Oak View Group Venues To Take Necessary Steps To Ensure Safety In COVID Era

Tim Leiweke: OVG Boss Keeping Venues Safe

OAK VIEW GROUP is taking additional steps to ensure its buildings, including CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA in SEATTLE, WA, and UBS ARENA in BELMONT PARK, NY, both of which are scheduled to open in the fall of 2021, will be engineered to include the latest state-of-the-art COVID preventive safeguards, technologies, and protocols. As a commitment to ensuring its buildings are the safest venues in the world for artists, teams, employees, and fans, OVG is now requiring vaccinations of all employees, sub-contractors and vendors that will work in any OVG facility.  

Said OAK VIEW GROUP CEO TIM LEIWEKE, “When COVID-19 shuttered the live entertainment industry last year, OVG didn’t sit still. Instead, we started taking steps to understand the impact of the virus on our industry. As we all continue to navigate the variants and changes in health safety procedures, so too will OVG in taking the necessary steps to ensure we are building and operating the safest venues in the world. Artists, fans – everyone, can take comfort in knowing that when they step foot into an OVG venue, they will have a safe and comfortable entertainment experience.”

Tapping into the expertise of engineering consultant ED BOSCTO, PE, NEW YORK-based Managing Principal at ME ENGINEERS, OVG is reviewing venue ventilation performance to identify total air changes, outdoor air changes, outdoor air per occupant, as well as reducing the simultaneous occupancy of back of house spaces to increase the effective ventilation rate per occupant. Additionally, through its arena cleaning partners, OVG is employing the latest sanitization solutions, including the use of long-term protectants and sanitizers to minimize pathogens on all surfaces. OVG and its vendor partners also encourage the use of mobile or cashless transactions for ticketing, food & beverage, merchandise, and restrooms. OVG will continue to identify effective solutions for consideration while monitoring the guidance from the CDC, the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATING and AIR CONDITIONING ENGINEERS, and other health authorities.

In JUNE 2020, OVG created a TASKFORCE FOR THE SAFE REOPENING OF VENUES, consisting of industry experts who researched and tested over 200 products, services and technologies slated to combat the virus and help venues safely reopen for events. This group has worked with the network of OVG venues to cross-collaborate, discuss information, and provide actionable testing and feedback. In doing so, the company continues to take steps to ensure they are opening the world’s safest venues for artists, teams, and fans alike as they return to events in this new era of live entertainment.

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