VenuesNow Conference Panel: Make Your Building a Must-Play

VenuesNow Conference Panel Preview: Make Your Building A Must-Play Wednesday, Sept. 30 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM | Grand Ballroom A & B at the Sheraton Grand Seattle

Touring is busier than ever, with ever more acts proving to be viable and reliable moneymakers and crowd-drawers.

And there are more viable and reliable markets and venues than ever before, too. It’s a good problem to have but there’s one wrinkle: there’s still the same number of days in the year.

Every venue wants to score a stop on the big tour and every venue may well believe it can blow out a stop. And every venue may be right, but the tough calls still have to be made. For venues outside of the usual routes or with tricky geography, just getting into the conversation isn’t easy.

The decision on where to play is threefold: which markets, what day and where exactly. Those decisions fall to responsible and territorial agents and, in the case of the major national and global tours that make up the bulk of arena and stadium level touring, to promoters.

Before a venue can sell tickets to fans, it has to sell itself to artists and their teams.

Veteran agent Mike Hayes of UTA, whose roster includes The Go-Go’s, Belinda Carlisle, Matt Maltese, L7, KennyHoopla, Soft Play, Take That, The Army, The Navy, VILLANELLE, Manic Street Preachers, and iDKHOW, will discuss that decision-making process and what helps a building find its place in the route book, what marketing and promotion strategies keep a venue top of mind, and what extras buildings can add to the equation. Some may say it’s a sellers’ market, with increasing high-quality venues in markets across the country meaning more options for artists – all the more important for venues and their bookers to stand out and stay in the conversation for coveted dates by big draws.

Also joining from the agency side is Sara Dean, SVP at THE·TEAM. Dean represents a roster across pop, alternative, R&B and rock including Aloe Blacc, Bruno Major, Joji, Lauren Sanderson, Madeline The Person, Maude Latour, Medium Build, Mollie Elizabeth, Neoni, Rio Romeo, Sarah Kinsley, The Temper Trap and Yellowcard.

From the venue side, talent buyers from each level — Psyko Steve Presents’ Stephen Chilton from clubs and theaters; The Orion Huntsville’s Brittany Johnston for the sheds; Columbus’ Nationwide Arena’s Aaron Thomas for the arenas; and Sean Saadeh from HBSE, whose portfolio includes Landover, Maryland’s Northwest Stadium (in addition to Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center and the newly announced arena in South Philadelphia), for the stadiums — will offer best practices that keep their venues busy and front-of-mind.

VenuesNow Conference takes place Sept. 29-30 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle. Produced by Pollstar and presented by Marsh and Oracle, VNC brings together live entertainment, sports, and venue executives to address the industry’s most critical operational, financial, and strategic dynamics.

VNC 2026 follows the inaugural Secure Venues Summit on Sept. 28 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, which is being launched by Oak View Group & Prevent Advisors. The event is programmed specifically for safety, risk management, and venue operations leaders, and will feature a Keynote address on the “State of Security in America: Trends, Evolution, and Adversaries in Preparation for the 2028 Olympics in LA” by Voviette D. Morgan (SVP, Safety & Security, LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games) .

To register for the VenuesNow Conference 2026 or the Secure Venues Summit, visit venuesnowconference.com and securevenuessummit.com .

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/09/22/vnc-panel-preview-make-your-building-a-must-play/)._