Speaking Stadia - Article 2
by Alan Patching
One of the great risks for stadium projects in particular is what happens to finishes and services during the construction period. The same problem exists for hotel developments. Excellent operational input is just so vital at the appropriate time during design.
Notwithstanding this, typical projects seem to go like this. Concept; key consultants appointed, catering consultant appointed as it is too early for catering operator to be on board, project proceeds – probably on some form of design and construct basis, early negotiations with catering contractor now under way and these are showing disagreement with catering consultants ideas (the two chefs who agree on the perfect kitchen layout have yet to be born) builder screams for detailed positions for services penetrations for concessions restaurants and bars, and eventually the brown stuff hits the rotating breeze maker!
There just has to be a better way. It really gets down to one key decision - internal or external operational management .
Make this decision too late and you could end up with design and construction problems. Even greater disaster can result from making it too early without an adequate consideration of the consequences. Which is the better approach? It depends on many factors. However, reports at the time of writing indicate there appears to be a trend in favour of the internal management model for large stadia.
(Note after initial article publication: In Australia, both Telstra Stadium in Sydney and Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane are housing world watched events and winning great praise for their external operations teams, both from Ogden International Facilities Corporation). To avoid several submissions from external operators around the globe, a future column will be dedicated to the pros and cons of the alternative approaches.
So much of the look and feel of the finished venue will depend on operational input. Confusion within such input generally comes from the following types of factors:
- An internal management team which has been internal for some time might not be as much across global trends and industry developments as an external seeking competitive market place edge. For example, recent problems with stadium patrons throwing plastic beverage bottles should prompt any intelligent owner to rethink policy on this issue regardless of the pressures that caterers and product suppliers will invariably put regarding the benefit of PET. Owners rely on operators for full information, and not just published reports, on such issues
- It is not unknown for both internal and external operators to front end staff engagements and blow pre-opening budgets out of the water. However, I believe most owners would agree that externals are the worst offenders in this arena.
- Externals might be able to bring capital to a venue. Great idea from the project finance perspective, but this approach effectively sets up an immediate conflict of interest for the operator in giving design advice. What investor is going to give advice which might not benefit their own investment even if it was in the interests of the other (possibly even the great majority) investors. (We will discuss how owners might protect their interests in operational deals in a future column)
Some advise engaging an experienced previous owner or owner's representative to provide the answers until the operator is appointed. This is fine at concept stage, but not during detailed design.
I recommend hiring a top operator in a consultancy capacity to assist with early hiring arrangements, caterer negotiations and design input. The appointee then hires staff when needed by the project on the basis that such staff might eventually be employed by either the owner or an external operator. 6 to 10 key appointments might need to be made on this basis, but possibly not the general manager. With this approach, the decision on the long term operating model could be postponed to 12-13 months out from venue opening. Let's face it, the owner is paying the bills regardless of who hands out the cheques.
The real secret of success lies not in how operational people are appointed but rather in how their experience and knowledge input is controlled. Successful major projects have only one owner's representative in ultimate project control.
This is and always has been the foundation principle of successful project management, and virtually all project management problems follow from ignoring the principle or following it but appointing the wrong person to the key role. Make sure your representative has considerable experience in both design and construction and in venue operations (preferably as an owner or owner's rep). All operational reports should be directed through his person until project completion, and that includes early events reports. Put another way, the project which has a close professional relationship between the operational rep and the project director or owner's rep with no doubt at all about who has ultimate say, has the greatest chance to be a winner!
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