Hunden Partners US venues’ data on fingertips

Article posted by Coliseum, January 7^th, 2026

Image: Coliseum GSVA / Michael Rennschmied

Rob Hunden has his fingers on the pulse of every venue in the United States of America. He is the President of Hunden Partners, US, which is a placemaking advisor for transformative, next-use and sports anchor development.

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Rob Hunden and his Chicago-based firm offer extensive experience in the economics of placemaking primarily via transformative real estate projects like mixed-use stadium districts. He has provided economic development, market and financial feasibility, impact, developer selection, and planning expertise for more than 650 projects and studies over the past 20+ years totaling more than $4.5 billion in developed real estate.

In an exclusive conversation with Coliseum, Rob Hunden, President, Hunden Partners, US, tells that in 2024 there was over two billion dollars of construction in the venue industry in the US and 3.1 billion expected in 2026 – “The amount of money that is being spent on these venues, renovations and new build is really incredible.”

Hunden Partners

Hunden Partners is a leading global advisory firm for destination real estate development specializing in turning concepts for large-scale projects like stadiums, entertainment districts, convention centers, and mixed-use areas into reality.

Rob Hunden begins by stating, “Anything that is transformative – conventions, hotels, all the mix of uses around sort of create a neighborhood for people to have that fan ritual before and after the game between the four walls of the venue so that it becomes a complete experience. And we are getting those experiences, we are spending money and getting that economic vitality. And it is not just in the big market we are doing this with major collegiate. This concept is also true for youth sports complexes.”

He said that when it comes to construction of these major venues “things are just going up the roof and the average new facility spending across all major leagues has increased by 50 percent from the 2016-2025 period to the projected 2026-2030 window. We are spending a lot on renovation and those renovations can cost just as much as new build and we think we can get a value for it so we go ahead and renovate those facilities.”

Tunnel Theme

“A big trend we are seeing now in the new build facilities is the tunnel and one can go through those tunnels and that is part of the premium experience. A lot of things involved with heat is the new feature. Heat up all around and in the seats and you can have a really nice experience even if the weather is dumping snow. They also have extreme fan zones.”

TBD

He said that a lot of negotiations are happening on new stadiums in lot of these marketplaces but the status is TBD. A lot of renovations are happening and some of these are really expensive renovations.

Lease Expiry

“Many years have gone by and a lot of the venues have not been fully renovated. A lot of these venues are going beyond the 20-25 mark and some even 30. There is a real convergence of lease expiration and new facilities. When your lease is about to expire in seven to 10 years you start realizing we have to figure out what we are going to do next.”

Naming Rights Deal

“It is always necessary to stay up to date as to what we are calling these venues.”

Wrap-up

Rob Hunden wrapped up by stating, “What we are seeing is a suite is no longer a suite anymore in a venue, a club, a lounge is not just a club any more, it’s got to have a theme, it’s got to have a story, it’s got to have something to celebrate. We are seeing constant renovation and reinvention and people want to connect with it and make it feel authentic. We are getting to a point where up to a third seating in venue is premium of some sort and that is continuing to change where the General Admission seating is shrinking and shrinking. A third or more of venue revenues are coming from premium seating now and the other third from advertising and sponsorship.”

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

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