These researchers examined ‘bundling’ for runners, specifically how these athletes could be attracted through augmentations such as other activities and attractions. Bundling can include event elements (including edu- cational and celebratory, external cultural events, tours and visits to attractions, and shopping. A sample of 277 adult runners at events in Sydney and Melbourne were asked to consider bundling options for possible participation in the Gold Coast Marathon. Cluster analysis was used to develop four segments that differed in terms of their bundling choices. ‘Dedicated runners’ were older and only interested in official marathon par- ties, not the destination. The other segments had varying degrees of interest in destination bundling. ‘Running tourists’ were younger and less ‘involved’ with the sport, so they were less attracted by opportunities to cele- brate with other runners. ‘Rather, for these runners, the event represents an opportunity to combine running with a holiday at the host destination.’ (p. 278).
Venue, Club and Assembly Management
(Figure 6.9)Events are often held in single or general-purpose arenas, convention centres, stadia or theatres, all of which can belong to the International Association of Assembly Managers (www.IAAM.org). When you own or manage a venue, events are at the top of mind: they are sometimes clients who pay to use the facility and sometimes they are bid on or cre- ated to fill gaps. Hotels, clubs, restaurants and many other facilities with function spaces are also in this business.
Venue, club Nature and Antecedents Planning and Outcomes Processes and and assembly meanings: to attending producing and the patterns management the event events events impacted
experience
• Design and • Club • Some venues • Venues • Private • Venue management membership are attractions produce versus public technologies of event generates in their own and host access to and design settings expectations right events venues and • Popularity of
and • Big events • Policy and events types of participation usually regulations • Small, clubs
• Experience is require big affecting private • Locational shaped by the arenas venues and events versus patterns
venue and its clubs large, public (supply and
management events demand
factors)
Figure 6.9 Venue, club and assembly management.
Clubs are usually private, owned by members or based on paid membership, and often closely tied to sports (e.g., golf or yacht clubs), fitness and health. Not-for-profit associations, including ethnic groups, often run clubs with facilities. The magazine
Club Management is aimed at professional club managers, and their association is Club Managers Association of America (www.cmaa.org). Entertainment and catered events are common at clubs. Their ‘events directors’ might have responsibility for booking entertainment, arranging caterers or hiring decorators.
Research Note
Preda, P., and Watts, T. (2003). Improving the efficiency of sporting venues through capacity management:
the Case of the Sydney (Australia) Cricket Ground Trust. Event Management, 8(2): 83–89.
Idle capacity and bottlenecks were examined with a view to improving this sport venue’s efficiency. Each stage of the service process for patrons was timed and studied, with ticketing and entrances receiving the most atten- tion. An efficiency table was constructed, using specific performance categories, which showed management where improvements could be made.
Event visitor management, including demand, flow, capacity, queuing and service, has also been discussed by Yeoman et al. (2004).
Theatre Studies
(Figure 6.10)Theatre studies are liberal arts programs that typically encompass acting, production, technical aspects of theatre and the history of theatre. This programme description is from Canada’s Acadia University (www.acadiau.ca):
The[theatre studies] program provides practical classes in acting, speech and voice, movement, children’s the- atre, and stage production, and also courses in theatre history, dramatic theory and criticism, film, Canadian film and drama, and women in theatre. The program includes a ‘technical component’ in its acting courses, so that all students are required to learn something of the complex activity which goes on behind the scenes and makes theatre productions possible.
Theatre Studies at Duke University, North Carolina (www.duke.edu/web/
theaterstudies) is described this way:
Combining respect for history with immersion in contemporary issues, and intellectual engagement with cre- ative expression, the Department of Theater Studies offers students opportunities to study and practice theater. The faculty view theater as a form of human expression, shaped by social, economic, technological, personal, and artistic forces. As such, the study and practice of theater are valuable components of a liberal arts education.
Theatrical productions are events. While they are typically produced as the regular busi- ness of theatrical companies, in regular seasons or programs, they are also produced in festivals. And plays or other theatrical productions can certainly be viewed as special
events from the perspective of the audience. More importantly, the very concepts of theatre and performance, steeped in tradition and culturally distinctive, lie at the foun- dation of event design. And theatre is relevant to all forms of event, from sports (espe- cially ‘professional’ wrestling, which hopefully everyone recognizes as being staged), to meetings (the ‘drama’ of debate and the ‘staging’ of presentations) to festivals (‘rites and rituals performed’ for the audience, and including the audience) to trade shows (replete with entertainment and ‘showmanship’).