Faces + Places

Jerry MacDonald

Jerry MacDonald, president and CEO of The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, Texas, since 2003, will step down in March 2024. The Pavilion’s board of directors plans a national search for his replacement.

Kate Dordick

The Milwaukee Bucks have hired Kate Dordick as senior vice president of booking for Fiserv Forum. Dordick was most recently at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, where she spent four years as the vice president of programming. She also worked five seasons as the director of arena booking for the Charlotte Hornets and Spectrum Center. In Milwaukee, Dordick will oversee and increase all non-NBA ticketed events at Fiserv Forum and the adjacent Deer District. She will manage all public event sales and booking for the arena..

Dionna Widder

Dionna Widder has joined the Nashville Predators as chief revenue officer, where she will oversee ticket sales and service, premium seating, suite sales and service, partnership sales and service, data analytics and business intelligence. Widder will also be a member of the club’s executive leadership team and contribute to the continued growth and development of Sabertooth Sports & Entertainment, the organization’s external sales, marketing and operations entity that currently manages F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, the Ford Ice Centers and the sales and marketing functions for Austin Peay State University Athletics.

Kelly McGrath

Minnesota Sports & Entertainment has named venue marketing veteran Kelly McGrath general manager and executive director of Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. McGrath joined the organization in 2000 as director of sales for the NHL Minnesota Wild and moved to director of sales for Xcel Energy Center in 2005. She was named director of marketing and communications for all MSE-managed facilities in 2022.

Phil Laws

Comcast Spectacorhas made key promotions at Wells Fargo Center, including Phil Laws, Mike Sulkes, and Blake Malcom. In a newly formed role, Laws oversees the entire Wells Fargo Center complex, the arena’s $400 million transformation project, which will conclude this fall, and the NHL Philadelphia Flyers Training Center.  Sulkes is responsible for overall management of the Wells Fargo Center’s day-to-day business operations, while Malcom oversees event management activities for all Wells Fargo Center events.

Rocky Wirtz

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Rocky Wirtz, chairman of the NHL Chicago Blackhawks, is being mourned this week following his unexpected death Tuesday after a reported brief illness. Wirtz took over the team following the death of his illustrious father Bill Wirtz in 2007 and was instrumental in the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup three times while he was principal owner of the club. Rocky Wirtz was 70. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called him “a dear friend” who “rekindled Chicago fans’ love affair with their hockey team and built a modern dynasty.”