Shelby ShowPlace Arena Plans To Add Fans Addition Promises Cooler Summer Temps, Warmer Winter by Nancy Brannon The Shelby ShowPlace arena has had its ups and downs in the last few years, going from near shut-down in 2004 to a recovery under new management that has added more shows and cut its losses in half. What goes into making a horse show, multi-purpose arena a success? Mark Hoggard, manager of the ShowPlace Arena, and Agricenter President John Charles Wilson give their ideas on what it takes to turn the place around to make it both useful and profitable. Their immediate plans are to add more fans, both the mechanical kind and the human kind. Mark Hoggard started managing the arena a year ago last August. He's a hands-on manager who does "everything that needs to be done to make sure the show goes smoothly for the promoter, from cleaning floors, stalls, bathrooms, working the dirt in the arena." He handles everything from prepping before the show, working during the show, to cleaning up after the show. Mark is no stranger to hard work. "When it comes to work, there are no titles. If a job needs to be done, we do it. We do whatever makes the show a success." Still, he is the guy in charge and the one John Charles comes to if something goes wrong. Before coming to manage the arena, Mark raised cattle, baled hay and straw as a farmer for almost 20 years. That is, until he met Susan Wilson (now Hoggard), married her, and started working at S. Y. Wilson General Store in Arlington. Susan inherited management of the store from her dad, Sam Wilson, and together with her new husband they kept the hardware business going. "I did that for almost 11 years, working both at the hardware store and farming." A brief history of the Show Place arena shows the precarious situation it was in. Mark explained, "In 2004 Shelby County decided to close the ShowPlace arena and figure out what to do with the property. They wanted someone to take it over and came to an agreement for the Agricenter to manage it. So in January 2005, the Agricenter took over management of the arena. Unfortunately, because it was in limbo for a year, so many shows had pulled away and gone to other facilities. The Agricenter pulled together a team to work the arena to get it back on its feet. Now there are two full time employees and one part-time employee and a marketing person, who has done an incredible job getting shows back to the facility." Mark continued with the arena's history, "When the Agricenter first took over the ShowPlace, Shelby County left one man working, Rodney Martin, who had knowledge of everything n where the light switches and breakers are, the water cut-offs; he had knowledge of how to turn on the lights and water. Then Gary Higgs was hired, a retiree from MLGW, who managed the arena for about 3-4 months, until he left to spend more time enjoying his retirement and grandson." Then a year ago, Mark's wife Susan decided to close the no-longer-profitable hardware store and convert it to an antiques mall. JUMP HERE That's when John Charles Wilson, President of Agricenter International, approached Mark about the position of managing the Show Place arena. "When we closed S. Y. Wilson's Store in August 2005, I was no longer needed and was out of work. I did help re-arrange the store as people were moving in stuff for their booths. For a while, I'd work at the arena until I got off, then come work at the store to move stuff to make room for booths." Continuing with the history of the ShowPlace, Mark noted, "The Agricenter originally signed a 3-year contract with the county. But the improvements needed for the facility weren't financially feasible with only a 3-year contract. So now the Agricenter has a contract until 2011" that allow more long-term improvements to be made to attract more clients. The latest project is to install "Big Ass fans" (yes, you read that right; see http://www.bigassfans.com) to improve ambient temperatures and reduce heating and cooling costs in the arena. They have purchased six and will be installing them in the main arena beginning December 4th. They expect the fans to reduce the summer heat in the building by about 15º F. and to circulate heat better in the winter months. Mark jokingly commented, "Maybe we'll advertise 'we have Big Ass fans' on the marquee out front." The Show Place has a number of amenities with which they hope to attract a steady stream of shows and more human fans. There are six barns with 632 stalls, a main arena measuring 125 X 250 with seating capacity for 4,000 n 4,500 people. There is an enclosed, heated warm-up barn; a 90 X 90 outdoor arena with bleachers to seat 2,000 n 2,500 people; plus a multi-purpose covered arena. There are RV hookups for about 85 rigs. For details about the facility, visit their web site at www.agricenter.org. The marketing manager, LaCresha Kolba, seems to have been successful because "Now we have a full schedule," Mark said. "At the end of December, we have the Liberty Bowl Rodeo. In January we'll host a Motorcross, the USTRC team roping, and North American Bullriding Association (http://www.nabanow.com/). We've recently held the eastern team penning finals. We have a full calendar until April, at least. Previously, we've had a dressage clinic, team roping and penning, barrel racing, rodeos, and concerts. Trick Pony played here, as did Mark Chestnutt. The Shrine Circus is coming in March and we'll host the Mid-South Quarter Horse Association show and the Tennessee High School rodeo. Most shows are 2-3 days, but we're trying to attract longer-term shows, 5-8 days. The National Buckskin Association is looking to come here." The ShowPlace currently has one full time position open and the job requirements include knowledge of animals, tractors and equipment, and some knowledge about the arena. They are also looking for a crew to clean stalls after events on a pay-per-stall basis. Their goal is to get stalls cleaned quickly so that shows can be scheduled back to back. The Agricenter has its own "mulch works" so the manure does not have to be hauled far from the stalls. John Charles Wilson said he's "proud of the way the arena has taken shape. We're moving forward. The facility was losing $200,000 per year and we have cut that in half in two years. We want to break even and we're doing it without assistance. It's a matter of providing good service to the customers." He is interested in drawing more of the human fans to the arena. "Most of the events are free and open to the public, even the participatory events. It's a great place for free entertainment for the family. It's a great place for kids who are interested in horses to come and be around horses." His plans include facility upgrades to accommodate the people fans. "We're trying to keep the arena clean and appealing to families. We have an agreement with the county to upgrade the restrooms, so we'll be starting work soon on handicapped restrooms for men and women, restrooms that meet ADA standards. We are pleased with the way it's going, although it has been a challenge. We've got a really good crew and we are giving customers the service they desire." John Charles on the mechanical fans: "We have a letter of intent from a production company to bring two new events to the facility after the Big Ass fans are installed. Some warehouses in Memphis have them. They reduce the 'felt' temperature because of increased air movement. We've been pushing this for a year. We think they will provide a better and cheaper alternative to air conditioning: $45,000 for the fans versus $700,000 for AC. For equestrian events, it's better not to have air conditioning. Plus when you leave a 24-foot wide door open there's no way to keep the arena cool. The fans will push the hot air down in the winter time to make it more comfortable." Mark commented, "there's a 40-degree difference between the temperature at the peak of the building and at the ground." To conclude, John Charles said, "We've come a long way, yet there are still a lot of things we want to do to improve the arena. We just have to take it one step at a time."