Kim Stone in UBS Arena driver’s seat

Article posted by Coliseum, August 5^th, 2022

Image: Kim Stone (LinkedIn) & UBS Arena

The Oak View Group (OVG) has named Kim Stone President of the UBS Arena and an Executive Vice-President for OVG’s East Coast operations.

‘bizwomen’ stated that the former National Basketball Association (NBA) teams Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors arena executive will be based in Belmont Park and will oversee the home of the National Hockey League (NHL) team New York Islanders as well as all OVG East Coast owned and operated properties, including the 14,000-capacity Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, which is scheduled to open early next year.

Los Angeles (US)-based the OVG Oak View Group, LLC is an American Global Advisory, Development and Investment Company for Sports and Live Entertainment industries. Based in Los Angeles (US), it was formed on November 16^th, 2015 by Tim Leiweke and his business partner, Irving Azoff. Leiweke is the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Apply for membership

The UBS Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York (US). Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, replacing the Nassau Coliseum. The arena officially seats 17,250 patrons for hockey games and up to 19,000 for concerts and other select events.

‘bizwomen’ further stated that Stone will report to the UBS Arena Board of Managers and OVG President of Business Development Francesca Bodie.

Said Stone, who has family on Long Island, “It was one of the few opportunities where I was like, ‘This is worth listening to.’”

Stone joins OVG from the Heat, where she was in her second run with the team. In her first stint in Miami, she spent 23 years running what is now the 21,000-capacity FTX Arena. She then joined the Warriors to help open and operate the 18,064-capacity Chase Center in San Francisco in 2019.

Stone did not think she would leave Miami for a second time – “It was going to take something amazing to get me to leave Miami. That’s an amazing organization.”

Stone’s experience touches almost every aspect of team and venue business, including strategic oversight of revenue-generating functions such as corporate partnerships, food and beverage, season-ticket renewals and concert programing, as well as establishing award-winning arena operations teams responsible for running two of the world’s top arenas.

Stone becomes OVG’s first female President of an arena.

She replaces Tom Pistore, who now leads the recently launched OVG Canada in Toronto.

Additionally, UBS Arena President of Arena Operations Hank Abate has moved into a new role as President of OVG360 Venue Management, Northeast Region. UBS Arena Assistant General Manager Michael Sciortino has been promoted to the post of General Manager and will report to Stone.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue