Jim Lites

Last updated
Jim Lites
Born
James R. Lites

1953 (age 70–71)
Pentwater, Michigan, U.S.
Education University of Michigan (BA)
Wayne State University
OccupationSports executive

James R. Lites (born 1953) is an American sports executive who is CEO and alternate governor of the Dallas Stars of the NHL. He was formerly the president of Hicks Sports Marketing Group, and as such was president of the Stars and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball, both of which were holdings of Tom Hicks, from 1993 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2007. Lites was briefly president and COO of the Phoenix Coyotes from March through December 2002. He was brought back as president and CEO of the Stars on November 18, 2011 when the club was sold to Tom Gaglardi. [1] He has since yielded the presidency to Brad Alberts, but is still operating head of the franchise. Lites had previously been an executive in the front office of the Detroit Red Wings during the 1980s.

Contents

Biography

Lites graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 and graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1978. When he practiced law, he specialized in litigation and labor contract negotiations.

Hicks Sports Marketing Group

The Dallas Stars had a mediocre start to the 2007–2008 NHL season, initially going 7–7–3. On November 10, 2007, after a meltdown by the team in Los Angeles (losing 6–5 in OT after leading 4–0 with 7 minutes remaining in the game), Lites dismissed general manager Doug Armstrong, and replaced him with the tandem of Brett Hull and Les Jackson.

The next day, team owner and chairman Tom Hicks reassigned Lites to head Hicks Sports Marketing Group. Lites oversees the sponsorship and marketing of the Dallas Stars and did so for Texas Rangers, Liverpool Football Club and Mesquite Championship Rodeo until they were sold.

Controversial comments

On December 28, 2018, while CEO of the Dallas Stars, Lites made detrimental and controversial comments to The Athletic regarding two of the team's star players, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. In reference to the duo, Lites was quoted as saying "They are fucking horse-shit, I don’t know how else to put it," singling out the pair after a 2–0 Dallas win over the Nashville Predators a day earlier. [2]

Benn responded by telling the media "When there is a situation within the organization, I try to keep it within the organization and deal with it face to face", adding "I don't play for (Lites). I play for every player in this room, the coaching staff." On December 30, 2018, the NHLPA commented on the issue in a press release, referring to Lites' comments as "reckless and insulting" and "unprofessional" while adding that "In professional sports, all individual players and teams go through highs and lows, but this is not how professionals handle adversity." [3]

At the time, the Stars sat fourth in the NHL's Central Division with a 19-16-3 record.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Stars</span> National Hockey League team in Texas, United States

The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the 1978–79 NHL season, the team merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each team's respective financial struggles. Eventually, the franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season where the team was rebranded as the Dallas Stars. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena located in downtown Dallas from their relocation in 1993 until 2001, when the team moved less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km) into the American Airlines Center located in the nearby Victory Park neighborhood of Dallas, an arena they share with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hicks</span> American private equity investor (born 1946)

Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr., is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas. Forbes magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $700 million in 2010. Hicks co-founded the investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, previously owned 50% of the English football club Liverpool F.C., and is chairman of Hicks Holdings LLC, which owns and operates Hicks Sports Group, the company that formerly owned the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Stars, and the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. In 2010, Hicks was forced to sell the Rangers and Liverpool to satisfy his creditors, and the Stars went into bankruptcy the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindy Ruff</span> Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Lindy Cameron Ruff is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ruff was previously the head coach of the Dallas Stars of the NHL, and also the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2013, with whom he won the Jack Adams Award in 2006. During his playing career, Ruff played in the NHL for the Sabres and New York Rangers, the former of which he captained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Avery</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1980)

Sean Christopher Avery is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), he played left wing for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars, gaining recognition for controversial and disrespectful behaviour both on and off the ice. His agitating playing style led to multiple teams waiving him and to having a contract terminated. He led the league in penalty minutes twice, during the 2003–04 and 2005–06 NHL seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Comeau</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1986)

Blake Comeau is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently an unrestricted free agent of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the New York Islanders at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He played five seasons in the Islanders organization before joining the Calgary Flames in 2011–12. He has also played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars.

Jim Montgomery is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, he played a total of six seasons for the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Stars</span> American Hockey League team in Cedar Park, Texas

The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the team's top developmental affiliate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Benn</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1989)

Jamie Randolph Benn is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Charles M. "Chuck" Greenberg is an American sports attorney, chairman and founder of the Greenberg Sports Group, and owner of three minor league baseball teams. Greenberg was managing partner of Rangers Baseball Express, LLC, which on August 5, 2010, won court approval to purchase the Texas Rangers, a Major League Baseball team, from Tom Hicks and Hicks Sports Group. Greenberg served as Managing Partner and CEO of the Rangers from 2010 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Seguin</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1992)

Tyler Paul Seguin is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordie Benn</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1987)

Phillip Jordan Ellis Benn is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for Brynäs IF of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan. An undrafted player, Benn has previously played for the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs. He is the older brother of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Morrow</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1992)

Joseph Mathew Alexander Morrow is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for Manchester Storm of the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Morrow played junior hockey with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted 23rd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. In the NHL, Morrow played for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, and New Jersey Devils.

R. Thomas Gaglardi is a Canadian business executive, and the owner of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radek Faksa</span> Czech ice hockey player (born 1994)

Radek Faksa is a Czech professional ice hockey centre for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). In his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he was the League's leading rookie scorer when he was playing for the Kitchener Rangers. Faksa was drafted 13th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roope Hintz</span> Finnish ice hockey player (born 1996)

Roope Hintz, nicknamed the "Ace of Spades", is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The 2015–16 Dallas Stars season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 23rd season since the franchise relocated from Minnesota prior to the start of the 1993–94 NHL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northland Properties</span> Canadian property company

Northland Properties Corporation is the parent company of multiple hotel chains, restaurants, sports teams, and Northland Asset Management Company. Northland was founded in 1963 and is owned by the Gaglardi family. Bob Gaglardi is the founder and chairman of the board and Tom Gaglardi is President of Northland Properties Corporation. Northland Properties is the largest privately held hospitality group in North America with properties spanning Canada, the United States, and the U.K. and Ireland. Their collective assets are valued at close to $8B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Stanley Cup Finals</span> 2020 ice hockey championship series

The 2020 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2019–20 season and the culmination of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. This series was between the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. The Lightning won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, for their second championship in franchise history. The Lightning had home-ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record. The series began on September 19 and concluded on September 28. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire series was played behind closed doors at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The pandemic resulted in the league suspending the regular season on March 12, 2020, and then scheduling a special 24-team playoff format to be held in two neutral "hub cities" that began on August 1. Thus it became the first Stanley Cup Finals to be played in the month of September.

References

  1. ↑ "TOM GAGLARDI PURCHASES THE STARS". Dallas Stars. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Stars ownership, management go on expletive-laden tirade over poor performance from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin". The Athletic. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  3. ↑ "NHLPA rips 'unprofessional' Stars CEO". The Sports Network. 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Texas Rangers President
2001–2005		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.