Leiweke, Seattle group launch season-ticket drive
While NHL expansion to Seattle might seem inevitable, the folks behind bid to become the league’s 32nd franchise are taking nothing for granted.
“We have to assume worst-case scenario,” says Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group and driving force behind the bid. “We still have work to do to get the league comfortable. We have work to do to get this approved.
“I’ve been around this commissioner (Gary Bettman) for most of my adult life, and I understand he’s going to make a decision that’s in the best interests of the other 31 franchises and owners.
“I come at this with a bit of fear, a bit of dedication and a bit of thanks. We can leave nothing to doubt. We’re still being judged. We get that.”
Leiweke — who presided over Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment 2013-15 — has the likes of Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and TPG Capital founder and chairperson David Bonderman involved in the group that is renovating KeyArena, which was abandoned by the NBA SuperSonics in 2008. Oak View is looking at a $650-million expansion fee with an eye to starting play in the 2020-21 season.
Leiweke was reached by the Star by phone, just before taking off to Seattle to oversee the next big step in Seattle’s road to the NHL: At 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, the proposed ownership group begins its seasonticket campaign.
“We want to leave no doubt in the eyes of the commissioner and the owners,” Leiweke said. “We want a solid statement. We paid a lot of attention to Vegas, the job they did there. They set a very high bar for us.”
The Golden Knights are an on-ice success in their inaugural season, but it started with a season-ticket drive in February 2015 that drew 5,000 deposits in its first day and a half, and reached its goal of 10,000 deposits by April 2015.
The Golden Knights are Vegas’s first professional team from one of the big league sports. Leiweke sees a similar opening in Seattle, which has baseball, football and soccer, but no team over the winter.
“We understand the potential of what an NHL team can do there,” Leiweke said. “Our belief is strong that the market is going to respond. They’re over-the-moon and desperate for winter sports. I think what you’re going to see is an amazing response.”
The NHL appears to have no interest in any other city. Quebec has an NHL-ready rink and would love to have an NHL team back. Houston also has a multi-use facility and a basketball owner that would welcome a hockey tenant.
But the NHL seems fixated on adding Seattle to give the league16 teams in the East and 16 in the West.
Seattle has a long hockey history. The Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917. But the new ownership group will have its work cut out for it in building a long-lasting fan-base.
“Seattle is probably the last place in the United States to catch on to hockey,” said Russ Farwell, general manager of the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds. “The Thunderbirds have been here for 40 years. There are two major junior teams in the market (with the Everett Silvertips). But the sport hasn’t taken hold. There are very few ice rinks and no city-supported rinks, other than two sheets in Everett.
“Community recreation departments don’t feel the need to supply ice sheets to people who want to try the sport or play the sport.”
That said, Farwell believes hockey will shed its niche image once the NHL arrives.
“There’s no reason hockey won’t work in this area,” Farwell said. “There’s money here. We don’t have another winter sport. It’s really a desirable place for the NHL.”
That said, he believes the new team will spur interest.
“Hockey will really explode and proliferate in the area,” Farwell said. “You’ll see new rinks built. The owners understand that, and know they have to build the grass roots and be involved to build long term fans.
Farwell doesn’t think a new NHL team will have any effect on his Thunderbirds.
“I don’t think we’re going to be pushed out,” Farwell said. “We’re in a 6,000-seat building and we’re 18 miles south of the city. We have a different footprint in the market. You’d buy season tickets for us for the price of a two- or four-game package to an NHL game.”