OWNER’S ‘NEVER HAD MORE FUN’ THAN WITH GOLDEN KNIGHTS
ly every game at T-mobile Arena to this point, Foley makes his way down to the locker room and congratulates the players before heading home.
“I’ve never had more fun than I’m having with this hockey team,” Foley said. “The games are so exhilarating. When I go home after a game, I’m can’t go to sleep until 1-1:30 a.m. It’s insane.”
And while Foley enjoys watching the games with Mcphee and Mccrimmon, he lets them do their job when it comes to hockey operations.
“I ask (Mcphee) questions about players, and I ask him what his thought process is,” Foley said. “Things like ‘why this length of the contract?’ He’s a very smart guy and he’s very analytical. His background is unbelievable. It’s George’s job to run the hockey operation. What I try to do is be as informed as I probably can, and give him a perspective from a guy that’s been in business and dealt with business tactics and strategy.”
When Foley paid the NHL’S $500 million expansion fee to give Las Vegas its first professional team it was a gamble — especially in a city not known for its affinity for hockey. To this point it appears that gamble is paying off in spades.
“With the help of a lot of people, I’ve built some great companies over the years but nothing has been as gratifying as this,” Foley said. “I feel really good for the city of Las Vegas, and all of Clark County, Henderson and everyone. I feel great that my analysis and thought process has been validated.”
The average attendance at T-mobile Arena is 17,854 which is 102.8 percent of the capacity, thanks to hundreds of standing room tickets sold every game.
Hoards of fans gather every morning at City National Arena in Summerlin to watch practice. The stands are filled with overflowing fanatics spilling into the stairways, and fans stand threerows deep along the boards, just to get a glimpse of their firstplace hockey team.
Foley watches from his office window, which overlooks it all.
“My theory was that Las Vegas wanted to have an identity other than the Strip,” Foley said. “Whenever I tell people I live in Las Vegas they say ‘you must go to the Strip all the time.’ But the reality is I never went there, and it’s the same for residents. Most of the people I know never gamble. For me, this is a validation of a theory and premise that Las Vegans wanted an identity for themselves outside of the casinos everyone knows.”
The winning has certainly helped grow the fan base at a much faster rate than anyone expected, but the Golden Knights’ efforts in the community deserve a lot of the credit as well. From their spectacular response after the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Strip, to the players visiting children in hospitals around town, to the growth of youth hockey.
“I believe we’re doing more than most expected,” Foley said. “The team feeds off of the community, and the community feeds off of the team.” jesse.granger@lasvegassun. com / 702-259-8814 / @Jessegranger_