Venue Operations Associate

Venue Operations Associate

The Venue Operations Associate is a comprehensive apprenticeship within the Venue Operations division of the City of Peoria Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department, primarily supporting the Peoria Sports Complex spring training home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres as well as the Rio Vista Recreation Center.

This position provides broad exposure to the business of sports and municipal recreation, including ticket sales and operations, partnerships and production, and event operations/management. The ideal candidate is someone eager to build a foundation of experience across multiple areas of professional sports, recreation, and government while providing excellent customer service to patrons, partners, and guests.

This is a seasonal, non-benefited position with hours varying between 25-40 hours per week, depending on the time of year, and an expected completion date of May 2027. A consistent schedule of up to 40 hours per week, including nights, weekends, and holidays, should be anticipated during Spring Training season (mid-January through the end of March/April).

Essential Functions

This information is intended to be descriptive of the key responsibilities of the position. The list below does not identify every duty performed by any single incumbent, and duties will vary by season and assignment.

Ticket Sales & Operations

• Generate sales via outbound phone calls for Spring Training games, including season ticket renewals, new season ticket sales, group tickets, single-game tickets, and fundraising groups.
• Assist in day-to-day ticket office operations, including part-time staff scheduling and event set-up/take-down.
• Provide in-person and telephone customer service for digital tickets, seating, and schedule inquiries.
• Perform work through the team's ticketing database, Tickets.com, to support ticket sales, service, and operations tasks.
• Assist in selling tickets and processing payments on season, single-game, and group accounts.
• Develop and execute fundraising agreements through the existing fundraising ticket program.
• Develop and execute a signature theme night during the Spring Training season.
• Act as a point of contact for clients on event day; resolve issues or concerns in a timely manner.
• Provide supervision to ticket sellers, assist in ticket sales, and troubleshoot customer service issues; act in a supervisory capacity in the absence of the Ticket Office Manager.
• Prepare daily cash deposits on game day and maintain accurate, balanced window ticket sales and workstation banks for reconciliation.
• Maintain full knowledge of all gameday policies, procedures, and stadium facts.

Partnerships & Gameday Production

• Assist the Partnerships Coordinator with general partnership sales outreach, proposals, and discussions.
• Lead and execute local partnership programs (e.g., Local Fridays).
• Assist with grassroots marketing efforts and community outreach for the department.
• Assist with, and/or serve as, Manager on Duty for select Peoria Sports Complex events.
• Assist in building gameday production elements, including sponsor graphics/animations, player headshots, music inventory review, and suggestions on emerging trends.
• Execute pre-game checks of sponsor-activated areas to ensure quality and execution prior to gates opening.
• Capture content of sponsor-activated areas for use as proof of performance (POP) in partnership recaps.
• Prep necessary production items before each game, including adjustments to the run of show based on sponsor activations.
• Serve as Manager on Duty/Gameday Director in the Production Room on a regularly assigned basis.
• Assist the Partnerships Coordinator with compiling assets for sponsor recaps.

Venue Operations

• Assist fundraising initiatives in collaboration with Peoria Little League and other nonprofit organizations, supporting community outreach while generating revenue.
• Provide event support across all stadium facilities, ensuring smooth operations for City, public, and private events.
• Complete stadium walkthroughs/checklists for stadium event readiness and cleanliness.
• Lead the setup and teardown for events, including preparation for the Spring Training season.
• Assist with the implementation of the Spring Training operational timeline, ensuring all tasks and milestones are met on schedule.
• Support all facets of Spring Training game day operations, including but not limited to parking, security, and guest services.
• Supervise gameday assistants, interns, and part-time staff, helping define roles and responsibilities, and ensuring job duty execution.
• Oversee the Batboy/Batgirl Program, including recruitment, training, scheduling, and coordination of game day duties.

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• Strong work ethic and desire to build a career in professional sports, recreation, or government.
• Comfort supervising or coordinating part-time staff and volunteers.
• Previous ticket sales, event operations, and/or marketing/sponsorship/production experience preferred.
• Compassionate customer service skills.
• Ability to work in a team environment and comfortable taking initiative.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, regarding incidents, decisions, and issues.
• Experience using standard office equipment; ticketing systems (Tickets.com); design software (Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Visme), production software & hardware (Daktronics, SoundDirector), computer, phone, and point-of-sale systems (PerfectMind).