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News Release – 06/03/00
NHL Fans' Association Surpasses 15,000 Members
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May 30, 2000
(OTTAWA) - It's only two years old, but the National Hockey League Fans'
Association (http://www.NHLFA.com), the voice of NHL hockey fans across
North America, registered its 15,000th member today.
Entirely Internet based, the NHLFA was launched April 20, 1998, with the
goal of giving fans a means to express their views on the NHL game and
to influence it for the better.
One way this is done is through the Association's "Fan Report" polls.
Available via the Internet, The Fan Report asks NHLFA members to respond
to questions on a broad range of issues related to NHL hockey. It's one
way the NHLFA can place the views of fans before the NHL community. Poll
results are provided to the NHL, the NHLPA, to the media and of course,
to members.
The next Fan Report, to be sent out later this week, will ask NHLFA
members to respond to more than 65 questions covering all aspects of NHL
hockey. NHLFA co-founders Jim Boone and Jim Spendlove feel The Fan
Report is an important tool in helping to give fans a say in a sport in
which they are usually on the outside looking in.
"Where would hockey be without the fans? As fans, we're constantly
being asked to pay more and more at the gate, yet the fans have
virtually no say when it's time to make decisions on the direction of
the game," said Jim Boone.
"Fifteen thousand members is a key milestone for the NHLFA; it clearly
demonstrates that this is for real, and that it is only going to
continue to grow. The fans want a voice in the way professional hockey
is run and we're trying to ensure they get it," said Jim Spendlove.
The NHLFA has supported the League and the Ottawa Senators in their
recent attempts to get recalcitrant star Alexei Yashin to honor his
contract with that team.
"The Association supports the League in this instance because we believe
the Yashin walk-out has repercussions well beyond the Ottawa Senators.
Regardless of the legal outcome, the action taken by one of the smaller
NHL franchises has been a wake up call to professional athletes who may
have been considering reneging on their contractual obligations," said
Jim Boone.
The NHLFA has met twice for discussions with NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman and will look to do so again sometime after the end of this
season.
There is no charge for NHLFA membership. All that is required is
Internet access and completion of a member registration form available
on the Association's Web site.
Further information:
Jim Boone
boone@nhlfa.com
or
Jim Spendlove
spendlove@nhlfa.com
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