NBA All-Star Jam Session: That's a wrap!

As the doors on the last trailer closed at 8:23pm on Monday February 18^th, it marked the 11^th year that FILO successfully loaded in, managed and loaded out All-Star Jam Session for the National Basketball Association (NBA). A new additions this year, however,  was the blimp!  It was a hit, and it really added an extra element to the event.

As with every year, work on Jam Session started months prior to the event with site visits, conference calls, pack list builds, truck loading, layouts and equipment testing in preparation for ASJS 2013. It culminated in another superior event with tens of thousands of fans enjoying basketball bliss. All 16 of our trucks arrived on time in Houston and the equipment was unloaded by noon on the first day. We completed all of our setup duties by the 4:00pm show opening on Wednesday. Some of our responsibilities during setup were: rigging and placement of signage, fencing, bleachers, hoop systems, Pop-A-Shots, kiosks, furniture, coolers, lockers, race timers/shot clocks and netting. This year we had our shortest window of time ever to build the show. We passed with flying colors though, quickly flipping the switch to event management mode to begin running distribution, meeting needs and solving problems on the floor during show hours. With our experienced veterans and eager to impress rookies, we managed the NBA’s equipment on the show floor by conducting safety checks, receiving and answering calls from zone managers, placing signage according to the NBA’s direction, managing court props for all courts including Center Court and Sprint Arena, and assisting with janitorial duties.
During the show, our veteran distribution crew received and inventoried all packages, delivered them to all applicable personnel and sponsors, stocked all beverage coolers and made all furniture and locker moves in green rooms, meeting rooms and offices.

Our preparation and experience made for a great NBA All-Star Jam Session setup and show. At 8:23pm on February 18^th, the door of the last trailer was closed and the trucks headed back to our warehouse in St. Paul.
Although Jam Session was over, there were still 17 trailers awaiting the FILO crew in Minnesota. The trailers were unloaded into the warehouse, equipment was scanned back into inventory and all elements were returned to their proper home in the warehouse. Finally, a week and a half after the doors closed at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the 2013 Jam Session was complete.