Oak View Group today announced the promotion of Michael Owens to senior vice president, live entertainment at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Owens will oversee the creation and execution of OVG Austin’s booking strategy, and the venue exec will also help uncover and pursue business development opportunities to expand the company’s footprint. He will also oversee Moody Center’s ticketing department and continue reporting to Casey Sparks, senior vice president of OVG Austin and assistant general manager of the arena that is home of the University of Texas women’s and men’s basketball teams.
OVG, Pollstar’s parent company, manages Moody Center, which is one of the busiest arenas in live entertainment.
“In just three short years, Moody Center has become one of the top arenas on the planet, surpassing everyone’s expectations of what this building and team could do in the live music capital of the world,” Owens said in a statement. “Our success is a reflection of the world-class team at OVG Austin, including the Programming team, with whom I’m thankful to play a small role. I have tremendous gratitude for Jeff and Casey’s leadership in Austin, the broader OVG team and the promoters, agents and managers who continue to trust us with their artists. I’m thrilled for this opportunity to continue leading our booking efforts into the future and finding new ways to grow OVG’s presence in the region.”
Owens joined OVG in January 2021, just one year before Moody Center opened, and began programming content for the grand opening. He previously served as assistant general manager of Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the reigning NBA champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also worked as director of live entertainment for Canucks Sports & Entertainment at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and director of booking at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s BOK Center. Owens, a Missouri State University grad, broke into the industry as a GM of the 1,300-capacity Gillioz Theatre in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri.
Since joining OVG in 2021, Owens has helped establish Moody Center as one of the top live music venues in the world. The arena ranked No. 8 on Pollstar’s 2024 Year End Worldwide Top 200 Arena Grosses chart with a remarkable haul of $117,169,379. It earned Pollstar Awards in 2022 and 2024 for New Concert Venue of the Year and Arena of the Year, respectively.
Owens has been recognized for his contributions, being recognized by VenuesNow in 2019 and Pollstar in 2024 on the publications’ NextGen lists honoring young professionals in the live industry. He also made the International Association of Venue Managers’ “30 Under 30” list in 2015.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source news.pollstar.com ’
