Christopher Bufanio

Gunnar Fox – Final Paper

The Pennsylvania State University

Introduction:

Gunnar Fox is the Vice President and General Manager of the PPL Center. He works

directly for the entertainment group called the Oak View Group. This phone interview with

Gunnar Fox was conducted on October 5th, 2023. I chose to interview Gunnar because I grew up

in the Lehigh Valley, so I saw the rise of the PPL Center and enjoyed the many amenities it has to

offer to the public. The PPL Center was a staple of my childhood, as my brother would have

many hockey tournaments hosted by the center, and I went to several concerts and Lehigh Valley

Phantom’s AHL hockey games there, as well. Choosing Mr. Fox was an easy choice for me,

mainly because of his position within the Oak View Group (OVG), his interworking with the

PPL Center, and his management tasks as a vice president and general manager of the arena’s

operations.

Mr. Fox went to Ithaca College in upstate New York from 2002-2006, majoring in Sports

Management and Media. His sole desire was to be on an ESPN-type show and do the operations

and management of a program. The major was purely exploratory for him. He fell into a meeting

with his advisor in his junior year of college, who had a connection to the entertainment group

originally known as Comcast-Spectacor. All under Comcast Spectacor, who owned the Spectra

Entertainment Group (which was acquired by OVG later), Gunnar had worked and taken several

positions during his 14 years within the entertainment group.

Later in 2019, OVG bought out Spectra in 2021. Here, he began an internship with who

was known as the Philadelphia Phantoms at the time, but they would later be known as the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms soon after the PPL Center was established in 2014. This internship was

held at the Spectrum, but now the Wells Fargo Center has taken its place. Later after he
graduated from Ithaca College, Gunnar went back to the Wells Fargo Center and the Spectrum

(they were both operating together) and took a position as an event manager.

After serving about a year and a half there, he traveled to British Columbia and took a

position as a general manager of the EnCana Events Centre. Here, he held the position for a little

more than a year. He then would move on to the Santa Ana Star Center, becoming a general

manager for five years in Rio Rancho, New Mexico (after leaving Canada). In March 2014,

around the formation and establishment of the PPL Center, Mr. Fox became the general manager

of the PPL Center and held this role for five years and a couple of months. He was quickly

promoted to Vice President and General Manager of the PPL Center in April 2019. Gunnar’s title

did not change but after the buyout of the Spectra Entertainment group, he began to work

directly with OVG, instead of Spectra Entertainment.

Mission and Purpose:

The mission statement of the Oak View Group is as follows: “OVG360 is an industry

leader in hosting and entertainment, partnering with clients to create memorable

experiences for tens of millions of visitors every year. OVG360's unmatched blend of

integrated services delivers incremental value for clients through several primary areas of

expertise: Venue Management, Food Services & Hospitality, and Partnerships.” (PPL

Center) The mission statement for the PPL Center is as follows: “The amenities-packed

PPL Center hosts more than 150 events each year, offering something for everyone,

including the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Philadelphia Flyers,

live concerts, family shows, trade shows, youth sports, high school and collegiate events,

conferences, graduations and many more.” (PPL Center)

Clientele Served:

The clients served at the PPL Center include concert enthusiasts, hockey fans, local high

schools or colleges (graduation), wrestling fans, etc. Other clientele served are companies that

choose to partner with the PPL Center and select to advertise their business there. They can

receive benefits including box and suite seating, tickets to certain or all events, etc. (depending

on the client, can be suite or club seating, etc.).

All ages are welcome to most events at the PPL Center, as it is typically a family dynamic

that they market to. Some events tend to have an older or younger crowd, depending on the type

and time of the event. Membership is not required but can be chosen under their Phantoms

Premier plan. Here, patrons can receive tickets to every home hockey game with early entrance,

a 20% team store discount, discounted Philadelphia Flyers tickets, etc. “This membership

package is not required but can be chosen for the most dedicated fans.” (PPL Center) Since the

PPL Center is located downtown in Allentown, PA, most of the patrons tend to come from

surrounding areas in the Lehigh Valley like Bethlehem, Emmaus, Quakertown, and Wescosville.

Other times for more popular events like concerts and playoff hockey games, patrons can come

from anywhere within hours of the PPL Center like upstate Pennsylvania or even the New

Jersey/New York area. Mostly the demographic that the PPL Center markets to are families, but

it vastly depends on the type of event. Country concerts, for example, tend to draw more of a 20–

40-year-old crowd, who enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, etc. But when Disney on Ice comes

to the arena, more families are pulled in for the family-friendly experience.
Services Provided:

The services provided include Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey games (the affiliate team

to the Philadelphia Flyers), several genres of concerts, family events and concerts, and other

types of live or sporting events. This is a multi-purpose arena, so the PPL Center can changeover

from hockey to basketball to a concert whenever they need to. There is indeed a changeover crew

that performs the changeover tasks, depending on which event is coming up on the schedule.

Staffing:

Underneath Gunnar, there are about 60-70 full-time employees and 15-300 part-time (or

temporary) employees (depending on how many part-timers are needed per event). Above

Gunnar are the owners, who he reports to directly (locally). In terms of reporting to OVG, Mr.

Fox contacts the President of the Northeast region of OVG. Volunteers are not used within the

PPL Center, as all the staff are paid.

Funding Sources:

The PPL Center is a privately owned arena, so the funding comes from an established

ownership group. Much of their revenue comes from the profit of events and ticketing,

merchandise, and food and beverage. Most of the revenue goes to bigger-name artists who

choose to perform at the PPL Center, as well, so the arena makes little on ticket sales during

larger events. Food and beverage, along with alcohol sales, are a large majority of their revenue

for shows and other live events. Parking revenue is often very little, as most of it is controlled by

the Allentown parking authority. Fees from tickets are collected by the arena, but the artists will

often take some of that revenue, too. A large source of profit is sponsorships and premium
seating, coming from suites that are usually annual agreements. A certain amount of money is

paid to the PPL Center, and they are provided (for example) all home game tickets to the Lehigh

Valley Phantoms and tickets to every single event that is non-hockey related.

Professional Issues:

Gunnar believes that there isn’t a horrible part of the job because he is dealing with

something different every day. Sometimes it is difficult for him to balance his family life, but his

wife and children have become accustomed to his lifestyle (as he likes to refer to his career). It is

a lifestyle because most of his day is consumed by the position, and it is a way of life for him.

This is not a typical 9-5, so he devotes much of his time to OVG and the PPL Center. One of the

worst parts that he explained is dealing with the drama of the staff below him and trying to

reconcile with everybody so that they can get along cordially in the workplace. One of the better

parts of being the general manager of the PPL Center is that the job is very flexible, due to the

flexibility of his bosses. He can attend family events and be there for his children. The culture of

the arena, he includes, is a large part of how he can take valuable time off and work around

things life can throw at him along the way. It is autonomous. Although he typically works nights

and weekends, Gunnar is used to being one of the last ones out of the arena and being there for

mostly every event put on by the PPL Center.

Self-Reflection:

In the Fall of 2023, I was instructed to interview someone who worked in a sector of

recreation that I was interested in. This assignment was for my Intro to Recreation Services class

at Penn State. Immediately, I began searching the directory for several arenas and venues that I
was familiar with. I reached out to a few, but I was very focused on a venue called the PPL

Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Since this is where I was raised my whole life, I knew that

this would be the perfect location to reach out to and conduct the interview.

I found the contact information for the Vice President/General Manager of the PPL

Center (Gunnar Fox), and I sent an email requesting to schedule an interview with him. Although

this was a very nerve-racking experience, he eventually responded and was very happy to help.

Later on that next week we met via a phone call, and I asked him various questions about his

position, previous work experience, family life, etc. These questions were able to help me gauge

a good idea of what I could be doing in the future, so I am glad Gunnar was happy to help and

extend his knowledge to me.

This experience led to Gunnar extending his offer for me to pursue an internship with him

during Summer 2024. I had no idea where this assignment would lead me, but I did not think it

would set me up with an internship at a venue that I am so comfortable and familiar with.

Gunnar was so gracious to help and reach out a hand, as he was in the same spot as me a mere

fifteen years before me. I am eager to work hard and dedicate all of my time to the PPL Center

and Gunnar, as it is very competitive in the arena management industry.

Bibliography
Center, P. P. L. “Arena Info | PPL Center.” Www.pplcenter.com, www.pplcenter.com/arena-info.

“Phantoms Premier Membership | PPL Center.” Www.pplcenter.com,

www.pplcenter.com/events-and-tickets/season-tickets. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.