Park News
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Las Vegas waterpark update
Wet ‘n’ Wild takes shape
Park Bloggin’ by Jack Samuels
Skyscraper tourism
I recently was honoured to spend a few hours listening to and interviewing Dave Checketts, one of the most successful practitioners in sports management, now making inroads into another area of entertainment.
Set to open for the Memorial Day weekend at the end of this month, the new Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas waterpark has solidified its management team with the addition of Chris Hicks as revenue manager (IT/ticketing etc) and Matthew Watts as resale manager (dealing with retail/F&B). Hicks’ success as admissions manager at sister park Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix led to his promotion to the position in Las Vegas. He previously served at a number of Cedar Fair-operated parks as well as Hard Rock Park/Freestyle Music Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Watts, who also served a spell at Hard Rock Park, was previously concessions manager for Levy Restaurants at Dallas’ American Airlines Center and retail supervisor at Six Flags Great America near Chicago.
The $50 million waterpark, operated by the Australian group Village
Roadshow, features more than 25 slides and attractions and is located on the southwest side of the city off highway I-215. A second new waterpark, Cowabunga Bay Las Vegas was also due to open this spring but has been put on hold until early 2014. “We know this is a disappointment to many of you,” owner and manager Shane Huisch told fans recently in a statement on Facebook. “[In spring 2014] we will have a great park for you to enjoy, with all attractions open and a well-trained and friendly staff. I want to thank those who continue to support us with your kind words.”
wetnwildlasvegas.com cowabungabay.com
Disney University
examined in new book This new book by Doug Lipp, Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World’s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees, is a worthwhile addition to any park operator's library. In 1955, Walt Disney asked his colleague Van France to help Disneyland employees be more engaged on the job. This task led to a landmark breakthrough in customer service,
management thinking, and a milestone for Disney’s show and “cast, both on-stage and off. This critical view of performance and engagement is still in use today, and the training program, “Disney U,” is administered to Disney employees worldwide.
Author Doug Lipp, who worked alongside France at Disney U, is an expert on customer service, leadership and change management. Find this new book at specialist retailers and online.
MAY 2013
Checketts was a highly successful manager of the New York Knicks basketball team and Madison Square Garden in the '90s. Recently, after a break from the world of sport (“I was tired of having to worry about winning all the time.”), Checketts was hired to be the CEO of Legends Hospitality, a newly formed partnership between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees, to manage the food service operations in their respective stadiums. Checketts, however, believed the company should be about more than just food service. After immediately acquiring a variety of new customer accounts, he developed a sports, conventions and leisure consulting practice. This has been successful in assisting major professional sports franchises to sell their upscale seating inventory such as boxes and suites. Yet this offshoot of Legends Hospitality was but a harbinger of a daring business move into the world of visitor attractions, one that recently saw the company win the bid to operate One World Trade Center’s new observation deck in New York City. Designed to be a major tourist attraction complementing a museum and monument at the World Trade Center site, it has the potential to challenge the tourist appeal of the venerable Empire State Building. As a result, Legends Hospitality now is poised to be a leader in observation experiences or what might be called “skyscraper tourism.” Checkett’s philosophy is applicable to all businesses under the leisure, tourism and entertainment umbrella: that to attract an audience you must first create live entertainment or an
One World Trade Center
“event.” This must be something that is feasible or cost effective, have a good potential customer base and capable withstanding the competition. The entertainment component, or “software” as I like to call it, must be able to pay the costs of operating the necessary facilities or physical plant, or "hardware." You must be able to fund that theme park infrastructure, stadium/arena, convention centre or skyscraper somehow. Sports facilities, of course, exploit the assets by selling broadcast rights; but not enough theme parks do that. Why not host a “Halloween Special” at your park?
The final component to Checketts' model is the sale of what he refers to as “properties.” This includes such things as licensing and corporate sponsorship, and even selling your brand when appropriate. Checketts is already selling what I call “vertical entertainment”, bringing in revenues above and beyond that provided by the One World Trade Center’s tenants, much as they are doing at the Bank of America Building in Dallas or The Shard in London. A new breed of themed entertainment is born.
Dr. Samuels has written over 150 articles for the amusement, theme park and entertainment industries. He provides diverse consulting services in general marketing and market research, facility development, customer service, safety, crowd, and event management and promotional activities programming such as birthday parties. He can be reached at
samuelsj@montclair.edu
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