I attended the UAO event in which they brought in 3 comedians and had one student perform. I really enjoyed the middle two comedians but the opening act and main act weren’t all that funny in my personal opinion. The main act was Ross Matthews who is on Chelsea Lately and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He is very funny on TV however in person not so much. He was extremely nice and friendly to the crowd and went above and beyond all expectations to make the audience feel like they were apart of the show. The show overall was a success I feel. UAO should definitely keep this going every year. A band in the fall and comedy show in the spring would be great for them. I attended this show with my roommate who also happens to be in this class. She enjoyed it also. I wish they would have done this sooner rather than wait until my senior year.

The Perry Field House was a very impressive facility. They had incorporated many trends in the field such as an indoor track and a court that was multipurpose. I have used both the courts and football field during my time here at school. I was always curious as to why they didn’t choose to switch over to Fieldturf as opposed to Astroturf but understood when they mentioned using that space for conventions. Fieldturf is much better for playing sports on but you don’t want a high volume of people in and out with different displays, tables, chairs, etc set up on the surface. The front entrance is not up to par with the size of the facility. Thus it prevents them from exceeding the 1000 person capacity. I feel that the storage areas are also too small. The equipment all over the playing surfaces inside is a hassle. It doesn’t so much get in the way as it is an eye sore. The parking however is great! The rec center parking situation is non-existant.

I feel that Atlanta benefited by hosting the Olympics in 1996. The Atlanta Braves were able to get a new baseball stadium from this where as before there was talk about moving to the suburbs with a new stadium. Also new parks and areas were developed as a result of bringing in the Olympics. The infrastructure was strengthened as a result of this. Also the area was now even more so an international city. Atlanta has become the capital of the South. This is something that was furthered by the economic development after the Olympics. The 80s was a big time for the area and the Olympics in 96 solidified Atlanta’s place among the elite cities of the world. Rio de Janeiro should benefit the way Atlanta did as well. The city is already growing with opportunity but with the games it should be a nice jewel in the crown.

Attached is a link to the locker room that can be found at Paul Brown Stadium. This is the Cincinnati Bengals locker room. As you can see they have very large and nice lockers. The carpeting appears to be individual squares that can easily be replaced if need be. The openness of the locker room allows for the coach to talk to his team in a large area so that they are all comfortable and in sight. It also appears to be well lit and cleaned. Proper maintenance and upkeep of a locker room is essential. There isn’t much worse than being in a rundown locker room that smells bad before you prepare for a big game. As a designer or manager of the facility you want to make sure that the users are comfortable and safe. For this particular facility you want to make sure the area is secure and that no personal items are tampered with as the lockers are wide open. The showers and of restroom items must also be maintained and cleaned. The facility also needs to be properly equipped. Trash cans must be placed around the area. In this particular facility it would be beneficial to have TVs and stereo equipment. Also storage for food and beverage. These athletes spend a lot of time in the locker room before and after games. The materials are higher end for a locker room as the team is a professional team. They make a lot of money and obviously will want the best of everything in the locker room itself.

The BGSU Ice Arena was a nice facility but even after the amount of money in renovations still seemed very dated. The behind the scenes was where most of the money went and that all appeared to be very good. The only problem is what most guests see is an older building that is in need of a major shake up and renovation. The needs of the community are met for the most part but it would be nice to have a better concession stand and pro shop. The lobby also could use a refresh. The locker rooms were in a sense pathetic. I don’t know wht the main locker room looks like but judging by the others I’d have to say that it isn’t exactly the nicest and most comfortable place to be. For a college with so much pride and history in the hockey program they sure don’t provide a top notch facility for their team. The baseball team also uses the locker rooms which shows that it is used for more than just hockey and open skating. To me this shouldn’t happen. The Ice Arena should be used for only events held in the arena itself. The lodge or banquet room is something that I had no idea even existed. It could benefit from advertising it to different organizations on campus to hold events. To me they don’t take enough advantage of the local community.

Discuss at least two benefits and drawbacks of technology in the field of tourism, leisure, and event planning. Peruse the web for a software package/product designed to aid a professional in this field and list 5 or more strengths or weaknesses of the application. This assignment requires only one link (to the software company web site).

Technology in the event planning field is essential to keeping organized now it seems. Whether it be email and sorting it out or keeping your calendar and agenda constantly updated and with you where ever you might be. Blackberry phones among other devices have been known for the secure email system and now have a new device to compete with other tablet computers. The Playbook is the newest device from Blackberry. The drawbacks to technology is the constant dependence on them as well as the fact that one is not able to use these devices all the time due to lack of internet connection and power. The new Blackberry Playbook is a great tool for this industry. The ability to sync up your smartphone and use Microsoft Office on this will be a great help. Also one will be able to browse the internet and video conference. This is a very versatile tool and can be used in a variety of different ways.
http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/