Alan Ostfield
From Hoopedia
Alan Ostfield enters his fifth season as Chief Operating Officer and Assistant General Manager after joining Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons as Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs in January 2000. In his current position, Ostfield oversees every facet of Palace Sports & Entertainment’s and the Detroit Pistons’ business operations, structures and negotiates significant business relationships, evaluates new business opportunities and leads the strategic planning efforts. In addition Ostfield serves as Assistant General Manager of the Detroit Pistons, managing the NBA’s salary cap and participating in player negotiations and transactions.
Prior to joining Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons, Ostfield was Senior Vice President & General Counsel of the San Diego Padres Baseball Club, where he was involved in the club’s business, legal and baseball activities. Ostfield began his sports career as an attorney with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington D.C., specializing in sports, corporate and bankruptcy law and worked with a client list that included the Dallas Cowboys. He has also combined his experiences in professional sports with higher education, including developing and teaching “Managing a Professional Sports Franchise” in the University of Michigan’s Sport Management Masters Program, teaching “Sports and the Law” at the University of San Diego School of Law and writing articles for various publications and speaking at various universities regarding the business and legal issues in professional sports.
Ostfield’s achievements were recognized nationally in 2000, [:category:2001|2001]] and 2002 when he was included in Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal’s annual “Forty Under 40” list recognizing the 40 most influential sports executives under the age of 40. Street & Smith inducted Ostfield into its “Forty Under 40” Hall of Fame in 2002.
Actively involved in community and educational activities, Ostfield is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (a non-profit organization honoring Michigan athletes and promoting Michigan sports) and the Board of Advisors for the National Sports Law Institute (the leading national institute for the study of legal, ethical and business issues affecting professional and amateur sports). He is an active member of the Pistons Read To Achieve program and is a contributor to Palace Sports & Entertainment’s Speakers Bureau. Ostfield’s past community activities have included serving on the Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego and as a mentor for the San Diego City School District Pen Pal program.
Ostfield earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania prior to attending Boston University, where he received his Juris Doctor (Magna Cum Laude) from its School of Law and a Master of Business Administration degree from its Graduate School of Management. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Beverly Hills with their two children, Benjamin and Hannah.
