Chic Chase Center classy fan experience

Article posted by Coliseum, July 22^nd, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Donna Daniels is a woman of many parts. She has got a hugely impressive career trajectory and is a very elegant and accomplished person. Presently, she is calling the shots at the Chase Center in San Francisco (US).

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She has quite a few feathers to her hat – In 2019, Crain’s New York named Daniels to their ‘Notable Women in Sports Business’ list and she was named a ‘2020 VenuesNow Women of Influence’. In 2021, ROI New Jersey named Daniels ‘Women in Sports Business Influencer’ and Cynopsis Women in Media named her to their annual ‘Operations Front Runners’ list. Quite a feat!

Daniels brings over 30 years of experience in the National Basketball Association (NBA) including 25 years at the NBA League office role in San Francisco. The 2022-2023 NBA seasons marks Donna Daniels’s first as the Chase Center General Manager. Prior to joining the Chase Center, she served as the General Manager of the Prudential Center in Newark (US). Her span at the NBA also included various roles as the Vice-President.

In an animated conversation with ‘Coliseum’, Donna Daniels, GM, Chase Center, US, tells Coliseum, US, that one should view the challenges which comes while running a venue as opportunities and a learning experience which she and her team at the Prudential Center did while dealing with the COVID crisis. She also stated that at the Chase Center they treat the fans that walk into a venue “as first-time guests” and put their best foot forward to provide an enriching venue experience to the fans.

NBA

New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

Chase Center

The 18,064-capacity Chase Center is an indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California (US). The building is the home venue for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Chase Center opened on September 6^th, 2019.

Donna Daniels told Coliseum that her role at the Chase Center requires her to look after the entire venue operations including security, event services, food and beverage (F&B), special events, content, programing, and guest services.

Coliseum informed that Daniels had recently transitioned from the 17,625-capacity Prudential Center in Newark (US) which is operated by the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and inquired what are the similarities and the differences between the two venues to which she stated, “It is quite a change but you are never too old to learn something new. So, that’s been a really amazing adjustment. During my time at the Prudential Center we had to grapple with the COVID onslaught like the rest of the world and reimagine the whole operation of that building from top to bottom and we ultimately were better for it, the fans were better for it and everybody who came into that venue was better for it. At the Chase Center, our singular focus everyday is to provide a world-class experience to the fans. And it is not just the fans but every single person who comes into the Chase Center including our staff we ensure has an amazing experience. We want to focus on everybody who comes and every touchpoint makes a difference.”

She also believes in hiring the “best people and raising the service standards at the Chase Center”.

Coliseum wondered if they thought out-of-the-box to generate revenue at the Chase Center or worked with their existing avenues and relations to which Donna replied that “even when it comes to garnering revenue it is with a specific focus on the fan experience and in the Chase Center we have started an initiative called ‘RevMax’ and we are relentlessly focused on per caps across the board. We are also focused on the top line as well as the bottom line of our venue business.”

Talking about technology, she told Coliseum that “technology at the venue needs to serve everybody and at the Chase Center I would like to use technology to make the fan experience better – wait time, traffic management – everything should be streamlined so we are focused on bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the Chase Center but we are not there yet.“

The venue features a high-definition scoreboard, light-emitting diode (LED) screens throughout and a robust Wi-Fi network.

Talking about sustainability, she informed that “it is definitely a priority for us at the Chase Center and we are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified from a construction standpoint. We are also the first arena in California to be Green business certified and we are the first NBA team to sign up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework.”

The UN Sports for Climate Action Framework aims to help sports organizations reduce emissions caused by their operations and leverage the worldwide popularity of sport to engage millions of fans in the effort.

Wrap-up

Donna Daniels wrapped up her conversation with Coliseum by stating that the Chase Center is only into its third year of operation opening in September of 2019 and “we are still learning. As far as our premium offerings are concerned, every person who comes into Chase Center no matter whether he/she sits on the floor or in the last seat, the venue has a premium space to go to”.

She asserted that at the Chase Center “one has a premium place to go to with a premium feeling and premium approach” because at the end of the day what matters for Donna Daniels is the desire to deliver a world-class fan experience as ultimately it is the fan experience that matters as it is a critical slice of the venue business.

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