THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 1996 TAG: 9611050442
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 67 lines
George Shinn will officially kick off his campaign to bring an NHL team to Hampton Roads today by asking fans to put down $100 deposits for season tickets.
Shinn, who applied on Friday for an NHL expansion franchise, will announce a season-ticket drive and luxury-suite sale at noon at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.
``This market should be hungry,'' Shinn said. ``You have a lot of people there and no competition from the colleges. Hopefully, the people there will be eager and get on the bandwagon.''
Barry DuVal, president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, said ticket prices likely would range from $10 to $70 for the NHL team, which would be named the Rhinos.
The $100 deposits will be nonrefundable if Hampton Roads lands a team. Deposits will be refunded if the expansion effort is unsuccessful.
``We can't say for sure what tickets will cost because we don't know when the team will play,'' DuVal said. ``But there will be a wide range of ticket prices. There will be affordable seats for this hockey team.''
Shinn said the season-ticket drive is the key to convincing NHL officials that Hampton Roads is ready for major league sports. He would not name a season-ticket goal, but said the more tickets that are sold by Dec. 12, when the league is expected to award up to four expansion franchises, the better.
``They don't want to bring in partners who are going to fail,'' Shinn said. ``They already have some of those.''
Though the team doesn't officially kick off its ticket drive until today, a sign was draped across Waterside Drive in downtown Norfolk that said: Hampton Roads Welcomes The Rhinos.
Clearly, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce is eager to do just that. The chamber has volunteered use of its offices, its mailing lists and the services of Jeff Sias, director of sports marketing, during the ticket drive.
``We're prepared to do whatever we can to try to help make this work,'' said Rick Kiefner, vice chairman for sports for the chamber. ``Jeff is at their disposal.''
Information on purchasing tickets can be obtained by calling the chamber's main office this afternoon at 622-2312.
Shinn, who owns the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, is to meet at 10 a.m. with the executive board of the Hampton Roads Partnership, which has negotiated for the region with Shinn. At 11 a.m. he will meet with business leaders, then face the media at noon.
Tom Ward, vice president of marketing for the Hornets, will coordinate the season-ticket and luxury-suite drive. He flew to Norfolk on Monday from Charlotte and will set up an office on Main Street in downtown Norfolk.
DuVal said the team likely will offer season-ticket packages aimed at the military, including a half-season package that would include 21 home games. NHL teams play 84 regular-season games, 42 at home.
Shinn pledged in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot to keep ticket prices as low as possible. The Hornets, he said, have the third-lowest ticket price in the NBA, including several thousand priced at $8.
``There are only two teams in the NBA with tickets cheaper than us. And that's by plan,'' he said. ``We're the only team in the league with general-admission tickets less than $10.
``It's one of the reasons we think we sell out. We take pride in doing that. We're one of the smallest markets, but we consistently lead the league in attendance.''
Hampton Roads is one of nine sites to apply for expansion franchises that could begin play as early as the 1999-2000 season. The others: Atlanta; Houston; Nashville; Raleigh; Hamilton, Ontario; Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Okla., and St. Paul, Minn. by CNB