Entertainment & Sports Arena Project Spotlight
Behind the Scenes at an Arena
There’s nothing like hearing the final buzzer when your team has won the game, or feeling the blizzard of confetti your favorite band shoots into the crowd during their signature song. You’ve had a beer or two, maybe enjoyed a hot dog, and head for home humming your favorite song or recapping the game highlights with your date. As you hop on the train, our third crew of the day is just getting started. The UG2 team has been onsite since early in the morning to set up the facility, passed you several times during the event as they restocked paper towels in the restrooms, and now is transforming your entertainment & sports arena from a party scene back to sparkling clean.
It’s all in a day’s work for UG2.
On any given day as many as 125 UG2 employees are onsite, on the job – here’s what happens in the typical 24 hours before, during, and after an event.
First Shift – PreGame
It’s starting to get busy, with beer deliveries, kitchen staff prepping their stations, and fans looking at the merch in the pro shop. We’re spreading out through the facility to clean employee offices, retail stores, and anything you can see. We unload deliveries and stock them in the proper areas, all while keeping an eye out for spills. We are constantly looking for anywhere we can be proactive.
If the day’s event includes a giveaway such as t-shirts or rally towels, our crew walks through the stands to put them on each seat for the lucky fans. If the teams have a shoot-around or a pre-skate, we do a thorough mop of the floor, clean the seats, remove any trash, and even clean puck marks from the shield around the ice.
Second Shift – Game On!
Showtime! The energy level gets so high during the game or concert that our employees catch an adrenaline buzz. There is nothing like being in an arena full of fans! Our team needs all of the energy they can get as they are constantly on the go for the entire event.
Our first priority is safety: arenas typically hold tens of thousands of people, and we don’t want a single one to slip and fall. Every team member is equipped with a radio to call in any issue they see; a dispatcher gets the right person to take care of everything from replenishing restroom supplies, to sweeping up popcorn from the concourse, to mopping up spills. We are on it!
We have teams trained for every area, from the general concession areas, to the locker rooms, to the VIP suites. We are constantly balancing who goes where throughout the event, and do a lot of cross-training to make sure we never skip a beat.
One skill that goes across the board: friendly and five-star service. All of our employees are PHDs – Passionate, Hard Working, and Dedicated. We know that we can make or break your experience, and we want you to go home feeling great about the venue, whether your team wins or loses.
A newer area of training we have incorporated is social media awareness. We don’t ever want to see an overflowing trash bin tagged with the arena name on Instagram, or video of a team member leaning on a broom on Facebook Live. We know that we are the front lines of the arena’s public face – we take that job very seriously. That means extra staff, ever-faster response time, and constant awareness of the surroundings so that any issue is taken care of before you even notice.
Third Shift – From Party to Pristine
The show is over and the fans clear out. A fresh UG2 team arrives, ready to make the arena look as pristine as it did the day the doors opened. While you sleep, we are hard at work wiping down every seat, using green cleaning methods with no harmful chemicals. We pick up every piece of trash, including concert confetti, beer cups, and peanut shells. We mop every floor and take advantage of the empty facility to do all of our deep cleaning.
When the morning comes, we do it all over again. Arenas are such busy facilities that there are often multiple events in a day. Our teams are like clockwork, meeting every deadline no matter how tight. We often go three months without missing a day taking care of an arena, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We are constantly looking for new ways to provide exceptional service to make sure that the concert or game is such a special experience you can’t wait to come back.