Sean Dolan
General Manager, MassMutual Center: Age 32
Sean Dolan had June 20 circled weeks before the other 39 honorees in the Forty Under 40 class of 2024.
That’s because he won’t just be among those going to the stage to receive their plaques. Dolan will be, well, hosting this annual event. Sort of.
As general manager of the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, he leads the team that puts on all events at the facility, including, for the first time in 2024, the Forty Under 40 Gala.
He told BusinessWest he’ll be talking that night off from work, which is OK, because he works quite a few nights, weekends, and a few holidays as well.
That’s all part of a position that comes with a broad job description that comes down to making the venue as successful as possible in the many ways success is measured, especially the yardstick Dolan calls ‘economic impact,’ which equated to $56.6 million in fiscal year 2023, and also nearly 600 jobs and more than $4.5 million in state and local tax revenues.
“The main goal every day is developing and implementing the overall strategic plan for the MassMutual Center,” said Dolan, who partners with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and MGM Springfield to develop a vision for the venue. “Our number-one goal every day and with everything we do is how we can drive that economic impact for the city and Western Mass.”
Managing large event venues runs in the Dolan family; his brother manages an arena in Bridgeport, Conn. Sean majored in sports and entertainment management at the University of South Carolina and cut his teeth with Spectra Venue Management, including as assistant general manager and director of Operations at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst.
He arrived at the MassMutual Center in 2018, and over the ensuring years, he has helped bring several world-class acts to the venue, from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to Bruno Mars; from Disney on Ice to Red Sox Winter Weekend. Recently, he played a lead role in bringing a men’s NCAA Division 1 hockey regional to Springfield.
Dolan balances work with family — his wife Kristie and son Jack — and also involvement in the community; he’s on the board of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and volunteers for the Springfield Boys & Girls Club, the Mayflower Marathon, Habitat for Humanity, and Friends of the Homeless.
There will be many events at the MassMutual Center in 2024, but for Dolan, the one on June 20 will be different. That’s when he’ll be among those taking center stage.
—George O’Brien
