Industry Veteran Eric Granger Joins AEG Facilities as KFC Yum! Center General Manager
Los Angeles, CA & Louisville, KY (December 20, 2017) Eric Granger, an industry veteran with more than 20 years in the live entertainment, sports and facilities management industries, has been named General Manager of KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The announcement was made today by Bob Newman, President of AEG Facilities, operators of the arena.
“We are thrilled to have Eric join the AEG Facilities and KFC Yum! Center team in Louisville,” said Newman. “Eric brings a great depth of knowledge and industry experience and will play a key role in the continued success and stellar reputation of one of the region’s premier and busiest destinations for sports and entertainment.”
As General Manager, KFC Yum! Center, Granger will be responsible for the management of all of the arena’s business operations, the creation of new events and the development of new revenue opportunities for the seven-year old, 22,000-seat sports and entertainment arena which serves as the home of the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball programs. Granger will also oversee numerous proprietary initiatives of AEG Facilities including AEG S.A.F.E., AEG 1Source, AEG 1EARTH, AEG 1Force, AEG Encore and AEG Energy Services, in addition to working closely with AEG Global Partnerships and other divisions of the company.
“KFC Yum! Center is pleased to welcome Eric Granger and his family to Kentucky,” said Scott C. Cox, Chairman, Louisville Arena Authority. “Eric’s experience and talent will help maintain the arena’s reputation as one of the finest venues in the world."
Granger will assume the role of General Manager last held by Dennis Petrullo who resigned earlier in the month.
Prior to joining AEG Facilities and KFC Yum! Center, Granger spent seven years serving as the Vice President and General Manager for Memphis, Tennessee’s 18,119-seat FedEx Forum, home to NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and University of Memphis Tigers in addition to serving as General Manager of the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home of the NHL Blue Jackets.
“I am looking forward to working with the great group of professionals in Louisville with AEG Facilities and the Louisville Arena Authority," said Granger. "KFC Yum! Center is an incredible facility.”
A graduate of University of South Alabama, Granger will assume his new role on January 1, 2018.
About KFC Yum! Center
The KFC Yum! Center is Louisville’s newest multi-purpose arena that boasts a total of 721,762 square feet while offering an arena bowl exceeding 22,000 seats and four meeting rooms spanning approximately 34,000 square feet all within walking distance of more than 4,200 hotel rooms in downtown Louisville. It is home to the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball programs and is ideal for concerts, conventions, corporate events, family shows, ice shows, wrestling and more. The KFC Yum! Center is a state of the art facility with advance technology capabilities that is owned by the Louisville Arena Authority and managed by AEG Facilities. For more information, visit www.kfcyumcenter.com.
About AEG Facilities
AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, is the leading sports and live entertainment company in the world. AEG Facilities, a stand-alone division of AEG, and its affiliates owns, operates or consults with more than 140 of the industry’s preeminent venues worldwide, across five continents, providing complete venue management, as well as specialized programs in operations, guest services, ticketing, booking, sales and marketing. AEG Facilities also provides resources and access to other AEG-affiliated entities, including AEG Presents, one of the largest live music companies in the world, AEG Global Partnerships and AEG Real Estate, as well as such industry leading programs as AEG 1Earth and AEG Encore to support the success of its venues across the globe. The Los Angeles-based organization owns, operates or provides services to the world’s most elite venues, including STAPLES Center and Microsoft Theater (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), Sprint Center (Kansas City, MO.), Valley View Casino Center (San Diego, CA), KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, KY.), AmericanAirlines Arena (Miami, Fla.), Barclays Arena (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN), Oracle Arena and Oakland Alameda Coliseum (Oakland, CA), PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh, PA), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Cadillac Arena (Beijing, China), The O2 Arena (London, England), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin, Germany), Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg, Germany), SSE Hydro (Glasgow, UK), Perth Arena (Perth, Australia), Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney, Australia), Ericsson Globe Arena (Stockholm, Sweden), Los Angeles Convention Center (Los Angeles, Calif.), Hawaii Convention Center (Honolulu, HI), Puerto Rico Convention Center (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and the Oman Convention & Exhibition Center (Muscat, Oman). For more information, please visit aegworldwide.com.
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