Kai Tak Sports Park chief John Sharkey says Hong Kong is on its way to becoming a “must play” destination for international stars after hosting its first stadium concerts in 25 years.

The ASM Global-operated $4 billion multipurpose complex launched with the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens at the end of March on the site of the former Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon.

The 28-hectare site in the Chinese special administrative region features a 50,000-capacity main stadium with a retractable roof, a 10,000-cap indoor arena and a 5,000-cap sports ground.

“Hong Kong is such a densely urban city with tons of high-rise buildings, so the city’s social approach to life is that it tries to be very careful about noise,” Sharkey tells IQ. “There have been no stadium concerts for the last 25 years as a result, but by closing the roof we are able to keep the sound in, as well as protecting ourselves from the rain and air condition the building in a very hot, humid climate.”

Sharkey, who was previously EVP of European operations for ASM and predecessor SMG until departing in 2021, served as project manager of the scheme during its development.

“I headed up the project through the bid and then moved across to the client side,” says the Scot. “It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s been really good.”

“It really brings Hong Kong back onto the calendar for touring – especially international stadium touring”

The stadium held its first official gigs last month with Coldplay – who played four sellout Music of the Spheres shows – and has since staged three nights with Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor Nicholas Tse. It also has four concerts booked with rock band Mayday (9-11 & 13 May), two shows with Singaporean artist JJ Lin (24-25 May) and a three-night stint by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou (27-29 June).

“It really brings Hong Kong back onto the calendar for touring – especially international stadium touring,” says Sharkey. “But the arena itself is a cracking venue as well. We’ve got a lot of K-pop going in there and a lot of music award ceremonies as well. Between K-pop, J-pop, local Chinese acts and music awards – as well as international – it’s really interesting. There are artists I’d never heard about before I came here that are selling 200,000 tickets in a heartbeat.

“We’ve got a couple of irons in the fire at the moment, which hopefully we’re going to be able to announce in the next month or so. Again, they’ll make a statement internationally about Hong Kong, which is great. But equally, we want to cater for the local market as well, so it’s about trying to make sure we’ve got that balance.”

The Coldplay concerts were set up a couple of years ago with Singapore-based promoter Dennis Argenzia of Live Nation APAC. But with the stadium’s completion delayed due to Covid, it became a race to the finish line.

“We met in Hong Kong and talked about what would be a really good potential opener for Kai Tak, and you get to that difficult time where they need a guarantee that the venue is going to be ready,” says Sharkey. “At some point you’ve got to take a leap of faith, so we did that about a year ago and then the shows went on sale. But you get to that last three to five months and it’s squeaky bum time trying to make sure you’re going to be finished in time.”

“In the past, Hong Kong has been seen as a big financial centre, and now it’s about creating sustainable tourism and cultural events”

Kai Tak Sports Park was required by the government to undertake a series of “stress test” events prior to its formal opening, the last of which saw all three venues across the complex utilised simultaneously by 63,000 participants.

“They wanted us to do it at more than 100% of what we were going to be operating with normally,” explains Sharkey. “They wanted a full stadium, a full arena, a full public sports ground, so that was full-on.”

Tickets for the Coldplay concerts were priced between HK$399 (€46) and HK$6,599 (€755), while a range of concert + hotel packages were offered via a partnership with Hong Kong-based travel company Klook, bringing obvious economic benefits for the territory.

“For both Coldplay and for Nicholas Tse, there were also a lot of ticket sales coming from the mainland,” adds Sharkey. “You had a lot of people either coming in to stay the night, or going back because the public transport infrastructure here is just unbelievable. And we had the best part of a couple of thousand people on duty whose jobs didn’t exist before Kai Tak, so you’ve got the multiplier effect of that spend in the local economy.

“We’re looking at the mother grid infrastructure at the minute to try and make it really easy to bring your production into the venue, and basically make it much easier to be able to tour.”

The world’s third-ranked global financial centre, Hong Kong is already home to festivals such as Clockenflap as well as the 14,000-seater AsiaWorld-Expo, which has upcoming shows with Hans Zimmer Live, Ado, BabyMonster and Taeyeon, among others.

However, the market suffered a blow with the closure of the KITEC (Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre) last year. The complex housed the 3,600-cap Music Zone, which hosted acts such as Tom Odell and Laufey. Nevertheless, Sharkey is convinced of Kai Tak’s transformative potential for the region.

“In the past, Hong Kong has been seen as a big financial centre, and now it’s about creating sustainable tourism and cultural events,” finishes Sharkey. “I think that becomes a big part of Hong Kong’s power play going forward. It’s got money – without a doubt, it’s got money – and a really good target market. We’ve got 8 million people in Hong Kong and 86 million people within a two-hour journey. That’s a target rich audience for anybody.”

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ASM Global has named 30-year veteran Chris Bray as its new EVP of European operations.

Bray who will be based in Manchester, UK, has a background in commercial, operations, entertainment and strategic development within the high-street retail, leisure and hospitality industries.

For the past six years, Bray has served as CEO for sports and leisure, UK & Ireland at global contract catering and facilities management company Sodexo.

“Chris has been responsible for a business portfolio tasked with delivering exceptional experiences at some of the most prestigious sporting and event locations across the UK such as Ascot Racecourse, Chelsea Flower Show, Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Newcastle United FC, as well as the National Gallery and other iconic day visitor experiences across the country,” says ASM Global president and CEO Ron Bension.

It’s an exciting time to be joining ASM Global as it accelerates its growth ambitions across the globe

“We’re confident that he will execute tremendous value creation, organic growth and new business initiatives.”

The move forms part of the venue management giant’s ongoing European expansion plans.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining ASM Global as it accelerates its growth ambitions across the globe,” says Bray. “Recent wins in Europe including Newcastle Gateshead Quays, Derby Arena, Cantu Arena and Södra Teatern are testament to the exceptional capabilities of our European teams and the confidence that our clients have in our ability to deliver innovative services and world-class live experiences for their guests.

“I am really looking forward to working with the teams to build upon the great work they have done.”

Bray succeeds John Sharkey, whose departure was announced in May. Sharkey joined ASM predecessor SMG in 2014 and was appointed ASM Global’s EVP for Europe in late 2019, following the completion of the merger between SMG and AEG Facilities.

The move comes days after the firm confirmed Jason Oberlander as chief commercial officer and made two new hires to its programming department.

Within Europe, ASM Global’s flagship venues include AO Arena in Manchester, Avicii Arena, Tele2 Arena and Friends Arena in Sweden and Koenig Pilsner Arena in Germany, which will become Rudolf Weber Arena in January 2022.

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John Sharkey, executive vice-president of European operations for leading venue operator ASM Global, is leaving the company after seven years.

Sharkey – who joined ASM’s predecessor, SMG, in 2014 – gave his notice in February and will stay on until December.

He was appointed ASM Global’s EVP for Europe in late 2019, following the completion of the merger between SMG and AEG Facilities.

Prior to joining SMG Europe, Sharkey was group CEO of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (now the Scottish Event Campus), where he led the team responsible for delivering the 13,000-capacity SSE Hydro arena. He previously held positions with First Group, Scottish Enterprise and Ernst & Young.

It is understood Sharkey does not yet have another role lined up following his exit from ASM.

“Over the last seven years, I have been lucky to work with some of the finest people in the business with such tremendous passion and energy for our industry,” says Sharkey. “I have also been incredibly proud to work for a business which stands for the best in gold standard venue management.

“It was a really tough decision to leave the business. However, the events of the last year have been profound”

“For these reasons, it was a really tough decision to leave the business. However, the events of the last year have been profound across the world and the pandemic has caused me to reflect and decide on a change of direction in my career.”

Ron Bension ASM Global’s president and CEO, comments: “John has been leading the European business for nearly seven years and during that time has been the driving force behind many of the business’s successes, from delivering venues in Aberdeen [P&J Live] and Hull [Bonus Arena] to integrating the acquisition of our in-house catering business CGC and overseeing the significant progress of the Kai Tak project in Hong Kong.

“John will leave the business in December, but before that time he will be instrumental in leading the teams as we get ready to re-open and bring guests back into our venues. I wish John the very best in the next chapter in his life and would like to thank him for the commitment and dedication to the business over the years.”

Bension adds: “We have recently commenced a search for a new European lead, who will be responsible for leading the European business and delivering a number of exciting venue projects including Wolverhampton, Derby and Cantu in Italy, with a number of others in the pipeline.”

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The most recent edition of IQ Focus brought together representatives from some of live music’s leading technology, production and venue companies to shine a light on the various technological solutions helping to get concerts back on the road while Covid-19 is still a threat.

The Technology of a Pandemic, streamed live at 4pm yesterday (30 June), saw chair Steve Machin (LiveFrom.Events) invite Adam Goodyer of Realife Tech (formerly LiveStyled), Brigitte Fuss of Megaforce, Seats.io’s Joren De Wachter, ASM Global’s John Sharkey and Paul Twomey of Biosecurity Systems to discuss the technologies and systems that will allow venues to function at their peak until a coronavirus vaccine is found.

After a round of introductions, Sharkey showed a video demonstrating the concept behind ASM’s VenueShield hygiene system, as well as its successful trial at ASM’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, with an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on 9 May.

“For us, the key thing is, we need to understand that we do have a viable business to come back to,” he commented, “and that it has to work to generate confidence, not just the back of house and in front of house but with our staff and everybody coming through our buildings.”

That’s especially true, he added, “whenever we are going to be changing to suit the jurisdictions that we operate in, and also the changing state and cycle of where we are in dealing with the virus.”

Moving onto social distancing, Machin suggested that “in seated venues maybe it’s somewhat easier because you can run different seat maps” and other solutions to put space between guests, but “social distancing in [standing] venues is hard.”

“The real challenge, as I see it, is making sure that customers stick to the rules,” he added.

“Regulators all saw things differently after September 11. I think the same thing is true for biosecurity with Covid-19”

For any person involved in producing live events currently, the ability to be flexible is key, said De Wachter. “There are certain things we can’t control: We don’t know when a second wave will hit a particular place, we don’t know what authorities will do… so what you need to do from the technology perspective is have this flexibility that allows you to react quickly to changing situations.”

“Covid-19 is just one of five or six diseases we’ve had which have been epidemics, if not pandemics, over the last 15 to 20 years, and we can expect to see that happen again,” commented Twomey, emphasising that events must prepare for outbreaks of other diseases in future.

“I think that the challenges for events, organisers and facilities is to make the investment now – not just for this infection, but the future ones,” he continued, adding that the coronavirus pandemic is as much of a turning point for venue safety as the events of 11 September 2001.

“The comparison with September 11 is pretty clear: there was terrorism before, there was terrorism after, but the consumers and the governments and the regulators all saw things differently after September 11. I think the same thing is true for biosecurity with Covid-19. Everything is different now, so even after we get some improvement with vaccines, etc., in the next couple years, I think it’s still important people make the investment in the sorts of facilities, equipment and solutions that consumers are going to keep looking for.”

Fuss, who also represents disinfecting company ATDS Europe, revealed that ATDS has a solution to ensure that cases of equipment brought into venues or festivals are Covid-19 free.“We have a hygiene gate which can be placed directly at the truck’s loading dock, so when the cases go out they go directly through this disinfection shower,” she explained.

Fuss also spoke on the track-and-trace system already in operation in Germany, which could be adapted to allow venues to reopen without social distancing, as they already have in places like Korea. In Germany, “we already have small events, and if you go there or if you are on the guest list you have to write down your name, your address and your your phone number or email, so that in case of Covid-19 we can follow you up and see who had contact with you,” she said.

“People want to be able to enjoy events again. If they’re willing to share their data, it’s genuinely a good thing”

Coronavirus aside, said Goodyer, this level of data capture is something venues “should be striving for anyway”. “But the reason to do it has now changed,” he continued, “and people want to be able to enjoy events again. If they’re willing to do that [share their details] – and we’re doing it across all of our portfolio – it’s genuinely a good thing.

“And we’re seeing that fans are happy to do it when it’s clearly explained and that they know their data is being held securely and privately.”

“We have to rebuild trust with people who want to go to events, so that they know that they will be safe,” added De Wachter, “and the same is true for their data and for their whereabouts. I don’t think we can wait for a vaccine, because it’s going be too long: we need to get people back into events and to rebuild that relationship now.”

“I think the way we communicate about all of this is going to be absolutely key,” he concluded. “We need to make sure that people know that they can trust event organisers that the right thing will be done. […] There’s going to be a need for a massive amount of increased transparency, in how ticket buyers are being treated before, after and during the event.

“It’s a human business, and in human businesses, in order to build trust, you need to communicate as much as possible.”

For more discussion and debate, watch the session back now on YouTube or Facebook.

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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This week’s IQ Focus virtual panel will shine a light on the various technological solutions helping to get live back on the road and enabling venues and events to operate within coronavirus-related restrictions.

The panel, The Technology of a Pandemic, will be available to watch on Facebook and YouTube on Thursday 30 July at 4 p.m. BST/5 p.m. CET.

The recent pandemic has changed the face of our industry as we know it, almost overnight. Since March we have seen complete closure of venues, festivals, tours and all live music operations. Overtime we have seen the relaxing of those restrictions and in some countries venues are open, albeit with certain restrictions, and more countries will follow.

However, until powerful anti-virals are in play or ultimately a vaccine, we will need to put into place technology and systems that allow venues to function at their peak with social distancing in mind.

The Covid tech panel looks at these technologies, whether they be software solutions, access control and biometrics or automated disinfecting systems, with individuals presenting various technology across all genres, the panel will present ideas of what can work for your venue or event.

Joining chair Steve Machin of LiveFrom.Events, is Adam Goodyer (Realife Tech), Brigitte Fuss (Megaforce), Joren De Wachter (Seats.io), John Sharkey (ASM Global) and Paul Twomey (Biosecurity Systems).

To set a reminder for The Technology of a Pandemic panel on Thursday head to the IQ Magazine page on Facebook or YouTube.

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Bob Newman, the president and CEO of ASM Global, has unveiled the executive leadership team tasked with steering the world’s largest venue management company.

ASM – formed earlier this month upon the merger of SMG and AEG Facilities – operates more than 300 arenas, stadia and other large venues on five continents, and employs 61,000 staff. Its portfolio includes the likes of the O2 and Manchester Arena in the UK, the Stockholm Globe arenas in Sweden, Mercedes-Benz Arena and Barclaycard Arena in Germany, Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and Staples Center in Los Angeles, with venues under construction in Buenos Aires, Seoul, Moscow and Bangkok.

“Since closing the merger two weeks ago, our top priority has been to ensure that we have the right leadership in place to advance our priorities and growth strategies focused on creating the best experience for our clients, guests and staff across all venues,” says Newman, formerly president of AEG Facilities.

“We are honoured that the executives we are announcing today represent the very top industry professionals, who will collectively lead our new company and global teams as we reinforce and expand our venue management services and capabilities.”

Said executives include John Sharkey, formerly executive vice-president (EVP) of European operations for SMG, who will hold the same role at ASM; Harvey Lister, the former CEO of AEG Ogden, who will continue to oversee venues in Asia and Australasia as CEO of ASM Asia Pacific; and newly appointed CFO Mark Rozells, who will oversee financial planning, accounting and M&A.

“The team’s depth of leadership will enable us to advance our mission to realise the potential of the world’s greatest places, spaces and events”

Effective immediately, the full ASM Global executive team (bar Newman) is as follows:

• Mark Rozells, chief financial officer
  Rozells brings “strong financial and operational management experience to the position”, says ASM. Previous career experience includes spells as EVP and CEO for Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, and in senior finance and strategy roles at Liberty Media, Starwood Hotels and the Walt Disney Company
• Chuck Steedman, EVP of strategy and business development, arenas and stadia
  Steedman previously served as chief operating and development officer for AEG Facilities. He’s responsible for “identifying, evaluating and implementing global account acquisition growth strategies for ASM’s arena and stadium accounts”
• Gregg Caren, EVP of sales and business development, convention centres
  The former EVP of convention centers for SMG, Caren is tasked with acquiring new convention and exhibition centre accounts, as well as developing sales initiatives to drive events to the company’s existing portfolio
• Doug Thornton, EVP of arenas, stadia and theatres
  Thornton, lately EVP of stadia and arenas for SMG, expands his role to include ASM’s entire portfolio of arenas, stadia and theatres, directing the operations and financial performance of the division
• Richard Krezwick, chief commercial officer
  Krezwick, ex-senior vice-president (SVP) for AEG Facilities, will oversee the company’s “commercialisation strategy and the cross-functional adoption of new services, products and technologies”
• Shauna Elvin, EVP of global talent
  Previously SVP of human resources for SMG, Elvin been promoted to EVP of global talent, overseeing HR, staffing and employee retention, benefits, compensation, training and diversity strategy

“The executives we are announcing today represent the very top industry professionals”

• Bob McClintock, EVP of convention centres
  McClintock, the former senior vice-president of convention centres for SMG, has been promoted to EVP of the same division at ASM, leading the global operations of the company’s convention and exhibition venues business
• John Sharkey, EVP of European operations
  Sharkey will continue in the same role as at SMG, with focus on “maximising positive results” across all ASM’s European venue and F&B operations, as well as supporting and implementing the company’s business development initiatives across the continent
• Harvey Lister, chairman and CEO of ASM Asia Pacific
  “Utilising his unmatched industry experience”, Lister, formerly of AEG Ogden, will continue to oversee ASM’s portfolio of business activities in Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific and the Middle East
• Shaun Beard, SVP of food and beverage
  Beard will oversee ASM’s North American and European F&B operations, including Savor, Premier and CGC Event Caterers

“We are confident that this impressive team will accelerate our momentum as we look to invest in innovations that bring new ASM Global services, solutions and technologies to our clients,” says Newman.

“The team’s depth of leadership will also enable us to advance our mission to realise the potential of the world’s greatest places, spaces and events by driving revenue generation and operational excellence that will allow us to take our industry to the next level.”

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British retail bank First Direct has extended its naming-rights agreement with Leeds’s First Direct Arena for a further five years, with the 13,000-cap. venue retaining its current name until at least 2023.

First Direct sponsored the arena (pictured) prior to its opening in July 2013, initially for a five-year term ending in 2018. Operator SMG Europe says the backing of the bank – which offers its customers several benefits, including presales, complimentary tickets, a dedicated entrance and free F&B in the arena – has played an “instrumental role in bringing some of the biggest events to Yorkshire, from the Mobo Awards to an exclusive Jake Bugg concert and the finals of Europe’s Strongest Man.”

John Sharkey, CEO of SMG Europe, comments: “The First Direct Arena is our flagship venue, and we wanted a sponsor that matched our ambitions for it.

“We are delighted to announce this extension and we’re looking to really build on the already strong foundations in place”

“First Direct and SMG Europe share a passion for customer service, innovation and pushing boundaries, and, as such, it’s a perfect fit. We are delighted to announce this extension and we’re looking to really build on the already strong foundations in place.”

First Direct head Joe Gordon adds: “The reaction of our customers to our association with the arena has been outstanding, and we’re delighted to be able to commit to an additional five years and begin planning the exciting years of partnership to come. Other banks have branches, but we have an arena.”

Jen Mitchell was appointed GM of the arena earlier this year.

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