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Dennis Mannion

President CEO
Palace Sports & Entertainment & Detroit Pistons



Dennis Mannion continues his fourth year in Detroit after being named President and Chief Executive Officer of Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons on September 6, 2011.  He oversees all aspects of the organization’s business operations.
 
A busy first three seasons of operation included dramatic changes to the company’s organizational structure focused on increasing communication, collaboration and innovation within the creative and communications, revenue, operations and administrative departments.  Mannion’s leadership eliminated work silos by clearly defining organizational strategy, goals and purposes between each group.  His creativity as a marketer has helped transform the season ticket holder and corporate partner experience at all three PS&E properties – The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival.  
 
Pistons season ticket membership has been enhanced to include newly created lifestyle programming focused on the delivery of inside-access media, merchandise and memories.  “State of the Pistons” season ticket member events, the debut of the club’s new “Motor City” jerseys and the rollout of a new Pistons Member Loyalty Program have all been developed with Mannion’s guidance.  Corporate partnership has been elevated with new programs and media opportunities that promote fan interaction and product activation.
 
Driving inside-access media delivery for Pistons members and corporate partners is a newly created Pistons Programming Network (PPN) on Pistons.com, an increased focus on social media and the development of three new fan affinity groups catered to men, women and youth.  Game night experience has been elevated to include halftime concerts by top national recording artists and entertainment has evolved with the introduction of seven new performance teams, a new interactive Action Guide game night program and the installation of WiFi and Twitter boards inside the arena bowl allowing fans to interact freely throughout any event.  Pistons “Power Hour” was introduced last season giving fans pregame access to discounts on food and beverage and merchandise, opportunities to meet Pistons personalities and nightly entertainment an hour before tip-off.
 
On the entertainment side, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival each received new venue updates and branding.  Event entertainment at DTE was enhanced with three new club areas tabbed The Ivy Lounge, The Pine Tap and The Arbor.  Palacenet.com, the official website for PS&E, was re-launched with new video capabilities and easier navigation and a new entertainment affinity club, The Blue Room, was created to deliver concert fans inside-access media content, event announcements, schedules and special offers.
 
Continuing owner Tom Gores’ mission to be impactful in the community, Mannion launched a new program tabbed “Come Together,” which has honored over 10,000 “game-changers” making a difference in communities throughout the State of Michigan, as well as a new youth basketball development program labeled “Pistons Academy” that provides a platform for youngsters to learn the game of basketball and develop their skills.
 
Maintaining The Palace’s reputation as one of the top arenas in sports and entertainment, Mannion has overseen nearly $40 million in improvements and renovations - the largest capital improvement project since 2006.   In a three-year span, the organization has completed large-scale renovations to the event level locker rooms, main concourse level, suite areas and club areas along with construction of a new open-air lounge located inside the arena’s third level suite area, a state-of-the-art multimedia studio and technological upgrades inside the arena bowl including a new state of the art scoreboard.
 
The 55-year-old sports and entertainment executive holds the rare distinction of having experience in all four Major League sports where he has led operations during 12 postseason runs and been part of two World Series (1983 and 1993), a Major League All-Star Game (1996), a NHL Conference Championship (1998), a Super Bowl (2001) and two National League Championship Series in 2008 and 2009.  The 2014-15 NBA season will be his 33rd in major league sports.
 
Mannion was most recently a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers front office (2007-2010), where he served as President/COO.  His marketing guidance helped the 2009 Dodgers lead Major League Baseball in paid attendance for the first time since 1986.  Mannion introduced and created the Dodgers Sports Lab, an innovative production facility that integrated marketing, merchandising and media while also creating a new telemarketing center and a new fan hospitality program.  In addition, he oversaw the implementation of several experiential sections around Dodger Stadium and initiated major changes to staff, structure and revenue driving strategies.  
 
In 2008 he helped initiate the team’s season-long celebration of its 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, hosted baseball’s all-time most attended game at the LA Coliseum (115,300 vs. Red Sox) and transitioned the organization from its Vero Beach Spring Training home to a new facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
 
Prior to joining the Dodgers, Mannion spent eight seasons with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, where he served as the club’s Senior Vice President of Business Ventures.  In that role, Mannion oversaw all revenue streams, image, and brand-generating properties.  He led and coordinated the development of more than 60 Ravens sub-brands, 12 season-long Ravens television and radio shows, and annual events such as Spring Football Festival, Ravens Kickoff Week, State of the Ravens, and the Ravens All-Community Team.  In Baltimore, Mannion also led successful bids to host the 2000 and 2007 Army-Navy Game, the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Navy-Notre Dame game, 2005 Maryland-Navy football game, 2005 and 2006 ACC Lacrosse Championships and the 2003, 2004 and 2007 NCAA Lacrosse Championships at M&T Bank Stadium.
 
He pioneered the Ravens’ efforts to converge its external programming assets (Rave-TV, Ravens Radio, baltimoreravens.com, Ravens Mobile-In-Zone, Ravens Podcast and Video On Demand) and represented the team during the sale of its stadium naming rights to M&T Bank.  He also served on the NFL Business Ventures Committee, the board of Vehicles for Change, the Baltimore Classic Fund, the steering committee for Camden Yards Sports and Entertainment Commission, Medstar Hospital System Foundation, Salisbury University Foundation and was the founder of the Ravens All-Community Team.
 
With his hiring by the Pistons, Mannion returned to the NBA, where he spent two years managing business operations for Ascent Sports, owners of the Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and Pepsi Center (1997 to 1999).   He handled business operations for both teams, helping them transition to the newly-built Pepsi Center and signed the agreement for the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.
 
Mannion cut his teeth in the sports business with the Philadelphia Phillies spending 16 years (1982-1997) with the baseball club.  During the last eight of those years as Vice President of Marketing and Sales, he was noted for enhancing the fan experience at Veterans Stadium and was instrumental in both the acquisition and the staging of the 1996 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia.  He was named a “40 Under 40” award winner by the Philadelphia Business Journal in 1996 and the Phillies won two MLB Marketing Excellence awards during his time with the club.

Mannion graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in business and sports management.  He received the “Distinguished Alumnus Award” from his alma mater in 1998.  He and his wife, Pam, reside in the Detroit area and have five children: Ryan, Kate, Allie, Kellen and Tatum.