JOHN McDONOUGH
PRESIDENT
Under McDonough’s leadership, the Blackhawks became one of the biggest sports stories of the year, earning a coveted nomination for SportsBusiness Journal’s 2009 Professional Sports Team of the Year. Presently, the Blackhawks have entertained 79 consecutive capacity crowds at the United Center and have grown a season ticketholder base from 3,400 to over 14,000 in under a year. For the first time in franchise history, the Blackhawks welcomed over 1,000,000 fans to the United Center during a single season in 2008-09 (1,052,261), while establishing an NHL club record by attracting a league-leading average of 21,783 to their 40 home dates at the United Center.
McDonough was also instrumental in bringing NHL 2009 Winter Classic to Chicago, a contest which matched up the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in front of 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009. The game drew an 11.8 overnight rating and a 21 share on NBC in Chicago and over 4.4 million U.S. viewers overall, making it the most-watched NHL game in almost 34 years, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In less than two years since McDonough's arrival, the Blackhawks jumped from 118th (2007) to 21st (2009) in ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings. The organization's ranking in 2009 marked the best among Chicago professional sports teams.
Shortly after his arrival, the club welcomed back Blackhawks legends and Hall of Famers Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito as official team ambassadors and instituted the annual Blackhawks Convention, the first of its kind in the National Hockey League. In addition, in a landmark partnership with Comcast SportsNet and WGN Television, the Blackhawks announced that all 82 regular season games would be televised for the first time in franchise history in 2008-09. The Blackhawks also announced an exciting new radio partnership with arguably the most prominent call letters in North America as “The Voice of Chicago,” News/Talk 720 WGN Radio.
Prior to joining the Blackhawks, McDonough served as president of the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure, the Cubs won the 2007 National League Central Division while setting an all-time franchise attendance record. As the Cubs chief, and in his previous role as senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, he was widely viewed as a sports marketing and management innovator who played a major role in growing the Cubs’ fan base and attracting sponsorships for one of the most successful pro sports franchises in America.
During his 24 years with the Cubs organization, the club consistently reached record attendance and revenue figures. In addition, McDonough was the architect of the celebrity “guest conductor” 7th inning stretch concept at Wrigley Field and created the annual Cubs Convention, which is now viewed as a prototype for professional team and league fan festivals.
With McDonough’s many achievements have also come several honors and awards, including Major League Baseball’s Marketing Excellence Award; the Chicago Baseball Veterans Committee Man of the Year; Chicago Baseball Executive of the Year; and America’s Top Ten Marketing Executives by Promo Magazine.
He has also been recognized with the St. Mary’s University Alumni Appreciation Award; the Bill Veeck Lifetime Achievement Award; Notre Dame High School’s Hall of Fame; the 2008 Executive of the Year Award by the Chicago chapter of the Public Relations Society of America; and was named to the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
McDonough sits on the Advisory board of directors for the Illinois chapter of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the Faculty Advisory Board at Northwestern University for Master of Arts in Sports Administration, and the National Hockey League Club Business Advisory Board.
A Chicago native, McDonough is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Niles, Ill., and St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn. He currently resides in the Northwest suburbs with his wife, Karen. They have three children, Colleen, Ryan and Michael.
