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The Saginaw Dow Event Center:
With an Impressive Growth Rate,
There's More Than Concerts Offered at this Versatile Facility
By Robert E. Martin
When Zane Collings took over as General Manager for Saginaw's Dow Event Center, his main objective was to develop the reputation of the three elements that comprise the facility - the Arena, Theatre, and Hall - into a hub of activity for Saginaw County unparalleled in terms of quality, efficiency, and affordability; not to mention expanding upon the divergent and broad range of events offered at the Center.
Now at the helm since September 13th
of last year, Collings is enthusiastic about the positive results he has
witnessed.
With 215 events produced during
the tenure of his first year, not only are bookings growing at a rate of
five percent, but also the financial deficit for the publicly subsidized
Center has been cut in half from the point it was when Saginaw County
voters elected to take the Center over from the City of Saginaw.
"I came in at the absolutely best time
that new General Manager could come into a facility," explains the
affable Collings. "The reason I say that is that the day I started is
the day Dow Chemical announced sponsorship, so not only did I
walk into a building that had been completely renovated at that point,
but I also walked into a $2.5 million 10 year commitment of support. What that
meant is that I didn't have to spend time and resources on 'righting the
ship', per se."
"My objectives have been focused on
looking at how we can advance the Center," he continues. "I've been
able with the support from Dow to justify adding a Director of Sales &
Marketing, plus it offered enough flexibility to also bring in a new
Director of Operations, which allows me to focus on harnessing new
events."
Collings brought Regina Brown-Demski
into the picture about nine months ago to assist with expansion of the
Banquet Hall and draw greater attention to ancillary events that the Dow
Center is more than capable of handling.
I joined the team a lengthy list of
tasks was waiting for me," notes Regina. "But mainly my chief goal is to
better inform the public about what an excellent arena and hall we have
available for banquets, weddings and meetings."
"People don't realize what a nice Hall we
have for weddings, meetings and conferences," she continues. "We have an
Executive Award-winning Chef on board here with Barry Klapish, so
basically people have everything they need to at the Dow Center to hold
a successful fundraiser or event. And there is nothing too small for us
to consider. We have a Conference Room that can handle five people up to
the Dow Hall which can handle 900 people."
"Another thing people may not realize is
that we also now offer non-profit rental rates to non-profit
associations," adds Collings. "Several years ago in order to get the
financial picture in order, a decision was made to do away with our
non-profit rates. But one of the things that the Dow support allowed us
to do was go back to the County and get the non-profit rate instituted.
Thus far its been received very well, but Regina and I both want to
concentrate on reaching out to non-profit groups."
"We are very comparable to the facilities
offered at other Banquet and Rental Halls," emphasizes Regina, "as are
our rates, service, and class of catering. It all comes back to the Chef
and many people do not realize that we have a trained Executive Chef on
board. But an essential point to secure is that of our tie with the
community. We're really the area's Community Center, peoples' tax
dollars are supporting our endeavors, so we would like to increase the
success of what we offer by getting people to think of the Dow Events
Center as their Community Center."
With Regina busy re-educating the public
about the many renovations and services available to local banquets,
non-profit organizations, and fundraisers, Zane views his primary
objective as one of chasing down major concert events.
"There is no doubt that the concert
events comprise our largest revenue dollars," he notes. "It was easier
to get big shows into Saginaw five or ten years ago, before you had to
compete with places like The Palace and Soaring Eagle Casino. If they want to
hire a major act bad enough, they simply write a check. So the most
challenging component of my job is convincing major acts & promoters
that the Saginaw market is a good place to be."
"Having our relationship with SMG
is important to this end, and we use the SMG resource daily to get out
in front of the Casinos and other competitors," he continues. "But I
think a huge factor in our success over the past year has been in
cultivating the Christian musical and rock market. We've developed two
of those shows for the Fall and two for the Spring, and I think this
market can support six of those shows a year in that genre alone."
Prior to moving to Saginaw last year,
Collings worked with SMG for six years as Director of Operations
for a 7,200-seat arena in Redding, Pennsylvania, and prior to that he
was Director for a 10,000-seat arena in Connecticut, so handling larger
venues is nothing new for him.
"We've cut the deficit in half over four
years," states Collings, " and that is no little accomplishment.
Taxpayers subsidize most large venues and more of them do not make money
than those that do, but we are increasing efficiency on a daily basis.
A major venue like Madison Square Garden runs 700 shows per year, so
we're doing very well, considering our peak year was 235 shows. You
can't really compare the two venues, but we set lofty goals here and
shoot for the stars."
"Our relationship with The Saginaw Spirit has also been significant," concludes
Collings. "They've been invaluable partners to have and even though they
are a separate entity from us, we work together a lot. We have 10 major
corporate sponsorships which is phenomenal for a market this size."
"I'd like to see people think regularly
about what's happening at the Dow Events Center, because it is
Mid-Michigan's entertainment venue," emphasizes Regina.
"If people are looking for something to
do, they should check us out. There are very few weekends from September
to May that we don't have something going on. Versatility is the key to
this facility. There is hardly nothing that the community wouldn't want
to do that we couldn't offer, due to the versatility of space here."
If you are interested in booking the
Dow Events Center for a wedding, banquet, awards ceremony, or any
other special event, simply phone 989-759-1320 to arrange a
personal on-site tour.
And be sure to check The Review along with the Dow Event Center website for upcoming events by going to www.doweventcenter.com |
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