But on May 29 th , the same day as game one of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, Bettmann appeared in Tampa in front of the press at AmalieArena alongside Lightningowner, Jeff Vinik toannounce that the city will play host to what has become known as the NHL All-Star Weekend on January 27 th and 28 th . Not only will the local service industry get a shot at those spending dollars, the nearly four million person viewership that the NHL All-Star Game – which will again take-on the popular 3-on- 3 tournament format – guarantees will give great air time to Vinik’s $3 billion US investment in Tampa’s downtown core as the Skills Competition and tournament go to and come back from commercial. This is all in addition to the 113 th annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival taking place in Tampa that same weekend, an event that has seen crowds of close to 1 million revellers in previous years. But some still see Bettmann as the pirate in all of this. And if you’re one of the crowd on-deck screaming ‘Walk the plank’ on this one, consider this: after three lockouts, Bettmann and the NHL have established that they’re not willing to give anything away for free – and as the price cap era has shown hockey fans, the league as a whole has adopted a penny-pinching philosophy when it comes to the athletes. The league isn’t willing to foot the $20 million US travel, accommodation, and insurance bill that comes with the 2018 Winter Games – a fee that was covered by the IOC in previous years. Bettmann ultimately passed-over the IIHF’s sponsorship offer because it lacked the marketing opportunities that potentially came with an IOC partnership – and there’s the rub. At the end of the day it comes down to what the League feels is best for the game in a given year. The All-Star Game is an earner for the NHL, earning roughly $23 million US between 2011 and 2015.
By David MacDonald I f you’re a business owner, particularly in the service industry, in a major North American city, you know the pros and cons that come with game night – especially all-star games. According to the Canadian Sponsorship Forum, host cities can see a surge of up-to 30,000 people on the big weekend with some planning to spend well-over $1,000 US. Well, on April 3 rd the service industry in Tampa Bay, Florida didn’t yet know that it had reason to celebrate the NHL’s decision to forgo the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongC- hang, South Korea. The announcement was made when it was so as to not over- shadow the Stanley Cup Playoffs that were set to begin on April 12 th , but still many hockey fans – soured, perhaps, by past lockouts – who have demonized league commissioner, Gary Bettman saw it as a tactic, a way to pressure the IOC rather than a final decision. On May 7 th , it seemed like those in the anti-Bettmann camp were right. The president of the International Ice Hockey Federa- tion, Rene Fasel, told reporters that negotiations were still ongoing and that the league’s participation in the Winter Games was still possible under an IIHF sponsorship so long as a decision was made before mid-July.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017
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