Oakland, CA - Golden State Warriors Owner and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Cohan announced Tuesday that Robert Rowell has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer for the NBA club.
Rowell served as the club's vice president of business operations for the past three seasons. He currently represents the organization as a member of the NBA Board of Governors, as well as serving as the NBA Chief Marketing Officer for the team. He joined the Warriors in August of 1995 as an assistant controller before joining the club's management team as director of finance/controller for two seasons.
"We are pleased to promote Robert to this new position with the Warriors," said Cohan. "We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and innovative individual heading the business side of our organization. Robert has moved quickly through the ranks since joining our team, and I'm pleased that he will continue to lead the Warriors to the forefront of the NBA through our team-related business ventures."
During his three-year tenure overseeing Golden State's business operations, Rowell spearheaded the creation of the marketing arm of the Warriors - Great Time Out Entertainment (GTOE). Forming a major partnership with AT&T Broadband, the Warriors became the first professional sports franchise with an in-arena internet cafe/entertainment stage, while also becoming the first professional sports franchise to webcast a live concert in streaming video. The concert, a GTOE production of The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards performed at The Arena in Oakland, was webcast on www.warriors.com.
Rowell's "It's A Great Time Out" branding campaign helped the Warriors earn the distinction of possessing the NBA's highest regular-season attendance increase mark (17 percent) of the 2000-01 season. Warriors.com, the club's official home web page, also made the largest increase in site hits, jumping from 24th to 14th in the league during the 2000-01 campaign.
Rowell was a major figure in the success of NBA All-Star 2000, which was hosted by the Warriors. In conjunction with the NBA, Rowell oversaw the custom design of a 300,000 square foot tent located next to The Arena in Oakland, which housed the NBA Jam Session presented by Fleer. The structure enabled the event to open during a weeklong period prior to -- and during -- All-Star Weekend for the first time in its seven-year history. The Jam Session drew more than 100,000 visitors, a record number for the event.