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Global Spectrum to manage Alaska Airlines Center

Women's Volleyball UAA Media Relations

Global Spectrum to manage Alaska Airlines Center

ANCHORAGE – The University of Alaska Anchorage has partnered with venue management leader Global Spectrum, an industry leader in arena and stadium management, to operate the new Alaska Airlines Center, UAA Director of Athletics Keith Hackett announced Monday.

Global Spectrum is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor. In addition to managing and operating the facility for UAA, two other Comcast-Spectacor subsidiaries will be involved at Alaska Airlines Center. They include New Era Tickets, the official ticketing arm of the arena, and Front Row Marketing Services, which will specialize in selling ancillary inventory for the facility, including suites, club seats and signage. Comcast-Spectacor now operates in 48 of the 50 United States with today's announcement.

With grand opening ceremonies planned for Sept. 5-14, the 196,000 square-foot facility will be the new home for UAA Athletics, as well as an ideal venue for community events such as high school championships, concerts, graduations and trade shows.

“The Alaska Airlines Center will be the premier athletic and community facility in the state of Alaska for years to come. We are extremely excited to partner with an experienced and well established company such as Global Spectrum,” Hackett said. “They are an international leader in the sports and entertainment industry. Their goal and our goal is to bring an exciting and memorable experience to our fans and community members.”

"We would like to thank the University of Alaska Anchorage for selecting us," said Global Spectrum President John Page. "We're excited for the opportunities that we can bring to the students, the administration and to the region."

The Global Spectrum staff will handle, upon opening, the day-to-day management of the arena, including booking, scheduling, marketing, staffing and other operations. Along with assisting in the pre-opening phases of managing the arena, Global Spectrum will prepare marketing programs for the arena; recruit and hiring a general manager and other arena staff; book the arena; and consult on the selection of subcontractors and analyzing operational details.

Located on campus in the quickly expanding U-Med District, the Alaska Airlines Center is adjacent to both UAA Student Housing and the Providence Alaska Medical Center.

The main arena will seat 5,000 and be home to the Seawolves' men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams. The auxiliary gymnasium will be the on-campus home of UAA gymnastics. The athletic department offices as well as the Seawolf athletic teams and support services will be housed in the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Alaska Airlines Center will also be home to Anchorage's newest full-service restaurant, the Varsity Sports Grill, which will be located on the suite level.

Other features will include:
*State-of-the-art video scoreboard & sound system
*Student fitness & recreation area
*Gymnastics training facility
*Seawolf Hall of Fame
*State-of-the art sports medicine facilities
*5,000-sq. ft. strength & conditioning complex

In addition to managing the Alaska Airlines Center, Global Spectrum (global-spectrum.com) manages more than 120 other public assembly facilities around the world. Nearly 24 million people attended more than 15,000 events in Global Spectrum venues last year. Based in Philadelphia, Pa., Global Spectrum is part of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the world's largest sports and entertainment companies. Comcast-Spectacor also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities, Paciolan, the leading provider of venue establishment ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions, Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company, and Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks.

Many of the world's top-touring shows, including Disney On Ice, the Harlem Globetrotters, WWE, and the world's leading recording artists like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, P!nk, Jay Z, Bon Jovi, and Kenny Chesney, perform in Global Spectrum-managed venues.

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