America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

America's leading sports & entertainment family

A Top 50 Workplace and one of the most diverse partnership groups in the industry.

Who We Are

Eight teams. Five venues. One media platform.
One philanthropy.
One brand.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment is a values driven organization. Our leaders and our employees share a common passion and enthusiasm for bringing fans the ultimate experience, first-class customer service, and exceptional teams that compete with the best year after year. To deliver these outcomes, we stay transparent, nimble and always ready to take a calculated risk. We also strive to raise the game internally, keeping a sharp focus on measurable performance, data-driven decisions and a culture of teamwork and collaboration from our leaders all the way down to our interns. By treating each other with respect, honesty and integrity we continue to help each other remain humble and have fun. After all, we are in the business of happiness.

Check out MSE’s 2024 Annual Report:

 

Founder, Chairman, Managing Partner, and Chief Executive Officer

Ted Leonsis

Ted Leonsis

Founder, Chairman, Managing Partner, and Chief Executive Officer

Ted Leonsis is founder, chairman, managing partner, and chief executive officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).  In that role, Mr. Leonsis is the principal owner of the NHL’s 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the 2019 WNBA Champion Washington Mystics, the 2021 & 2020 NBA 2K League Champion Wizards District Gaming, and the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go.

In addition to the teams, Mr. Leonsis owns the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena and operates MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the Capitals’ training facility, MedStar Health Performance Center, the Wizards, Mystics and Capital City Go-Go training facility, George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena, and District E, a premier, nearly 14,000 square foot live-event theater focused on esports, adjacent to Capital One Arena at Gallery Place.

Mr. Leonsis also owns Monumental Sports Network, a regional media platform distributed on linear television, digital, mobile, and over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Monumental Sports Network is the exclusive local broadcast and streaming network for the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics; and operates the state-of-the-art Monumental Sports Network studios located next door to Capital One Arena.

Leonsis is also co-owner and co-chairman of aXiomatic Gaming, which has a controlling interest in global esports franchise, Team Liquid.

Mr. Leonsis serves on the Board of Governors for the NBA, NHL, and WNBA. He is on the Executive Committee of the NHL, the Audit and Finance Committee of the NHL, the Advisory/Finance Committee of the NBA and serves as Chairman of the NBA Media Committee and Chairman of the NHL Media Committee.

Mr. Leonsis is a nationally recognized entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and award-winning filmmaker, who has won Peabody and Emmy awards.

A longtime venture capitalist, Mr. Leonsis is cofounder and partner at Revolution Growth, a $1 billion set of investment funds, where he and his partners make a select group of speed-up capital investments in businesses each year, typically investing $25-50 million per deal.

He is Chairman of the District of Columbia College Access Program (DC-CAP), a nonprofit scholarship provider committed to encouraging and enabling D.C. students to enroll and graduate from college.

He also serves on the boards of several public companies, including American Express and Groupon; and is the former vice chairman and president of AOL.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York and later Lowell, Massachusetts and Vero Beach, Florida, Mr. Leonsis resides in Potomac, Maryland with his wife, Lynn Leonsis.

Vice Chairs

Raul Fernandez

Raul Fernandez

Vice Chairman and Partner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment

Raul J. Fernandez is an entrepreneur, investor, and strategic partner who brings more than three decades of executive experience scaling innovative technology companies. In addition to his role at Monumental, he is a Senior Advisor to General Atlantic Partners, a growth equity firm with more than $40 billion under management. Mr. Fernandez currently serves on the board of directors at DXC Technology (NYSE), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ), and GameStop (NYSE). He founded Proxicom, a global provider of e-commerce solutions for Fortune 500 companies, which he took public in 1999 and later sold to Dimension Data. A native Washingtonian and University of Maryland graduate, Mr. Fernandez is an active philanthropist in D.C. regional nonprofits focused primarily on educational reform.

Sheila Johnson

Sheila Johnson

Vice Chairman and Partner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment

Sheila C. Johnson is an entrepreneur and philanthropist whose accomplishments span the arenas of hospitality, sports, TV/film, the arts and humanitarian causes. She is CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, overseeing a growing portfolio of luxury properties and lifestyle businesses. Ms. Johnson is the only African American woman to have a principal shareholder stake in three professional sports teams: the Washington Wizards, Capitals and Mystics, for which she serves as governor. She also serves on the board of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Chairman of the College of Performing Arts at The New School, and founder and chair of the Middleburg Film Festival. Ms. Johnson is known as a TV pioneer, having been a founding partner of Black Entertainment Television.

Management

Peter Biché

Peter Biché

Chief Financial Officer

Peter Biché is the Chief Financial Officer and oversees all of the financial functions related to Monumental Sports & Entertainment and its properties. Biché has more than 20 years of experience at Monumental Sports & Entertainment and its predecessor entity, Washington Sports & Entertainment.

Abby Blomstrom

Abby Blomstrom

Executive Vice President & General Counsel

As Executive Vice President & General Counsel for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Abby Blomstrom is responsible for advising senior management on key legal and strategic matters as well as managing all legal matters for the organization’s sports and business operations.

Prior to joining Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Blomstrom served as assistant general counsel at AOL Inc., where she was the lead attorney for mergers and acquisitions and venture investments and was responsible for corporate legal matters. She earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.

Will Dawkins

Will Dawkins

General Manager, Washington Wizards

Will Dawkins enters his first season as general manager of the Washington Wizards. In his role, Dawkins oversees the day-to-day operations for the franchise, managing basketball operations for both the Wizards and Capital City Go-Go.

Dawkins spent the previous 15 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He most recently served three seasons as the Thunder’s vice president of basketball operations, where he was responsible for roster and staff development, data science & solutions, strategic planning and the handling of personnel matters, including player evaluation and acquisitions.

While in Oklahoma City, Dawkins elevated from front office intern to hold a variety of positions with influence throughout the organization.  During his time in the Thunder front office, he helped assemble teams that contributed to the second-best winning percentage in the NBA from 2010 to 2020, with a Finals appearance in 2012 and four appearances in the Western Conference Finals.

Prior to his role as vice president of basketball operations, Dawkins spent three seasons as the team’s vice president of identification & intelligence, where he was responsible for overseeing the professional and amateur evaluation departments (both domestically and internationally).  He also served as assistant video coordinator, scouting coordinator and director of college player personnel, a position he held for five seasons.

Dawkins is a graduate of Emerson College, where he served as captain of the men’s basketball team and became a two-time Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar All-American. The Springfield, Massachusetts, native led the High School of Commerce to the 2004 Division I State Championship, while earning the honor of Western Massachusetts Player of the Year.  He was inducted into the Springfield Massachusetts Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dawkins and his wife, Tara, have three children, Trey, Journee and Rylee.

Monica Dixon

Monica Dixon

Chief Administrative Officer, President, External Affairs

Serving as President, External Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer, Monica Dixon manages communications, government relations, strategic planning and project management throughout the organization. Dixon’s career has centered on providing strategic and management consulting for high-profile individuals and institutions, including the White House, national advocacy organizations and candidates for federal office.

Dixon has been a top strategist focusing on management, strategic communications, and public affairs for a U.S. vice president, CEOs of major corporations, numerous boards of directors, political campaigns and issue-based organizations.

Zach Leonsis

Zach Leonsis

President of Media & New Enterprises

Zach Leonsis is President of Media & New Enterprises for Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

As President of Media & New Enterprises, Leonsis oversees all of Monumental’s media & network operations, team rights agreements, and media revenues. In addition, Leonsis also oversees all corporate development activities which include M&A, venture capital and private equity investment opportunities. Leonsis led the acquisition of NBC Sports Washington into Monumental and also led additional investments into companies including Team Liquid, Epic Games, Niantic, Dapper Labs, and more.

In addition to his media and corporate development responsibilities, Leonsis also launched and oversees Monumental’s growing esports division which includes Wizards District Gaming, Caps Gaming, and District E. Through his leadership in esports, Leonsis also represents Monumental on Team Liquid’s board of directors. Leonsis also oversees the organization’s larger technology efforts as Monumental strives to innovate and build a more robust digital footprint that benefits fans and employees alike.

In 2020, Leonsis was a member of the board of directors of Acies Acquisition Corp which announced a successful business combination with social gaming company, PlayStudios. Leonsis partnered with Sports Business Journal to launch the industry-leading ‘Dealmakers in Sports’ conference which is hosted  in Washington, D.C.

After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, Leonsis received his MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and is a founding member of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. He also joined the Advisory Board of the Georgetown McDonough School of Business in 2019. He received an appointment to serve on Virginia’s Governor’s Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism in 2016, and is involved in a variety of nonprofit and charitable activities in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia communities.

The Washington Business Journal and Sports Business Journal have both recognized Leonsis for his work in revolutionizing the direct-to-fan regional digital experience by both honoring him in their prestigious ’Forty under 40’ lists. Sports Business Journal has also featured Leonsis as an ‘RSN Power Player’ and recently inducted him into their Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame. VenuesNow has honored him as one of their VenuesNow All Stars and SportTechie has featured him as one of their top 20 innovators.

Brian MacLellan

Brian MacLellan

President of Hockey Operations, Washington Capitals

Brian MacLellan is entering his 10th season as general manager and first as president of hockey operations and general manager of the Capitals. MacLellan, 64, was named the sixth general manager in the franchise’s history on May 26, 2014, and is entering his 23rd season with Washington after previously serving as the team’s assistant general manager, director of player personnel and as a professional scout.

Since appointing MacLellan as general manager, the Capitals have compiled a record of 409-213-77 (.640 point percentage) and have recorded the third-most wins in the NHL in that span. Among general managers in NHL history with at least 500 games, MacLellan ranks third in point percentage, trailing only Sam Pollock (Montréal Canadiens, 1964-1978: .685 P%) and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins, 2014-present: .666 P%).

During MacLellan’s tenure, the Capitals have won a Stanley Cup, two Presidents’ Trophies, and a franchise-record five consecutive Metropolitan Division titles from 2014-15 to 2019-20. With MacLellan at the helm, the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in 2018. Of the 19 players to take the ice during the Cup-clinching win in Game 5, eight players were either signed, traded for, or drafted by MacLellan, including three of the four players that scored in the game (Jakub Vrana, Devante Smith- Pelly and Lars Eller). The Capitals tied an NHL record with 10 road wins during the run and joined the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins as the only teams to win the Stanley Cup despite trailing in all four series.

In the 2016-17 season, the Capitals won their second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy, marking the seventh time in NHL history that a team has won the Presidents’ Trophy in consecutive seasons. Washington posted a 55-19-8 record, marking the second-most wins and third-most points (118) in a season in franchise history. The Capitals recorded 55 wins in two straight seasons (2015-16: 56, 2016-17: 55), joining the Montreal Canadiens (1975-78) as the only teams in NHL history to win 55 or more games in consecutive seasons. Washington also earned 238 points in the prior two seasons, marking the most points in two straight seasons since Montreal recorded 244 points from 1977-79.

In the 2015-16 season, Washington led the NHL with a record of 56-18-8 (120 points) and captured its second Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history (2009-10). The Capitals set franchise records in wins and road wins (27), and MacLellan was named a finalist for the 2015-16 NHL General Manager of the Year Award.

In his first season, Washington posted a record of 45-26-11 (101 points), reaching the 100-point mark for the eighth time in team history and the first since the 2010-11 season.

As assistant general manager and director of player personnel, MacLellan oversaw the club’s professional scouting staff and worked closely with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, who won the Calder Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010. MacLellan, who served as a pro scout for the Capitals from 2000-03 prior to his promotion to director of player personnel, assisted and advised the general manager in all player-related matters.

MacLellan, who won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989, recorded 413 points (172 goals, 241 assists) in 606 games during his 10-year NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings. MacLellan also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 1985 World Championship in Prague.

The Guelph, Ont., native played hockey at Bowling Green State University from 1978-82, registering 143 points (64g, 79a) in 160 games. MacLellan’s 345 career penalty minutes rank sixth in school history. The 6’3” forward earned 63 points his freshman year, marking the second most points by a freshman in school history. MacLellan moved to defense in his junior season and was named an All-American defenseman and First-Team All-CCHA in 1982. MacLellan served as co-captain for the Falcons from 1980-82. He was elected to the Bowling Green Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.

MacLellan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Bowling Green and earned his MBA in finance from the University of St. Thomas in 1995. He went on to work for an investment consulting firm in Minneapolis before joining the Capitals as a pro scout.

Chris Patrick

Chris Patrick

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Washington Capitals

Chris Patrick was named the seventh general manger in franchise history on July 8, 2024. Patrick, 48, recently completed his 16th season with the club and first as associate general manager. Patrick, who joined the Capitals in 2008-09 in a player development and scouting role, has served as a pro scout, director of player personnel, assistant general manager and associate general manager. As associate general manager, Patrick oversaw the team’s analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personnel, and budget and team scheduling matters. In addition, Patrick managed the club’s professional scouting staff and worked closely with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, who have won consecutive Calder Cup championships. During his tenure, the Bears have won two Calder Cups, two Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophies as the AHL’s top regular-season team and have reached three Calder Cup Finals. Patrick has also played a crucial role in the development of numerous Capitals prospects to the NHL level. Patrick hired two head coaches, Spencer Carbery and Todd Nelson, who have won AHL Coach of the Year awards with Hershey. In his previous positions, Patrick was responsible for scouting drafted players at the collegiate and junior levels. 

Patrick graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in politics and economics in 1998 and earned a Master of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia in 2006. Patrick grew up playing hockey in the Washington, D.C. area in the Capital Beltway Hockey League and for the Little Caps. He attended and played hockey at the Kent School in Connecticut before playing four seasons at Princeton University, winning the ECAC Championship in 1998. Patrick was selected by the Capitals in the eighth round (197th overall) of the 1994 NHL Draft. He and his father, Dick Patrick, became the sixth and seventh members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup in 2018. 

Dick Patrick

Dick Patrick

Vice Chairman and Partner
President, Washington Capitals

The Patrick family name is synonymous with the sport of hockey and the National Hockey League. Lester Patrick’s (grandfather) legacy as longtime coach and general manager of the New York Rangers is honored with the Lester Patrick Trophy, awarded annually for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States”.  Mr. Patrick himself earned the Trophy in 2012.  Muzz Patrick (father) and Lynn Patrick (uncle) were Stanley Cup Champions with the New York Rangers, and in 2018, Mr. Patrick and Chris (son) became the six and seventh members of the Patrick family to win a Stanley Cup. A part of the Washington Capitals organization since 1982 and one of the original partners of Monumental, Mr. Patrick has been a central force in the growth and success of the company.

Jordan Silberman

Jordan Silberman

President, Venues

Jordan Silberman is President of Venues, overseeing all MSE venues and properties. Silberman has over 12 years of experience with MSE and previously served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Capital One Arena and Assistant General Manager and VP of Operations, overseeing all back of house operations, construction projects, and event execution for the Capital One Arena.

A Washington, DC area native, Silberman received his bachelor’s degree from Miami University.

 

Kelly Skoloda

Kelly Skoloda

Chief People Officer

As Chief People Officer, Kelly Skoloda leads the organization’s effort to reward, recognize, develop and delight our employees. From recruiting incredible talent, providing best-in-class health and welfare programs, developing new opportunities for employees to serve the local Washington, D.C., community to partnering with our diverse staff of part- and full-time employees to deliver first-class guest experiences, People & Culture strives to continually improve our processes and exceed expectations.
Prior to joining Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Skoloda advised litigation clients as an attorney at Akin, Gump, Straus, Hauer & Feld LLP and was an employment litigator and assistant general counsel at America Online Inc.

Jim Van Stone

Jim Van Stone

President, Business Operations & Chief Commercial Officer

Jim Van Stone is the President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer at Monumental Sports & Entertainment overseeing ticket sales and services, corporate partnerships, executive suites, marketing and retail business. Previously Van Stone was Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s Chief Revenue Officer.

Van Stone has played a leading role in a myriad of groundbreaking sponsorship agreements at Monumental including arena naming rights (Capital One), Washington Wizards, Capitals and Mystics and Wizards District Gaming practice facility naming rights and medical partnership (MedStar Health), Wizards jersey patch (GEICO), Capitals jersey patch (Caesars Sportsbook), technology platform (Alibaba), and the first international partner for the Wizards (NEC) which led to the team’s first international trip to Tokyo, Japan in 2022. In October of 2019, Van Stone led negotiations with William Hill to become the first official sportsbook partner of the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics (William Hill has since been acquired by Caesars Entertainment) – the first partnership of its kind in North America, and in 2021 he brokered the revolutionary partnership with KPMG leading to their first corporate business development suite inside a sports arena, at Capital One Arena.

From a ticketing perspective, Monumental has seen incredible success since Van Stone’s arrival, including a Capitals sellout streak dating back to the 2008-09 season and oversight of several major events including the 2011 and 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and 2019 NBA London Game.

Under Van Stone’s guidance, Capital One Arena underwent a $70 million transformational renovation during the summer of 2018 and 2019, which included the latest in LED video technology, one of the largest 360-degree continuous video screens in sports and modernized concourses, suites and destination lounges throughout the building.

Van Stone joined the Capitals as vice president of ticket sales and service in 2007 before transitioning to his Monumental Sports & Entertainment role in 2010. Before joining the organization, Van Stone held senior positions with the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Coyotes.

Michael Winger

Michael Winger

President, Monumental Basketball

Michael Winger enters his first season as president of Monumental Basketball, overseeing all aspects of operations for the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Capital City Go-Go.

Winger was named to the newly created position in May 2023 after spending the previous six seasons as the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers.  With 18 years of experience as an executive across different NBA landscapes, Winger has earned a reputation for restoring and sustaining excellence through strategic planning, operational systems, and devotion to organizational culture.  He has enjoyed contributing to successful franchises, including being part of two NBA Finals teams (2007 Cleveland; 2012 Oklahoma City), and seven Conference Finals teams, while working alongside some of the most respected players, coaches, executives, and ownership groups of the last 20 years.

Winger joined the LA Clippers as general manager in 2017 and worked closely with President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank on all day-to-day basketball functions.  He was responsible for designing operational and roster planning strategies, helped create and build departments and infrastructure by acquiring and training staff, developed systems to support the players and oversaw all transactional processes.  Winger also led the design of the team’s new world class performance and training center set to open in 2024.  He was instrumental in acquiring both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard prior to the 2019-20 season, who together propelled the team from eighth in the West in 2018 to second in 2019 before reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2021.

Prior to his time with the Clippers, Winger worked as an assistant general manager and team counsel for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2010-11 to 2016-17.  The Thunder appeared in the 2012 NBA Finals and reached the Western Conference Finals four times during his tenure.

Winger began his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, serving five seasons (2005-06 through 2009-10) and earning several promotions to become the team’s director of basketball operations and team counsel. During his five seasons, the Cavs appeared in the 2007 NBA Finals and reached the Eastern Conference Finals twice.

Originally from near Cleveland, Winger is a graduate of Miami University (OH) and holds a law degree, having attended both The University of Toledo College of Law and the University of Maryland School of Law. He spent two years working for renowned sports agent and attorney Ron Shapiro in Baltimore while pursuing his law degree.

History

Monumental from the beginning

Not long out of college, Ted Leonsis, the son of Greek immigrant parents, had already experienced extraordinary success. He had raised money from investors, started his own company, running it successfully for several years before selling it for tens of millions of dollars. It was the mid-1980s and he was only 28. But he realized: he wasn’t happy.

Over the next three decades, Ted embraced and evangelized a unique philosophy in American business: happiness, rather than traditional measures of success, should be the end goal.  And it should be actively pursued.

Ted created a list of 101 things he wanted to do in his life – big and small – that would guide his efforts. One of those things on the list? Owning a sports team.

In 1999, Ted realized his dream with the purchase of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. From there, he turned his Lincoln Holdings Company into what is today Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns and operates six sports teams as well as five sports venues, and additional sports enterprises.

Along the way, Ted has championed the idea of a double-bottom line company: the Monumental can both do well and do good. “I have a deep-seated belief that there’s a huge social responsibility in owning these iconic brands,” Leonsis says. “The teams really aren’t owned by me and my partners. They’re really owned by the city itself. And so we want to be in service to the community.”

Today Monumental is America’s leading sport and entertainment family, with unparalleled business success. But it’s also one of the Top Places To Work in Washington, D.C., one of the major benefactors in the City, and one of the leading advocates for the community and its’ citizens.

The Stats

2010

FOUNDED

8

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS

5

VENUES

1

MEDIA PLATFORM

660+

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

1B+

NET REVENUE GOAL
Screech outside Medstar Capitals Iceplex with local children
Careers

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News & Perspectives

What's happening at Monumental

  The Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation’s Philanthropic Efforts for the holidays covers over 20 Community Events Taking Place in November and December.  CLICK HERE FOR B-ROLL*  Washington, D.C. (December 23, 2024) – The Monumental...
Washington, D.C. (December 20, 2024) – Fans traveling to Capital One Arena via Metro’s Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines between Friday, December 20 and Monday, December 30 are advised to allow extra travel time and...
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