Richard Krezwick To Receive ALSD Visionary Award
Rich Krezwick is the well-respected president of Devils Arena Entertainment, the company overseeing business operations for the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center. Under his direction, the Prudential Center has become a "must play" for most acts and is now consistently ranked in the top ten of U.S. arenas.
"Rich is extremely well-known in this sports business. But as well-known as he is, he is also well liked. One of the requisites of receiving the Visionary Award, the ALSD's highest award, is the ability to be well respected by the people who work for our award recipient. Rich is really well liked by the people who work for him and that is a testament to his leadership abilities," says Bill Dorsey, ALSD Founder and Chairman.
Krezwick life's work has been in the sports industry and his ideas have kept clients coming through the doors of his venues. Most recently, Krezwick's team launched Mission Control, a Digital Command Center inside the Prudential Center. Featuring 15 giant monitors and computing devices, the center is staffed by 25 social media savvy fans - Devils Army Generals - who monitor Facebook and Twitter, and post content acting as the voice of the team's fan base. Mission Control will serve as an interactive digital hub for the team to engage in online discussions, initiate proactive outreach, track media performance/trends, and deliver interactive service to fans and followers of the Devils.
While in Boston, Krezwick also created a program to retain premium clients in the face of labor uncertainty in both the NHL and NBA. The year was 1998 and the NBA was enforcing a lockout. The FleetCenter, home of the Boston Bruins and Celtics, in those days did about $25 million in premium seat revenue. Krezwick came up with a plan. And when all was said and done, his proactive approach to the problem helped retain nearly 100% of his customer base, even though they were only getting half the games.
"You need to understand that in 1997, many teams routinely filled up all their suites and there was a tendency to take business for granted. Rich was not one of who did that. He recognized from the beginning of the importance of catering to your best customers," asserts Dorsey.
Rich Krezwick, President, Devils Arena Entertainment
As President of Devils Arena Entertainment, Rich Krezwick is responsible for all operational aspects and overall programming and management of the New Jersey Devils arena, as well as business operations of the Devils. Krezwick joined the Devils after ten years with the FleetCenter and Boston Bruins (1996-2005) as President. Most recently Krezwick completed a three year stint with AEG - Anshutz Entertainment Group as VP of Regional Operations. He also spent five years managing a group of radio stations in New England. While at the FleetCenter in Boston, Krezwick was responsible for all aspects of arena operations and team business. The FleetCenter replaced the historic Boston Garden and Krezwick is credited with launching the new arena, which is now consistently ranked as one of the top facilities in the country. A graduate of Drexel University, Krezwick grew up in Philadelphia and started his career in sports and entertainment with the Philadelphia Flyers and Spectrum. The organization grew into Spectacor Management Inc. and eventually became SMG. Krezwick served in various management roles for over 12 years with the company.
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