long afternoon. To cap off the meal, Mike Roth from AEG spoke to everyone about where the sport industry was in the past and where it was heading.  Additionally, he gave us advice and told us a story on the release of the press release of the new Crypto.com Arena name ahead of the Clippers game. To top it off, Brett Greenfield ‘14, ‘18 got us into suite seats for the game!

We arrived at the game right on time for the tip-off of Clippers-Raptors. It was a great game and the suite view was, well, sweet. Compared to the Kings game, there were plenty of differences outside of the playing surface. The merchandise was completely cleared out and restocked with Clippers apparel. The signage was Clipper-themed. There were differences between the in-game promotions The camera views that were better suited for basketball. What didn’t change, however, was the advertisements, which are consistent throughout the arena.

The game was incredible. It came down to the final possession, with the Raptors winning 103-100. After the game, we were able to meet with Syracuse alum, Noah Eagle, the radio announcer for the Los Angeles Clippers. Noah was super personable and was a perfect wrap up to an amazing day in LA.

That’s a wrap for our day today! We are looking forward to a jam-packed day tomorrow as we hit the home stretch. -Preston, Mitch, and Zack

By Noah Wagner ’23, Ethan Letwat ’23, and Josh Friedman ’23

Hello all! Today was day 4 of our adventure in Los Angeles!

Today started out with a 7:15 wake-up as we needed to be on the bus by 8am. Once everyone was aboard we headed to our first destination of the day located in Inglewood, CA, NFL Network.

When we arrived we entered through the lobby and met with Syracuse Alum, Sara Ries who has been the Senior Associate Director for 15 years. One of the first things Sara mentioned was how new the building was. The office is only 6 months old and was built during the summer of 2021. She then took us around the building.

First, we were shown the TOC (Transmission of Coordination) located in the lobby where we met Sara. The TOC is where everything goes in and out of the network in the building. We were then shown the Largest Main Control room in the building. This room is where everyone from the graphics guy to the video prompter operator works from during certain shows like Path to the Draft and NFL Total Access.

After the main control room, we were shown Stage 1, where the larger production shows like NFL Total Access and Path to the Draft are recorded since the other two stages at NFL Network are currently under construction. We then were lucky enough to go watch the end of a segment of Free Agency Frenzy where we met former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew and Syracuse Alum Andrew Siciliano. We even got a shoutout and were on TV! It was a great experience seeing all the control rooms as well as production rooms and equipment that goes into making these shows unique. It gave us a whole other view of sports television and what goes into making sports shows. Overall, the entirety of our time at NFL Network was an amazing experience.

After leaving NFL Network, we walked across the street to SoFi Stadium, which houses both the Rams and Chargers and was the site for this year’s super bowl. The stadium opened in 2020 and is the most expensive stadium built-in world history. It is also the centerpiece of the Hollywood Park development, a massive entertainment, retail, and residential development happening in Inglewood. We began our time at SoFi meeting with Kacey Burden, Alyssa Patterson, Mike Lineman, Tiffany Watkins, and Randal Curtis.

Randal, a Syracuse alum, works with Hollywood Park to implement community initiatives throughout the Inglewood area. Kacey is part of group sales and focuses on smaller groups. Alyssa is the Director of Suites with a main focus on food and beverage and has been working in sports entertainment since 2015. Tiffany started out in Las Vegas at a firearms attraction and is now part of sales for Legends. Finally, Mike works for Legends Hospitality and is full-time at SoFi Stadium.

Working in group sales, Mike specializes in premium hospitality. His prior position was for Legends at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington. During the panel we discussed the process of selling tickets, opening at SoFi during the pandemic and later to fans in 2021, and we discussed events that happen at SoFi year-round, including the recent Super Bowl. We also discussed the impact the entirety of the Hollywood Park development has on the Inglewood community, along with outreach initiatives to help imbed the Rams, Chargers, and stadium into the community.

After our meeting, we began our tour of the facility. The first stop was the multitude of premium seating options available to fans. This included areas such as the Corona Beach House, Chairman’s Club, and the Field VIP club. After that, we toured the outdoor areas of the venue, learning about its infrastructure and construction process. SoFi is comprised of 3 separate structures, the stadium bowl, the canopy, and the subterranean wall. The Canopy, made of all ultra-light and eco-friendly plastic composite, is outfitted with 250,000 led lights, which at night are used to project designs and logos that are visible from airplanes flying over. Having three separate structures rather than just one, allows the facility to be safer in the event of an earthquake, which is commonplace in Southern California.

After that, we learned more about the stadium’s general seating layout and the double-sided “infinity” scoreboard over the field where you have a perfect view of the board from wherever you are sitting. The scoreboard, the only of its kind was a collaboration between Samsung and SoFi with a height of a 4 story building and weighing 2 million pounds.

The penultimate stop of our tour brought us to the VIP concourse, where we learned about the technology that powers SoFi Stadium. The entire facility is outfitted for 5G connectivity allowing for a high-speed internet network capable of supporting the 100,000 fans in attendance for big games. The Hollywood Park complex itself uses enough wiring to circle the entire planet just to make connectivity and electronic capabilities of this magnitude and effectiveness to be possible.

The final stop of our tour was the field, which was still painted for the Super Bowl. Kicking field goals and playing catch on the field that Super Bowl LVI was played on a month ago was a really cool experience that our classmates and ourselves will never forget. After the tour concluded, we briefly stopped in the Rams and Chargers joint team store before heading to our next destination: Anheuser-Busch’s LA brewery in Van Nuys.

After leaving SoFi Stadium, we hopped on the bus and headed off to the LA Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

We were greeted by SU SPM and LA Immersion Alum Brett Greenfield ‘14 and went through a quick safety video regarding the facility. Following that, we chatted with facility general manager Eric Gutierrez about the facility and the products that the brewery produces. We were all given some PPE and custom Budweiser hats before we made our way on a quick tour of the facility where we saw some of the brewing, packaging, and storage areas.

Before we departed for Crypto.com Arena, we had a quick panel with Rachel and Aggie where we learned about the sports and entertainment side of marketing and selling the brand. Budweiser incorporates so many brands, so it was awesome to learn about the thought process when it comes to deciding which brands to align with different properties as well as which brands align with certain sports venues or organizations.

All in all, Day 4 was one of the best yet! From NFL Network to SoFi Stadium to Anheuser-Busch to going to visit Crypto.com Arena and watching an LA Kings game, it was exciting as well as helpful in learning. We gained a lot of knowledge from the people we met and this was an overall great day!

Also, shout out to Todd Gurley, who we ran into at the Kings game, for spending a few minutes talking with us and taking photos with us!