THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701190070
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: THE NHL IN HAMPTON ROADS
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 115 lines
As the dust settles from last week's presentations in New York, there are indications that George Shinn's salesmanship might be pulling Hampton Roads into the running for a National Hockey League expansion franchise.
Before Tuesday's pitch to NHL owners, few people outside Shinn's camp gave Hampton Roads a snowball's chance in the nine-region race for what could be an expansion of as many as four teams.
The national media had been particularly skeptical, but one veteran NHL writer from Toronto now rates Hampton Roads as tied for fourth with Columbus, Ohio.
The Hartford Whalers owner was so taken by Shinn's presentation that he reportedly said he would consider moving his troubled franchise to Hampton Roads.
And according to Shinn, another owner called after the presentation and told him: ``You're in great shape.''
Al Strachan, a longtime hockey columnist at the Toronto Sun, last week wrote that Atlanta, Houston and Nashville were the odds-on favorites, as they had been before the presentations. He went on to say that Hampton Roads had jumped into a dead heat with Columbus for the fourth slot.
Strachan said Hampton Roads moved up because of the presentation and Shinn's connections with NHL owners and commissioner Gary Bettman. Shinn's ownership of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and his reputation as a master marketer ``will be a big plus in lining up votes from the considerable segment of the NHL board which has NBA interests,'' Strachan wrote.
The NHL owners are, for the most part, remaining silent about the presentations. Bettman has threatened a $150,000 fine for any owner speaking to reporters about expansion.
But Shinn said one NHL owner called him Thursday and said: ``George, you answered all of our questions. . . . It was the best presentation we heard. You're in great shape.''
Hartford owner Peter Karmanos reportedly told a Minnesota reporter that Shinn's presentation was so impressive that Hampton Roads is now on his short list of potential relocation sites.
Karmanos is expected to move the Whalers to another city as early as next season. However, Hampton Roads is an unlikely candidate because the region could not have an adequate facility for an NHL team until 1999 at the earliest.
Still, Shinn and company apparently got the owners' attention with their presentation, which highlighted that Hampton Roads is the nation's largest market without a major sports team, has an arena agreement in principle and is the only expansion candidate with 5,000 season tickets and 25 luxury suites in hand.
``We've moved up,'' said Tom Ward, the Hornets' vice president for marketing who would run the Rhinos, as the NHL team would be called. ``Now we've got to stay there. We've got to stay ahead of the competition.''
The competition isn't standing still. Raleigh, a market the NHL covets, is rated a long shot by Strachan because it has no arena deal, and because prospective owner Felix Sabates may not have the deep pockets necessary for an NHL franchise.
The Raleigh City Council could enhance the region's chances Tuesday, when it votes on funding an extra $48 million for a proposed arena. The Wake County Council already unanimously approved the funding Friday. The City Council vote is hard to predict, though Mayor Tom Fetzer is expected to oppose the funding.
If the vote is yes, and Sabates is able to reach a lease agreement quickly, then Raleigh quickly jumps back into the race.
St. Paul, Minn., appears to have helped itself in New York. The prospective ownership group brought the St. Paul mayor and Minnesota's governor, both of whom guaranteed that the St. Paul Civic Center will be renovated, contrary to media reports out of St. Paul. The region's large TV market and long hockey tradition could vault St. Paul past Hampton Roads.
Columbus, like the other midrange candidates, has its strengths and weaknesses. The NHL likes the market, with 7 million people within 100 miles of downtown Columbus, but there are concerns about the ownership group, and a referendum on funding for an arena is not scheduled until the spring.
Of the nine candidate cities, only Oklahoma City and Hamilton, Ontario, appear to be out of the running.
The NHL's executive committee will reconvene in mid-February, probably in New York, to begin deciding on expansion. Bettman said Friday at the NHL All-Star game in San Jose that he expects NHL officials will visit the top expansion candidates in late February.
A decision on expansion could come as early as mid-March.
To stay in the running, Ward says Hampton Roads must ``sell more season tickets - a lot more.'' Ward says he would like to have 12,000 by March 1.
When the NHL does award new franchises, it likely will be on the condition that teams sell 12,000 season tickets and have an ironclad arena deal. Shinn's arena deal still has several hurdles before official approval, and ticket sales are shy of the halfway mark.
Shinn was the only expansion candidate to conduct a ticket campaign, but Ward expects other expansion candidates to begin ticket sales within days. The Rhinos sold 5,129 tickets in nine weeks, but most were sold in the first few weeks. Ward claims sales were hurt by the holiday season and Shinn's preoccupation with negotiating arena deals with Hampton Roads for the Rhinos and with Charlotte for the Hornets.
The ticket-sale drive returns to full speed Monday with a series of 23 newspaper advertisements being placed by Group III Communications, the Rhinos' advertising agency.
``Hampton Roads, Let's Burn the Devils,'' says one ad. ``New Jersey won't have a prayer in Hampton Roads. All we need to do is sell 7,000 more season tickets. . . . Call for yours today . . . for Heaven's sake.''
Shinn plans to return to Hampton Roads in February for ``Rhino rallies'' and other functions, something he did rarely in December after what seemed like an endless series of November appearances.
``The big push really will come in February,'' said Dave Iwans, president of Group III.
Ward plans a limited push in Richmond in February. He and Shinn likely will visit targeted Richmond corporations to pitch suites and blocks of tickets.
Ward acknowledges it will take more than ads, rallies and Richmond to sell 7,000 tickets. It will take significant corporate support in Hampton Roads.
In early December, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Beach Vision, the Greater Norfolk Corp. and the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce formed a task force of 30 business people to push tickets to the region's 500 largest corporations.
So far, that effort has been largely unsuccessful. Ward said it is this group that will win or lose the Rhinos' battle for an NHL franchise.
``We have to have the corporate community step forward for this to succeed,'' Ward said.