Bridgestone Arena Case Study

DESIGN CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION FROM DAY ONE

Hussey Seating provided a superior experience that began with solution development long before a contract was even signed

OBSTACLES & OPPORTUNITIES
The all-purpose venue had been serving patrons since 1996. In addition to the Nashville Predators, Bridgestone Arena has been host to the U.S. Figure Skating Association national championships, numerous major basketball events, concerts, and the Country Music Association Awards; so both versatility and aesthetics were important. When they decided to upgrade, they contacted five different seating companies to request facility renovation concepts. They hoped that proposals would address all three of their primary concerns. While many of those proposals may have accomplished their baseline goals, Hussey Seating came to the table with three different options that pushed the envelope above and beyond their original expectations. This included adding a seating area to the exclusive Lexus Lounge on the event level to rectify the venue’s most pressing challenge, sightlines. The lounge was particularly appealing given it would not only boost attendee satisfaction but also the facility’s long-term revenue potential. It was this kind of creativity right from the start along with the company’s attention to detail and customer focus that made Hussey Seating Company, their clear choice.

SOLUTIONS
As soon as Hussey Seating was on-board, they began collaborating with the venue’s operations team in a series of highly productive meetings. This collaboration continued throughout the installation process, with Hussey introducing ideas that they could incorporate to work to the venue’s advantage.

With extensive experience and success working on similar projects, Hussey Seating understood how to effectively schedule repair and renovations around the busy arena’s event schedule. More than that though, Hussey was prepared to seamlessly accommodate new opportunities for revenue-generating events during the installation. In fact, Bridgestone was able to add several new events during the renovation thanks to Hussey’s ability to adjust on the fly and work around the ever-changing logistics.
“Anytime we went to Hussey [with an] opportunity to book this event,’ … [even] in the middle of one of the main, or one of our biggest, transition periods,” explained Tim Friedenberger, VP of Facility Operations, “Hussey jumped through hoops for us to make that happen – altering schedules, altering shipments, altering whatever needed to be altered in order to make that happen.”

Even with their stringent time restraints, Hussey’s installation crew worked through every challenge and made certain the final result was perfect – meeting the fan’s and the venue’s expectations. Not only were crew members knowledgeable but they passed along that expertise to venue staff as the job transitioned from installation into day-to-day operations. Hussey Seating did not leave the building until all staff fully understood how to operate their new equipment.

THE PAYOFF
The new telescopic platforms at Bridgestone Arena, in combination with the new Lexus Lounge, have provided fans with impeccable sightlines while dramatically reducing the time involved in event changeover. Hussey Seating came in with their wealth of industry experience along with a clear desire to build a strong, collaborative relationship, ultimately ensuring the facility achieved its three main objectives and more. “At the beginning of the process, I thought all seating companies were the same,” explained Tim Friedenberger. “After going through the process with Hussey, with everything they brought to the table … [I learned that] there is a difference in seating companies, and Hussey certainly is on top in my view. If I had colleagues calling me in regard to Hussey’s MXP system as well as their seating overall, [I would] highly recommend them.”

Bridgestone Arena can now host more events, as well as more types of events. This additional event capacity adds up to huge revenue gains for many years to come. Staffing needs have also been reduced, with 360 transformations now possible by simply retracting seating to open-up floor space in half the time. For the first time ever, Bridgestone Arena was easily able to host a basketball game during the day and a hockey game that same evening.