DC BasketCases catch me in the act; and do a great play by play of the day’s events… check it out here. Thank you to all of you who stayed after the game and donated to such a worthy cause. It helps a lot and I am proud of you.
Monthly Archives: August 2010
From Penthouse to Outhouse
As promised — I worked with our very dedicated cleaning crew last night after the Mystics game. It was a unusual day to say the least — sitting with our President during the game; and then cleaning one the ladies rooms on the first floor after the game! And then working on the crew to clean the stands.
I didn’t do it as a PR or photo opportunity; I actually wanted to see for myself what is involved with cleaning the arena after a game. And I wanted to “walk a mile in their shoes” and do the work. We didn’t alert media to come; I wanted to respect the crew and these execs, and I wanted to get my hands dirty — and I certainly did that! Continue reading
High-level Trash Talk
Here is what the President of the United States said to me last night about attending a Caps game.
“Ted – I will come to a Caps game; I intended to come to a playoff game last season; and then I looked and you were done in the first round; after a 3 to 1 lead – sorry about that…”.
I said; ” Thank you sir for reminding me of that…”.
We will be fine. Go Caps.
Cool
Unabashed — this was a huge thrill and a lot of fun; click away.
POTUS at Mystics Game
We made a little bit of history — the first President to attend a WNBA game — and the Mystics performed well with a big win. We are now 15 and 10.
I was fortunate to sit next to the President and his daughter for the first half our the floor seats.
We had a great time; he was in attendance with his daughter and he enjoyed the game as a dad. He was very sweet; very into the game and very supportive of our teams.
We had a nice chat about a bunch of stuff — but mostly about sports — DC; and technology — he is a huge web services consumer — I was very impressed with his knowledge of our industry.
That was a thrill – and at game’s end — he actually gave me a hug; how cool and how sweet is that? Thank you Mr. President; that was a real treat for our fans and for me!
Slow Times in Canada
A comment on my blog– and my selling of hope; I think; that is what this means, can you figure it out?
Any one — I am appreciative of the pixels; in the slowest time of the year. Go Caps.
Street Soccer USA in DC
A nice article about the street soccer tournament in today’s Washington Post.
Come on out to the event today — cheer these folks on.
Read this one please.
Stage Lighting at Verizon – An Update
I am afraid I spoke too soon. And I must back pedal. And I apologize.
As you know and as reported, I received several emails regarding changing the lighting at Verizon Center to make it more like Staples Center in LA or MSG in NYC. I liked that idea, a lot! As did many of my partners.
We did the initial research; we carved out budget for it; and we all agreed it would be a terrific idea. I even spoke about it in a radio interview; I jumped the gun — and now I must say this is a tougher check mark to place on my things to do list than was first conceived.
I am sad to say that after our major sets of meetings with our contractor on Friday; that I am unsure how to get this one done.
The issues are manifold.
Verizon Center’s roof was constructed to be able to hold about 125,000 pounds of weight.
The lights that are up today are still needed and as they light the stands and arena in general for all events . They weigh close to 15,000 pounds. I want to add a better sound system to the roof and that will add additional base weight as well.
The new HD scoreboard that we installed last year weighs 70,000 pounds.
When a rock group tours– and they add their sound systems and lighting; they can add on a temporary basis– another 10,000 to 20,000 pounds–depending on the act.
The new lighting system that we want to install for stage lighting weighs 45,000 pounds.
And I was shocked that it needs a second line of power; which adds more expense; but also is certainly a step back in our movement to be more ecologically sensitive — and to make Verizon Center a great ” Green” building.
Further — the schedule to build out this kind of lighting is in the 4 month range. Longer than was first reported.
So — I believe we shall stand down on this new lighting as a deliverable for next season.
We will work to find alternative ways to light the building in a more programmed fashion.
We will hope that technology will continue on its march to “smaller — lighter and less expensive” and to use less power. We will keep powder dry in our budget for the lighting when we figure out how to do it.
I am sorry I couldn’t deliver on this one — we still are working hard on literally hundreds of other changes; but I wanted everyone to know where we are on this one; I will report on our successes and I will report on our failures.
I failed you all on this one; I am back to work on stuff today and will report back tomorrow on my adventures in cleaning the Verizon Center. Onward; and thanks for understanding.