In his fifth season with Elizabethton, Doug Kirchhofer has been a major player in the minor league sports industry for the past 30 years. Kirchhofer has "hands-on" experience in minor league franchise development and sports facility management as well as a finance background.
Kirchhofer came to the Smokies from Cincinnati, where he served as President and CEO of Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, Ltd. He oversaw the private acquisition and $16 million renovation of Riverfront Coliseum, transforming the aging downtown building into the Firstar Center (now Heritage Bank Center). He served as President and CEO of the Cincinnati Cyclones professional ice hockey team from 1990-2001 and also as General Manager of the club from 1990-96.
Kirchhofer got his start in professional sports in 1989 as part of the group that formed and operated the Nashville Knights of the East Coast Hockey League. Later in the '90s, Kirchhofer became part owner of the Birmingham Bulls, an offshoot of the Cincinnati franchise. During his years in Cincinnati, he also was involved with teams in minor league basketball and professional indoor soccer.
Kirchhofer's ties to Tennessee date to time spent as Vice President/Finance for Concoal Management Company in Knoxville from 1981-94. During that span he also sat on the Board of Directors at First Heritage National Bank in Loudon. Prior to working with Concoal, he was a manager in the tax department of a public accounting firm in Atlanta, a job he held after earning a Master's Degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois. Kirchhofer graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a B.S. in Business Administration.
Doug and his wife Lana have made their home in East Tennessee, at least during the "offseason," since 1981. They have two grown children, Kristi and Kyle, and four grandsons, Jay, Tanner, Drew and Evan. Doug and Lana both have served as board members of the Christian Academy of Knoxville, and Doug served a term as president of that Board of Directors. Doug was a member of the 2003 class of Leadership Sevier, the 2006 class of East Tennessee Regional Leadership and the 2007 class of Leadership Knoxville. He currently serves as chairman of the Advisory and Finance Committee for the Southern League. Doug also is proud to serve as a 2016 "pink tie guy" for Komen Knoxville bringing awareness to the battle to defeat breast cancer.