OVG360, part of venue development, advisory, and investment company Oak View Group, has launched a new division focusing on parking and mobility at stadia and arenas.
OVG360 has hired Joe Leung to serve as vice-president of the new division, which will seek to help client-partners develop operational strategies to optimise the guest experience, generate revenue for the venue, reduce environmental impact, and support the surrounding community.
Beginning his role immediately, Leung is based in Denver and reports to Chris Granger, president of OVG360, which was formed in February as the third-party, venue management, venue services, and hospitality division of OVG.
Under Leung’s leadership, OVG360’s Parking & Mobility division will engage clients in one of three ways: one, exclusively run parking operations for a venue that does not already have a dedicated manager or third-party operator in place; two, manage a venue’s contracted parking operator; or three, act as a third-party consultant who evaluates/audits existing operations and makes recommendations on parking strategy.
OVG360 will use methodologies and industry best practices to evaluate each venue’s unique parking process to help identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and revenue generation. “OVG360 is well ahead of the game in recognising the significant strategy that goes into an effective and efficient parking and mobility program,” Leung said.
“Many venues gravely underestimate the importance of parking and mobility, often saddling the head of security or some other manager with parking as a secondary responsibility. In reality, each guest’s experience starts and ends with transportation, a journey that begins when they’re still on the couch planning how they are going to get to the venue for an event.
“If venue managers focus on parking – just like they would on hospitality or any other element of the guest experience – they can decrease a guest’s frustration and confusion, and eventually increase their Net Promoter Score (NPS).”
Leung joins OVG360 after spending two decades with some of the most well-known parking companies, experience which spans ballparks, arenas, theatres and a variety of other live events facilities. He most recently served as senior director of customer success at IT services and consulting firm FLASH, from May 2021 to March of this year. Prior to that, Leung was vice-president of parking at Olympia Development of Michigan, and regional manager at SP+, where he oversaw parking and mobility.
With sustainability as one of OVG360’s guiding principles, Leung will focus on reducing the environmental impact of the more than 330 venues the company owns and/or manages. “If a guest knows ahead of time where they are going to park, you reduce their time with the car running on the way in and out of the parking garage – say for 100 cars times 150 events, it starts to add up,” Leung said.
To optimise parking and mobility, OVG360 will seek to leverage technology, review staffing, generate purposeful marketing campaigns, enable selling through all venue channels, and address a wide range of mobility solutions.
Granger said: “I worked closely with Joe during my time overseeing operations for the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, and it was clear that he seamlessly balanced sustainable operations, community relationships and innovative revenue generation.
“Parking is part of the holistic guest experience. It can either be a non-factor or put negative bookends on what would have otherwise been a great event. We’re excited to have Joe guide OVG360 in making parking part of the complete guest experience for the 330-plus venues we own and/or manage.”
Image: OVG360
