|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
FEATURE | |||
Back to Facility Manager
Contents |
On
Frozen Ice The two-day Christmas break initially scheduled in professional hockey’s 2004-05 season proved moot. The 2005 All-Star game? Cancelled. After team owners locked out players amidst a labor dispute, the season never even got underway.
At the heart of the National Hockey League lockout are player salaries,
which constitute more than 70 percent of revenues. Keeping abreast of the discussions around salary caps, luxury taxes and revenue sharing has been akin to watching a live hockey match, with all contenders scrambling, chasing after an elusive puck. But now both sides seem to be finished flirting, and the NHL appears poised to become the first domestic league ever to cancel an entire season…over a labor issue. So what about the 30 facilities where NHL hockey traditionally is played? The ice remains untouched. Will the arena also stay dark during the nights initially reserved for the 41 regular season home games? “The difficulty is there are not 41 events sitting in a warehouse, waiting to roll out because there isn’t hockey,” said Dave Olsen, vice president and general manager of the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., which is home to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey franchise. “If there is a major convention coming to town, planning has been in the works for a year or two in advance,” he said. “They aren’t going to book their event here on a whim of whether or not we have hockey.”
Ticket takers and car parkers planning to supplement their income are shut out. So are area businesses and restaurants, anticipating the traffic from the games.
Plan Ahead Currently, the NHL requires facilities to hold the ice open for all scheduled games that are at least 45 days away, leaving a small window of opportunity to book an empty night if hockey is a no-show. While it is an improvement from the 30 days initially required by the NHL at the start of the labor discussions, it still proves to be a challenge. Facility managers don’t fault the NHL. They u nderstand the debacle if the lockout ended, but the teams’ homes were booked with ancillary events. “Our tenants are here with us through thick and think, and we want to give them the utmost consideration,” said Brenda Tinnen, senior vice president at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which is home to five professional sports franchises, including the Kings. “But we also don’t want to be left dark. “The NHL is still requiring us to hold the dates until 45 days out, at which point they release them. This has allowed us to book some events we otherwise would have had to turn away.” Arena general managers declined to specifically discuss the financial impact of the lockout, citing company policies or an inability to break out the impact of one game. However, many bluntly stated replacement events don’t stack up, monetarily. “When you talk about 19,000 hockey fans or a private party, obviously the party doesn’t measure up financially,” said Bob Hunter, CFE, executive vice president and general manager of Air Canada Centre, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs.“But it’s still better than being dark. “Generally, all of our games are sold out, so the financial impact of hockey is so significant to us. Even a full-blown concert can’t put a dent in what hockey does.” The result? Typically, smaller concerts that take advantage of smaller, theatre-style seating. “We got aggressive about a year ago, expecting there was a chance hockey might not be played this season,” said Brad Mayne, CFE, president and CEO of the American Airlines Center. The arena hosts the Dallas Stars franchise, which also is one of the facility owners.“We went after events that we typically wouldn’t.” Those on the bill: Avril Lavigne and the Beastie Boys. Such events can sell in the neighborhood of 5,000 to 8,000 tickets. So it isn’t a house full of hockey enthusiasts, but they are paying fans, nonetheless.
Identify Fillers Some of his business came from traditional hockey patrons who know the season is off, including corporate partners, sponsors, and suite holders. Other inquiries are for community events and other private functions where the host is interested in renting the ice. In California, the film industry has taken advantage of the labor issue and used facilities for movies and commercials. Other opportunities include boxing, birthday parties, ice shows, and public skating. More tips: • Consider events traditionally ignored • Take advantage of existing relationships, including sponsors and suite holders • Hold a community event • Lend support to a nonprofit “Everybody is taking advantage of whatever comes along, and it has taken on many different forms,” said Brad Parsons, president of Arena Network. Based in Los Angeles to tap into the music scene, Arena Network is charged with “helping arenas fill their programming needs” by encouraging events to play member facilities, he said. The organization has 43 members, including half of the arenas home to an NHL team. Membership is expected to grow by a handful in early 2005. “It would be nice to think we could fill in these nights with a bunch of major concerts, but major acts are either touring or they aren’t, ”Parsons said. “It’s not like U2 is going to decide to start their world tour early, or Toby Keith is going to decide to tour because hockey isn’t playing.” To date, successes include a gymnastics tour that took place for two years and performances by Dolly Parton. Parsons said he’s been in discussions with nonheadliner bands about putting together a tour. Such opportunities are established to financially benefit all participating venues. “Even if you don’t know if your event will break even, there is an incentive to participate because you’ll be sharing the net proceeds,” said Mayne from American Airlines Center in Dallas, who was instrumental in getting the Arena Network off the ground in 1999. He currently serves on its executive committee.
Consider Optioning “We are doing tentative dates for events that coincide with what is supposed to be a hockey night,” she said. “There is a pretty wide variety of events that are willing to take the gamble and hedge their bets hockey won’t resume this season.” Hunter in Canada said he’d approach the league if he was offered the ability to host a major event on the same night a hockey game was scheduled for the remainder of the season. In Dallas, by contrast, a different strategy was selected. No events were booked on hockey nights, even within the 45-day window. “We’ve had events we normally wouldn’t, but we held strong on holding the hockey dates open and didn’t book anything out of respect to the NHL,” said Mayne.
Prepare for Next Season Consider the approach taken in North Carolina, where Olsen drew up two budgets this season: one with hockey, one without. Regardless of the outcome of the labor discussions, he had a roadmap to follow. “Budgetarily, it has been business as usual,” he said. Think ahead and be prepared. This season it’s hockey. Next, something else could place a major tenant on hiatus. “An ongoing issue with arenas is to find programming for the masses,” said Parsons of the Arena Network. “Part of what we as arenas need to do is adapt to what is to come down the road. We need to seek out new stuff. Some of it may be things we have not thought of yet.” Rani Cher Monson is a freelance writer in Dallas, TX. |
|||
|
©
2002-2005 International
Association of Assembly Managers |
||||
Team owners tally the league’s financial troubles collectively to a loss
of $1.8 billion over the past 10 years, $500 million of which can be
attributed to the past two years alone. 
At
Los Angeles’ Staples Center, Tinnen has been successful in signing events
that wouldn’t happen if hockey were to resume this season. 