VenueConnect 2025

David Skinner
Director / General Manager
NOLA Venues / Saenger Theatre & Mahalia Jackson Theater


Skinner is a forty-year veteran of the entertainment/facility management industry. He has managed venues in Atlanta, Louisville, New York, Miami, St. Louis, San Francisco, Long Beach, Hong Kong and, his adopted home, New Orleans. His background in concert promotion covers everything from Elvis to the Rolling Stones. In 1977, he was instrumental in the formation of the first private management company, Facility Management Group (FMG), when they assumed management of the Louisiana Superdome. Skinner helped grow FMG to international stature until it was sold to SMG (known today as ASM) in the late 1980’s. Skinner remained an industry consultant for many years until he returned to New Orleans in 2008 to work with ACE Theatrical Group and help re-open Mahalia Jackson Theater following Hurricane Katrina. Working with the City of New Orleans, Skinner realized one of his life-long goals when the Saenger Theatre re-opened in 2013 following a $52 million renovation from damage suffered by Hurricane Katrina. Since its post-Katrina re-opening, the iconic Saenger has hosted over 2,000 events and greeted more than 3 million visitors. Today, Skinner serves as Director, NOLA Venues for ATG Entertainment with management responsibilities over the Saenger Theatre and Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.

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