Rick McLaughlin said he did not intend to work in the sports world—he was an accountant who worked for a company that bought a sports team.
“Once I got involved, it was contagious,” he said.
The president of the AHL’s Texas Stars Hockey Club now has 33 years’ experience in the industry.
Originally from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, located east of Pittsburgh, McLaughlin worked as vice president and chief financial officer for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins from 1983-93. During that time, the Penguins won two championships—one in 1991 and another in 1992.
In 1993 the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars relocated to Texas to become the Dallas Stars. McLaughlin said Norman Green, the owner of the franchise, offered McLaughlin a spot on its executive team. McLaughlin said he packed his bags and moved his family to Dallas.
“And we’ve been in Texas ever since,” he said.
15 years in DFW
McLaughlin said he served as CFO of the Dallas Stars from 1993-99, and he helped grow the franchise in Texas. He said he stayed with the Dallas Stars through its change of ownership, when Tom Hicks bought the franchise in 1995, and through its first and only championship win in 1999.
“My time with the Dallas Stars was really great,” he said.
In 2001, after helping to oversee the opening of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, he was appointed executive vice president of Hicks Sports Group LLC.
From 2001-08, McLaughlin served as executive vice president of business operations for MLB’s Texas Rangers, also under Hicks’ ownership. During that time, McLaughlin helped design and construct a sports-entertainment complex in Frisco and the Rangers’ spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona.
In 2008, McLaughlin said Hicks asked him to start the Texas Stars Hockey Club and oversee construction of the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
Growing the Texas Stars
The first year the Cedar Park Center was open, it hosted 99 events; now called the H-E-B Center, it hosts about 160 events per year, McLaughlin said. The community’s interest in hockey has also grown since he first came to Cedar Park eight years ago, he said.
“I think it’s really caught on,” he said.
The Texas Stars made it to the league championship series in 2010, and in 2014 the team won the championship. McLaughlin said the camaraderie and competitiveness of the sport is one of his favorite parts of the job.
The Cedar Park market is a fraction of the market in Dallas, but McLaughlin said he enjoyed making the switch.
“It’s a smaller town, a smaller city, and you get to know people quite well,” he said.
He also said he has enjoyed getting to know his staff, who work tirelessly to put together multiple games every week.
“We think we’ve got a tremendous staff,” he said. “It’s a huge time commitment.”
McLaughlin also credited the members of the team, who draw crowds each game.
“The players are the show,” he said. “Our players play 76 games [per season].”
As a member of the Cedar Park community, McLaughlin has served as board member for the Cedar Park Tourism Advisory Board and the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce.
McLaughlin is also president of the nonprofit Texas Stars Foundation, and his wife is a board member. The foundation, which serves as the official charity of the Texas Stars Hockey Club, has distributed more than $800,000 from 2010-16 in both cash donations and gifts in-kind to more than 500 local nonprofits, according to its website.
Though McLaughlin said he hopes to continue to grow the Texas Stars fan base and build interest in hockey in Central Texas, he plans to play a less active role in the future.
McLaughlin remains president of the franchise, but he said he stepped down from his role as general manager of the H-E-B Center on Oct. 17. The franchise hired SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Venue Management to take his place.
“I want to see how that transpires and where it takes us,” McLaughlin said. “It’s time to spend more time with my wife and kids.”
H-E-B Center
2100 Ave. of the Stars, Cedar Park
512-600-5000
www.hebcenter.com
