UK Venue Managers inaugural meeting

07 April 2011

An agreement to share strategies and information was set up by the UK's top venue managers at their inaugural meeting on April 5th . Managers of multi-use venues throughout the UK were at Leicestershire County Cricket Club to hear initiatives to cut operating costs and reduce carbon emmissions for Association members.

Members have agreed to establish a secure web site so that they can privately share operational information and set up a purchasing strategy to minimise costs. At the inaugural meeting of the UK Venue Managers Association it was agreed that sharing information on-line and the ability to ask like-minded professionals for advice would bring significant benefits in areas such as cost control and the move towards reducing carbon emissions.

The meeting at Leicestershire County Cricket Club attracted venue managers from the north-east, north-west, east, south, midlands and Wales, and Neil Levett, Director of the UK Venue Managers Association said that there was a clear need to establish a forum for ideas and experiences. The Association’s new web site is www.ukvma.co.uk and membership enquiries should be sent to Sandy Lopes (http://sandy@aladltd.co.uk).
Neil said: “One of the members has switched all the light bulbs throughout his venue and is saving tens of thousands of pounds, helped by negotiating a good price on the new bulbs as well as using less energy. This is something that can now be shared throughout the industry. Each venue remains competitive, but if costs can be reduced across the board then everybody wins.”

One of the key benefits raised by members at the meeting was that the Association is open to venue managers of all sizes, so that the purchasing advantages of the biggest organisations could be available to a smaller venue that hosts a wide range of different events throughout the year.
“The range of shared interests extends much further than purchasing, cost-control and the environment,” Neil added. “We could be looking at specific educational standards as well as targeted courses, cross-venue collaboration over licensing and legislation, and sharing knowledge of what worked and what didn’t.”
Guest speaker at the meeting was Jim Maietta, of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, who explained VSAT (Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool), which allows managers to assess their venues based on researched security data, and take measures to reduce risk. VSAT is available by post and on the office’s web site (www.nactso.gov.uk).