Super Bowl Insider: ESPN’s Bash Satisfies Sports and Party Junkies Alike
“The greatest thing is looking at an event and knowing where it started,” said Warren Tash, account executive for AV Concepts as he looked out at the stage tent at ESPN The Magazine’s Next pre-Super Bowl party. The space had come a long way from the open, park-like landscape of a few days prior.
A/v firm AV Concepts and event company Event Eleven combined forces to create a technological masterpiece to satisfy both the sports junkie and the party junkie.
Set on the grassy lawns of the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts in Scottsdale, Ariz., the stage tent was built on top of the Center’s fountains. Event Eleven then created holes in the tent floor that let the water shoot up into the party area into clear tubes decorated with chains.
Mirroring the jets of water coming from below were giant chandeliers made of ropes of chains that dropped from the ceiling down to the floor.
Partygoers with their fill of drinks from sponsor Corona could mosh to DJ music and later, live performances by Ludacris and Cierra. If guests weren’t feeling the jive, they could relax on one of the many couches throughout the space and watch ESPN live in high-definition on one of over a dozen 42-inch to 67-inch plasma screen TVs.
For those seeking a more intimate atmosphere, cabanas were perched on the grassy knolls overlooking the tent tucked at the bottom of the slope, giving attendees a clear view of the performers onstage.
Anyone who wants to be trusted with big events like those associated with the Super Bowl should get connected, according to Tash.
“It’s all about networking,” he said — that’s how AV Concepts won the ESPN business. Once the job’s secured, it’s up to you to deliver, however.
“You have to be ready to roll with the punches at the last minute,” he said. “Anything can change.”