Business View Magazine | March 2018

62 H-E-B CENTER AT CEDAR PARK Stars of theNational HockeyLeague,the parent owner of theTexas Stars.Today,the Center is run bySMG,the worldwide venuemanagement group that specializes inmanaging publicly-owned facilities. “Up until October,2016,theTexas Stars ran the fa- cility froman operational standpoint and theyalso ran the hockey team,”says General Manager,JimSalamen- ta.”Then,the Dallas Stars decided to put the building operations side up for bid and SMGwon.So,theTexas Stars nowconcentrate just on hockey,and SMG is here tomaintain and run the facilityand bookall other events.” Booking events is a key itemon Salamenta’s agenda, and in a verycompetitiveAustin areamarket,he real- izes that the Center’s relationshipwith SMG is helpful. “I am in constant contact with SMG Entertainment in regards to booking the facility,”he says.“Theyprovide enormous support to us,but,at the same time,I’m responsible for getting the place booked.The big thing is to drive business.” Salamenta has been surveying the event landscape and believes that,going forward,the Center is well positioned to dramatically increase the number of its concert events,year over year,even though its com- petition is nearbyAustin,some 20miles to the south, which is well-known for its expansivemusicscene and its large number of establishedvenues. “Whenwe first tookover,it was,‘Howdowe get peo- ple fromdowntown up to Cedar Park?’”he recounts. “Now,I don’t knowif that’s necessary.Of course,we always want asmanypeople as we can get to come see our shows,but themarket inNorthAustin is grow- ing like crazy.And there’s growth everywhere in Cedar Park.It’s amarket that’s hungryfor entertainment,that