Q&A: Here's how Greenville's Bon Secours Wellness Arena gets ready to host big events
Beth Paul has been a part of Bon Secours Wellness Arena for most of its nearly 25 years of existence.
She started as an Accounting Manager for the arena in 1999, not long after it opened as the Bi-Lo Center in September 1998.
After a few years with a similar-sized facility in Connecticut, she returned to the Greenville arena in 2005 as chief of finance, became Assistant General Manager in 2013 and since 2015 has been the been the GM. She is responsible for charting the arena’s path and making sure it operates successfully, both in operations and financial performance. It has been a successful run.
Paul and her team at “The Well” have brought concerts by stars like Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, The Eagles, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Elton John, Luke Combs and Pearl Jam. Over the coming few months, shows by Kenny Chesney and Thomas Rhett are scheduled.
Sports events have been a big draw too, with the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament and the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament regionals coming to Greenville in March. The arena hosted NCAA Men’s regionals in 2017 and 2022 and has been selected as a site for 2026. Not to mention professional ice hockey, other college and high-school basketball, and pro wrestling and UFC events. On average, the arena hosts 130 events a year.
Industry and local organizations have recognized and honored Paul’s work and she is routinely named one of Grenville’s most influential leaders and top women in business. She is currently board chair of VisitGreenvilleSC.
TALK GREENVILLE: Thanks for taking time to talk with us for the March issue of TALK. You’ve got a pretty big month, no? Talk a little about what’s coming up.
BETH PAUL: February and March are historically our two busiest months. That's kind of the height of touring season for live music, the heart of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits’ season, and also championship season for basketball. … We kick off the month with the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament. That's the first year of a three-year contract. And then two weeks later, the NCAA Women’s Super-Regional which is the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight. It's very exciting and for many reasons. There's significant economic impact on the community as a whole. And it's all nationally televised -- awareness that is hard to put a price tag on. The student athletes have an amazing experience here, as well as their families and fans.
TG: Talk about how the success of South Carolina’s women’s team has affected the atmosphere around the SEC and NCAA Regionals.
BP: We're certainly fortunate that Dawn Staley has created quite a dynasty in Columbia, and we certainly benefit from their success. I will say though, the SEC fans of the other teams travel very well. Tennessee, you'll have a large contingency here. Kentucky does and Georgia, so there's a lot of teams that really just come and make a week of it.
TG: When do you and your team get to catch your breath?
BP: Our season is strong from October, when we put the ice in and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits kick off their season, through probably early May. That would be our busy season. We use June, July and August to plan, strategize and take a breather. That's also a critical time for us. When we don't have events, we need to accomplish maintenance projects, repairs, replacements, etc. in a very short time frame. ... So, while the event schedule does get slower in the summer months, we are busy making sure that we are ready to hit the ground running in October.
TG: March is our Women in Business-themed issue. How prevalent are women in jobs like yours? Have you seen opportunities increase over the past couple decades?
BP: We work in live sports and entertainment ... and all components of that business have been under- represented by women for years. With that said, I am in great company and there are more and more women each year. But it takes a deliberate approach. It takes large companies, like Live Nation, having diversity and inclusion programs, kind of paving the way. Our audience is half female, right? If not more. What I'm really proud of, though, is here at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, you see women represented in leadership roles, in production roles, box office roles and executive roles. We're seeing more and more touring personnel be female as well.
I also think it's really fantastic that in Greenville many women are in leadership roles at our major events and venues. Megan Riegel is the executive director of the Peace Center; she does an amazing job. There is nobody better. The executive director of the Greenville Symphony Orchestras is female, the executive director of euphoria is female, the executive director of Artisphere, also the owner of StageTech -- the company that provides stagehands and crew for many of our shows ...
TG: What’s the most challenging part of your job – is it finance or operations?
BP: Finance and operations have a reciprocal relationship. You have to be in a strong financial position to have the resources to run an operation like we do. Then, great operation results in more shows and makes the financial position better. ... For me personally, finance is my background. We have worked really hard over the past several years to get the arena and the arena district in a very strong financial position so that we can continuously reinvest in the arena.
TG: Bookings and attendance have pretty much fully recovered from 2020 and early 2021, right? Is the number of events out there to book back to pre-pandemic levels?
BP: The nature of the touring industry is that you have to be able to get from city to city, state to state overnight or in a timely manner to make the economics work. What was happening as we were recovering, was we were in (South Carolina) a state that probably had fewer restrictions than other states. Touring, for the first phase of recovery, was very geographically based in the Southeast. There just weren't a lot of cities outside of the Southeast that a show could go to. We could have benefited from that, but there's not a lot of touring artists who could just go out and play 10 cities and be successful.
TG: What’s the biggest lesson you learned from the pandemic?
BP: There's a lot that I don't ever want to have to do again! Our last event was March 9, 2020, the SEC Championship on Sunday and then we closed on Tuesday. It was a long summer. But we found ways to host events safely. We did a number of events that were socially distant. We had many, many processes in place which allowed us to open probably a little bit earlier than some of our peer buildings throughout the country.
More:GM Beth Paul Is Leading Bon Secours Wellness Arena's Emergence From Pandemic
TG: Were there things you and your team did and adopted that were ‘why didn’t we do this sooner?’ moments? Are some things that have changed for good about how arenas function?
BP: There are some things that have created efficiencies in communications, within the workforce especially, maybe in external communications as well. We did adopt some security technology, touchless technology throughout the venue, as a result of Covid, that has really improved the operation. Our new security system is totally touchless, so that's been an improvement. Our ticket scanning system is also touchless, so unless there's an error or something that needs to be resolved, there's no need for interaction with the staff. That's really allowed our staff people to serve a different role. Now they're greeters or they're offering assistance, instead of just being so tactical.
TG: What about the old arena site across the street? Is there one particular thing that would be most beneficial?
BP: I don't have a specific concept that I want to see in terms of what the building is. What I do want to create is more connectivity to Main Street, to where the restaurants and the shops and businesses are. I want to have a sense of place that exists when we don't have an event or before and after an event.
TG: What’s your favorite kind of event? Sports? Concerts? Monster trucks?
BP: I truthfully don't have a favorite event here. If somebody is here and they're having a wonderful time at that particular show, THAT day is my favorite. If I'm away from here, I love live music, any kind of live music. I have a teenage daughter and we love to go to concerts and see shows in other venues. My family, we're also big into sports, so anytime I can go to a sporting event, I'm really happy. My desire to do these things outside of work really aligns with why I do what I do.
TG: Has there been a favorite show or artist?
BP: My favorite event that we've ever had here was Tina Turner. It was Oct 11, 2000. She was amazing. I've just never seen anything like her.
TG: What’s most satisfying for you about what you do?
BP: I love being around people. I love the challenge and, honestly, I love getting some wins for Greenville. I love when we get a big sold-out Show and we're able to fill up hotel rooms and we're able to support small businesses and create jobs. I like that it brings more awareness to Greenville, that we're listed on, Paul McCartney's tour. It's impressive and it's exciting to be a part of.
TG: Your team does some remarkable load-out, load-in and set up transitions – What's most difficult about changeovers?
BP: Time is the most critical factor. Regardless of what show we're going to and from, it's all about how much time we have in between. Any time it's a quick, overnight, four- to five-hour changeover, it's very challenging. You have to have a sufficient labor force, working the third shift and you have no real margin for error.
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TG: What about rodeo and monster trucks?
BP: Any event that requires dirt is a challenge. Getting it in and getting it out and the effect that much dirt has on the building. You have to think about air filters and the dust on the seats and the curtains, and dust in the concession stands. All the carpets have to be cleaned. It's worth it. It's exciting, and Monster Jam does very well here, as does professional bull riding. But the dirt, the dirt brings in a whole other element. For Monster Jam, it’s 750 tons. It's constant stream of trucks all day.
TG: In the 1990s when the arena was being created, what did the planners get most right? What do you wish they had known?
BP: I think we have benefitted from a very well-engineered, very well-constructed building. The building is timeless. They got the seating capacity right. For a building opening in 1998, putting in 30 executive suites was well done, and they continue to be a significant revenue driver. Location is so critical, and they picked the perfect spot. If I have to say they got one thing wrong -- they put only three elevators in the building. I would love another elevator! But that's OK we can deal. We can make it work.
TG: What’s your go-to concession food or drink?
BP: Tater Tots and a Diet Pepsi. But we've worked hard, especially since the pandemic, to improve the offerings and make it so, hopefully, people choose to eat here as opposed to, you know, a full meal in a restaurant. We've come a long way from just beer and popcorn.
TG: Talk a little about your team.
BP: I have such an amazing staff. We have 418 employees, plus vendors, who are just an extension of our staff. They work very hard to make this building successful. They are talented and dedicated and have a love for this industry. You have to. This is a lifestyle, working every weekend from October to May. Sometimes the best thing for me to do is to stay out of their way. I let them do their jobs and I hope that they know they can count on me, too. … I try to be very respectful of their life outside of the arena. We work really long hours, so if there's a time they need to be away, you have to have that redundancy in place so they can get away and not feel like they're letting down the operation.
TG: What would you most like people to say after they’ve attended an event?
BP: I'd like for them to say 'I can't wait to come back. I can't wait for the next show.’ I would like them to say that they were treated with kindness and respect the whole time they were here. That they felt safe and that it was somewhere they felt comfortable.
TG: What do you see on the horizon for the arena over the next, say 5 or 10 years?
BP: Hopefully, we'll see development of the auditorium site in the near future. That to me is what's going to be a real game-changer, to see further development of this area of downtown. As for the arena campus, there are no plans in place right now, but it's something we certainly think about -- often. We'll also keep our eye on the music. The touring industry is so different than it was when we opened in 1998. Making sure that we stay attractive to the industry, so they keep wanting to come back to Greenville. That's really exciting.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Here's how Greenville's Bon Secours Wellness Arena gets ready to host
