Rovak Helps Lead Falcons’ Gameday Experience

Summer 2007 was a crucible moment for the Falcons organization. A couple years removed from reaching the NFC championship game and coming off a ho-hum 7-9 season, a horrific development rocked the franchise when electrifying star quarterback Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of sponsoring an insidious dogfighting operation.

As the gruesome details spilled out to the masses in the ensuing weeks, Atlanta’s front office was bracing for a precipitous downturn in season ticket renewals. But the Falcons, despite ultimately losing thousands of season ticket memberships following a 4-12 season in the wake of the Vick imbroglio, had a long-term recovery plan in the works by creating a new position of Director of Ticket Sales and subsequently recruiting Don Rovak for the post.

Just like the selection of future Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan in the following spring’s NFL Draft, the late 2007 hiring of Rovak proved instrumental in setting the franchise up for success both on and off the field in the 2010s – as well as, rather unexpectedly, even earlier. In 2008, during Ryan’s (and Rovak’s) rookie season in Atlanta, fans started trickling back into the Georgia Dome as the Falcons reeled off an 11-5 record while the franchise further distanced itself from its erstwhile superstar, who was serving his sentence in federal prison.

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With the Falcons establishing themselves as a perennial contender in the NFC, there was an opportunity to recapture citywide interest in attending games – something Rovak, a St. Louis native who cut his teeth in sports with the minor league franchise, the Memphis Redbirds, was largely responsible for. Nearly a decade later, as the franchise transitioned from the Georgia Dome to the aesthetically stunning Mercedes-Benz Stadium, opportunities for enhancing fans’ gameday experience grew in abundance.

“Last year, we were rated as the top experience in the NFL in terms of gameday. And we did that with a 7-10 record,” said Rovak, whose wife, Corrie, and two sons, Jared (17) and Dustin (16), are active members of a local synagogue. “One thing that makes this organization great is the competitiveness and we’re trying to take that to a new level. I think we’re scared to lose, which is a great place to be. We’re living afraid and trying to make sure every part of gameday can be better.”

Currently in his 16th season with AMB Sports and Entertainment, Rovak, now senior vice president of sales and service, (which includes ticket sales, service, and ticket operations functions for the Falcons and Atlanta United), has spearheaded a department offering unique season ticket benefit packages, including complimentary tickets to away games and the ability to relocate seats annually, and contributed to the development of state-of-the-art premium seating options at MBS.

As has been the case for every NFL franchise since the early 2000s, the drastic enhancements to the television viewing experience have forced executives such as Rovak to implement such profound in-stadium changes. Meanwhile, from a local perspective, there’s heightened competition in the Atlanta sports market with the Braves renaissance in full force and the utter dominance of Georgia Bulldog football.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to get people off the couch,” noted Rovak. “We’re trying to get people to leave their house, trying to get people to spend time with friends, family. If that’s the Braves, if that’s the Hawks, if that’s the United, if that’s the Falcons, that is all good for us. To me, the more people that are going to sporting events reminds them to go to sporting events, reminds them to get out and do things, and that is only good for all of us.

“City pride is a real thing here in Atlanta for sure. The more that we have winning cultures, whether that’s in the NBA side, MLS side, Major League Baseball side, or football side, it’s all great for the city.”

Rovak’s been great for the city, too. In addition to being a longtime volunteer at Westside Works, the non-profit organization that provides members of the Westside community and greater Metro Atlanta with easier access to job training, education services, and employment opportunities, Rovak has made a concerted effort to mentor high school and college students who aspire to work in sports.

At the end of the day, we’re trying to get people off the couch. We’re trying to get people to leave their house, trying to get people to spend time with friends, family. If that’s the Braves, if that’s the Hawks, if that’s the United, if that’s the Falcons, that is all good for us. To me, the more people that are going to sporting events reminds them to go to sporting events, reminds them to get out and do things, and that is only good for all of us.

Though the sports landscape has changed quite a bit since Rovak landed his first internship at the Liberty Bowl a quarter century ago, he can still impart knowledge about common pitfalls that bedevil those trying to break into the industry.

“In the last two decades, I have spent a lot of time trying to teach and train and make sure that people better understand that when they’re in an interview process, it’s not just about ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to work in sports,’” he explained. “I’ll challenge them a little bit and learn what sports, does it have to be team sports, does geography matter? We try to get to a better understanding of what drives the person.”

So, what drives him to continue devoting his professional life to pro sports?

“I love that every season has a definitive ending and a beginning,” added Rovak, whose typical gameday entails arriving at MBS by 7 a.m. before tackling a slate of activities that includes making at least a half-dozen strolls around the stadium.

“I love that you can ask me about 2008 and I will remember who I was working with. I can tell you the team. I can tell you the highs. I can tell you the lows. I can do the same thing for 2013, 2015, 2018, whatever it is. I feel like it keeps me young because it’s a separation of years that I really enjoy.”