Barry Mendelson (born February 5, 1943) is an American television producer and CEO of Mendelson Entertainment Group LLC.
Mendelson was born in Rochester, New York to Arthur and Eva Mendelson. He graduated from Penfield High School, in Rochester, New York, in 1961. He graduated from Ithaca College in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications. Mendelson went on to enter the United States Army in 1966, where he served as a Communications Specialist in the 3rd Armored Division, stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. He received an honorable discharge in 1968.
1968–1969 Color commentator for New York Giants Radio Network [1]
1969–1970 Play-by-play radio announcer for New York Jets Radio Network
1969–1970 Play-by-play radio announcer for Army Football
1969–1970 Vice-President of the Boston Celtics Basketball Team (1969–1970) [2]
1971–1972 Director of Radio, Television and Advertising at Los Angeles Forum Arena
1972–1973 Sports Director at KFI Radio, Los Angeles [3]
1972–1974 Personal Manager for Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers [4]
1974–1978 Vice-President of Business Operations (1974–1976) then General Manager (1976–1978) of the New Orleans Jazz Basketball Team [5] [6]
1978–1979 Founder and President of Cincinnati Kids Major League Indoor Soccer Team
1980–1984 President of Ticketmaster Associates[ citation needed ]
1979–1987 President of Barry Mendelson Presents[ citation needed ]
1979–1998 General Partner of Saenger Performing Arts Center and Owner of the historic landmark Saenger Theater in New Orleans [7]
1988–1990 Executive Vice President of Madison Square Garden Enterprises [8]
1994–2000 President of On Ice, Inc. These ice shows were performed in all 50 states, China, Russia, England, Australia, and New Zealand [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
2004–2006 President of TVSN Sports[ citation needed ]
2001 – current President of Mendelson Entertainment Group LLC[ citation needed ]
As Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the New Orleans Jazz, was the first person in the NBA to sign a free agent, with compensation. (Gail Goodrich, 1975.) [17] It is notable that this pick from the Jazz was used by the Lakers to sign Earvin Magic Johnson in 1979.[ permanent dead link ]
As Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the New Orleans Jazz, set the first attendance record of over 25,000 people to attend an NBA game. (November 5, 1975, 26,511 Jazz vs Lakers.) [18]
Promoted largest indoor crowd worldwide to attend a concert. The Rolling Stones, December 3, 1981, Louisiana Superdome, 87,500 people.
As Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the New Orleans Jazz, hired the second African-American NBA Head Coach – Elgin Baylor.
He is member of the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame [19]
He established the Ann E. Mendelson and Barry Mendelson Endowed Scholarship at the Ithaca College School of Communications, [20] and the Sandi and Barry Mendelson Sports Intern Scholarship at the Ithaca College School of Health Sciences and Human Performance [ permanent dead link ]
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their home games at the Smoothie King Center. Since 2014, the NBA officially considers New Orleans as an expansion team that began play in the 2002–03 season.
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, the team has played its home games at Vivint Arena. The franchise began play as an expansion team in the 1974–75 season as the New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz relocated from New Orleans to Salt Lake City on June 8, 1979.
Thomas Milton Benson was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) in 1985 and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2012.
The New Orleans Night were an Arena Football League (AFL) team that competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons and were based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team was officially announced at a press conference on March 18, 1991. On April 9, the name Night was unveiled as was Eddie Khayat, former head coach of the Nashville Kats, as head coach.
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).
The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Smoothie King Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and has been home to the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 2002. The New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League played their home games in the arena from 2004 until the team disbanded in 2008. The VooDoo resumed play at the arena in March 2011, until after the 2015 AFL season when the franchise folded.
Willem Hendrik "Butch" van Breda Kolff was an American basketball player and coach.
WWL-TV is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL. Both stations share studios on Rampart Street in the historic French Quarter district, while WWL-TV's transmitter is located on Cooper Road in Terrytown, Louisiana.
WVUE-DT is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains primary studios on Norman C. Francis Parkway in the city's Gert Town section, with a secondary studio within the Benson Tower in downtown New Orleans; its transmitter is located on Magistrate Street in Chalmette, Louisiana.
Eugene Scape Littles was an American basketball player and coach. He played six seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Carolina Cougars and Kentucky Colonels between 1969 and 1975. Littles won an ABA championship with the Colonels in 1975. He later coached in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, and Denver Nuggets.
Allan Mercer Bristow, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. Bristow played college basketball at Virginia Tech, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft. A 6 ft 7 in, 210 lb (95 kg) small forward, he had a 10-year career in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA), playing for the Sixers, the San Antonio Spurs, the Utah Jazz, and finishing his playing career with the Dallas Mavericks. His nickname was "Disco".
Loyola Field House was an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosted the ABA's New Orleans Buccaneers for two seasons, and the NBA's New Orleans Jazz (1974–1975). It was also the home venue for Loyola Wolf Pack basketball. The arena held 6,500 people.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to several sports teams. These include the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons, the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association of Professional Baseball
St. Augustine High School is a private, Catholic, all-boys high school run by the Josephites in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded in 1951 and includes grades 8 through 12.
New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic and horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Course. New Orleans has also occasionally hosted the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal game and the NCAA college basketball Final Four.
In 1994, several groups were involved in an attempt to relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. The proposed relocation would have been the second involving a Minneapolis-based franchise in the span of two years, as Minneapolis had lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to Dallas in 1993. Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner were considering selling the team due to problems with the mortgage on the Target Center, the team's arena that had been built only four years earlier as part of Minneapolis' 1989 entry into the NBA. The events of the attempted relocation resulted in Glen Taylor, businessman and former Minnesota State Senator, purchasing the team and keeping it in Minneapolis.
Quint Davis is an American festival producer and director based in New Orleans. He is best known as the producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival founded by George Wein. Davis has been involved in the production of the event from its start in 1970. He is the CEO of Festival Productions, Inc. - New Orleans, the company that produces the Jazz Fest.