Carolina Hurricanes Owner Peter Karmanos "Meets The Press"
by Bob Wage on Feb 9, 2010 2:41 PM EST
42 comments
Carolina Hurricanes Owner and CEO Peter Karmanos met with the local media today at the RBC and officially announced that the team would be opening the season in Finland next year.
(first portion of address)
The owner was proud to say that his company, Compuware, was sponsoring the upcoming games. He also said that the team would be playing a preseason game in Finland, or possibly even Moscow.
Karmanos was asked about the upcoming announcement to be made in Charlotte tomorrow, but would not elaborate, obviously not wanting to steal from their thunder. But he did say that having an in-state affiliate made a lot of sense in many ways.
"This is a case when 1+1 equals more than two" the owner quipped.
The CEO mentioned that he felt confident that the franchise was in the running to host the All Star game within the next "few years". He could or would not go into anymore detail about that. Pittsburgh has also put in a request to host the game in their new building in 2011, but Karmanos joked that the building "might not even be open in time."
Karmanos went on to say that management would love to build the season ticketholder base to 14,000. Currently they have around 10,000. This past year was a tough one financially and spending to the limit of the cap did not help. They want to control their costs better in the future, but feel they can be competitive and still strive toward the Stanley Cup even if they do not spend to the Cap.
While he wants the team to continue winning, he would also love to have the number one pick in the draft. Sound familiar?
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If they only have 10,000 STH and 7,000 fans show up to a game (Blawkhawks) didn’t they still sell 10,000+ seats. You can’t trade your STH seat for another game. Attendance is figured by how many go through the gate or tickets sold?
Staal + Jussi = GOAL
That’s the thing I have been trying to grapple with. Attendance is generally counted as seats sold, but it seems like they must have reported it as actual attendance for that specific game for some reason.
you don’t have to be a Full-season STH to be counted in those numbers – thinking maybe the 26 or 10 game package buyers count….
GM and soothsayer of the Unofficial Hurricanes' fishtank.
Up this week: Introducing Sutter-fish.
A season ticket base on a sports team just means the amount of seats sold in some form of plan or another, not seats per game. Some of those accounts are the mini (which is about ¼) or half season. The number of seats per game is the FSE (full season equivalent), so one of those mini-seats is ¼ of an FSE. The actual per game season ticket sale is probably close to that 7,000 number
Building the Season Ticket Holder Base to 14,000
One of the key aspects for the Hurricanes is the ability to consistently spend to the salary cap. Expanding the season ticket holder base to 14,000 or 15,000 would make a tremendous difference in that regard. One area where the Hurricanes organization probably could find more STHs is in the area West of Raleigh. Surely there are at least 2,000 hockey fans not already STHs in the Greensboro area who could be convinced to attend Hurricanes games regularly.
Kudos AD
I’m from the east side of G’boro and would love to be a STH…I just can’t fight that I40 traffic to make those weekday 7:00 games…I have to settle for partials.
I’ve said for a couple of years now they should have those party buses from Winston to Raleigh (with stops along the way) for games…that’ll get a jump.
I think that is a great idea; and I’ll see if I can get any traction with it. I can’ promise results, but I can promise to be unrelenting in the effort.
Kudos 2 Wstout
io too agree with ya there sir…as a avid hockey fan, i did attend as many Cyclone games as my health permited…but the idea of the bus party trip (even though i don’t drink alcohol) would be a great idea…but first i has to wait until we see what the CVharlotte annoucement will be as and if they do move the rats to charlotte, My grandson has all but begged me for season tickets…so we’ll just wait and see what will happen…later..
If you think you can't, you won't !
They could probably do well having “weekend home game” packs too.
by Raccoon Fink on Feb 9, 2010 11:14 PM EST up reply actions
I have the plan you’re talking about. FWIW, at least 3 of the 10 games are Sunday which is fine unless you live far enough away that you can’t make it to the game and drive home in time for work/school/etc. Then there are 2 (?) weekday games as well.
You can trade those tickets in for a certain number of games. Unfortunately those games are primarily during the week which defeats the whole purpose of the weekend plan.
It’s a start for sure, but the team could definitely do a better job marketing and fostering the STH experience to people who live outside the Triangle.
"This guy is as meat and potatoes as there is of a man."
Gleason for Emperor!
Wish I could have one of those partial season ticket plans, but I live to far away to do that.
Nice to hear we will be in the spotlight for something next year. That will be a long trip for those guys though. Hopefully they can come home and get over the jet and travel lag quickly.
Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader
I think Jussi made a very good point when he said that the trip will be a great team-building experience for a newer younger squad which we know we’re going to see next year. And with the venue being home to the Finns, who are great teammates, I think the pumped up factor will override the jet lag factor.
Sees the world through ruuu-colored glasses...
Sisu
by LTD on Feb 9, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions
Oops.
I meant to refer to him as THE UNTOUCHABLE JUSSI JOKINEN.
Sorry for the omission.
Sees the world through ruuu-colored glasses...
Sisu
by LTD on Feb 9, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions
I posted this in the other thread but will do the same here.
For those of you who never attended a Hurricanes game in Greensboro, the attendance was so poor that they covered up the upper deck with black curtains. Some jokingly referred to the arena as the “black hole”
I don’t think Karmanos was intentionally insulting the city of Greensboro.
The “western Canadian city” is another story.
GM of CanesCountry.com
Pre-Season Games
I’ve wondered why the ‘Canes don’t play one pre-season game in Greensboro, one in Charlotte and one in Fayetteville. To me, that isn’t such a stupid idea.
Any idea if any of those places have ice down during the NHL pre-season? While I like the idea of having the games elsewhere, it may be cost prohibitive to have a game in GSO if the Canes have to pay to have the ice made only for it to be torn up a few days later. Fayetteville and Charlotte are likely different, but the ice may not be down there yet, especially for one of the earlier pre-season games.
Greensboro was a black hole.
I just have the ideas... not the logistics
I’ve said the same thing about the Panthers. The NFL Pre-Season is such a joke, why not have one game in Raleigh? Who cares that Carter Finely can’t handle 50,000? It’s about increasing the fan base.
I’ve said it before, but it was hard to sell the city of Greensboro on a team that they knew was leaving for the shiny new arena in Raleigh.
Well, as a STH and a lifelong resident of Greensboro......
….it sure sounded like an insult to me.
It’s not surprise, though. He slams us every chance he gets.
I’m glad we don’t hear from him more often, because it would be real hard to support this team with the contempt he has for us.
Check out more of my highlights at dailymotion.com/gatecitycanes
Full audio of the press session...
…is here, if you want to hear all the warts and wrinkles excised in the video version above.
Whoa…missed the original press conference (stupid anatomy), but read through the “live thread” and this story. Not sure I really want to hear the actual press conference…
"This guy is as meat and potatoes as there is of a man."
Gleason for Emperor!
Carolina Hurricanes Owner Peter Karmanos “Meets The Press”
and should probably never do so again…
"That’s what happens when you suck" - Tim Gleason
I actually look forward to when Karmonos meets the press…. he will always have something interesting to say….
Like his comments last season about Peter Laviolette……
by Mateos_Canes_Lamp on Feb 10, 2010 9:37 AM EST up reply actions
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