+ • Chris Connolly—General Manager
+ • Carrie Jackson—AGM, Director of Sales
• Jack Ligon—AGM, Arena
+ < Derek Hickey—District General Manager
< Jeff Maynes—AGM, Director of Catering
< Brett Slaby—AGM, Food Services & Hospitality
+ • Carrie Jackson—AGM, Director of Sales
• Jessica Van Sloten—Senior Sales Manager
• Cathy Murray
• Carrie Petersen
• Morgan Tjarks
• Courtney Vitale
• Haleigh Biancalana—Director of Events
• Yarelis Calderon
• Matt Cushman
• Natalia Espinosa
• Madison Green
• Lyndsey Lomelino
• Zach Lough
• Robbin Morton
• Jimmy Strysick
• Diane Frischmeyer—Director of Finance
• Andrew Dobraska
• Lisa Givens
• Jose Perez
+ • Adam Flack—Regional Marketing Director
• Morgen Kuennen
• Gage Schuling
• Elly Simpson
• Adam Stevens
• Lucas Thul
+ • Laurie Kemmit—Regional VP of Partnerships
• Jason Evans
• Kayla Scofield
+ • Jake Reichling
• Tommy Hoffman
• Jason Smith—Director of Operations
• Harold Peterson
• Alex Abrahamson
• Dennis Ashby
• Jim Bacon
• Marlon Ballentine
• Leah Beery
• Steve Carlson
• Glenn Coady
• Gary Colby Jr.
• Brian Cooper
• Kyle Disney
• Ron Field
• Forrest Fisher
• Steve Frantz
• Mark Gamble
• Nate Goolsby
• Tom Hines
• AJ Johnson
• Jeff Kling
• Alan Krajewski
• Jeff Lindquist
• Payton Miller
• Meghan Peterson
• Mike Stanley
+ < Derek Hickey—District General Manager
< Brett Slaby—AGM, Food Services & Hospitality
< Jeff Maynes—AGM, Director of Catering
< Chad Vander Ploeg—Executive Chef
< Jonathan Cook—Executive Sous Chef
< Calli Crew—Senior Catering Sales Manager
< Andrea Acebey
< Ali Brackett
< Olivia Bishop
< Keegan Byrum
< Dave Farlow
< Jennifer Gaesser
< Katelyn Gorrell
< Brandon Higgs-Burow
< Kim Hull
< Melanie Leach
< Jade Masolini
< Daniel Minnie
< Kailie Morrow
< Raul Murillo
< Makenzie Schurk
< Adam Shepard
< Michael Staley
< Deb Stewart
< Lindsey Upchurch
< Derrick Wallace
The 15-year-old roof had many leaks and was quickly deteriorating. The entire roof was replaced in late spring by Hopkins Roofing.
The Adjustable Frequency Drive (AFD) on Chiller #3 was failing and no longer supported by the manufacturer. By replacing the AFD, the efficiency of the chilled water system increased, and by changing the speed of the motor, our energy consumption decreased.
The parking shacks were rusting away, and the heating/cooling units were failing. We replaced three out of five parking shacks, and we will replace the final two in the coming years to help our parking staff stay comfortable in the varying weather conditions.
We upgraded many areas around our facility and resolved erosion issues on the south side of Wells Fargo Arena. We will continue adding new plants, trees, and grass around the facility.
We replaced two collapsed drains due to heavy traffic in areas on the east side of Community Choice Convention Center and the Wells Fargo Arena loading dock.
The Wells Fargo Arena VIP Lobby upgraded to include large help desk, cabinets to store equipment and coats, lighting, and a large storage area underneath the stairs.
We replaced the worn out tiles with new carpet.
GBAC STAR facilities demonstrate that a comprehensive program is in place supporting health, wellness, and resilience.
GBAC STAR is the gold standard of healthy and resilient facilities. Not only are GBAC STAR-accredited facilities equipped and ready for what’s next, they’re also able to adapt quickly and withstand challenges.
An accredited facility is committed to having:
• An established and sustained cleaning program to enhance occupant health
• The proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices in place to nurture occupant health and meet any biosafety challenges.
• Knowledgeable cleaning professionals who are trained to uphold the highest standards of cleaning and building maintenance.
composted
metal/electronics recycled
paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum recycled
materials diverted from landfills
of all waste recycled/composted
– The Food Rescue program helps feed 50-75 families every Wednesday at Revival Center Church and an additional 10-15 families with take home meals. Revival Center Church also shared the food they pick up from the Iowa Events Center with a number of other churches/community centers in the Des Moines area, depending on the size of the food pickup.
– Over 43,000 pounds of food and organics waste diverted through our partnership with GreenRU. Serving Greater Iowa, GreenRU creates customized recycling programs of organics and food scraps for local restaurants, businesses, schools, universities, and other organizations. GreenRU provides an easy way to keep the food scraps and other organics out of area landfills and turns them into a rich compost for use on farmland, landscaping, sports turf, and other land applications.
The Convention Center had a record-breaking year, finishing at $1,379,630 in the black. Several factors contributed to this success including Convention and Visitors Bureau bookings, groups that shifted dates during the COVID pandemic, and short-term business that moved to us due to COVID restrictions in other states.
· Eight flexible meeting rooms
· Connected to Iowa Hall of Pride
· Hall A, B and C: 150,00 sq. ft. connected
· 24,000 sq. ft. of pre-function space
· 11 loading bays
· Business Center
· Drive-on access
· 21 flexible meeting rooms
· 23,000 sq. ft. of pre-function space
· Eight HD projectors displaying images and video on Grand Concourse air walls
· Veterans Memorial Hall (a museum quality exhibit paying tribute to Iowa Veterans who have served the United States during each international conflict since Iowa’s statehood in 1846)
· Four boardrooms
· Views of Grand Concourse and Veterans Memorial Hall
· State’s largest ballroom (28,000 sq. ft)
· 1 million lighting combinations
· 14,000 sq. ft. of pre-function space
· Two meeting rooms
· Two green rooms
· Networked for Wi-Fi
· Audio & Visual Services by preferred vendor, Markey’s Rental & Staging
· Catering offered exclusively by OVG Hospitality & Services
IOWA WILD
Record
32-31-4-5 (73 Points) Overall Record
17-14-2-3 (39 Points) Home Record
Season in Review
— Head Coach Tim Army earned his
100th win as the Wild Head coach
during the season.
— Eight Iowa Wild players made their
NHL debut in the 2021–2022 season, including Adam Beckman, Matt Boldy, Mitchell Chaffee, Connor Dewar,
Brandon Duhaime, Jon Lizotte,
Marco Rossi and Mason Shaw.
— Rossi broke the record for most points scored by a rookie in Iowa Wild History, scoring 53 points in 63 games.
— 130 total transactions involving Iowa Wild players in the regular season.
— Wild Forward Cody McLeod played in his 1,000th professional game.
— Kyle Rau became the all-time leading point scorer in Iowa Wild history at the end of the season.
— Goaltender Zane McIntyre was named AHL Player of the week for the period ending April 10, 2022.
Awards
— Dakota Mermis
• Winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, which is selected from the 31 team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Person of the Year award, traditionally acknowledging a player for his outstanding contributions to his local community.
IOWA BARNSTORMERS
Record
9-8 Overall Record
6-2 Home Record
New Coaches
— Iowa Barnstormers name Dave Mogensen as Head Coach, who previously served as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL) throughout the 2021 season, winning the NAL championship.
— Iowa Barnstormers have named former Indianapolis Colts safety, Jermaine Hampton, as their Defensive Coordinator.
Awards
— 2022 All-Second Team
• Special Teams: Kicker - Gabriel Rui
Rui hit 20-of 43 field goals on the season (2nd) for a 46.5% success rate.
— 2022 All-Rookie Team
• Running Back – Antonio Wimbush
In his rookie campaign, Wimbush averaged 4.2 yards per carry for a total 629 yards and 19 touchdowns.
• Defensive Back – JR Stevens
Stevens proved to be a star on the Iowa defense. He racked up a total of 13 passes defended (8th) and six interceptions (3rd) during the season.
Playoffs
The Barnstormers enter Round 1 of the 2022 IFL Playoffs with a 9-7 record and as a fourth seed.
IOWA WOLVES
Record
22-23 Overall Record
12-9 Home Record
Season in Review
2021-22 Iowa Wolves players who also played in the NBA in 2021–22:
— Leandro Bolmaro
(Minnesota Timberwolves)
— Nathan Knight
(Minnesota Timberwolves)
— Chris Silva
(Minnesota Timberwolves/Miami Heat)
— McKinley Wright IV
(Minnesota Timberwolves)
As an organization we participated in Girls on the Run 5K at the Capital, Capital City Pride Festival and Parade, and helped with the remodel of the new Grubb YMCA Teen Center.
— Had a season-high 4,821 fans in attendance for our season finale on April 1.
— Hosted three Hoops and Hops events with multiple local breweries.
— Offered a season-long promotion for a hot dog and soda birthday value ticket.
Develops, implements, and manages the sale of key revenue sources throughout the Iowa Events Center including, but not limited to Premium Seating, naming rights, venue advertising, event sponsorships, and other venue rights.
By the Numbers:
— Combined ad sales and premium seating gross sales: $5,890,612 (113% of goal).
• Advertising partnerships – $1,350,903 revenue (103% of goal).
• Record breaking revenues in all four areas of premium seating.
> Suite Revenue – $2,262,628
> Loge Box Revenue – $477,515
> Club Seat Revenue – $1,110,270
> Suite Rental Event Revenue – $602,468
— Six new advertising partners totaling $84,500 in revenue.
— Event sponsorships: $16,000.
— Current lease capacities:
• Suites – 100%
• Loge Boxes – 100%
• Club Seats – 84%
— New Suite Level naming rights agreement with Prairie Meadows.
— Renewed eight key partnerships.
— Signed 17 new partnerships
“Working with the team at Wells Fargo Arena has been such a great experience for us – even throughout COVID. We know that we can always trust them to do their best to meet our marketing goals through our partnership even when faced with some difficult circumstances. The team is easy to work with, responsive to requests and present fun, new ideas for us when we are looking at new marketing options.”
-Jennifer Ellis, UnityPoint DSM
“The crew at the Iowa Events Center has been a trusted partner for over 10 years. The team is consistently finding innovative ways to position our clients in front of their concert goers. In addition to being creative, the team is always hustling. This was no better exemplified then when attending a concert at the arena in January 2022, I saw a member of the executive leadership team delivering food to a suite. In that moment, it wasn’t about title or ego, it was about doing what needs to be done to help the overall organization and serve their clients. And it made me very proud to call them a partner.”
-Jeff Klein, Choice Creative Solutions
There were 18 concerts held in FY-2022.
The Sports category included 36 Iowa Wild games, 21 Iowa Wolves games, 11 Barnstormers games, and 15 High School Sports which included State Wrestling, State Girls Basketball, State Boys Basketball, and AAU Wrestling.
Family shows included 9 Disney On Ice shows, 3 Monster Jam shows, 2 Globetrotters shows (one in July and one in March), 2 WWE shows (one in December and one in May), and 3 Rodeo shows.
We also hosted 10 Special Events which included State Dance & Drill.
The Convention category accounted for 12% of our Event Mix, 27% of our gross revenues and 25% of our net income. Meetings and Special Events also contributed to our overall bottom line.
Clients were asked a series of questions to rate their overall event experience. The results of the survey are based on 40 responses with a combined overall score of 4.8 out of 5.
Some highlights included:
Number of organizations impacted by donations: 30+
Total value of items donated: $20,615.60
Key internal initiatives:
— Blanket Drive: Blankets and a cash donation delivered to Iowa Catholic Charities.
— Valentine’s Day Coloring Kits: Custom coloring pages designed by our team and delivered to local children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald House.
— Pet Supply Drive: Benefitting Aheinz57 to help support their rescued animals.
— Boys & Girls Club Needs Drive: Snacks, hygiene items and more were donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa.
Highlight:
The Iowa Events Center had an opportunity to help grant a wish of a child in our community through Make-A-Wish Iowa. Max was able to help with the tasting for the Make-A-Wish Gala hosted in the Grand Ballroom. He was given his own custom chef’s coat by our Executive Chef Chad Vanderploeg who handed over his kitchen to him for the night. Max got to help prep the food, announce to the table what it was, and never hesitated to give his opinion on what he thought was best! The Iowa Events Center loved having Max join the tasting and enjoyed being a part of the wish granting process.
The Employee Experience Committee consists of members of our staff who strive to enhance our employee experience while working for OVG360 at the Iowa Events Center.
The focus for the group over the past 12 months has been on enhancing our Employee of the Month program, celebrating birthdays, and welcoming new employees to our team.
A variety of employee touchpoints were created via happy hours, company outings, kickball, ticket giveaways, and Wednesday Lunch Club.
An employee merch store was launched this past June and each employee was provided $100 towards their order of polos, jackets, backpacks, or other branded clothing that helps create a sense of pride for our employees in the community. Moving forward each new employee can also utilize $100 towards welcome gifts and the store will reopen quarterly for those looking to enhance their wardrobe.
This year felt as close to normal as we could get after the last couple of years, and this committee did a great job of trying to get opportunities for our staff to mingle and meet each other in a still heavy virtual world.
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee remained instrumental as part of our continued initiative to uphold our company’s mission statement of providing opportunities for our staff to engage with and learn from people of different backgrounds. We explored how to be sensitive to different perspectives and respect values that are meaningful to others.
The committee hosted several virtual and in-person workshops. We hosted Dwight Jackson and Negus Imhotep of Urban Dreams, highlighting Black History Month. We heard from Jennifer Ulie-Wells, Executive Director of Please Pass the Love, to celebrate autism awareness and how to maximize our newly implemented sensory room. Sandy Eimers of Balance Yoga discussed ways to focus on our mental health. State Representative and Founder and CEO of Creative Visions, Ako Abdul-Samad hosted a Diversity Workshop looking at the masks we each wear, how to remove them, and how to engage in more meaningful conversations.
Along with these events, we provided volunteer opportunities for staff to engage with the public and celebrated solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community by lighting up our arena in gratitude of the incredible and diverse patrons and staff who represent the Iowa Events Center family.
This year we resurrected our Safety Committee since the COVID pandemic and have a fresh new team with representation from operations, engineering, events, guest services, parking, sales, and hospitality. Twice a month we have a safety walk and a committee meeting.
During our monthly walks we have been able to inspect emergency egress, door operations, sidewalks, parking lots, ladders, roofs, kitchens, concessions, electrical, offices and gas storage to name a few. We have also been able to make headway with building security during non event days and create stronger operating procedures to protect our facilities and employees. Building walks have been a vital part of our committee efforts and have allowed us to make several corrections and improvements throughout the year.
Our safety meetings have been productive this past year with reviewing past incident reports to find ways to reduce and eliminate hazards within the workplace. We have also reviewed crisis management procedures, discussed cyber security, incident reporting and several other topics throughout the year.
We also discuss and schedule various safety trainings such as active shooter, emergency response such as fire and severe weather, CPR/AED and Bleed Control, fall rescue training for our riggers and DMFD, and fire extinguisher training.
As OVG360 staff at the Iowa Events Center looks ahead towards the next few years, we are confident that the Iowa Events Center will continue to thrive as the premier meeting and event destination in the Midwest. Event levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels, revenues have increased through streamlined processes, and staffing has returned to full.
Over the next 12 months, our communications team will continue to find ways to increase the size of our databases and provide additional value to our databases. Another area of focus will be to enhance customer and partner communication, ensuring we tell our story of the amazing things happening at the Iowa Events Center.
With the closing of the Iowa Hall of Pride, our team will work with Polk County to determine the best use of that space that will enhance our meetings and conventions as we sell our space into the future. We will also continue strengthening our sales teams with Catch Des Moines, the Downtown Hilton, and the local hospitality teams to drive additional regional and national business to Central Iowa.
A continued focus will be on maximizing the community partnerships. Community programs such as our food rescue partners at Eat Greater Des Moines, our sensory inclusive space with Please Pass the Love, our partnership with the Community Love Events Foundation, and more will continue to grow as our internal Charity Committee looks for additional opportunities for us to partner with Central Iowa organizations.
