Oak View Group is the global leader in venue development, management, and premium hospitality services for the live event industry. Offering an unmatched, 360-degree solution set for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster that includes the most influential, highest attended arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions on the planet.

The Director of Booking reports to the General Manager and oversees all aspects of booking and scheduling ticketed and non-ticketed events at the venue.  Responsible for delivering a superior level of content procurement, private and special events, customer service and effective relationships with clients, promoters, tenants, staff and guests.

This role pays a yearly salary of $110,000 to $150,000 and is bonus eligible.

Benefits for FT roles: Benefits: Health, Dental and Vision insurance, and paid time off (vacation days, sick days, and 12 holidays).

This position will remain open until December 31, 2024

Lexington is an active and thriving market craving an active and welcoming venue for events. The heart of any thriving community is its downtown—and Lexington Center and the historic Rupp Arena are truly the heart of downtown Lexington and one of the most widely-recognized entertainment venues in North America. Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, is fast becoming THE must-play venue.  The 20,000-seat arena, affectionately referred to by some as “the Cathedral of College Basketball”, is home to the National Champion University of Kentucky men’s basketball program and has played host to some of the most talented and award-winning musicians/artists in the world, including U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, and many others. 

Central Bank Center is our convention side, with over 99k sf of exhibition space, 24k sf each of meeting and ballroom space, 50k of hospitality space, 10k sf of flexible space, and over 2500 covered and uncovered parking spaces. Both venues are additionally joined in entertaining this area by the Lexington Opera House, showcasing Broadway talent through collaborative bookings of Broadway shows, small venue concerts, and local arts.

Our Purpose

We are building an organization that serves our fans, community, and partners through world-class entertainment, sports, and events. We believe in being authentically Kentucky. This means staying true to what makes Kentucky, Kentucky, by rolling up our sleeves to get things done, valuing hospitality and gathering together, being a pillar in our community, teamwork over the individual, celebrating our wins, taking risks, and stretching our potential.  As part of Oak View Group, we embrace a positive disRUPPtion.  OVG was built on the idea that we are all fans first, and our decisions and guest interactions are made through that lens.

• Serves as a key contributor to the growth and profitability of the business, including strategic direction of event related sales and bookings at Rupp Arena, The Lexington Opera House and the Town Branch Park Amphitheatre. 
• Responsible for the daily supervision of the booking department and its employees.
• Interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding & disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problem
• Prepare and analyze operational performance of the company and its staff to meet objectives, and determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, and policy change.
• Must be able to establish and implement current & long-term objectives for event sales and bookings of all private, public, and ticketed events.
• Daily delegation of responsibilities to directors, managers, associates, and coordinators within event sales and bookings.
• Exuberantly promote the use of all event spaces in conjunction with marketing representatives to increase utilization.
• Prepares final presentation of all contracts and agreements with promoters, organizers, agents, band managers, and industry professionals.
• Oversee and manage the development of the annual operating calendar, activity schedules, projections for attendance and/or revenue.
• Schedule and lead weekly sales and booking department staff meetings.
• Directly accountable for the sale goals, budgeting and profitability of event sales and venue booking.
• Build and maintain positive customer/client relationships by providing efficient, quality services, and products.
• Represent the organization and promote all objectives at official functions or delegate representatives to do so.
• Organize and manage department budgets for approval, including those for funding and implementation of programs.
• Manage costs to maximize event revenue with Events Department
• Research, cultivate data, develop pitches with market information to agents and promoters
• Facilitate communication between OVG venues and promoters, agents and managers for the betterment of OVG venue content.
• Develop and Maintain high level relationships across the entire live industry
• Negotiate deal points to ensure maximum revenue streams for the complex
• Any additional tasks assigned.

• 5-7 years’ experience booking arena and/or stadium or theaters with direct responsibility for supervising/directing staff across a wide-range of functions in a fast-paced environment in sports & entertainment industry.  Experience with large crowd management in a stadium or concert setting of a similar size (15,000+ seats) is highly desirable
• Bachelor’s degree in business management, hospitality or facilities management or other related field and/or equivalent of work experience in live entertainment
• Previous experience working with a professional sports team or sports tenant, concerts, trade/consumer shows
• Prior responsibility and experience for calendar and scheduling for professional sports team and use of booking software
• Proven relationship and success working with various promoters
• Possess strong organizational and communication skills, a strategic thinker and planner with a proven track record of success
• Proven record of developing and maintaining strong partnerships and collaborative spirit with peers in all lines of the business
• A strong record of personal and team achievement over his/her career with substantial personal contributions to the positive evolution of the business through innovative thinking and an ability to make things happen
• Solid experience in leading, motivating and developing employees
• A high degree of personal integrity, and consistently put the interests of the organization ahead of their own

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.