SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE

Bobby Goldwater turns Leo Durocher on his head. Nice guys can finish first.
A distant relative of Barry Goldwater and a 1974 graduate of Miami University of Ohio, Goldwater secured his first job at Madison Square Garden. Twenty-four years later he was still there with the title Vice President of Facilities Presentation.

In 1998, Goldwater was given an extraordinary challenge. A new sports venue, the Staples Center, was under construction in Los Angeles. The top executives wanted someone to manage both the day-to-day operations of the Center and attract live entertainment such as the Emmy Awards and Academy Awards. Goldwater was selected as the Senior Vice President and General Manager. All he was expected to accomplish was to make the Staples Center the Madison Square Garden of the West.

Success followed success and Goldwater was again tapped as an organized change agent. This time all he had to do was to bring major league baseball back to Washington, D.C. and build a new soccer stadium. With the title President and Executive Director of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, Goldwater continued to work his magic.

When this fall the Mets struggled with the Nationals, now long gone from Montreal, we can see the handiwork of a visionary leader.