• Veteran Music Agent Noël Mirhadi Appointed Director to Build the New Alliance and Champion Collective Booking and Buying Power, Unique Content, and Sponsorship Opportunities

Oak View Group (OVG) announced on January 13 the creation of its national Theater Alliance, with an inaugural roster of 39 marque theaters and performing arts venues in 18 markets across North America that will benefit from collectivebuying power, routing of non-traditional content, sponsorship opportunities, industry best practices and resources, and shared proceeds from an annual fundraising gala.

OVG, the global venue development, advisory, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries, will announce the inaugural members of the Theater Alliance at the Association for Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference Opening Plenary Session on Friday, January 13. Members include:

• ACL Live at the Moody Center (Austin, TX)
• AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas TX)
• Beacon Theater, Hulu Theater at MSG, and Radio City Music Hall (New York, NY)
• Boch Center (Boston, MA)
• The Chicago Theater (Chicago, IL)
• First Interstate Center (Spokane, WA)
• Fox Theatre (Detroit, MI)
• Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA)
• Loew’s Jersey Theater – opening 2025 (Jersey City, NJ)
• Pabst Theater Group (Milwaukee, WI)
• Paramount Theatre (Denver, CO)
• Paramount Theatre (Oakland, CA)
• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Portland’5 Centers for the Arts (Portland, OR)
• Ryman Auditorium & Grand Ole Opry (Nashville, TN)
• Segerstrom Center for the Arts (Costa Mesa, CA)
• Stifel Theatre (St. Louis, MO)
• Tulsa Performing Arts Center (Tulsa, OK)

“313 Presents is proud to be an inaugural member of the OVG Theater Alliance,” said Howard Handler, President of 313 Presents.  “The Fox Theatre, Detroit’s crown jewel, is a destination for everyone within our community.  This alliance provides opportunities for us to share and learn best practices from other iconic theatres around the country and to deliver even more to artists, tours and our guests.”

To give member theaters and performing arts centers a competitive edge within their markets, the Theater Alliance will help drive unique, exclusive, and traditionally mainstream content to its member venues; for example, intimate acoustic performances by some of the top names in entertainment.

OVG has hired music industry professional Noël Mirhadi as director of the Theater Alliance, tasked with building, launching, and growing the group. A longtime music agent, most recently at United Talent Agency (UTA), Mirhadi has spent her career focused on booking Adult Contemporary artists into venues nationwide. She brings a depth of knowledge and relationships as an expert in the world of performing arts and seated theaters. Additionally, she brings experience in the brand partnerships division, having paired UTA clients with top brands, products, and platforms. She previously worked in the Performing Arts divisions of APA and The Agency Group, which was acquired by UTA in 2015.

“Theaters serve as the heartbeat of their community. I understand and appreciate this sentiment having started as a musician and having gone on to dedicate my professional life and career to music and the arts,” Mirhadi said. “I’m thrilled to have joined Oak View Group as we create and launch our new Theater Alliance, which will support these critically important institutions and help them continue to thrive. We’ve put together a collective of premier venues that operate in strong markets and within even stronger communities. The Alliance will allow us to tangibly support their continued growth and success.”  

The Theater Alliance is modeled after OVG’s Arena & Stadium Alliance, a collection of the top 38 venues in North America that provides a united platform for booking, content development, procurement, and sponsorship sales opportunities.  

Joe Giordano, OVG vice president overseeing the Theater Alliance and Arena & Stadium Alliance, said: “The demand for the Theater Alliance was certainly amplified coming out of the pandemic. Performing arts venues across the nation, which are traditionally costly to operate, all face similar challenges.

The Alliance, under Noël’s outstanding leadership, is eager to continue building the network of top venues in first tier markets to help them meet and exceed their programming and budgetary goals, and bring opportunities to the table that they didn’t even know were possible.”

“The Theater Alliance is yet another way OVG uniquely serves our industry,” Chris Granger, president of OVG360, said.  These theaters represent the best of the best. They are committed to work in concert not only to improve their operations and overall guest experience, but, perhaps more importantly, to creatively elevate the arts and attract a new generation of theatergoers from within their communities….because we are all better when the arts thrive.”

After garnering feedback from fans, players and front office stakeholders, the Tigers have announced adjustments to the outfield dimensions at Comerica Park.

For 2023 Opening Day, the center field wall will be adjusted to 412 feet. Additionally, the height of the outfield wall in multiple key areas will be lowered, most notably above the out-of-town scoreboard from 13 feet to seven. The foundation of the entire outfield wall will be reconstructed with material and padding that enhances player safety.

These changes modify the deepest parts of Comerica Park, while retaining the uniqueness and exciting style of play fans are accustomed to.

There are several benefits these changes deliver:

• Reward hitter outcomes on balls hit to the deepest parts of the park
• Maintain the high number of extra-base hits on balls in play to the gaps, resulting in action on the basepaths
• Lowered wall height encouraging more electric defensive plays such as home run robberies

“This has been a topic of conversation for quite some time within our organization,” said Scott Harris, Detroit Tigers President of Baseball Operations. “We’re confident that this plan accomplishes our goals of improving offensive conditions on the hardest hit balls, while maintaining Comerica Park’s unique dimensions and style of play. These updates come after a great deal of research and feedback from all stakeholders in and around the organization, including our fans, players and front office. The outfield wall changes, combined with new rules from Major League Baseball in place this season, have the potential to create even more excitement and on field action for years to come.”

As part of the extensive research in planning these changes, highly accurate laser measurements were taken of the outfield wall. As a result, though the actual distance won’t change, the left field corner will be re-labeled from 345 to 342. The center field distance will be reduced 10 feet to 412, as the existing wall was measured at 422.

With Comerica Park’s new dimensions, the 412-foot center field will stand as the second deepest in baseball behind only Coors Field at 415, while the league average is 402.

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Six talented players on Little Caesars AAA U19 Girls Hockey team will continue playing the game they love, now as Division 1 collegiate athletes. Recently, high school seniors Sidney Jackel, Teagan Vaughan, Ella Blackmore, Kaia Malachino, Cassie Hall and Ava McIllmurray gathered with their families and coaches at their Little Caesars Arena practice facility and officially committed to play hockey at Division 1 schools.

Some of the players began hockey as young as four years old, looking up to older siblings who played the sport, and professional players like Manon Rhéaume, who was an important role model for many young women interested in hockey. Rheaume, coined as the “First Woman of Hockey,” coached U12 hockey and served as the Little Caesars AAA Girls Program Coordinator. Rhéaume began working with the Little Caesars league seven years ago, sharing a start time with three of this year’s signees. “

When I started seven years ago, my goal was to make a difference in those girls’ lives. Hockey taught me so many life lessons and I knew it would do the same thing to them,” said Rhéaume. “To see them along the way, facing adversity and to keep going and finally get to their dream of going to college is the most satisfying part.”

For Andrew McIllmurray, Manager for the U19 Girls team, this year is exceptionally special since his daughter is one of the college signees. “It’s amazing how quickly the time has gone by, and it’s been incredible to see how hard each of these girls have worked to get to this moment, which to me means that deserve it. And for us parents, it makes us proud to have watched them set a goal and achieve it,” said McIllmurray.

While each player has personal reasons for wanting to attend their respective colleges, they all have a shared goal to expand access to hockey for women. We sat down with them at their signing event as they reflected on their hockey journeys. Here are their responses along with their throwback hockey photos:

Ella Blackmore, this year’s captain, started playing hockey at age 4 and is attending Northeastern University in the fall.

“I love hockey. It’s a huge passion of mine, and it lets me have a goal while I work hard and build great friendships.”

Cassie Hall started playing hockey at age 4 and is attending the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the fall.

“I wanted to play hockey in college to continue playing the sport that I love while getting better and being surrounded by the best players.”

Sidney Jackel started playing hockey at age 4 and is attending Lindenwood University in the fall.

“I want to be the best player I can be, and play at the highest level that I can, and college is the next height.”

Kaia Malachino, one of this year’s assistant captains, started playing hockey at age 4 and is attending Colgate University in the fall.

“My favorite hockey memory is winning the national championships back-to-back, and I’m excited to be a college athlete and hopefully keep winning.”

Ava McIllmurray started playing hockey at age 5 and is attending Lindenwood University in the fall.

“I love hockey so much, and all the friendships that come with it. Keeping that in college is exciting and something to look forward to.”

Teagan Vaughan started playing hockey at age 8 and is attending Assumption College in the fall.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play in college, and I always knew hockey was for me. I never want to quit. My goal has always been to go the farthest I can go in hockey, and right now, that’s college.”

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Detroit’s Breadless was born from co-founder Marc Howland’s long-time vision to make healthy, gluten-free, low-carb food options more accessible to people. Howland, along with his wife L.C. Howland and partner Ryan Eli Salter, launched their innovative and nutritional concept last year, initially with pop-ups around Detroit followed by a brick-and-mortar location at 2760 E. Larned St.

Breadless was also part of a dedicated effort to support Detroit-based, minority-owned businesses to Comerica Park. Now, from Nov. 14 – Dec. 13, Breadless joins other local restaurants Bert’s Marketplace, The Lobster Food Truck & Pitstop and others at Little Caesars Arena.

Providing exactly what its name states – a 100 percent bread-free menu – Breadless focuses primarily on serving “super green” sandwiches, wrapped in hearty, leafy greens – like kale and collards – with the goal of providing healthy options to traditional sandwiches. A crowd-pleaser at Comerica Park was the eatery’s Detroit Oyster Club, a sandwich with Swiss chard and roasted portobello oyster mushrooms, arugula balsamic tomatoes and onions, wrapped in a leafy green.

“Breadless bridges a gap. We are connecting with local farms and bringing fresh food and packaging in a way that is delicious, that you can get on the go in a convenient format,” said Howland.

“We are proud to welcome Breadless to Little Caesars Arena for upcoming events in November and December,” said Chris McGowan, President and CEO of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. “This past summer at Comerica Park, we began showcasing small, Black-owned businesses in the city of Detroit. We’re privileged to continue bringing those opportunities to Little Caesars Arena, right in the heart of The District Detroit.”

Howland, an Ohio native, said he’s found his home not only within Breadless, but in Detroit. “Hopefully this incredible opportunity results in regular customers, which ultimately helps us to better serve our Detroit community and to grow with the city.”

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Pizza and Italian Cheese Stix Duo Offers Both Pepperoni Pizza and Cheese Stix Topped with Either Jalapeño or Bacon in One Box

Slices-N-Stix is back at Little Caesars to prove that pizza and breadsticks are even tastier together – now with an unexpected twist. The newest addition to the Little Caesars menu brings pizza and Cheese Stix together to create a surprising combination all in one mouth-watering pie — with newly added jalapeño or bacon topping options for the included Cheese Stix. Slices-N-Stix combines four pepperoni pizza slices and 8 Cheese Stix in one box, plus a side of Crazy Sauce®.  Starting January 3, Slices-N-Stix will be available for a limited time at Little Caesars restaurants nationwide for only $6.99 for pepperoni pizza and cheese breadsticks, or $7.99 with your choice of bacon or jalapeño breadsticks.

“What’s better than the iconic combination of delicious pepperoni pizza and cheesy breadsticks?” said Greg Hamilton, Chief Marketing Officer at Little Caesars. “We think the option of savory bacon or spicy jalapeño will really heat things up for pizza fans this winter.”

Customers can get the Slices-N-Stix deal by ordering on the Little Caesars app or at littlecaesars.com for delivery or pickup starting on January 3^rd, or just walking in and purchasing the product HOT-N-READY between 4 and 8 p.m. Bacon and jalapeño options are available for online ordering only.

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Weatherby Recorded 11 Points in 50 Games With Sharks During 2021-22

The Detroit Red Wings today acquired center Jasper Weatherby from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for center Kyle Criscuolo.

Weatherby, 24, has spent the entire 2022-23 season with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda, recording six points (3-3-6) and 39 penalty minutes in 39 games. The 6-foot-4, 222-pound forward split his first professional season between the Sharks and Barracuda in 2021-22, notching 11 points (5-6-11) and 18 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Sharks, in addition to 15 points (5-10-15) and 24 penalty minutes in 25 appearances with the Barracuda. Originally selected by San Jose in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Weatherby tallied a power play goal and an assist in his NHL debut with the Sharks on Oct. 16, 2021 vs. Winnipeg.

Prior to turning professional, Weatherby played three seasons at the University of North Dakota from 2018-21, serving as an assistant captain during his junior year. The Portland, Oregon, native totaled 47 points (27-20-47), 50 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating in 100 games with the Fighting Hawks, helping the program win back-to-back Penrose Cup titles as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s regular-season champion. Additionally, Weatherby ranks sixth in program history with a 57.8 faceoff percentage. Before starting his collegiate career, Weatherby spent two seasons with the Wenatchee Wild of the British Columbia Hockey League from 2016-18, compiling 106 points (49-57-106) and 72 penalty minutes in 104 games, along with 42 points (17-25-42) in 30 postseason contests. During his final season in Wenatchee, Weatherby was named the recipient of the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy as the BCHL’s most valuable player, and also earned the Brett Hull Trophy as the league’s top scorer after posting 74 points (37-37-74) in 58 regular-season games. Weatherby helped the Wild capture the 2018 BCHL championship after posting 38 points (15-23-38) in 20 playoff appearances.

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Madonna, the best-selling female solo touring artist of all time, has announced “Madonna: The Celebration Tour” with a performance scheduled at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, August 5 at 8:30 p.m. The global tour will highlight her unmatched catalog of music from the past 40 plus years with special guest Bob the Drag Queen a.k.a. Caldwell Tidicue across all dates.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 27 at 10 a.m. at 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com. Visit madonna.com/tour for complete tour and ticket listing.

Citi is the official card of “Madonna The Celebration Tour.” Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for shows going on sale on Friday, January 27 starting on Tuesday, January 24 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, January 26 at 6 p.m. local time. For complete presale details visit citientertainment.com.

Legacy members of Madonna’s Official Fan Club will have a pre-sale opportunity for the North American based shows going on sale on January 27 beginning on Monday, January 23 at 10 a.m. through Wednesday, January 25 until 5 p.m. Visit madonna.com for complete tour and ticketing information.

Fans can also purchase VIP Packages, which may include premium tickets, exclusive access to a behind the scenes tour, group photo on-stage, pre-show reception, limited edition lithograph & more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

Today’s announcement was made with an iconic viral video with a wink to her groundbreaking film Truth or Dare. The video features notable names such as Diplo, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Lil Wayne, Bob The Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Meg Stalter, Eric Andre and culminates with Amy Schumer daring the global superstar to go on tour and perform her four decades of mega hits. Madonna rises to the challenge announcing, “The Celebration Tour.”

Produced by Live Nation, the 35-city global tour will kick off in North America on Saturday, July 15 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC with stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and more before making its way to Europe where she will hit 11 cities throughout the fall, including London, Barcelona, Paris and Stockholm, among others. “The Celebration Tour” will wrap in Amsterdam, NL on Friday, December 1 at Ziggo Dome.

“The Celebration Tour” will take us on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades and pays respect to the city of New York where her career in music began. “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” states Madonna.

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Robert Hagg Activated from Injured Reserve

The Detroit Red Wings today assigned goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins and activated defenseman Robert Hagg from injured reserve.

Nedeljkovic, 27, made six starts during his conditioning stint with the Griffins, posting a 3-2-1 record with a 2.30 goals-against average, a 0.920 save percentage and one shutout. The 6-foot, 208-pound goaltender has also appeared in nine games with the Red Wings this season, holding a 2-4-2 record with a 4.09 goals-against average and a 0.880 save percentage. Nedeljkovic was acquired by the Red Wings in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 22, 2021 and led all NHL rookie netminders in games played (59), shots against (1,796), saves (1,618), time on ice (3,230:48), shutouts (4) and assists (2) during the 2021-22 campaign. He finished third in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy and made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2020-21 after showing a 15-5-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average, a 0.932 save percentage and three shutouts in 23 appearances with the Hurricanes, in addition to logging a 4-5 record with a 2.17 goals-against average, a 0.930 save percentage and one shutout in nine postseason contests. Originally selected by Carolina in the second round (37th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Nedeljkovic has compiled a 39-35-15 record with a 2.98 goals-against average, a 0.906 save percentage and seven shutouts in 97 appearances over parts of six NHL seasons with the Red Wings and Hurricanes since 2016-17. Nedeljkovic also earned a Calder Cup championship with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers in 2019 after leading the AHL in wins (34) for the second-consecutive year and goals-against average (2.26) en route to claiming the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top goaltender and a spot on the AHL First All-Star Team. Additionally, Nedeljkovic became the 13th goaltender in AHL history to score a goal when he accomplished the feat with the Checkers on March 10, 2018, and the 12th netminder in ECHL history to score a goal when he did so with the Florida Everblades on Dec. 30, 2016.

A native of Parma, Ohio, Nedeljkovic has several ties to the state of Michigan, notably as a teammate of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin on the 2011-12 Belle Tire U16 team. Prior to turning professional, Nedeljkovic posted an 89-77-20 record with a 2.88 goals-against average, a 0.918 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 191 Ontario Hockey League games between the Plymouth Whalers, Flint Firebirds and Niagara IceDogs from 2012-16. He was named the OHL’s Goaltender of the Year in 2013-14 and earned back-to-back selections on the OHL Third All-Star Team the following two seasons. Nedeljkovic has represented the United States several times on the international stage, winning a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship after tallying a 4-2 record with a 1.66 goals-against average and a 0.943 save percentage. He also helped his country earn a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World Under-18 Championship after leading the tournament with a 1.84 goals-against average.

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Tickets On-Sale Friday, January 11 at 10 a.m.

It’s a rite of passage for any music fan, seeing “The Chief” live in concert. Known for his marathon sets, the 2022 Billboard Music Awards’ Top Country Tour honoree Eric Church will bring his critically acclaimed live show to new audiences in new ways this year.  Headlining outdoor venues throughout the summer with “The Outsiders Revival Tour,” Church will take over the Pine Knob Music Theatre stage on Friday, June 23 at 7 p.m. Joining the man praised by Pollstar for “having already long established himself as one of the most successful touring country artists” for the local date is Ashley McBryde and The Red Clay Strays. Pine Knob Music Theatre is presented by Proud Partners United Wholesale Mortgage, Trinity Health and Ally.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 11 at 10 a.m. at 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com. Presale access available to Church Choir members starting Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. local time.

“When I approach touring, I’m always inspired by a new experience, a new way to gather, to express ourselves sonically and visually. Whether it’s solo, in the round, double down; being able to bring a different perspective has always brought out our best creatively,” shared Church. “Well, we have never done an outdoor summer tour. Never headlined amphitheaters. Never brought a summer experience to your town that featured artists we want to share the summer with. Until now. See you in the season of sunshine with some fellow outsiders that shine brightest when the sun goes down.”

Kicking off June 22, the Live Nation produced tour takes the man celebrated by Forbes for “offering fans a unique experience each night while conjuring up the unpredictability that used to make concerts unforgettable” to 27 cities across the U.S. and Canada.

For more information and to learn how to join the Church Choir, visit EricChurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

Photo credit: Andrew Potter

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