Nashville, Tenn. (January 24, 2012) – Bridgestone Arena and Nashville Predators President and COO Sean Henry announced today that David Kells – previously the Sr. Marketing Director for the arena and the team – has been promoted to Vice President of Booking for Bridgestone Arena.

Kells has served many roles throughout his tenure with the arena, beginning as a part-time Conversion Tech after college and beginning work full time in 1997 as an A/V Tech with the building. Kells returned to the arena in 2005 as Overnight Manager before serving as Event Coordinator, Event Services Manager, Director of Event Marketing, and Sr. Marketing Director before being promoted to his current position as Vice President of Booking for Bridgestone Arena.

“Having the ability to promote this position from within is a testament to the talented people we have within this organization,” Sean Henry said. “David has grown up in this organization, literally working his way up from the basement to the VP of Booking. Prior to his time at our arena, David worked in venues of all sizes and made connections with people throughout the industry. David’s ebullient personality, industry experience and work ethic allow him to seamlessly transition into this position, building upon our current levels of success and continuing to bring high-quality, diverse and world-class entertainment to Music City.”

The Vice President of Booking position was most recently held by Brock Jones, who will be moving on to a new opportunity with Comcast Global Spectrum. During his six-year tenure, Jones helped Bridgestone Arena garner five Pollstar Venue of the Year nominations. Jones helped facilitate the building’s 2009 Academy of Country Music Venue of the Year Award and the 2008 and 2010 International Entertainment Buyer’s Association Concert Venue of the Year Awards.

Serving as the home for numerous national and international events, Bridgestone Arena has the distinction of being one of the busiest venues in the Unites States over the past decade and a half, hosting more than 18 million guests during that time and being named one of the Top 10 busiest venues in the country for the last two years by top industry publication, Pollstar. The NHL’s Nashville Predators have been the primary tenants of Bridgestone Arena since 1998 and boast one of the most unique game atmospheres in the NHL. The list of acts that have called Bridgestone Arena home is lengthy and includes the CMA Awards; the CMT Awards; Keith Urban’s “We’re All For the Hall” benefit concerts; NCAA, SEC and OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments; and entertainers such as Garth Brooks, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Tim McGraw, KISS, Metallica and Lady Gaga. The arena is set to host the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2014.