By Jeremy Sandler
Skating through a fog rising off the ice during a mid-September practice, the Ottawa 67’s look like they are skating out of a dream.
It’s an appropriate image given last season’s dreamlike script. First-year owner Jeff Hunt brought new life to the club’s local profile with an aggressive marketing campaign that saw average attendance rise from 2,100 per game in the 1997-98 season to 5,200 per game last year. He also spearheaded a successful bid to host the Memorial Cup hockey tournament, and in storybook fashion Matt Zultek’s overtime goal gave the team its first national title since 1984.
“Hosting the Memorial Cup has boosted the team’s profile in the community and that it’s a major reason season ticket sales are up from 1,100 last year to 2,600 (and counting) this year,” says Hunt.
The Memorial Cup triumph has also opened doors for the team in the business community in the form of corporate support.
“What we find is that we get phenomenal reception,” Hunt says. “It doesn’t mean they are always going to buy tickets or advertising but it’s just been extremely positive reaction from the business community and the community at large.
“I know that’s directly related to the profile and the appeal of the team in the community,” Hunt adds. “When you have a profile and appeal and a large following, corporate sponsors obviously believe that it’s good business to associate with us.
“Corporate sponsorship is an important source of revenue for the team and necessary to keep the team viable.”
In the offices that make up the 67’s home at the Ottawa Civic Centre, Hunt rhymes off a list of companies including Bell Canada, Molson Breweries and Pizza Pizza as examples of businesses which have either signed on with the team or increased their presence over last year.
Hunt is especially pleased at adding Rebel.com to the team’s cast of corporate supporters.
Networking software manufacturer Rebel.com has been the 67’s first success at gaining support from one of the area’s high-technology firms.
“It’s our foot in the door in that field. We hope it will help us expand our involvement in the high-tech field.”
Cindy Scott, Rebel.com’s communications director, says the Memorial Cup win definitely made the 67’s a more attractive option for her company.
“Jeff Hunt is doing a great job with the 67’s locally,” Scott says, “and it seemed a great vehicle to get our name out locally as well.”
Souvenir sales is another area the championship has helped the team’s bottom line.
“It’s opened up a new door in merchandising for us,” Hunt says. “Now we have Memorial Cup champion merchandise. It’s really given us a boost.”
But, Hunt says, the key to knowing what the long-term impact of the Memorial Cup had on the team will be in the game-day attendance figures. He adds that an average attendance of less than 7,500 per game this year will be tremendously disappointing.
“People like to follow champions,” he reasons, “and we expect that we’re going to see a big increase in our game-day ticket sales.” Pre-season figures of an average of 4,000 per game, double last years pre-season crowds, indicate the team may be on its way to meeting Hunt’s target.