Storm Chasers Promote Andrea Stava to Assistant GM, Hire Sean Olson from MECA

Stava started as an intern for Omaha in 2005, Olson is Storm Chasers first Director of Ticket Sales

By Andrew Mitchell

October 1, 2013

OMAHA, Neb. - After welcoming 400,000 fans through the gates for a third consecutive year at Werner Park and winning the first Triple-A National Championship as a member of the Pacific Coast League, the Omaha Storm Chasers focus has shifted to having a Championship Offseason. The team officially kicked that into gear with the promotion of Andrea Stava from Director of Community Relations to Assistant General Manager of Operations and the hiring of Sean Olson as the team's new Director of Ticket Sales.

"The front office of a professional sports team is just as vital to our service to the community as the players on the field, and we feel these front offices changes will help us build off the 2013 National Championship heading into the 2014 campaign," said Martie Cordaro, President and General Manager of the Omaha Storm Chasers. "I am extremely proud of Andrea Stava, who has risen up the ranks from intern to Assistant General Manager, and she has been key to our successful transition to Werner Park. Sean Olson will be a tremendous asset to our organization, as he has been a fixture in the Omaha business and sports communities for more than a decade."

Andrea Stava joined the then Omaha Royals as an intern in 2005 and was hired on fulltime in the fall of 2006 as a Group Sales Executive for the club, a position she held from 2006-10. As the team transitioned out to Werner Park, Stava shifted her focus to Community Relations and was named Director of Community Relations in 2012. She joins Laurie Schlender as the team's two Assistant General Managers under President and General Manager Martie Cordaro.

During her time as Director of Community Relations, Stava oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Storm Chasers charitable arm, the Home Run Foundation of Greater Omaha. This past season, the Home Run Foundation donated its largest amount since its inception in 2010 with $521,638 raised for local charities. The Storm Chasers were honored as the Pacific Coast League's nominee for the inaugural John Henry Moss Community Service Award, presented to a club that demonstrates an outstanding, ongoing commitment to charitable service, support and leadership within their local community and within the baseball industry.

For the past ten years, Sean Olson has served as a Convention Center Sales Manager with the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA) at CenturyLink Center Omaha, the Omaha Civic Auditorium and TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Olson is active in the community and has been a part of many different organizations including Toastmasters International, Meeting Professionals International, Omaha Young Professionals Council and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and has served in a number of leadership roles in those organizations.

Olson started his career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Athletic Department serving as an Assistant Basketball Coach, Radio Color Announcer, Athletic Ticket Manager and Director of Athletic Facilities and Concessions. He served on the committee that brought Division I Men's Hockey to UNO and also oversaw multiple construction projects for the athletic department including a $6.5 million athletic complex renovation. Olson coordinated all game management activities for multiple athletic venues including eleven Division II sports and one Division I sport.