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Tampa Bay Lightning CEO Steve Griggs to be Guest Speaker at Feb. 1 Conversation with a CEO

By Keith Morelli

TAMPA (January 16, 2018) -- Aside from each year rolling out one of the more successful franchises in the NHL – the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steve Griggs also treats the team's fans to a top-shelf experience at every turn at the Amalie Arena.

Success comes easy for Griggs, CEO of the Lightning and Amalie Arena, the team's home-ice venue, who is the guest of honor at the Muma College of Business' Conversation with a CEO – the first of 2018 – on Feb. 1 at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning Simulation, 124 S. Franklin St., in downtown Tampa. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. For tickets, click here.

The center is located in the shadow of the impressive Amalie Arena, which – under Griggs' direction – is  in the process of an $80 million, five-year renovation project aimed at enhancing the experience of fans, season ticket holders and corporate partners.

Remodeling has included a signature stage with a pipe organ, new seats throughout the arena, reconstructed executive suites, a party deck overlooking downtown, a grand entry with an improved, guest-friendly ticket office and merchandise store; a fully-renovated club level with loge boxes, a new outdoor deck on the east side of the arena and a new $5 million center-hung scoreboard.

Griggs is in his third season as CEO of the Lightning – which currently has the best record in the NHL – and oversees all of the organization's business operations, including concerts and events held in the Amalie Arena. Before that, he was team president for one year and spent four years as the chief operating officer.

Griggs' strategies have resulted in significant increases in attendance. The Lightning has sold out every game since the 2014-15 regular season. Overall attendance has grown by more than 35 percent – or greater than 4,500 fans per game – since he joined the team in 2010. Currently, there are more than 15,000 season ticket holders who fill the arena for every home game and the loge boxes are sold out for the second consecutive season.

Revenues, profitability and brand equity as well as corporate partnerships have continued to rise, along with season ticket renewal and activation rates.

Last season, the NHL announced the Lightning and Amalie Arena would host the 2018 NHL All Star Game, which takes place on Jan. 28 and Griggs is overseeing the preparations for that event.

Griggs' formula for success reflects an organizational commitment to guest experience, products/services, community involvement, analytics/strategy and culture. The team also has been among the top tier of professional hockey franchises.

Under Griggs' guidance, the Lightning has ranked in the Top 10 among 123 major sports teams in ESPN's Ultimate Standings four of the previous five years, including third in 2015, tops among all NHL teams. The accolades didn't end there as Tampa Bay capped an outstanding year off the ice by being named a finalist for the SportsBusiness Journal's Sports Team of the Year, the only NHL team to do so.

Before coming to Tampa, Griggs spent nearly three years serving as executive vice president of sales and marketing for the Orlando Magic, where he oversaw the NBA team's corporate partnerships, premium sales and services, season ticket services and operations, brand management, event presentation and ticket sales departments. He also directed strategic sales and marketing efforts for the Amway Center, which opened in October 2010.

What he now does for the Lightning, he did for the Magic: He grew the Orlando season ticket base to more than 14,000, and saw 75 consecutive sellouts resulting in a second-place overall ranking in the ESPN Ultimate Standings. He led all digital signage platforms that made the Amway Center one of the most technologically advanced buildings in North America.

Prior to joining the Magic, Griggs served as the vice president of sales and service for the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Aurora, Ontario native also worked for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the NHL'S Toronto Maple Leafs the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

Griggs and his wife, Janell, have a daughter, Maddie, and a son, Jack.

To RSVP for the event, click here.