This note is being sent to the 212 new members of the National Hockey
League Fans' Association that signed up in the last week.
On behalf of our 5,600 members and Jim Spendlove – Welcome to the
NHLFA.
The following note was sent to all NHLFA members last week.
Cheers,
Jim Boone
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First of all, a thank you to all of the NHLFA members in NYC for taking
the time to come out and meet us the night before our big gab fest with
Gary Bettman. Who says New Yorkers aren't friendly? We really enjoyed
meeting and talking hockey with you. Love your wedding cake Mark Conrad. (Mark's wedding cake was a replica of the Stanley Cup).
Now, to the meeting. Well, to start with, we are sure we are not going
to tell you too much here that you would not have expected. However, we
can say that we were well received by Commissioner Bettman and Chief
Operating Officer, Steve Solomon and that they spent a little more than
an hour talking with us – I think that's progress in itself. Mr.
Bettman also said such meetings could continue in the future, but he
strongly hinted that if we don't get a heck of a lot more members, that
could change.
Don't hold your breath waiting for any kind of team/player salary cap or a cap on ticket prices. The Commissioner had lots of reasons why this
won't happen, many of which you are familiar with. Quite sure none of
you felt that was likely anyway. But we did tell the Commissioner the
NHL is pricing itself out of the market as far as average fans are
concerned and we think part of our role is to tell the powers that be
what you, the fans, are thinking and want to see, regardless of whether
or not they do anything about it right away. I don't think we have the
NHL establishment quaking in their boots with 5,400 members.
We said fans are concerned about the moving of franchises and the fear
of more movement, especially in Canada. We also noted the problems
being experienced by some of the smaller U.S. teams. With that, the
Commissioner went into a rather lengthy discussion of the situation in
Carolina and that he felt that it would resolve itself when the team
moves to its new arena.
Not surprisingly, the Commissioner sees the tax set up in Canada as more of a problem for the Canadian teams than the currency difference and we
harangued back and forth on that one.
A non-hockey matter, but one which has been nagging at both of us since
we created the Association, was our use of the "NHL" in our name
(NHLFA). The Commissioner was not against us using the name "NHLFA" but asked us to work through Mr. Solomon so we would be officially licensed
to use the NHL trademark as part of our Association name. We thought
that was very reasonable since they could have simply demanded we stop
using it.
We'll have the second edition of the Fan Report Poll out to you soon and the results back before the end of the playoffs. If there are any
burning issue you want included, please send us a note (but only if it's something different as we've kept the suggestions you sent during the
first poll).
The following is a news release that was distributed to the Canadian and U.S. media on Monday:
- - -
April 26, 1999
For Immediate Release
NHLFA Celebrates First Anniversary by Meeting With NHL Commissioner
(OTTAWA) – If hockey fans want to be heard they should add their voices
to the National Hockey League Fans' Association (NHLFA).
That was one of the observations made by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
when he met last week with representatives of the NHLFA at his office in New York.
Jim Boone and Jim Spendlove, co-founders of the NHLFA, spent about an
hour with Mr. Bettman and NHL Chief Operating Officer, Steve Solomon.
The NHLFA raised several issues of concern to the more than 5,400 members of the NHLFA. Those issues include skyrocketing player salaries, high ticket prices, the difference in the value of the Canadian and U.S. dollar, taxes paid by Canadian teams and difficulties experienced by small-market teams in both Canada and the U.S.
The two Jims said they asked if the Commissioner would consider
implementing a cap on player/team salaries along with a freeze on game
ticket prices, but were not surprised that Mr. Bettman said neither of
those was likely to happen in the near future, for a variety of reasons.
The Jims were encouraged by Mr. Bettman's willingness to assist them in
getting the NHLFA involved in the Open Ice summit being held in August
to examine the state of Canadian hockey.
The Association did receive a commitment for future meetings with the
NHL, but Mr. Bettman hinted that such meetings may hinge on the
Association expanding its membership dramatically if it wants to be
recognized as representing the voice of NHL fans in North America.
To date, the NHLFA has relied primarily on interest from the Canadian
media to carry its message to prospective members, as the Association
has little funding to market itself. Membership stands at 5,400 today.
The National Hockey League Fans' Association Web site (www.NHLFA.com)
was launched April 20, 1998, to give NHL fans across North America and
around the world a way to express their views on the game and to
influence it for the better.
The Jims said the most difficult tasks facing the Association are
increasing awareness and membership and securing funding. Both agree
that they must continue to expand the membership base if the NHLFA is to survive and thrive. People interested in registering with the NHLFA can
do so by visiting the http://www.NHLFA.com Web site. Membership in the
NHLFA is free.
For further information:
Jim Boone
boone@nhlfa.com
Jim Spendlove
spendlove@nhlfa.com
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