Vegas leaves Seattle with a tough NHL act to follow
Lacks built-in advantages of Las Vegas, but the enthusiasm is evident
LAS VEGAS— The walk to the rink is lit by neon behemoths such as MGM and the Monte Carlo nearby on the Vegas strip. The pulsating bass inside T-Mobile Arena, which assaults you upon entry and rarely lets up, is felt deep in your diaphragm. The likes of Carrot Top, Lil Jon, Terry Fator and Blue Man Group offer recorded greetings.
In other words, the glitz is a huge part of the show when the Vegas Golden Knights take the ice to a rapturous reception on game night. It’s loud, garish and over-the-top, just as you’d expect in the town where wretched excess is a way of life.
But strip away the showman- ship at the nexus of Park Avenue and Frank Sinatra Drive, and you have something simple, endearing and quite astonishing: a town falling headover-heels in love with a pro sports team. And not just any town, but THIS town, Sin City, a repository of transients and transplants in the middle of the desert that would never take to hockey, a sport with no real roots in the community. Or so some thought. But they’ve not only taken to it, they’ve taken the league by storm, an absolute phenomenon of athletic and esthetic success.
“So far, it’s been a perfect season. It really has,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said last Thursday at practice — one jammed with fans, as almost all of their workouts are at this facility far away from the Vegas Strip.
In light of last Thursday’s news out of Seattle that the season-ticket offerings by the Oak View Group had generated a lightning-storm of response — the goal of 10,000 deposits reached in 12 minutes and 33,000 total before the operation was halted — it is fair to wonder if another Vegas phenomenon is in the cards.
The Golden Knights are the first major pro sports franchise to ever land in Las Vegas. The Raiders soon will bring the NFL here as well, but there’s a loyalty and attachment that comes with being the pioneer. The caring and inclusive manner in which the team handled the mass shooting that left 58 dead and more than 500 wounded on Oct. 1 — just nine days before the home opener — only strengthened the bond. They’ve played to more than 100-per-cent capacity this sea- son.
Kerry Bubolz, the team president, embraces the challenge of making sure Knights games are heard above the noise in Vegas, where competition for the entertainment dollar is immense (as exemplified by giant signs nearby on the strip advertising upcoming appearances by Bruno Mars, Cher, Ricky Martin and George Strait).
In many ways, a Knights game is just another Vegas extravaganza like Cirque du Soleil or Siegfried and Roy. They’ve adopted a medieval theme, replete with castles, catapults and even a Zamboni with jousts mounted on the side.
“The market already defines itself as the entertainment capital of the world,” Bubolz said. “So we knew that narrative was already there. We also knew not everybody is going to come here for hockey. As much as we want to build that side of it, people are going to come initially because it’s like an event, an experience.”
Seattle, of course, has had major professional sports in the modern era since 1967-68, when the Sonics launched. And Seattle also doesn’t have the built-in advantage of being loaded with out-of-towners who come to root for the Knights’ opponents, an undeniable attendance boost.
The ticket whirlwind, which topped Vegas’ frenzied first offering, turned heads.
“That’s certainly the league’s business,” Knights general manager George McPhee said, “and I can’t speak for the league, but it sounds like the league wants to do this, and (is a) huge advocate. And I think the way tickets sold was sort of affirming that it’s probably going to happen.”