CALLER-TIMES INTERACTIVE: NEWS
Sun 28-Jun-1998
Selling a start-up hockey team; Months before first game
IceRays use time, local ties to attract fans to cold-weather sport
By JEFFREY TOMICH
Caller-Times
Selling slap shots to a city better known for sailboats might seem like a stretch.
But that's the aim of the Corpus Christi IceRays - the city's addition to the 2-year-old Western Professional Hockey League.
Instead of spending money to stir interest, the IceRays have chosen to invest time, said Bill Davidson, the club's assistant general manager and director of marketing. The team has set aside only $60,000 for advertising - a small fraction of its $1.5 million-plus annual budget.
The team's marketing approach has more closely resembled a grassroots political campaign than big business venture. Coach Taylor Hall and front-office staff have made public appearances at grand openings, food drives and the Nueces County Junior Livestock Show. They have spoken to civic clubs, Cub Scouts and school assemblies and held several roller hockey clinics.
The IceRays got a start almost a year before the puck is dropped for the first time at Memorial Coliseum in October. They unveiled a logo and established a store at Sunrise Mall where fans can buy tickets and hats, jerseys and bumper stickers with the team logo. Corporate marketing assistant Kevin Simpson manages the store.
Merchandise isn't flying off the shelves, but the store is holding its own, Davidson said.
He said the IceRays schedule of public appearances will continue, even after the season begins.
The team will host ``Hockey 101'' classes where the team's coach will brief groups on rules of the sport. And during the season, the team will keep the ice on the Memorial Coliseum floor for public hockey leagues, ice skating and figure skating classes.
Together, the efforts are helping the IceRays forge an identity that is critical for their long-term success, Davidson said.
Davidson, a minor-league hockey player for seven seasons, believes success in selling tickets and merchandise will follow.
``Right now, we're selling air - nobody knows anything about it,'' he said. ``But through community involvement, education and customer service we can get there.''
Actually, they're selling more than that. The IceRays have already sold about 1,200 of 2,500 available season tickets, Davidson said. He predicts that the coliseum, the smallest arena among the 17 WPHL teams, will be packed on a regular basis once the season begins in October.
``The coliseum only seats 3,200, so I don't see a large problem filling the building,'' he said. ``It looks like we're going to be sold out of season tickets before the start of the season.''
Building an identity
The IceRays' approach isn't novel. The team is following a formula that has already proved successful for inaugural WPHL teams such as the Austin Ice Bats and El Paso Buzzards, executives of the two teams say.
Austin led all teams in attendance, drawing almost 6,200 fans to each of its 35 home games. The league average last season was more than 4,000.
``(Selling tickets) is actually not as hard of a sell as you think,'' said Dan Hart, chairman and chief executive of the Ice Bats. ``Hockey is somewhat of a phenomenon because people who didn't grow up playing or watching the sport have become pretty rabid fans.''
Hart said the Ice Bats, the league's first team, used the same strategy the IceRays are using to build a loyal following - by first focusing on creating a strong identity for their team.
``Primarily, it was word-of-mouth and civic groups and summer in-line skating clinics,'' Hart said. ``I think it's helped raise awareness of the team and also emphasizes the fact that we're here year-round.''
Educating new fans is part of that process, said Hart, who said he was surprised how savvy Austin fans were during the team's inaugural season. It's something he attributes to a large population of transplanted northerners and ``techies'' - those who have moved to Austin to work for one of the many high-tech firms.
A head start helps
Jim Burlew, partner and president of the El Paso Buzzards, said establishing an identity early on has been the key to the success of his team, which averaged just more than 4,200 fans a game last year.
``I don't think any team in this league, or any league, can just go into a city, hang a sign and say, `We're here,' '' he said.
Burlew said Corpus Christi should benefit from getting a 12-month head start marketing the team.
``You can't get a quick enough start or make a hard enough effort at ticket sales,'' he said. ``Everything grows from there - the people in the seats, everything. The ancillary to that is earning the respect of the community, not expecting it.''
The Buzzards have taken some steps to appeal to the city's sizable Hispanic community, such as Spanish-language pocket schedules and theme nights featuring mariachi bands.
Beyond that, the team's marketing philosophy is simple: Get people to a game once and let hockey sell itself.
``We feel we're marketing an entertainment event here,'' Burlew said. ``Whether you're used to it or familiar with it, we feel if we can get you to a game once, you'll enjoy yourself and come back.''
Understanding the game
WPHL teams are taking the necessary steps to sell a traditionally cold-weather sport in South Texas, said Leon F. Dube, a marketing professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Consumer information is fundamental to selling a new product in any market, he said. Hockey is no different.
``If you get them to understand the sport, you have a better chance of getting them to support it,'' Dube said.
The IceRays should also benefit from building roots in Corpus Christi, he said.
``If they can be seen and develop their public relations, then they can be seen as part of the community and not an outsider,'' Dube said.
Entering its third season, the WPHL has grown from six teams to 17 - a sign the league and its teams have been successful introducing hockey and hockey culture to a region previously unfamiliar with the sport.
A natural expansion
The growth will lead to greater ticket sales, increased merchandising opportunities and corporate sponsorships, said Steve Cherwonak, the WPHL's director of scheduling and media services.
``As our league continues to grow and we continue to establish our credibility, corporate sponsorship opportunities will grow,'' Cherwonak said.
He said there are several reasons why WPHL investors chose to form a hockey league in the Southwest:
* It was a market largely unexplored by hockey.
* Hockey's television exposure has grown with the addition of National Hockey League teams in Phoenix, Dallas and Miami.
* The league could build on geographic rivalries that already exist from high school, college and other professional sports teams.
* Hockey is a natural progression for a region where football and boxing are popular.
* Many of the cities with WPHL franchises had no professional sports franchises.
Adjusting the rules
While WPHL teams are taking steps to educate fans, they're also using the region's unfamiliarity with the sport to make some rule changes to speed up the pace of the game and make it more exciting.
Where traditionalists might balk at the changes, Cherwonak said less-knowledgeable fans won't know the difference and will appreciate the faster pace of the game.
``If you started up a hockey league like this in western Canada right now you'd have a huge uproar,'' he said. ``We don't really have to cater to any hockey purists in these nontraditional markets.''
Making players accessible is part of the appeal of minor-league sports, Cherwonak said, even if local players aren't household names.
``Does a 10-year-old know the difference between Jody Praznik (the IceRays' only player right now) and Wayne Gretzky? Probably not,'' he said. ``But if you go to a game in Dallas, can you meet Mike Modano and shake his hand after the game? Absolutely not.''
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Photo: Kevin Simpson manages the Ice Rays merchandise store in Sunrise Mall. Even though the hockey team's inaugural season doesn't start until October, fans already can buy tickets, hats, jerseys and bumper stickers with the team logo. The IceRays organization is trying to get a head start on attracting fans and forming an identity.