The secrets of running the nation’s largest mall emerge in a podcast series

Ever wonder why the Ghermezian family decided to build a 5 million-sq.-ft. mall in Bloomington, Minn.? Or why, in 1995, Ted Turner’s World Wrestling Championship circuit chose the mall’s Rotunda as the site of its very first Monday Nitro prime time TV event?

Those topics and more are covered on “So Much More,” a permanent podcast series just launched by Mall of America on platforms that include Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Google.

"We have so many stories to share after thirty years that it was hard to know where to start,” said Jill Renslow, the chief business development and marketing officer of America’s biggest piece of retail real estate.

“I think our team has landed on a perfect mix of industry topics, business issues, an inside look at events, mall fan stories and some special peeks behind the curtain,” said Renslow.

The first five episodes include coverage of what it takes to operate this massive establishment with 10,000 employees, this year’s return of live wrestling to the mall, and the security program MOA has in place to handle 32 million visitors a year. New episodes will be presented every Wednesday at mallofamerica.com/podcast.

“We have 31 years of stories that we want to share about all the wonderful things that happen at Mall of America, as well as some of the challenges we’ve faced,” said Daniel Jasper, senior VP of MOA Press. “We’ll be talking about our tenants’ journeys here, the many different entertainers who’ve appeared on the property, crisis management experts we’ve worked with—all the many things that make Mall of America so special.”

MOA’s senior staff began meeting with Renslow two years ago to discuss lessons learned over their many years managing the property named this year by Chain Store Age as the No. 1 Retail Center Experience in America.

“We found the discussion we had to be really valuable, and it occurred to us that we could share our stories with people interested in the industry,” Jasper said. “Brand leaders frequently call us to learn how we are dealing with certain issues.”

The inaugural season of “So Much More” is presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, a longtime partner of Mall of America.