BOK CENTER NOMINATED FOR ARENA OF THE YEAR FOR 8TH TIME IN 11 YEARS
(Tulsa, Okla.) November 18, 2019 – Oklahoma’s BOK Center has been nominated for Arena of the Year by Pollstar Magazine for the 8th time in building history and Casey Sparks, general manager, has been nominated for Venue Executive of the Year.
BOK Center joins a notable group of nominees for Arena of the Year including Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY), Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN), The Forum (Inglewood, CA), Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) and Staples Center (Los Angeles, CA). This award recognizes the arena that showcased superior programming, effective promotion and marketing, quality production values and staff, an exemplary experience for fans and artists and consistent box office success.
“Our incredible partnerships and friendships we have developed over the years with artists, agents, managers and promoters are the heart of our success,” said Sparks. “Additionally, this recognition would not happen without the incredible support of the best fans in the industry, our BOK Center staff, front of house staff, back of house staff and everyone in between.”
General Manager, Casey Sparks, was nominated for “Venue Executive of the Year,” an award that recognizes the top venue executive who exhibited integrity, operational competence, marketing savvy, can-do attitude, flexibility, calm under stress and business acumen. Sparks helped open BOK Center in 2008 as director of marketing and she most recently served as assistant general manger for BOK Center for five years and was promoted to general manger in 2019.
“The nominees for the 31st annual Pollstar Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in live entertainment this year and reflect our ongoing efforts to present the most relevant recognition for the highest achieving artists and professionals that make up this great business,” said Ray Waddell, president of OVG Media & Conferences, which produces the event. “For more than 30 years, the Pollstar Awards have been the gold standard for recognizing success in the live business, and we are honored and privileged to again salute the elite artists, venues, and executives that make live the ultimate barometer of fan passion.”
Pollstar is an industry trade publication covering the worldwide concert industry. Each year the publication hosts the Concert Industry Awards. The 2019 Pollstar Award nominees were selected by a panel of more than 2,500 agents, managers, promoters, venue operators and professionals who work in the live entertainment industry. With the largest, most diverse nomination committee in the history of the awards, Pollstar announced several changes to the program recently, both in terms of award categories and in the methodology calculating winners. These changes are geared to increase relevancy, recognize the evolution of the industry, and acknowledge the standard bearers from the preceding touring year.
Winners are determined by votes from international readership and will be announced on February 6, 2020 at the 31st Annual Pollstar Live! Awards Ceremony in Downtown Los Angeles.