Venue Operators Research Articles

Low frequency noise study of entertainment venues

Noise impacts from entertainment venues have long been a challenge to communities, local government and venue operators. A study into the decay rate of low frequency music noise from venues was undertaken in the Entertainment Precinct of Northbridge, Western Australia, for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). A drone mounted measurement method was utilised to gain an understanding of venue noise emissions via roof elements, combined with on-ground measurements and software noise modelling. The aerial measurements proved effective at low frequency, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis of the ten venues assessed. While the study revealed several challenges and discoveries, the concept of aerial noise measurement was proven to be useful in this application. The findings will further contribute to the development of guidelines and recommendations for noise management in Northbridge, ensuring a better acoustic environment for residents and visitors while maintaining the viability of the venues in the area.

COVID-19: Return to Youth Sports

COVID-19 has impacted all areas of life, and youth sports is no exception. States and counties are publishing their own unique guidelines for permitting youth sports to return over designated phases, creating a patchwork of guidelines and dates for returning to practice and games. Governing bodies, sports facilities, and event operators are creating modifications and adaptations for participants and spectators to ensure a safe environment. The Sports Innovation Institute at IUPUI, a partnership between Indiana and Purdue universities in Indianapolis, and Grand Park Sports Campus (Westfield, Ind.) collaborated to better understand how COVID-related adaptations are perceived by parents, athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators. The results provide youth sports facilities and event operators with data on how specific adaptions are received by these stakeholders who are looking to return to youth sports in a timely, but safe manner.
 Twelve adaptations were identified from a review of documents prepared by states, governing bodies, trade associations, media reports, and feedback from industry and academic experts. The survey questions were designed using the Kano Model (pronounced “kah-no”), which was selected due to its ability to determine how people feel about proposed adaptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each adaption comprised three questions that assessed the respondents’ feelings toward the adaptation (functional question), their feelings if the adaptation did not exist (dysfunctional), and their assessment of how important it is for the adaptation to occur (importance). The Kano Model is interpreted based upon these three scores, and each adaptation can be placed into one of five categories on a scatterplot.
 The survey was distributed to 40 organizations that circulated the survey to their members. The survey reached a national audience that represents the landscape of youth sports. A total of 10,359 people from 45 states completed the entire survey, representing at least 13 different sports. Nearly 92% of respondents were parents, but with the option to select multiple roles, coaches (25%), administrators (10%), athletes (9%), and officials (3%) were also represented. 
 Results indicated that venues and events should invest heavily and visibly in sanitization of the facility, playing areas, and equipment before, during, and after events. Venue operators and event managers can feel confident the recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to sanitize playing areas and equipment after each use will be well-received and welcomed by users. Promotion and monitoring of social-distancing guidelines, limiting personal contact between players, limiting admission to those under age 65 with no CDC-indicated pre-existing conditions, and completing a health and contact-information questionnaire prior to entering are seen by users as must-be adaptations in order for players and spectators to feel comfortable returning to youth sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means their presence does not bring satisfaction, but their lack of presence brings significant dissatisfaction. Respondents felt indifferent toward changing arrival and departure routines, closing amenities, and minimizing the capacity and rearranging bench areas for athletes. The presence or absence of these adaptations do not make a real difference in users’ experiences. User sentiment regarding facemasks was mixed, with strong feelings about the use and non-use of facemasks. Finally, limiting entry to athletes and game personnel but excluding spectators was not well-received by survey respondents, especially parents. Youth sports venues and events should tread lightly when considering not allowing spectators into venues, and expect negative backlash from parents should such policies be adopted.
 Parents of recreational athletes viewed the adaptations in a more positive light and as a more necessary part of the youth sports experience than parents of travel athletes. A similar trend was found when comparing parents who are less willing to travel during the pandemic than those who do not expect their travel to be impacted. Travel sports parents demonstrated an increasing comfort level in traveling for competitions over the summer months, from 42% in May to 76% in August. The economic turmoil wrought by COVID-19 has touched nearly every component of American life. However, 59% of travel sports parents reported that the pandemic will not negatively impact their sports travel budget. Only 23% will experience a budget decrease greater than 25% related to youth sports travel.

Time to Listen: Most Regular Patrons of Music Venues Prefer Lower Volumes.

High sound levels are a feature of nightclubs and live music venues, and therefore pose a risk to patrons’ hearing. As a result, these venues are often a focus area for hearing health promotion, and particular emphasis is placed on motivating patrons to take steps to reduce their noise exposure. In the current study, we approached this issue from a different angle. We asked whether sound levels in music venues accurately reflect the preferences of regular patrons, and examined their attitudes and preferences toward sound levels and protective listening behaviors. The study examined results from 993 regular patrons of nightclubs and live music venues, collected as part of an Australian online hearing health survey. Participants were asked about their participation at the two target venues, experiences of hearing difficulties, and risk perceptions. They were also asked about their preferences in relation to typical venue sound levels and beliefs about other attendees’ preferences. Results showed that while participants generally rated their hearing as good, the majority had experienced hearing difficulties following sound exposure at music venues. The majority of regular patrons were dissatisfied with current sound levels, with around three-quarters of participants reporting preferences below the levels typically experienced at music venues. Participants were generally aware of the risk posed by high sound levels and those who regarded themselves to be at greater risk from attending music venues were more likely to prefer lower sound levels. These findings have important consequences for the development of hearing health initiatives within entertainment venues. Rather than motivating patrons to change their behavior, encouraging venues to meet their patrons’ needs and preferences may be a more successful strategy. Venue operators may find that this approach has a positive impact not only on the hearing health of patrons, but also on the economic health of their venue. Ultimately, reducing the hearing risk in music venues may best be achieved not by telling people what to do, but by listening to what they actually want.

Access, Place and Australian Live Music

The role of place in cultivating artistic practice, communities and audiences is well established and the economic, social and cultural benefits that flow from this are becoming better understood. By contrast, the factors impacting and influencing access to these places is poorly theorised. This paper identifies and examines these factors as they apply to live music in Australia, through a qualitative survey of live music patrons and venues. We compare the themes identified from our data with existing theories of access in the arts, with a particular focus on the ways in which place-based music scenes may encourage or exclude participation. We address the question of how access affects participation within these scenes, as well as how access might be improved.

Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, 2013

Multiple venues encourage or permit the public to come in contact with animals, resulting in millions of human-animal contacts each year. These settings include county or state fairs, petting zoos, animal swap meets, pet stores, zoologic institutions, circuses, carnivals, farm tours, livestock-birthing exhibits, educational exhibits at schools, and wildlife photo opportunities. Although multiple benefits of human-animal contact exist, infectious diseases, rabies exposures, injuries, and other human health problems associated with these settings are of concern. Rabid or potentially rabid animals in public settings can result in extensive public health investigation and action. Infectious disease outbreaks reported during the previous decade have been attributed to multiple organisms, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Coxiella burnetti, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and ringworm. Such incidents have substantial medical, public health, legal, and economic effects. This report provides standardized recommendations for public health officials, veterinarians, animal venue operators, animal exhibitors, visitors to animal venues and exhibits, and others concerned with disease-control and with minimizing risks associated with animals in public settings. The recommendation to wash hands is the single most important prevention step for reducing the risk for disease transmission. Other critical recommendations are that venues include transition areas between animal areas and nonanimal areas (where food is sold) and that animals are properly cared for and managed in public settings. In addition, this report recommends educating venue operators, staff, exhibitors, and visitors regarding the risk for disease transmission where animal contact is possible.

How should we plan and regulate live music in Australian cities? Learnings from Brisbane

Live music has been subject to particular economic and regulatory threats in recent decades. Comparative research of regimes for the planning and management of live music venues was conducted in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne over the period 2008–2010. Methods included archival and legislative reviews, field visits and interviews with key authorities, venue operators, live music campaigners and other actors. This paper gives particular attention to Brisbane's place-based approach, which replaced previous noise, planning and liquor laws to create legislated ‘Entertainment Precincts’. Operators are granted certainty for investment, with increased protection from incompatible development and noise complaints, if they are located in the designated area. In Fortitude Valley, the night-time economy has prospered, preserving and supporting a number of live music venues and giving increased protection to a set of nightclub operators. This functional separation and concentration in Brisbane differs significantly to Melbourne, with its more liberal approach and diffused venues. Brisbane is effectively placing the problems in one key site, leaving the rest of the city with few live music or night-time entertainment options. The paper explores these outcomes and provides options for cities seeking to preserve live music and create accessibility to the night-time economy, but retain amenity for residents.

Indoor outdoor acoustics: Active acoustics at the New World Center, Miami Beach Soundscape

The Frank Gehry designed New World Center is home to the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL. This facility includes an intimate 756 seat concert hall and is used as a training platform both for symphonic conductors and musicians. The adjacent park uses an active acoustics system to allow a similar number of people in the park to simultaneously experience the indoor concert experience in an open air environment. The immersive sound of the reproduced concert experience is accompanied by a 7000-square-foot projection wall that carries live video of the performance. The system captures the natural acoustic of the concert hall using microphones distributed throughout, and these signals are processed and then transmitted to the park utilizing a set of 160 distributed loudspeakers. The successful design, commissioning, and tuning of the system relied on a team approach between the architect, consultants, manufacturer, installer, and venue operators. Scope within the team is explored, challenges revealed, and suggestions offered to help ensure the success of new multi disciplinary ventures such as this. Similarities and differences to a surround sound broadcast transmission of the Los Angeles Philharmonic are also reviewed.

What you call it does matter: A vocabulary for active acoustics

Active acoustics (Electronic Architecture) systems have reached a maturity in terms of their acoustic performance which makes them a viable option for multi-use venues as well as renovations of existing facilities. However, the awareness on the part of owners and facilities regarding the capabilities and potential acoustic benefits of such systems is still developing. More significantly, the corresponding level of awareness for designers and architects, which active acoustics can actually represent options for how architectural, structural, and building service designs may proceed, is even less developed. At this intersection of past techniques versus current abilities, we are in need of a common vocabulary for active acoustics; a common vocabulary to interact with the design team, a common vocabulary to assist venue operators and owners understand the benefits, and a common vocabulary to interact with the musicians and artists in tuning and configuration. The presentation references some recent projects ...

2006 International Music Festival

Throughout the 3-week run of the 2006 International Music Festival held in Boca Raton, Florida, the 4000 seat Mizner Park Amphitheatre was fitted with an active acoustic system. We will present a case study that explores many of the elements of the project including the initial audio system selection, installation, rehearsals, and performances. Since this was an unusual project both in its exterior application and large scale, we will present the design features that had significant implications for the musicians, concert presenters, stage hands, and audience. At the request of the venue operators, a new design has been developed to install a permanent active acoustic system for the amphitheater. This design will also be presented.

Table Talk: Improving Dining Room Acoustics for Older Adults with Hearing Loss

Table Talk: Improving Dining Room Acoustics for Older Adults with Hearing Loss

Risk behaviors for disease transmission among petting zoo attendees

To evaluate risk behaviors for transmission of zoonotic diseases at petting zoos during a period without a recognized disease outbreak. Observational survey with environmental microbiologic sampling. 6 petting zoos in Tennessee. Attendees were observed for animal and environmental contact, eating or drinking, hand-to-face contact, and use of a hand sanitizer. Hands were examined via bacteriologic culture on some attendees. Environmental samples were collected at three petting zoos. 991 attendees were observed; of these, 74% had direct contact with animals, 87% had contact with potentially contaminated surfaces in animal contact areas, 49% had hand-to-face contact, and 22% ate or drank in animal contact areas. Thirty-eight percent used hand sanitizer; children had better compliance than adults. Results of bacteriologic cultures of hands were negative for Salmonella spp and Escherichia coli O157; Salmonella spp were isolated from 63% and E coli O157 from 6% of the environmental samples. High risk behaviors were common among petting zoo visitors, and disease prevention guidelines were inconsistently followed. This is an example of the importance of one-medicine, one-health initiatives in protecting the public health. Veterinarians, venue operators, and public health authorities must work together on targeted education to improve implementation of existing disease prevention guidelines.

Outbreaks of Enteric Infections Caused by Multiple Pathogens Associated With Calves at a Farm Day Camp

Transmission of enteric pathogens at venues where the public contacts farm animals is a growing problem, particularly among children. In 2000 and again in 2001, enteric illness outbreaks caused by multiple pathogens occurred at a farm day camp for children in Minnesota. Camp attendees were interviewed about illness history and potential exposures each year. Stool samples from children and calves at the camp were tested for enteric pathogens. Eighty-four illnesses were documented among camp attendees in the 2 outbreaks; laboratory-confirmed infections included Cryptosporidium parvum (17 cases), Escherichia coli O157:H7 (4), non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) (7) and Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium and Campylobacter jejuni (1 each). Kindergarten-fourth grade children provided 1-on-1 care for a bottle-fed calf. Sixty of 83 calves tested carried at least 1 pathogen, including Giardia spp. (26 calves), C. parvum (25), non-O157 STEC (17), Campylobacter spp. (11), 3 serotypes of Salmonella enterica (10) and E. coli O157:H7 (2). Risk factors among children included caring for an ill calf and getting visible manure on their hands. Always washing hands with soap after touching a calf and washing hands before going home were protective. Prevention measures implemented in 2000 failed to prevent the second outbreak. Calves were the reservoir of multiple enteric pathogens for children at a farm day camp. Health care providers should consider numerous zoonotic pathogens in patients presenting with gastroenteritis after contact with cattle. Public health officials should help venue operators prospectively implement published guidelines to prevent zoonotic disease transmission.

Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of squash venue operators relating to use of protective eyewear

Sports venues are in a position to potentially influence the safety practices of their patrons. This study examined the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of venue operators that could influence the use of protective eyewear by squash players. A 50% random sample of all private and public squash venues affiliated with the Victorian Squash Federation in metropolitan Melbourne was selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 squash venue operators during August 2001. Interviews were transcribed and content and thematic analyses were performed. The content of the interviews covered five topics: (1) overall injury risk perception, (2) eye injury occurrence, (3) knowledge, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs associated with protective eyewear, (4) compulsory protective eyewear and (5) availability of protective eyewear at venues. Venue operators were mainly concerned with the severe nature of eye injuries, rather than the relatively low incidence of these injuries. Some venue operators believed that players should wear any eyewear, rather than none at all, and believed that more players should use protective eyewear. Generally, they did not believe that players with higher levels of experience and expertise needed to wear protective eyewear when playing. Only six venues had at least one type of eyewear available for players to hire or borrow or to purchase. Operators expressed a desire to be informed about correct protective eyewear. Appropriate protective eyewear is not readily available at squash venues. Better-informed venue operators may be more likely to provide suitable protective eyewear.

Protective eyewear promotion: applying principles of behaviour change in the design of a squash injury prevention programme.

Eye injuries in squash have the potential to be severe. Although these injuries can be prevented through the use of protective eyewear, few players wear such eyewear. The aim of this paper is to outline the behavioural principles guiding the design of a squash eyewear promotion initiative, the Protective Eyewear Promotion (PEP). Ecological principles of behaviour change were used to provide a comprehensive perspective on intrapersonal factors, policies and physical environmental influences of protective eyewear use. Results of baseline player surveys and venue manager interviews were used to provide relevant and specific intervention content. At baseline, protective eyewear was not found to be readily available, and players' behaviours, knowledge and attitudes did not favour its use. The main components of PEP involved informing and educating both players and squash venue operators of the risk of eye injury and of appropriate protective eyewear, as well as assisting with the availability of the eyewear and offering incentives for players to use it. A structural strength of PEP was the strong collaborative links with the researchers of different disciplines, the squash governing body, eyewear manufacturers, squash venue personnel, as well as players. Attempts were made within the project structure to make provision for the future dissemination and sustainability of more widespread eye injury prevention measures in the sport of squash.

Using biometrics for sport venue management in a post 9‐11 era

The purpose of this paper is to assess technologies, both currently available and under development, which may be used to assist sport facility and other venue operators in preempting a terrorist act or some other form of organized act of violence. The attack on the World Trade Center on September 11 highlighted the vulnerability of large facilities to attack by committed terrorists. Facility managers and venue operators must face the challenge of protecting physical assets as well as participants and spectators. This technology forecast focuses on technologies associated with biometrics. The proposition presented has been based, in part, on information provided from interviews with industry experts from a variety of professions, including facility management, biometric technologies, event security and anti‐terrorism from both the private and government sectors. A review of published and unpublished materials associated with biometrics is also presented as part of the technology forecast.

Arts Policy and a Scottish Parliament

As I write this article, the 1996 Edinburgh Festival has begun. The capital is packed with performers, critics, journalists and plain honest gawpers. Church halls, school gyms and masonic lodges have been pressed into service as venues, and tourists crowd Edinburgh's re-organised city centre. Stamina depending, those visitors could sit for thousands of hours in front of an everchanging spectacle of theatre, comedy, music and dance. Behind the scenes a smaller number of people have worked as promoters, stage managers, venue operators and box office staff. Behind Ihcm are the policy makers, the Directors of the International Festival, Fringe and Film Festival. The audiences aren't concerned with the policies which have helped create the shows they watch, and the administrators won't have lime to see all the shows that their efforts have helped bring to fruition.