CAST x Venue Industry Congress Excursion
Join CAST at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress
The Centre for Arts, Sports, and Technology (CAST) is heading to the Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress (hosted by Venue Managers Association Asia Pacific), taking place at ICC Sydney from June 22-24, 2025.This exclusive excursion is an opportunity for startups and scaleups to gain firsthand insights into the future of venue management, connect with key industry decision-makers, and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
Why Attend?
CAST’s VMA Congress Excursion is designed for founders and teams working in entertainment, venue technology, and fan engagement who want to:🎤 Hear from top industry leaders during the Congress sessions.
🤝 Connect directly with venue decision-makers through CAST-facilitated networking opportunities.
📢 Gain insights into innovation trends shaping the future of stadiums, arenas, and entertainment venues.
What’s Included?
CAST x VMA Excursion Package
🔹 $3,900 AUD✅ Full VMA Congress Ticket – Three-day access to all sessions, networking events, and the Venue Industry Awards & Gala Dinner. (val. $2585)
✅ Private Founder Session with VMA Members – Exclusive opportunity to engage directly Andrew Reid – General Manager, Ovation/Ticketek & Malu Barrios – General Manager, New Projects, ICC Sydney.
✅ CAST Private Dinner — Where Founders, Investor & Industry.
✅ Inclusion in our CAST Digital Zine - Distributed as part of the innovation session meet up.
Our Guest
Malu Barrios – General Manager of New Projects, ICC Sydney & VMA Board
Andrew Reid – GM of Ovation (Ticketek), with 17+ years of data and digital experience in entertainment
Dan Coughlan– Investment Manager at AirTree
CAST Schedule
📅 MONDAY
8:00–9:00 AM — CAST Founders Breakfast
☕ Kick off Congress with coffee and conversations. This relaxed breakfast is a chance to meet fellow CAST founders, share ideas, and set the tone for the week.
2:30-3.15PM - CAST Founder Session @ VMA’s
🎤 Hear from two leading voices in venues & data:
Andrew Reid, GM at Ovation/Ticketek – a data and eCommerce leader reshaping live event engagement.
Malu Barrios, GM New Projects, ICC Sydney – a venue operations veteran and board member at VMA.
7:30 PM till Late — CAST Private Dinner
🍽️ An invite-only evening connecting founders, investors & industry leaders.
Special guest: Dan Coughlan, Investment Manager at AirTree + Sport Org Guest (TBC)
📅 TUESDAY
9:00–10:00 AM — Venue Tech Meetup
🔧 Hosted by VMA Innovation Partner Momentus Technologies + CAST.
A networking session for venue pros and startups exploring the future of venue tech.
Includes pitches from CAST x Momentus selected startups.
📍 ICC Sydney