THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702160049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Q&A
SERIES: THE NHL IN HAMPTON ROADS
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 183 lines
George Shinn expressed chagrin at what he termed the ``jealousy'' between the cities of Hampton Roads and urged them to come together on arena funding during a wide-ranging, 75-minute interview with The Virginian-Pilot last week.
``These people had better get real and join this thing so that everybody loves each other and get rid of this bitterness and petty jealousy,'' said Shinn, owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and leader of an effort to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads.
Shinn was interviewed with Tom Ward, who is running the season-ticket sale for the Hampton Roads Rhinos, as Shinn's team would be called. During the interview Shinn:
Defended his choice of downtown Norfolk as the arena site, but said he'd reconsider his decision if Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim asked him to.
Acknowledged his first choice was to name the team the Norfolk Rhinos, but said he chose Hampton Roads in order ``to bring the communities together.''
Insisted the NHL is the region's only hope for a major sports franchise.
Reiterated a pledge made in November to buy an existing team and move it to Hampton Roads if his expansion effort fails.
Here are excerpts of the interview:
Where has the expansion process gone since January, when you made a formal presentation to NHL owners in New York?
Shinn: It's in the same place it was when we left New York. (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman said they were going to have another meeting (Feb. 18) and that they are going to decide then what they are going to do. I don't know what they're going to do next. Possibly, they might announce how many teams they're going to select and the timetable for selecting them.
Do you expect them to thin out the field?
Shinn: Possibly. They could say we've got six great markets and three not so great and reduce the list to six. . . . Let me say this: I am convinced we're going to get a team. I can just feel it.
How much lobbying are you doing with NHL owners?
Shinn: The NHL faxed all the potential owners a letter saying hard lobbying will be frowned upon. My problem is that I don't know how to do light lobbying. It's a situation where it's better for me to stay in the background. If there was an NBA owners' meeting, I'm going to run into people who own hockey teams and I'm going to lobby the hell of out of them. . . . I'm convinced that we had the best presentation of anybody there and that they want an organization like ours to be in their league.
Because we market like hell. We're the best. We do it better than anybody in the country. . . . We've been told don't lobby, so I'm just trying to be very careful to make sure I don't screw up what we've already done.
There have been some negative stories in the national media about Hampton Roads lately, including a story by Bob McKenzie in the Hockey News in which Hampton Roads was given little chance of winning a franchise.
Shinn: Fortunately for me, this guy does not have a vote. He's a writer. It's his damn opinion and he's from Canada. He's not going to pull for anyone here. He's not going to give us any chances.
Are you discouraged by the lack of regional cooperation in Hampton Roads, and the fact that some communities are cool to funding a regional arena?
Shinn: We've traveled to all of these communities. And in every one of them, somebody in a political position came to me and said why (build an arena in) Norfolk? Why not Chesapeake? Or why not Virginia Beach? In every location we went to, it was the same. I could just feel the jealousy. . . . I don't understand why, with something that could spotlight this entire region and the economic impact it's going to have on everyone, including Virginia Beach, it's been so hard to get them together.
If we get an NHL All-Star game, and we will, where are these people going to stay? Are they going to stay in Norfolk or would they rather stay at the Oceanfront? The trickle down effect is just enormous for all of those communities.
Ward: Forty percent of our ticket sales are coming from Virginia Beach. I think the constituents have spoken out there to the politicians.
We sense among our readers a real skepticism about the NHL, that it's considered something of a last resort.
Ward: It's the only thing we're going to get, guys. It's not a multiple-choice question.
Shinn: The NBA is not going to expand to Hampton Roads. The NHL is your only option. . . . An NBA team would do better here. I understand that. . . . But the NBA's next expansion is going to be international, to Mexico. And (NBA commissioner) David Stern is dead set against relocations.
But what we're hearing is a skepticism about the fan base for the NHL and its TV ratings.
Ward: The NHL has the most growth potential of any sport right now. We're looking at its future, not its present. It is a fast-growing sport, especially among young people. Its TV ratings are improving. You can't afford to buy a team now, except for the NHL. And the other sports are not going to expand here.
The opposition to the arena seems pretty strong in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. What are you doing to address that?
Ward: There are things going on right now. Brad Face and his group (Hampton Roads Regional Arena Task Force) will take the lead on that. That's their job as far as educating not only the politicians but the community on the value of the arena.
If some of the communities don't approve funding for the arena, will that hurt you with NHL officials?
Shinn: They just have to be assured that the building is going to be built. If one or two municipalities decide against this, is it going to fall through? If so, then that becomes a problem. If they're assured that if one or two are against it it's still going to be built, then it's not a problem. I think it would be pretty much a miracle if you get all the communities (to go along).
Has Paul Fraim given you any assurances if other cities drop out, that Norfolk and perhaps other cities will take up the slack on arena funding?
Shinn: No, he hasn't said that. I feel like they would, because it would be in Norfolk. But I don't know that. And to make the thing work, and to make it successful the way we want to make it successful, everyone needs to be involved. . . . In Charlotte, we have an organization named the Junior Hornets. We have 40,000 kids that are members of that organization. Our players go around to schools and communities all over the Carolinas, Tennessee, northern Georgia and even parts of Virginia. If we get a team here, and have a star like a Wayne Gretzky, and if Virginia Beach (doesn't participate) and they call our office to get Wayne Gretzky to come speak to their schools, and somebody who has supported us asks, where are we going to go to? These people had better get real and join this thing so that everybody loves each other and get rid of this bitterness and petty jealousy and join together on this thing so that whenever it comes, everyone benefits. . . . Will that happen? I don't know. I hope it does.
Why did you choose downtown Norfolk as a site for the arena?
Shinn: All you've got to do is look at the map. Most of the major highways empty here. It's the ideal location, based on being centrally located. If I had to make my decision, I would call the team the Norfolk Rhinos, because at that (NHL) meeting, at least some of the owners would know where Norfolk is. You can look at a map and see Norfolk. You don't see Hampton Roads.
Why did you back away from your instinct to call the team Norfolk?
Shinn: Because I was trying to pull all the communities together. I felt it would help do that. Norfolk won't just benefit from this thing. Everyone in the area will. If I called it Norfolk, do you think Virginia Beach would even be considering this now?
Is there any chance of the site being renegotiated?
Shinn: That's a tough question. If Paul Fraim would say this thing is not going to work here, why don't you take a look there, well, I'm open to anything that makes sense. I just want it to work. . . . We looked at some property at CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) in Virginia Beach initially. and was impressed. During my conversations with (CBN founder) Pat Robertson, (Virginia Beach Mayor) Meyera Oberndorf, (Hampton Roads Partnership President) Barry DuVal and Paul Fraim, the consensus was, you decide, based on your experience, where this arena should be. Based on my experience it should be right here in downtown Norfolk.
Can this market support an NHL team?
Shinn: The numbers are bigger than Charlotte. . . . In Charlotte, I spent close to half a million dollars on a ticket campaign alone, and sold a little over 5,000 season tickets, just like we did here. It stalled, and that was in basketball country. . . . Then the NBA announced we would get a team, and we sold 5,000 season tickets in a week. . . . The problem is the negative stories being written, nationally and locally, fuels a person's mind to think, `This thing isn't going to work.' And when it does, they'll be getting in line. I think the feeling of the average Joe in Hampton Roads is that we've tried things before, like the racetrack, and it always fell through. People are in that rut, so to speak. Once the bowling ball gets in the gutter, it's rare that it comes out. When they read these things saying you don't have a chance
What numbers did you use to judge the market when you first began looking at Hampton Roads? And how much of the decision came down to your gut instinct?
Ward: We looked at studies commissioned (by the Sports Authority of Hampton Roads), we got numbers from the planning district and compared them to numbers we had in Charlotte. . . . Some of the numbers are a little lower than some of the competing markets, but when we looked at the 15 markets that have professional teams that are smaller in terms of population, some of their demographics aren't as good as this market, and some of them are supporting two teams. . . . Markets such as Houston have 40 times more tickets in circulation for professional and college sports and they are still supporting their teams. We would come in as the only game in town. Would it be supported in this marketplace? There's no question about it.
Shinn: The gut feeling was very positive, too. I've had a good feeling since the first day I began looking here.
What if you don't get an expansion franchise?
Shinn: If we're overlooked in the expansion process, there are a lot of (NHL) teams out there struggling. You can bet your boots I will go out and find a team for Hampton Roads. And I won't worry about any hard lobbying then. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
[George Shinn]
Tom Ward, who is in charge of season-ticket sales for the Rhinos,
says the NHL is the only chance for a professional sports franchise
in Hampton Roads. Hockey is one of the fastest-growing sports today,
and an NHL franchise is the most affordable of the big-time sports,
he said during an interview last week.
KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE EXPANSION ARENA