Metro Conference

EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced that SMG Regional General Manager & Director of Booking of the Times Union Center, Bob Belber, will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 16, 2017 at the annual MAAC Basketball Honor Roll event.

“Bob Belber has been a leader of the Albany sports and entertainment community for over 20 years and the MAAC has been a beneficiary of his vision,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor.  “His efforts to host the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are much appreciated by the league membership and its student-athletes.”
 

In the 36 year history of the MAAC, Albany has hosted 18 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, more than any city in the conference’s history. Over the past three years, attendance at the Times Union Center for the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships has grown each year. The 2017 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships saw its highest attendance numbers since 2010.

The Times Union Center is slated to host the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regionals as well as the NCAA Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds in 2020. Previously, the Times Union Center hosted the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional.

Belber has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry. His degree in marketing and business management from Southampton College has aptly prepared him for his long-time executive duties. He joined the SMG team in 1994 when the Albany venue was still called the Knickerbocker Arena and has continuously worked to ensure that Times Union Center remains the capital region’s premiere entertainment facility.

Belber wears many hats in his role from budgeting, retention of team and promoter relationships, maximizing of suite and advertising sales revenues, and enhancing of government and client relationships. As director of booking he oversees 13 SMG-managed arenas located in the Northeast region, working with agents to help route tours. By maintaining fruitful relationships with them, he is able to book events at the Times Union Center and other Northeast facilities. He executes his various responsibilities with ease due to his years of experience and his supportive team of employees.

Belber is a direct example of SMG’s motto “We promote from within,” having held three directorial positions within the company. He began as the director of marketing and has been with Times Union Center for over 20 distinguished years. His innovative ideas have not gone unrecognized, he was named Albany Business Review’s “Executive of the Year” in 2016 for his advocacy for the remodeling and construction of the Times Union Center and Albany Capital Center. After two decades with Times Union Center, Belber has seen many changes in design, work ethic, and building names, but these changes are what drives his passion and enthusiasm for his work.

Belber currently resides in Rotterdam, NY with his wife Roberta. He and his wife have five children and two grandchildren.