VenuesNow (10/08/20) Muret, Don

Last week's passing of groundbreaking rock musician Eddie Van Halen prompted an outpouring of bereavement, admiration and love from many live industry professionals. "[Van Halen] were a staple of our industry," explains Peter Luukko, executive chairman of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers. "You could always count on Van Halen playing your arena." Van Halen also was an iconic arena rock band that guaranteed sellout crowds and huge merchandise sales, recalls American Airlines Center general manager Dave Brown. "They were part of those '80s rock bands that you wish they could come to town every year because it was a layup in terms of the things we measure ourselves by," he adds. Trey Feazell, executive vice president of arena programming for Atlanta's State Farm Arena, says the band's consistency was particularly appealing. "[A performance] was going to start with a bang and end with a bang," he reflects. "The musicianship was unbelievable."

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