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?