Predators-crazed Nashville offers lessons for Las Vegas
Imagine this uniquely Vegas sports scene: top-shelf musical acts rock out on a stage jutted from the stands between periods of an NHL game while tanned celebrities in comped luxury suites sip free cocktails.
That would be Nashvegas, by the way. Nashville — call it Nashvegas or Smashville if you like, as some local fans do — hosts hockey’s most raucous parties these days. Country superstars Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill belt out the national anthem while Tim Mcgraw croons his specially tweaked version of “I Like It, I Love It” on the video board for every Predators goal. Tennessee Titans players wave the ceremonial yellow rally towel to whip up a crowd that needs little whipping, what with its penchant for throwing catfish on the ice while creating the loudest atmosphere in the league.
Far from a hockey hotbed before the Predators arrived in 1998, Nashville endured typically dark expansion years and a change in ownership before embracing local identity to become the NHL’S poster child for growing its game outside America’s Snowbelt regions. The Vegas Golden Knights, also citizens of an unlikely hockey city powered by celebrity wattage and entertainment overload, strive to emulate the Nashville model as they build Nevada’s first major pro sports franchise.
“The Nashville-type euphoria that is happening now … there’s no reason that can’t happen here,” said Nehme Abouzeid, the Vegas Golden Knights senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Building that excitement in Las Vegas with an expansion team likely to struggle in its initial seasons requires the Golden Knights to create buzz within and beyond the game.
“It’s about putting a good entertainment experience on the ice. We’re competing with shows, we’re competing with other attractions — that’s how