(Left-to-right) Eric Bresler, Tom Conroy, & Rosemary Selle
Oak View Group (OVG), the global venue development, advisory, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries, and Seattle Hockey Partners (NHL Seattle), today announced the appointment of three key executives to its team at the New Arena at Seattle Center. Joining OVG is Eric Bresler as Senior Vice President of Programming, Tom Conroy as Vice President of Operations, and Rosemary Selle as Vice President of Marketing. All will assume their new roles immediately.
“As we continue to make momentous progress in the construction of our world-class arena for Seattle, we also are assembling the best in executive leadership to operate and run the arena day-to-day. Eric, Tom, and Rosemary are all highly-experienced and the best in their respective fields. I’m pleased to officially welcome them on board and have no doubt they will continue to add to the culture of excellence we strive to establish and execute.” said Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group.
Steve Mattson, Executive Vice President of Oak View Group and General Manager of the New Arena at Seattle Center added, “We are building a world-class, iconic arena in Seattle and the success of this venue depends on securing world-class talent. In adding to our leadership with Eric, Tom and Rosie, we have injected exactly that. They are proven performers that will differentiate Seattle as one of the best facilities in the industry.”
As senior vice president, Bresler will lead the programming and entertainment business development and grand opening plans for the New Arena at Seattle Center and work to assist in driving content for OVG’s operated properties including the Moody Center at the University of Texas, the New Arena at Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, and the New York Islanders New Arena in Belmont, NY, in addition to other OVG entertainment business initiatives.
“It’s an honor to join the team at OVG at such a pivotal stage of the Seattle arena’s development and I’m excited to help launch the new arena for the City of Seattle by helping celebrate the rich music and entertainment history that is Seattle. Across all of its properties, OVG continues to raise the bar and I am thrilled to be part of the organization and its world-class venues,” said Bresler.
Bringing nearly three decades of experience in the sports and entertainment industry, Bresler previously served for three years as executive director of Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors’ state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex in San Francisco. While there he directed the overall activation of the new arena in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood including programming, content development, and arena business components. Before Chase Center, he served as the Vice President of Event Booking and Development for AEG Facilities for eight years, overseeing the programming of concerts, festivals, family shows, championship sports exhibitions and special events within AEG’s portfolio of top facilities.
Prior to his success at AEG Facilities, Bresler spent eight years as Vice President of Arena Bookings and Marketing for the HEAT Group/AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, where he opened the Miami Heat’s then-new waterfront arena. He was responsible for event programming, venue marketing, and public relations. Bresler began his career in South Florida at what is now known as Hard Rock Stadium, working in the stadium business offices with a focus on marketing and public relations. He later joined the Charlotte Coliseum, the former home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats, handling the event and venue marketing and public relations efforts. He left Charlotte and joined what is now named the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the director of marketing, where he was active in the grand opening of the new arena which proved to be his first successful major venue opening.
Conroy brings 30 years of arena industry experience to OVG and has been involved in the opening of new venues in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. In his new role, he will oversee all back of house and venue operations including arena conversions, ice operations, event production, facility and ground services, custodial services, HVAC, refrigeration, and physical plant operations.
“Joining OVG and this group of professionals is an incredible experience,” said Conroy. “I am honored to be part of the team and look forward to the growth and development that lies ahead.”
Prior to joining OVG, Conroy served for 24 years at the Canadian Tire Centre for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. While there, he served as Director of Operations for Ogden Entertainment Services and Director of Facilities & Services, before being promoted to Vice President and Executive Director, a role he served in for the last 17 years.
Before his tenure in Ottawa, Conroy was hired by Ogden as the Operations Manager at the then newly-opened the William D. Mullins Memorial Center (aka Mullens Center) on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he was responsible for all arena operations. He began his professional career at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME as the Assistant Operations Manager charged with all arena conversions, custodial operations, and grounds work. Conroy, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
A tenured arena marketing leader, Selle will serve as a senior member of the OVG marketing team, planning and implementing branding, ticket sales, media buying, partnership marketing, and social and digital media strategies.
“I’m ecstatic to be joining the OVG team and working on this once-in-a-lifetime arena project,” said Selle. “Having spent several years at KeyArena at Seattle Center, I know how special the Seattle market is, and how special this arena will be to music and sports fans alike.”
Selle recently served as the Regional Director of Marketing for AEG Facilities/ASM Global, and Sr. Director of Marketing at Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. In the prior seven years, she served as the Director of Marketing at KeyArena at Seattle Center/AEG Facilities and built and grew the marketing communications platform for both KeyArena and McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. An active member of the planning committee for the Events and Arena Marketing Conference, Selle holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Carroll College in Helena, Montana and a Master’s in Sports Leadership and Administration from Seattle University.
NHL Seattle’s inaugural season at the New Arena at Seattle Center begins in 2021. Latest updates can be found at www.nhl.com/seattle.
About Oak View Group (OVG)
Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG is focused on being a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports and live entertainment industry and currently has 8 divisions across 4 global offices (Los Angeles, New York, London, and Philadelphia). OVG is leading the redevelopment and operations of the New Arena at Seattle Center as well as leading arena development projects in Belmont, NY, Austin, TX, and Milan, Italy. OVG Global Partnerships, a division of OVG, is the sales and marketing arm responsible for selling across all OVG Arena Development projects.
About Seattle Hockey Partners
Seattle Hockey Partners (NHL Seattle) is responsible for leading the development activities of the newly awarded Seattle National Hockey League franchise, which is set to play its inaugural season in 2021-22 at the New Arena at Seattle Center, developed by Oak View Group. Visit nhlseattle.com/news for the latest news and information from the team including press releases, multimedia content and the latest hires. Follow NHL Seattle on social media to find out the latest news via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Or search using the hashtag #NHLSeattle.
