Matt joined Oak View Group in December of 2019 as Director of Premium & Ticket Sales across multiple Oak View Properties including the Coachella Valley Arena and Coachella Valley Firebirds. He currently resides in Austin, TX where he is actively on-sale with the new, state of the art, Moody Center. Prior to joining OVG, I worked for Olympia Entertainment (Detroit Red Wings & Tigers) in Detroit, MI holding several different positions within their ticket sales and service departments including the most recent position of Director of Ticket Sales. He was fortunate enough to be a part of the teams that were responsible for opening Little Caesars Arena as well as selling out the 2014 NHL Winter Classic which still holds the NHL record for attendance of over 104,000 people. He is originally from Rochester Hills, MI and graduated from Central Michigan University in 2010.
Fun Fact: I am an avid golfer and have (1) hole-in-one…it came on a par 4!
A Texas native from San Antonio, Frank joined the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Acrisure Arena during the summer of 2021 to lead our sales and retention efforts. Frank brings with him 13 years of experience from Spurs Sports & Entertainment where he oversaw Franchise Sales and Business Operations. During his time at SS&E he held multiple leadership roles including Inside Sales Manager, Sr. Manager of Franchise Sales & Retention and Director of Franchise Business Operations. His favorite sports memory is having the opportunity to participate in the 2014 NBA Championship River Parade with the San Antonio Spurs players and coaching staff. Frank graduated from Texas A&M University in 2008 and enjoys golf, BBQing and spending time with his three legged dog, Cleveland. His favorite sports teams include the Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fun Fact: While interning at Tristar Sports Memorabilia his senior year at Texas A&M, Frank had the opportunity to work with and meet multiple HOF athletes and coaches including Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Lawrence Taylor, Gale Sayers, Jerry Rice and Tony La Russa.
Samantha, or Sam as many know her by, joined the the Coachella Valley Firebirds in July 2021. She comes to us from Channel Q, 103.1 aka Audacy Inc., formerly Entercom and worked for KGAY 106.5 in Palm Springs, California. Prior to working in radio, she worked for KESQ News Channel 3 in Thousand Palms, California. Sam also worked as a Legal Forensics Expert for over 23 years helping many law firms in California with collecting and processing their data and scanning of their docs. Sam proudly sits on The Thousand Palms Community Council and Board for The Thousand Palms Chamber of Commerce.
Fun Fact: Sam lives her best life by being active: quad riding, horseback riding, going to any sporting event, floating down the river, doing anything outside and watching scary movies with my little cousins.
Mason is originally from Houston, TX, and graduated from Schreiner University (Kerrville, TX) in the Spring of 2018. Mason spent 3 years with Spurs Sports & Entertainment as a San Antonio Rampage (AHL) Account Executive of Ticket Sales & Service where he achieved being the 2019 -2020 American Hockey League Rookie of the year runner up in total Season Ticket Sales, the Top overall revenue producer San Antonio Rampage 2019 – 2021 and also the Top 10 overall total revenue producer in the American Hockey League 2019-2020 season.
Fun Fact: He is a National Champion Skeet & Trap Shooter
Matthew Abrams joined the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Acrisure Arena in September of 2021. His impressive experience in sales and marketing is rooted in two globally recognized companies. In 2018, he helped successfully launch a marketing campaign for Best Selling Author and Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, Robert Herjavec, at Herjavec Group. His next pursuit was with Cloudkitchens as an Account Executive under the leadership of Travis Kalanick, the ex-Uber CEO and ride sharing titan. Matthew enjoys spending time with his dog Kobe, hiking, playing fantasy sports and watching the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Wildcats. Matthew attended the University of Arizona earning his B.S. in Communications and Sports Management.
Vacca was born and raised in Aurora, IL. Growing up he played football from 9 years old to 18. Vacca first became really interested in hockey while growing up in the Chicagoland area watching the Blackhawks win their three Stanley Cups. He attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a Sport and Recreation Management degree in 2019. During his time at the University of Iowa, he interned for the Farmers Insurance Open, John Deere Classic, and Iowa Wild. Following college, worked for two other AHL teams, the San Antonio Rampage and Iowa Wild. Vacca’s favorite part about working in the AHL is connecting with fans in an awesome environment.
Fun Fact:
I collect vinyl records and listen to them in my free time. I own around 50 records, but my favorite is Tha Carter ll. I also have two pet gecko’s that have lived in four different states with me. My favorite sports teams are the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Kraken.
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