Mallards Name McNamara New President - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Mallards Name McNamara New President

By: Steve Campbell
Sports@cbs4qc.com

The Quad City Mallards announced Thursday, Jan. 3, that Bob McNamara has been named the Mallards' new president.  The Mallards further announced today that the team has reached an agreement with the i wireless Center on a one-year lease extension that will run through the 2013-14 season.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Mallards and also very pleased to be a part of the Central Hockey League," said McNamara.  "I look forward to strengthening the Mallards' role in the community and helping this organization grow and move forward.  I know there is great support for the Mallards in the Quad Cities and I'm excited about working with our staff to build on the strides the club has taken already this season."

McNamara, 51, brings a wealth of hockey and business experience to the Mallards.  McNamara spent 15 seasons as general manager of the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins before serving as the president and governor of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL last season.   With the Bulldogs last year, McNamara oversaw the execution of the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic at Ivor Wynne Football Stadium, a game that set a Canadian AHL attendance record of 20,565.  During McNamara's tenure in Grand Rapids, the Griffins enjoyed success both on and off the ice, winning two regular season championships and five division titles and increasing attendance in four of his final five seasons.

Prior to joining the Griffins, McNamara acted as assistant general manager of the International Hockey League's Cleveland Lumberjacks for five years.  His duties with the Lumberjacks ranged from sales to hockey operations to virtually every other area of the organization.

A native of Toronto, McNamara earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 after spending four seasons as the Fighting Irish hockey team's number one goaltender.  Upon graduation, McNamara signed with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and spent three seasons with the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' AHL affiliate.  In 1986, he moved on to the International Hockey League and the Milwaukee Admirals.  McNamara tended goal for the Admirals for two seasons and served as a player/assistant coach in his second campaign with the club.   

Bob and his wife Kathy have three children: daughter Alix, 24, and sons Daniel, 19, and Jake, 16.

In addition to welcoming McNamara to the Quad Cities, the Mallards have further expanded their staff by naming Jim Kersten director of corporate sales.  Kersten returns to the Mallards after having previously handled corporate sales for the team during the 2010-11 season.  Kersten brings ample experience to the Mallards, having spent more than 16 years in professional hockey business operations.

The Mallards' staff is further supported by the team's partnership with Cosmos Sports.  Cosmos Sports provides sales and marketing consulting, revenue generation training, creative marketing and management of the team's ticket sales campaign and strategy.  Cosmos Sports is one of the premier names in sports marketing with clients from the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Canadian Football League, American Hockey League and National Lacrosse League to name a few.