Amanda Mann in State Farm Arena saddle

Article posted by Coliseum, August 12^th, 2024

Image: State Farm Arena

The National Basketball Association (NBA) team Atlanta Hawks and their home ground – the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia (US) – announced recently that Amanda Mann has been hired as the Executive Vice-President and the Chief Facilities Officer.

‘State Farm ARENA’ stated that in her new role, Mann will oversee the operations of all Hawks properties including their business offices within the Centennial Tower (a 140 m [460 ft], 36-story skyscraper in downtown Atlanta), the Emory Sports Medicine Complex (medical clinic in Brookhaven, Georgia) and the State Farm Arena. At the State Farm Arena, she will also be responsible for the event, facility and financial management responsibilities of the venue, optimizing the efficiency, profitability and fan experience for all attending the downtown venue.

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at the State Farm Arena.

The 16,888-capacity State Farm Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia (US). The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

‘State Farm ARENA’ further stated that Mann brings more than 25 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industries to the Hawks and the State Farm Arena having worked for the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers, Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, and Clear Channel Entertainment (live entertainment producer and events promoter).

She is the first woman to lead arena operations in the Hawks 56-year history.

Stated Steve Koonin, Hawks and State Farm Arena’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “We are excited to add Amanda to our executive team. She has a proven track record as an outstanding arena operator, event booker and revenue generator, bringing an analytical lens to not only optimize operations but also elevate the fan experience which drives our business. Her people-first leadership style will be felt by fans and our staff alike.”

Maintained Mann, “I have always admired the culture of the Hawks organization and the vision that Tony and Steve have for the arena and the fan experience. The arena renovations changed the landscape of how fans experience the games, the concerts and other events and I am honored to contribute to the Hawks’ and the State Farm Arena’s future. My family and I are excited to be a part of the community and experience the beauty and diversity of Atlanta.”

Most recently, Mann served as the General Manager for Live Nation Entertainment in Ridgefield, Washington, increasing revenue by nearly $2M in less than two years while modernizing the fan-facing spaces and increasing sustainability diversion by more than 20 percent. The RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater is in the top five of Live Nation’s large outdoor venues in food and beverage (F&B) per caps.

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internationally.

Prior to joining Live Nation, she served as the General Manager, Senior Vice-President of the 30-acre Rose Quarter sports and entertainment district where she led the master plan design of both the 20,500-capacity Moda Center in Portland, Oregon (US), home to the Portland Trail Blazers, and the 12,888-capacity Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland while doubling the number of events from 2016 to 2022, increasing ticket sales by more than 40 percent and turnstile by 12 percent.

Under her leadership, she boosted employee key performance indicators (KPIs) by 17 percent spearheading new programs and helped the Moda Center become the first existing arena to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum for Operations and Maintenance (O&M).

A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. The KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity in which it engages.

In Houston with the NBA team Houston Rockets/Clutch City Sports & Entertainment as the Vice-President of Booking and Event Operations from 2006 to 2016, Mann led the day-to-day management, vision and strategy for over 150 events annually. During her tenure, she enhanced their event count by 66 percent and revenue by more than 300 percent over her tenure. She also led Houston’s winning bid and the execution of the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend. Prior to Houston, Mann worked for the Clear Channel Entertainment starting as a talent buyer before ascending to Vice- President of Booking for Venues in Austin, Texas and San Antonio.

The Clutch City Sports & Entertainment, L.P. is headquartered in Texas (US). The company operates and promotes professional and semi-professional athletic clubs and events.

New York (US)-based the National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star weekend is a weekend festival held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season that consists of a variety of basketball events, exhibitions and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star Game held on Sunday night.

Throughout her career, Mann has used her platform and positions to create opportunity and impact for others. In 2017, she partnered with the Portland Mayor’s Office and the local nonprofit Right 2 Dream Too to create safe spaces near the Rose Quarter where people without housing could rest or sleep safely. In 2019, she co-founded WISE Portland, a nonprofit organization that offers leadership training resources to women in sports.

WISE – Women in Sports and Events – is the leading voice and resource for women in the business of sports. Outside of work, Mann has been a Girl Scout troop leader and is passionate about uplifting and empowering girls to be strong, independent, future leaders.

Mann attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (US) graduating with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics.

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