Improving fan experience is priority #1 for Reed Arena GM Darren Davis

Key notes from Darren Davis interview

• I've been in town for four weeks, three weeks on the job. I'm happy to be in Aggieland and still doing the type of work I love doing, just in a different environment. We have some family in Texas, so we wanted to get back here, and Texas A&M was a big opportunity for me. It was a great opportunity for me and my family to join a great environment and bring some big events back to Reed Arena.
   
• I've worked in a number of venues. I've worked in theme parks, I worked for two of the biggest casino operators in Las Vegas for the last 17 years, and I'm very excited to see what we can do here. I always try and find jobs that allow me to bring fun events that bring entertainment but also allow us to learn.
   
• We held some big marquee events in Vegas, one of them being EnduroCross. We were able to build an outdoor race track inside of the venue and professional drivers would come from all over and perform on a track in a controlled environment. We also were able to bring to Nevada it's first curling event. It was a world-renowned event, bring people from all different countries. Whether we'll do curling at A&M, probably not, but we're excited about the possibilities we have at Reed Arena.
   
• Some of the easy opportunities to start are concerts. I know years ago Reed Arena hosted a ton of concerts, and we'd love to bring those back. We would love to bring family events, comedy shows, and staying in the sports world, maybe even some boxing and mixed martial arts events into the venue. We'd love to bring a big mix of things to Reed Arena.
   
• I started working before I was even on the job which is why we were able to get an event scheduled so quickly. We will have David Feherty joining us on April 17 during Parents’ Weekend. Tickets are on sale this Friday at 10:00 a.m. If folks are interested they can go to 12thMan.com/tickets. Two hours of story and joke telling in a big venue that we'll make intimate with him close to the crowd, and he's a very entertaining guy so we're excited to bring him here.
   
• My very first focus was to take a deep dive into the guest experiences at Reed. From the time people leave their house and buy their tickets, we want them to be able to get in and out as seamlessly as possible. From an aesthetic experience, we're going to look into all different possibilities to make people want to come back.
   
• We're looking at all options when it comes to renovations and improvements. Those are conversations we've been having and we're always looking to improve the structure. There's no premiere seating in Reed so it's something we'll definitely continue to talk about as well get settled in.
   
• 12th Man Productions does a great job of the way they operate in games. We're looking at all things such as lighting and what we can change, getting people in and out in the easiest way possible. We want to make our events a really enjoyable experience for everyone that comes in.
   
• We're looking at all sorts of ways to bring events that will get people in the door earlier before events start so we're looking at things like food and beverage, creating ways for people to eat at the event instead of before it, maybe bringing things like games and trivia entertainment as people filter in. We're looking at all aspects of things with Reed Arena. There are a lot of things we're interested in doing, so we will be very active in the coming days.