True North will speak when time is right

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/05/2011 (5291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kid Rock is a self-proclaimed Rock ‘n’ Roll Jesus and a favourite son of Detroit, no doubt, but he ain’t big enough in the Peg City to bump back a press conference to announce the return of the NHL.

Some are suggesting a Kid Rock show, potential marketing plans and even Gary Bettman’s schedule are playing havoc with the scheduling of the biggest announcement in Winnipeg sports in over a decade.

Sorry, there’s too much is at stake to have anything get in the way of Mark Chipman stepping up to a podium and laying the truth down on so many Prairie puck disciples.

When Chipman has put his pen to paper and wired the dough down to Hot-lanta — he’ll break his silence and quick.

True North simply has too much to do once this deal is finalized to fool around with an announcement date. When an agreement to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers is finalized, True North will get busy talking, selling and promoting.

True North spokesperson Scott Brown says any announcement hinges on a deal being done and nothing more.

“Despite persistent rumours and speculation about the timing of a press conference, none has been scheduled and none will be scheduled unless a deal is done. The timing of any potential press conference depends solely on if and when a deal is completed,” Brown told the Free Press on Tuesday.

Sources close to the negotiations say talks continue and progress is being made but a deal is not complete at this point.

Brown also confirmed to the Free Press Tuesday that a name for the team has yet to be determined and would not be chosen by the time of a press conference.

That brings us to the subject of the name game.

Is it the fans’ prerogative to name the team? Certainly not.

Ownership gets to make those calls.

Fans get to choose to support a team or not.

They don’t get to decide who plays, what colour the team wears or what its name will be. Maybe if an organization elects to hold a name the team contest or name the mascot promotion. But again, that is an organizational choice.

GMs don’t call up the folks sitting in row five before trading a player to get their opinion.

That’s just the way of professional sports. Fans matter and play a pivotal role in the success of a franchise but they don’t make organizational decisions.

 

Benny Hatskin picked the name Jets because he liked the NFL football team of the same name. He went with a personal whim. It was his team and he named it. Sort of like a guy who buys a race horse and names it after his dog. Or a restaurateur who names his eatery after his daughter. His money — his choice.

I’d suggest the decision to back a team both financially and emotionally shouldn’t be based on the name.

I don’t love the name Steelers or the team colours. But I love that franchise and live and die with the team during the NFL season.

The point is to have the NHL back, not the team name.

Back to the impending announcement and what we can expect to hear and learn.

Any press conference will begin with the announcement True North has conditionally acquired an NHL franchise subject to board approval.

The Free Press has learned that True North will execute a market test in the form of a ticket drive to satisfy the NHL’s concerns about franchise viability.

It’s understood customers will be asked to make three-year commitments on season packages and the success of such a ticket drive will send a message to the league on Winnipeg’s suitability as an NHL market.

So that’s a choice fans will make. To support or not support.

That folks, is the next big question.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca