Ep. 154: From Lady Gaga to MN Wild Hockey: Behind the Scenes of Grand Casino Arena

[00:00:00] Mall of America, it's home to world class shopping, great dining and amazing attractions and events. And these are our stories presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism. Hi Mall of America fans. Welcome to this episode of So Much More. We are talking all things entertainment and I am your host today, Jill Renslow joined by my cohost Dan Jasper. Welcome Mr. Jasper. Thanks Jill. Good to be here. Good to be here. And we are so excited for our guest because it is Miss Kelly McGrath. She is the vice president and general manager of Grand Casino Arena.

[00:00:30] And we are going to talk about the massive summer lineup they've got planned in St. Paul, along with all the fun things that have recently happened and understanding what happens behind the scenes of this massive entertainment venue. So, Kelly, welcome to So Much More. And let's hear about your background. How did you get started in the world that you live in today? Well, thank you. First of all, excited to be here. I love the Mall of America. Born and raised Minnesotan, you can hear it in my voice. Yes. Especially nasally this time of year with allergies and all that good stuff.

[00:01:00] Yeah, I've been with the organization with the Minnesota Wild and Grand Casino Arena since 2000, which is the year that we opened. And so I've had a variety of different roles there. I started as a group sales manager. I had done that previously at the Ordway Music Theater and got a call from my former boss that said, hey, they're looking at a, they need a group salesperson to run the new department at this hockey team that's going to start up.

[00:01:26] And I wasn't necessarily looking for a gig, but I'm always willing to have a cup of coffee with somebody for an opportunity. And that led to opening the building and starting the first group sales team back in 2000. And then just different roles from there. As you know, Jill, because we've partnered on many things. Organizationally, we started doing more national events like Frozen Fours and the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, U.S. Figure Skatings.

[00:01:51] And as we got into those, my role kind of morphed into being kind of that linchpin role that brought together ticketing and marketing and corporate partnerships that was kind of outside of our norm. And there I picked up marketing, picked up communications. And then three years ago, I was promoted into the general manager role for the arena. Which I love your leadership because not only do you love to just roll up your sleeves and get in there with the team, but you have a lot of fun.

[00:02:17] You really exude fun with your team and they really appreciate you as a leader. And we love having you in this community as a leader. So I'm curious of what was that moment? Because you've been with the organization and in St. Paul for a long time. What was it that made you feel like this is it? This is what I've hit my mark with my career. I love this. Do you remember a time where you kind of had that feeling? I've had a lot of great moments like that. It's fun, this industry to be a part of. You get to be at things that people are just bucket list items.

[00:02:47] I think of some of the things I've done in my career and it's like, holy cow, look where I am right now. Or look who I just met. And that keeps you grounded a little bit of I don't push widgets for sale every day and it makes a difference. Just some different wow moments. You know, one was recently the World Juniors when you see it that a big event that we took on as a whole city, multi-city wide and seeing it all come together and actually happening when you go through the planning. Those are my favorite.

[00:03:16] When I think of my favorite career moments, it's those big events that we have done when we've had a Frozen Four and you're doing two years of planning and then they finally drop the puck. You know, that's our joke at the arena. We get to that point. And it's like, just drop the puck. Just let's get rolling because then it's hockey and we do hockey really well. It's just all those little details that make it all worthwhile. But those have been some great career defining things to be a part of. National championships where you're seeing, you know, Olympians crowned.

[00:03:45] And then I'm always amazed. I just met someone again the other night who, you know, they've never been to the arena before. And it's like, we've been open for 25 years. What was it going to take for you to come? This is it. And, you know, and it'll be something, you know, not Lady Gaga. It'll be like Bring Me the Horizon, who we just had, you know, in May. And it's like this heavy metal show. But that was their band and that got them out. And there's nothing like that, right?

[00:04:13] The live community experience that people have when they're in the building. Yeah, I think you hit on a very special component where it's this community makes it really special to work together. And when you talk about World Juniors, it is bringing so many expertise around the table to really create this amazing moment to put Minnesota on the map, to put St. Paul, Minneapolis on the map for these extraordinary events. And Dan and I were both shaking our heads when you were talking about, you know, like, you haven't been here before. Like, we run into that as well. Isn't that crazy?

[00:04:42] We're like, we've been here for 34 years and you haven't been here before. But it's just we live and breathe this every single day. And you just assume that everybody from Minnesota has been to our properties. But there's always something new that we can deliver. And you mentioned her, Lady Gaga, big moment this spring. Why do you think it was such a special and big moment for Minnesota to have her here? Yeah, we had two nights of Lady Gaga, back-to-back nights this time. She's done doubles with us before. She's just a megastar, right?

[00:05:10] And when someone has reached that echelon of fame, of, you know, her music history, just everything about her, how she keeps reinventing herself over and over, and her fans have just followed her through the years. It's always risky when you do a double because you're like, are we going to blow both of them out? And we did right away with her. I think she's one, she's so talented. That's just remarkable, her voice.

[00:05:37] And then she's on the piano and her performances are extremely theatrical. Like, she tells a story and she's weaving in stories. And her fans know that. They know they're coming to an experience, not just you're going to sit, hopefully you play these songs. It's kind of the whole experience that you take in. Yes, I love it. Well, you have a heck of a lineup this summer. Dan, I'm curious of what you're most excited for, for the summer lineup at Grand Casino Arena. Yeah, there were three that really stood out to me.

[00:06:06] One is Lionel Richie, who I just love, classic, right? And that's from my growing up years. I just absolutely love him. Josh Groban, who I've never seen live, but love Josh's music. And I thought, oh, that would be amazing. And then I think it might be later in the summer, I can't remember, but Journey. Which, again, is from my childhood, right? And classic American soft rock. I mean, I just love Journey. Sing along with every song. Yeah, exactly. It's amazing.

[00:06:34] And it just, for me, it's feel good music. Because it brings me back. What I love, looking online at your lineup. I mean, it's everyone from Lionel Richie to Cody Johnson to the Monster Jam. There's something for everybody. So talk a little bit about the lineup. How do you guys go about booking the entertainment? What do you look for as far as to make sure you have probably a good balance of entertainment to bring everybody through? Yeah, we have a department of booking, right?

[00:07:00] Like two guys on our team that are working with promoters and agents and different organizations that want to bring us content. A lot of it, it's up to if Lady Gaga is not on tour, I'm not going to convince her to come, right? So we're kind of at the mercy of who's on tour. Much like your business, it's a relationship business. We make sure that different key people know that we love them to come to our building. We want to have them back.

[00:07:28] But we want to make sure, too, we consider ourselves a community asset. We're members of the community. We don't want to just be a big building on the corner of St. Paul. We are members of the community. So we do look for things that make sense for something for everyone. So Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire will appeal to some people. Monster Jam is, I mean, personally not my jam, but when my godsons were little boys, that was a fun, fun thing to do with them.

[00:07:54] So families come out and I love Monster Jam because kids can just be kids. They can just be noisy and nobody cares. You can't hear them. You can't hear them at all. So you're just enjoying it and everybody can have a great time. We just had a band, Los Tigres del Norte, earlier this spring, kind of a huge name in Mexico. And they were out for just such a fun, fun night. And a great community of people that came out for that that aren't normally in our building, right? Like we had a lot of different people with us.

[00:08:24] And then, of course, we play a lot of hockey at any given time. And we're thrilled that the Wild, obviously, is our primary tenant. But then the Frost make their home with us too, the Minnesota Frost from the PWHL and just had their third season. So we're just always busy. It never stops in terms of different events coming up. And it's fun to see up-and-comers like Cody Johnson that really are a great show, a new country artist.

[00:08:52] And then you go throwback with Journey, which may or may not be their last tour. I don't know if they're going to pull a share and just keep saying it's their last tour or not. But that's kind of how they're promoting themselves for their October show. You touched on hockey really quickly. I just have a question I have to know. Have you ever driven the Zamboni? Do you want to drive the Zamboni? I do. Okay. I've never wanted to drive it. That's kind of funny. It scares me a little bit. I mean, they're a big machine.

[00:09:21] And I'd hate, I'd absolutely hate if I did something to the ice that wasn't okay. But Travis Larson oversees our ice operations and he would make sure that that never happened. Maybe I'm an aftergo. Between periods on a hockey game, it just mesmerizes me to watch that machine out there, right? Yeah. It looks awesome. And it's been kind of the same concept forever. It's kind of fun. We have electronic Zambonis now. We moved to electric vehicles, so our Zams run on electricity and part of our overall sustainability initiatives at the arena. That is great.

[00:09:50] So is there a surprise show that people are going to be unexpected, like that's unexpected this summer that maybe people wouldn't have as their first pick that you are going to put out there as a good surprise for people? Oh, that I haven't announced yet? Because I won't say that. That you would personally be excited about that people are going to be surprised about. Yeah. I think Melanie Martinez, a new pop on that thing, she puts on a really fun, fun interactive show.

[00:10:18] I think part of the beauty of music is it's stretching yourself sometimes and being like, you know, I would go see so-and-so instead of the same people all the time. That's probably one of the most fortunate part of my jobs is I've seen artists I probably never would have bought a ticket to go see. The first time Green Day played our building, it was like, they're amazing. And I thought, I am not your fan, but I became one because I was so impressed with them and their stage presence.

[00:10:46] I think there's one thing to listen on, you know, on the radio or on streaming, however you get your music versus seeing somebody live. It's just a whole different experience. Yeah. I never say something I'm, you know, is a favorite because it's different for everybody. You know, like I have friends who are super excited to see Cody Johnson. A lot of family members are with you, a big Earth, Wind & Fire. My husband's a huge Earth, Wind & Fire fan. So we'll be, I'm sure he'll be at that show.

[00:11:14] Have you seen a change in consumer behavior when it comes to ticketed events? Because we've noticed it here that there's not as much of an urgency to purchase tickets, waiting longer, closer to the date of the event. Any other things that you guys have seen and how you've shifted maybe how you're promoting or how you plan for these events? Yeah, it's definitely a shift in how consumers are purchasing tickets. And I think it's not exclusive to the entertainment industry, as you're saying.

[00:11:44] It's more and more. If you're a Lady Gaga and there's a sense of, boy, if I don't get it now, I'm not going to get it. So then people will get their tickets right away. But the world of ticketing has evolved so many different ways that I think there's also a sense if I'm willing to pay, I can always get a ticket. So if I don't get it right away because my plans might change, chances are there'll still be a ticket available either primary at the box office or I could probably find a ticket in the market.

[00:12:14] It changes how you market a bit. It's a little more nerve wracking, right? Because you'd rather sell out on the get-go. So we have found that we're holding more marketing closer to the closing window than we used to do, and that window needs to be longer. One of the biggest challenges, talking to our marketing director, Tracy Perlman, just before coming to spend some time with you, she's like, everything's changed. Our email open rates aren't as big as they used to be.

[00:12:43] And it's like, well, people in my focus group of two, three, they don't use email like I do. So what are they doing to find information and turn that into a purchase? I think it's truly the billion-dollar question for all of us. Where are consumers going to get information and what is it that makes them finally pull the trigger? Yeah. Well, it's also an interesting behavior where you thought that if you waited the last minute, you were going to get a discounted price.

[00:13:12] And there's been concerts that have done that over the years or events, but I feel like it doesn't, they don't need for that to happen. And so it's like, why wait till the last minute when you could secure a great ticket and the seat that you want with great site lines and things like that. So we've been a little stumped with why is this happening and how do we plan accordingly? Because it is hard to plan when you're looking at numbers or if you're looking for the RSVPs or the ticket sales and you don't have those numbers until last minute, it just makes

[00:13:38] it harder, but we're definitely seeing that this is happening across the industry and trying to navigate what that looks like because we want to continue to bring exciting things to our guests and fans, but just learning how it's evolving. It's changed. If somebody figures that out, it'll be helpful to all of us, but it's getting later and later and later. And I just think, are you just waiting for just a better offer, right? Like something else, because people have so many options now with what they can do with their time and their money and they just won't commit early like they used to.

[00:14:08] Absolutely. So in your space at Grand Casino Arena, what would you say are some of the biggest challenges in operating one of the Midwest's primary destinations for entertainment? Yeah, we're a huge big building and we're aging. We're 25 years old. I mean, it's not a secret. We're hoping to renovate the building and some of that is certainly more front of house, cosmetic, all the things that people are looking for now in a venue for sports or entertainment.

[00:14:37] Some of those premium spaces. But also, probably like you, we have real practical, practical needs. You know, our building operating system is old. It's 25 years old. It needs to be replaced. We have elevators and escalators that need repair. And those just aren't very glamorous to talk about, but they're reality. And we have to take care of the basic needs. It's interesting on the event level too, the expectations of artists have changed.

[00:15:05] Like you probably have upgraded whatever your green room area is here. You know, things. You should. Okay, fair, right? You should. Because you have different people come through and they have certain expectations. I mean, we have a Four Seasons now in this market. You have your beautiful JW Marriott here. So you have artists that expect a certain level of amenity. And our building was built in 2000 where that wasn't the expectation. People came through. So our green room is a locker room, right?

[00:15:34] That we have put pipe and drape in and we throw some furniture in there. We try to make it nice, but it certainly isn't to the level that some of these newer arenas are able to offer. And that's a competitive advantage. So you just have to look at those kind of more, they're all back of house, but they're all part of the conversation that goes into why someone might choose to come to your place or not. Well, and you guys have some grand plans ahead of you.

[00:16:02] Fingers are crossed because we would love for that redevelopment of St. Paul. It's so important for our marketplace and so exciting. So hopefully there's bright lights ahead and exciting opportunities. But even from the guest experience standpoint, how do you encourage your team and support your team of how do you elevate that guest experience? Because we're all looking at that of, and that's the expectation of consumers of we want it, you know, behind the scenes, but also the front of the scenes of what does that experience look like?

[00:16:30] So how do you continue to encourage your team to look at what that, how to build that future experience? Sure. One of the things our organization I think does really well and one thing I'm proud of is we have a whole service initiative. So we're very intentional about service. It's called Service First. It's more the how we do things. I think everybody gets focused on, I just did my job and it's perfect. You know, I worked really hard and it's like, yeah, but how did you do it? It's just as important to us.

[00:16:56] And our staff, we all go through Service First Academy when you get onboarded as a new employee and you learn what service means to us. We have, you know, service standards that everyone is held up to and each of the standards have behaviors underneath it that correlate to it. Some are from service internal with each other and then a lot of it is fan-facing. So our whole team knows what our common expectation is.

[00:17:23] You know, our phrases in all moments were empowered to create great memories. So that's something different for everyone. It could be, I mean, we have people who get a beer spilled on them at a concert. Our guest services team knows you can go over to the merch stand and buy some, you can get that fan merchandise, whatever they want, get them cleaned up, take care of them. They don't have to come and be like, can I spend a hundred bucks? It's like, no, you can do that. Like whatever you need to do. And it's little things.

[00:17:51] We encourage, you know, eye contact, say people's name if you know them, let them know there's a kid at the game. Is this your first game? You can go get a stick over at, you know, section 113. We have a first game certificate and people are like, oh, we didn't know. And so we just do whatever we can and then we look for ways to recognize our staff. We have stick taps for our part-time staff to tie into hockey. And then we do a big service first awards every year. We kind of blew it out for the first time last year with, you know, food and, you know,

[00:18:20] speaker and presenters. And then five members of our team got significant prizes just to show our commitment to the importance of service. We're like, we're a service industry through and through. And for us, it really matters and we consider it one of our biggest differentiators. So many similarities. There really are. Yeah. These pieces. Because how would you say the fan expectations have changed what they're like today versus even five years ago or kind of that pre-COVID timeframe? How have they changed that you guys are adapting to?

[00:18:48] Fans have really high expectations, don't they? I choose my words cautiously. But it's okay. They get to, right? I can't tell people what they can feel or do, but I look at it as they have discretionary income and they're choosing to spend it with us. For some people, it might be a drop in the bucket. For some people, it might be their one big outing that year. Maybe it's a kid's birthday present, right? To come to a game with us.

[00:19:13] And we take that point of view that says, you know, we're not a customer is always right organization. We're going to try to make it right. But you know that sometimes it's not possible, but we're certainly what's in the best interest of the customer in this situation. So it's not like what's easiest for me? What will just take care of this in the moment? Like what's that extra? What's one more thing that might be expected in this situation that can help this person to have a good experience?

[00:19:41] We try to be consistent in our service so that people experience the same. They know when they come that they'll have the same experience. It wasn't a one-off time that they had really good service with us. It was every time. And it's probably basic to say it, but it's kind of listening. Because sometimes when someone's telling you something they're really mad about, they're really okay. They just need someone to know something happened. But a lot of times in those conversations, you're like, tell me more about what happened at the parking ramp, right?

[00:20:11] Because that's outside of my control. But I will certainly look to speak with our partners because that's part of your experience. Your experience starts when you leave your front door, you get to mine, you leave mine and you get back to yours. And I can't control a lot of that. God love construction season. But it's part of the overall experience. So part of our service in relation to construction is we over communicate. We try to let people know, plan ahead. It's going to be congested. It's going to take you more time.

[00:20:40] We want you here on time. And this is what's going on around us. No, I think you guys do a great job of communication. And I think it just is very similar to what we experience. And it is because you recognize there are a lot of variables that you cannot control that will impact a guest experience. And you do. They want a lot of times just want somebody to listen and be able to vent. But also training is so important. And we talk about that all the time here at the mall. Yeah. And honestly, the journey starts well before they leave home, right?

[00:21:10] It's when they get excited about the concert and they go to your website and they buy the tickets and so much of that. But I'm really curious as a generation that me being sometimes afraid to not afraid, cautious to go downtown and where do I park? And it makes me anxious and where I want to eat someplace. Where do I go? What are some consumer friendly tips for someone coming to a show at your arena that you would suggest ease of access and all those kinds of things?

[00:21:38] Yeah, I think it's easy, but I go there every day, right? So, I mean, we're surrounded by, we're connected by two parking ramps, right? So we have two parking ramps that are connected right to our building. We probably have a good 20 or 25 that are within walking proximity. It gets a little easier with the nicer weather than in the winter, but the Skyway system gets people to us. There is, there's lots of places to eat near us. So you can either stop there beforehand or doors usually open an hour before an event.

[00:22:08] We have plenty of food that we love to offer people. We have, you know, an in-house restaurant that if you want to sit down and have more of an experience like that, it's really the biggest thing for me is just give yourself enough time. You know what? For a hockey game, we have 18,000 people coming. For a sold out concert, we might have 14,000 people coming. Pretty much all at the same time. So you've got to just give yourself a little more time and give other people a little more grace.

[00:22:35] And we do have, we do have just variables around us in construction and then people who don't know where they are. So that slows things up, right? So you just need a little bit of, a little bit of grace. But the biggest thing is just to give yourself enough time, get in, park. You know, that's why we like if people just park once, get to us, you can come and eat with us, which we love. But if you want to support the businesses around us, absolutely. We're, you know, it's a vital part of our whole economic engine is everybody enjoying,

[00:23:02] you know, West 7th and, you know, catching Tom Reads or, you know, going to Burger Moe's or wherever they might start their night and in their night. A lot of people stop after and we love that too because we, again, we want to be part of St. Paul. So there's a lot around us, which is part of the excitement of an entertainment district and area. And hopefully to our earlier comment, that just keeps growing. Absolutely. I think it's a great reminder though. And I think it's a reminder for myself that a lot of times I have an event that I need to get to.

[00:23:29] I have the time and I'm just getting there, you know, right at start time versus taking your time and being able to have some of that socialization before and after. And especially if you're going to a big event like a concert or a sporting event, go down and have dinner. I mean, it makes it that much more enjoyable because you're not rushed. You get good parking. You get a chance to really enjoy the evening. And so I think it's a great tip and it's supporting a lot of local businesses that all deserve it.

[00:23:55] So more or less, you look at the summer season coming ahead and you've got a lot of momentum with Grand Casino Arena, the new branding. You guys had a huge lift. I'm flipping that around quickly. But what would you say in one word? What is the energy like in St. Paul for Grand Casino Arena as we head into the summer season? I think our energy is, it's just nonstop. We don't stop. I love it. It's constant.

[00:24:21] We've had a really busy run, just the flip of the calendar for January with starting with this international hockey tournament. And for us, we roll right into state tournaments. And then we had, you know, we have hockey in there. Both teams are playing and we keep going and we keep going and keep going. The sad part about working for sports teams is when it ends, it stops hard, right? And you're a little relieved, like, okay, you know, we get to actually maybe have a night at home tonight, but it's the worst day ever.

[00:24:48] It's the worst day in sports when you work for a team is the day after your team bows out. But then we just pick up and our cycle will go now. We'll go into the boring stuff of budgeting, right? Like we got to get ready for next year and we'll start to budget on the administrative side. But then we know people are still coming for us for fun. We'll have, like we've talked about, Lionel Richie, Josh Groban with Jennifer Hudson. Alex Warren is with us this summer. Melanie Martinez, The Monster Jam, Cody Johnson.

[00:25:17] And then we continually announce more shows and truly something for everyone when I look at our calendar. And I love that. I love that, you know, people, the thing they've come to is the show I never would have thought would be like somebody's big show. And it's like, yeah, but to you, that was a huge deal. I love it. The older I get though, Dan, the more some of these artists come up and I'm like, I have no idea who that is. And they sell out like that. And I'm like, well, I'm glad those people know. I love it. Kelly, thank you so much for your insights on what's happening in St. Paul, your leadership,

[00:25:46] what you're creating at Grand Casino Arena. It is just inspiring. And I'm super excited for this summer. And I hope all of our fans and listeners are as well, because when you're getting ready for these events, don't forget about Mall of America. You got to look good. So come inside to get your fit for all these fabulous concerts and events that you're going to be going to this summer. Definitely check out Grand Casino Arena for the lineup of shows. Get your tickets now. Do not wait to the last minute. Get a good seat. Make sure you're relaxed. Enjoy. Make some reservations for dinner. Enjoy all the things summer has to offer.

[00:26:16] So we're super excited that you joined us today for so much more. Be sure to rate us where you listen to your favorite podcasts and enjoy that and share this with your friends and family. So thank you for listening. And until next time, this is so much more. Thanks for listening to so much more. A Mall of America podcast. Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts. This show is presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism.