ORLANDO — Great concert arenas are able to accomplish two things, and quite efficiently.
First, they’re always adding first-rate performers to the list of upcoming concerts.
Second, they come in for national — even global — recognition for outstanding customer service.
The Amway Center in downtown Orlando just accomplished both.
The Amway just announced that among the many acclaimed performers scheduled to entertain audiences there this year (Kiss, Michael Buble, and Justin Timberlake among them), now Nine Inch Nails have been added to the list.
The rock band is getting ready to launch a comeback arena tour this fall, Nine Inch Nails: Tension 2013 in September, and that includes a stop at the Amway Center on Oct. 31. Tickets go on sale to the public on June 28.
The tour will begin right after Columbia Records releases “Hesitation Marks,” the band’s new full-length album, on Sept. 3, which marks the first newly released music from Nine Inch Nails in five years.
The lead single, “Came Back Haunted,” is available today on iTunes (iTunes.com/NineInchNails).
But it’s not just the bands getting attention for the arena at 400 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando. The work that the Amway’s employees do is also getting some recognition.
Amway was just honored with the 2013 Customer Experience Award during TheStadiumBusinessAwards presentation held across the ocean in Manchester, England.
The largest dedicated meeting in the world of the owners, operators and developers of the world’s leading stadiums, arenas and major sports venues, this is considered a prestigious honor, and previous recipients have included City Square/Etihad Stadium, Manchester City FC, Manchester, England (2012), The Family Area – Cardiff City FC, Cardiff, Wales (2011) and The O2 Arena, London, England (2010).
To win, a stadium, arena or sports venue has to consistently deliver outstanding levels of service.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said this award shows that Amway, which opened in 2010, has done just that for the past three years.
“The Amway Center is a source of great pride for our city and recognized as a world-class facility,” Dyer noted. “It’s an honor for the Amway Center to be recognized by TheStadiumBusiness Awards in the area of customer service.”
But the real honor, Dyer added, should go to “all the hardworking men and women who strive every day to give our customers an unforgettable entertainment experience.”
Allen Johnson, executive director of Orlando Venues — which oversees the Amway — added, “We believe customer service is the most important aspect of crafting our patrons’ experience and we thank TheStadiumBusiness Awards for their recognition of our facility.”
Since opening in 2010, Orlando’s home basketball team, the Orlando Magic, have spearheaded a specialized customer service training program that’s done in conjunction with the Disney Institute, and the training is provided to all Amway Center employees, noted Alex Martins, the Orlando Magic’s chief executive officer.
“The Magic are extremely honored to be recognized along with our partners at the Amway Center, for our value of placing our customer first,” Martins said. “We thank our partners at the Disney Institute for assisting us in implementing our vision of making the Amway Center the most customer centric and focused facility in sports.”
The Amway Center was previously named the “Sports Facility of the Year” by the
Sports Business Journal.

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