Weston Sports and Entertainment is a professional consulting firm formed to manage the development of sports arenas and multi-purpose venues. Led by nationally recognized experts John Hilkene, Mark K. Horton, and Principal Edward Asher, Weston has no affiliation with any design or construction firm, and will therefore represent your company without bias. And with prior experience including projects for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHAA, and NHL, our experience handling large capital projects speaks for itself.

The KFC Yum! Center, formally the Louisville Downtown Arena, was constructed by the Louisville Arena Authority and is home to the University of Louisville Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams. Recently completed, the arena is located on the Ohio River near the Kentucky International Convention Center as well as many office buildings, hotels and restaurants. In addition to University of Lousiville basketball, the arena hosts many NCAA collegiate sports events and championships, hockey, concerts and other family shows.

Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is the home of the University of Louisville Football Team. The stadium is currently undergoing a $72.0 million expansion to add 13,000 seats, 1,500 Loge seats, and 33 Suites.

Completed in the Fall of 2007, Sprint Center is the centerpiece of a $3 billion public-private mixed-use urban development. This multi-use sports facility anchors a district in downtown Kansas City which also includes upscale retail, office, and residential uses. Heralded nationwide as a model for urban redevelopment, the Sprint Center offers year-round entertainment.

The New Charlotte Uptown Arena is being constructed by the City of Charlotte and will be the home for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. The arena is located in a downtown setting near a variety of office buildings, restaurants and stores. In addition to professional basketball, the arena will also hold college basketball games and tournaments, hockey, concerts and other family shows.

FedExForum is the new home of the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team. The arena seats 18,190 people for basketball and is located ½ block from the historic Beale Street entertainment district. The area is tied to this entertainment district with an outdoor entertainment and party area along with a 35,000 s.f. exterior plaza. The arena has a very flexible seating bowl and ice floor allowing the arena to house ice events, concerts, rodeos, family shows, etc. FedExForum is designed to provide outstanding guest comfort, excellent sightlines and acoustics, and seating flexibility for a wide range of potential events.

The contemporary design of the new Paul Brown Stadium anchors a revitalization of Cincinnati’s Riverfront District — and will set new standards for the design of future stadiums in the NFL for decades to come.

This $285 million, 1.8 million sf facility opened in August 2000. Mark Horton has assisted the Bengals organization in a variety of roles — including lease negotiations, forecasting revenues, developing design program requirements, and validating cost estimates and construction schedules.

He also acted in the role of Owner’s Representative during design and construction - as well as preparations for staffing and operating the new facility.

“Mark Horton provided superior leadership and direction for the Bengals in the development of Paul Brown Stadium. Mark served as the Club’s representative on the project and oversaw design coordination, budget review, cost estimating, and program assurance. With his prior stadium experience, Mark contributed heavily to our project and was one of the reasons Paul Brown Stadium ended up the most decorated stadium in the NFL.”

Mark Horton was Cleveland City Council’s representative to the new, state-of-the-art, $350 million dollar Cleveland Browns Stadium. With an opening day in August 1999, the lakefront Stadium features 72,000 seats, 120 loges, uninterrupted site lines, a new Dawg Pound, and hi-tech scoreboards and graphics.

For this Project, he monitored three areas that are most critical to the Council: schedule, budget and EEO compliance. He reported directly to Council leadership on Project status and workforce diversity - including an advisory role on legislative oversight and policy initiatives.

Budgetary analysis and schedule management is a vital concern for any major project. The Stadium was no exception, with added pressure for completion by opening day of the Browns’ football season. He utilized considerable project- and construction management expertise to review and analyze Project budget and schedule - enabling him to independently advise Council on the Project’s progress and the potential for future delays that affect building turnover and cost.

EEO compliance was also a top priority for our client, and considerable resources to this monitoring function were committed - working to ensure that contractors were meeting the MBE/FBE contractual goals, as well as those set for utilization of minorities, females

Conseco Fieldhouse has become the arena that all others are judged against. Indiana is about basketball and the Conseco Fieldhouse was designed to create the environment that evokes the sights, sounds and feel of an old town fieldhouse like the Hinkle Fieldhouse featured in the film Hoosiers. This was accomplished through the use of exposed girders, arched windows and wooden signs that pay homage to Indiana’s basketball heritage. Fans know they are in basketball heaven from the moment they walk inside this fully themed arena.

Even though the arena is designed to evoke memories of the state’s great high school and collegiate fieldhouses, it still delivers all the amenities of a modern NBA arena.Conseco Fieldhouse can be configured for other events as well, such as ice hockey, concertsand traveling shows.

Quicken Loans Arena is located adjacent to Progressive Field in the Gateway district of Cleveland. The arena and stadium were constructed at the same time as part of a new sports district in downtown Cleveland.

Quicken Loans Arena was designed to create a more intimate setting with 60% of its 20,500 seats located in the lower bowl. This intimate feel was extended to the suites by locating 28 of the suites only 15 rows from the arena floor. The remaining 60 suites are located 30 rows from the floor.

Quicken Loans Arena is designed for concert quality acoustical sound and concert rigging capacity. Quicken Loans Arena also includes a full-service production facility which includes an on-line production suite, master control facility, TV and radio studios to provide video, matrix, lighting and audio services as well as broadcast coordination. Quicken Loans Arena also includes a club restaurant, a sports bar, and a 7,000 car parking garage. Quicken Loans Arena also contains a regulation sized practice basketball court that is a replica floor of the original Cavaliers main court.

Progressive Field is the crown jewel of Downtown Cleveland’s renaissance.

Home of the Cleveland Indians since 1994, this facility has already been heralded as an icon in sports facility design. The record- breaking string of consecutive sell-outs season after season is a direct testimony to the success of a project originally conceived as a public-private economic-development program.

Mark Horton served as the project manager of Progressive Field for the Gateway Economic Development Corporation. This $200 million, 1.4 million square foot facility was opened on time and on budget to rave reviews throughout major league baseball and the nation.

"Please accept this letter of acknowledgement on behalf of Cuyahoga County for your hard work and dedication on the Gateway Sports Complex. Your project management skills were invaluable to this monumental achievement by the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County."

- Thomas J. Hayes
Cuyahoga County Administrator