THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130193
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: THE NHL IN HAMPTON ROADS
SOURCE: Stories researched, written and compiled by staff writers
Harry Minium, Karen Weintraub, Ed Miller, Mylene Mangalindan, Battinto
Batts, Lon Wagner, Larry Bonko and Carl Fincke.
LENGTH: 62 lines
TODAY
1:15 p.m.: Hampton Roads' 8-person delegation leaves the Piedmont Aviation Center at the Norfolk International Airport for New York. The entourage: George Shinn, team owner; Tom Ward, vice president of Shinn's Charlotte Hornets and Shinn's choice to run the Rhinos; Barry E. DuVal, Hampton Roads Partnership president; Paul D. Fraim, Norfolk Mayor; David Delpierre, Partnership attorney; Wayne DeBlander, Hornets' vice president of finance; Jim Nash, senior vice president of NationsBank's sports finance division; Harold Kaufman, Hornets' director of media relations.
3 p.m.: Shinn's group arrives at the St. Regis Hotel and begins rehearsing its hour-long presentation to be given Tuesday before NHL owners.
5 p.m.: Shinn hosts a brief press conference at the St. Regis for Hampton Roads media covering the New York meetings.
5:30 p.m.: Rehearsal of the presentation continues.
8 p.m.: Shinn hosts a dinner for media covering the NHL meetings.
TUESDAY
9 a.m. Shinn has an hour to make his case to about 30 NHL officials. The presentation agenda:
Shinn makes introductory remarks, then introduces a videotaped speech from Gov. George F. Allen.
Shinn introduces Barry E. DuVal, president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, who makes a brief speech.
Shinn introduces Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim, who makes a brief speech.
Shinn introduces an 11-minute video produced by Group III Communications. The video includes footage from all of Hampton Roads' major cities, including aerial shots. It describes the region's demographics, shows where a $143 million, 20,000-seat arena would be located and how it would be financed and generally makes the case for a Hampton Roads NHL franchise.
Shinn then introduces Tom Ward, who will make a slide presentation going into greater detail about the region's demographics and Shinn's 9-week-old season-ticket and luxury suite sale and marketing campaign. The slide show will be state of the art, with computerized liquid crystal graphics that allow for movement on the screen.
Shinn then closes the presentation with a 10 or 15-minute summary of how and why the NHL will work in Hampton Roads. Ward says this will be the key portion of the presentation.
Shinn will leave about 15 minutes for questions from the owners and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
As they depart, Shinn's people will hand out copies of the 11-minute videotape, booklets with information from the slide presentation and a transcript of Shinn's presentation.
10:30 a.m.: The group arrives at the New York Hilton and Towers for a press conference for reporters covering the NHL meetings.
4 p.m.: Shinn's group holds a press conference at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott.
7 p.m.: The videos shown to NHL owners are played on WTKR-TV during a ``Rhino Rally'' held to sell season tickets and luxury suites for the team.
KEYWORDS: NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FRANCHISE