Over the short span of two months, the Times Union Center’s arena floor has and will transform into a basketball court, hockey rink, monster truck rally, home show, concert hall for country music stars, and a rave.
I spoke with the Times Union Center’s marketing manager Chadd Ryan to get the scoop on what it takes to fabricate the arena’s diverse transformations. Imagine cleaning up the dirt from a monster truck rally to get set for an Albany Devils hockey game in three days. I have enough trouble keeping my room in good shape.
What does it take to put together the large productions that take place at the Times Union Center? What does the TU Center’s crew get involved with?
These productions take a lot of planning and a large crew. The Times Union Center crew is involved with almost all show aspects from start to finish.
(Check out a time lapse of back to back Times Union events at the following link: http://vimeo.com/9046645)
What was the most involved production to come through the Times Union Center that you have worked on?
How To Train Your Dragon, Walking with Dinosaurs, Cirque MJ Immortal, Tony Hawks Boom Boom Huck Jam, Rolling Stones, Billy/Elton Face 2 Face – all on the same level. One of the challenges we overcome throughout the year is getting ready for afternoon events, when there is a show the night before that ends late in the evening. To make sure we are ready to open our doors to the public that following day, we have change over crews that come in to work overnight and set up for the next event.
What made you want to get into the field of performing arts?
Live entertainment is a fun and ever-changing field. When you think of what you see now in arenas, 15 years ago you never would have imagined seeing it. Promoters are always pushing the envelope when it comes to live entertainment, which makes for an exciting field to work in.
Photo Credit: © Tim Rabb – Northern Photo
On May 14, 2013, the staff at the Times Union Center will be helping the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District create an abstract version of Downtown on the floor of the arena, highlighting all that downtown Albany has to offer with Downtown businesses setting up tables and presenting their services. The event will follow our Annual Meeting and tickets will be available to the public. Pencil this fun and successful event in your calendars and stay tuned for more details.
See you Downtown.
– AR
