Dallas Jackals Release
The Dallas Jackals are excited to announce Steve Violetta has been named Team President. Violetta brings over three decades of executive level sports and entertainment industry experience to the Jackals. With the recent announcement of Santiago Sodini as General Manager, Violetta is the second in a series of offseason announcements for the club.
Violetta has a successful history of leading organizations upward through their next levels of business evolution. Previously he led the front offices of five National Hockey League (NHL) teams: Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, and Edmonton Oilers. Violetta also spent time in the San Diego Padres organization as Senior Business Executive as well as the New York Yankees Staten Island Single-A development team.
“I’m honored that Jackals ownership has entrusted me to lead the business side of this organization,” said Violetta. “I see plenty of upside for improvement off the pitch. Our immediate 2023 goal is to provide our fans the highest quality game experience and entertainment value. Long term we want to be an elite franchise not only in Major League Rugby, but in all professional sports.”
Combining a strategic planning mindset with sales leadership, Violetta focuses on maximizing assets like revenue, profit and brand development. He has a long history of industry innovation including as a social & digital marketing pioneer having developed the first database marketing and analytics department in sports, in 1996 with the Ottawa Senators.
“We are very excited to welcome Steve to the Jackals,” said Tom Vander Veen of Top Tier Rugby. “Steve brings years of world class sports industry experience and will be a huge asset in leading the team to success off the pitch. We are confident he can elevate the team and brand to the next level.”
Violetta brings to the Jackals a proven track record of driving team revenue by consistently increasing ticket sales while closing over $400M of sponsorship and advertising deals over his career. That includes four naming rights agreements, highlighted by the Padres 22-year PETCO Park agreement.
A native of Detroit, Violetta lettered in high school football, baseball and hockey. He is a proud graduate of Central Michigan University and remains an active alumnus.
