Bill Laurie (born July 5, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. He is the former owner of the St. Louis Blues and is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment.
He is the co-founder and co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment (PSE) with his wife.[3] Alongside the St. Louis Blues and the Savvis Center, PSE operated SkinMarket, a cosmetics company headquartered in Carpinteria, California.[4] PSE is still an active company.[7]
In 2003, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Missouri, for his "lifelong dedication and personal contributions to the betterment of sport and the spirit of sportsmanship... as a player, a coach, an executive and a benefactor."[3]
Philanthropy
With his wife, he donated US$25 million to the University of Missouri for the construction of a new sports arena for the Missouri Tigers in 2001.[1][8] They have also endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri,[1] and donated $10 million to the athletics department of their alma mater, the University of Memphis.[9] According to the Los Angeles Times, they have also made charitable gifts for "a cancer research center" and "a shelter for abused women" and "a children's hospital".[1]