Harvard Business School
9 - 5 9 6 -059
Rev. December 28, 1995
Marketing The National Hockey League
In early August 1995 Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL, Stephen Solomon, COO of the NHL, and Rick Dudley, COO of NHL Enterprises,1 met in their New York office to chart a strategy for marketing the NHL in 1995 and beyond. After a spectacular 1993-94 season, the NHL’s 1994-95 season had been somewhat mixed; the league had suffered a labor dispute and played an abbreviated season. But there had been important achievements. For the first time in over 20 years the NHL had a network television contract in the United States. Fan support for the shortened season had been surprisingly resilient with attendance averaging 95% for the league
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As one NHL team general manager remarked, "You have 10 big men moving at 30 mph, chasing a 3 inch diameter puck, and shooting it at 100 mph, so sometimes you lose sight of the puck if you’re new to the game. But if you are a fan, what a thrill it can be." The 26 teams in the league are organized into an Eastern and Western Conference. Within each of the conferences are two divisions: the Atlantic and the Northeast in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and the Pacific in the Western Conference. The teams play an 82-game regular season from October to April, followed by four rounds of playoffs where teams play a bestof-seven game series to advance to the next round. The eight teams in each conference with the best regular season records (including division leaders) play three rounds to determine the conference winner. Finally, the two conference champions compete for the Stanley Cup, the trophy awarded for over a century to North America 's best hockey team.
History
The National Hockey League was formed in 1917, from teams that took the ice that season. During the following two decades teams entered and exited, leaving six survivors by 1943, (Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs) who went on to be known as "The Original Six." These teams were extremely successful and responsible for much of hockey’s lore and legend. From 1947-1951 the Toronto Maple Leafs won four Stanley Cups in five
For many decades, writers and authors have accused the American influence on Canada as one of the reasons why Canada is losing its heritage, with one major aspect being the game of hockey. The institutionalization of American Culture began to take root in Canada during the late 1920’s and 1930s as technological advances, specifically the invention of the radio, allowed Canadians to enjoy American entertainment. American stations were much more reliable than Canadian ones, causing American sporting stations such as NBC and CBS to become extremely popular in Canada (Gruneau et al, 1993). As Canada was becoming intertwined with the United States (U.S.), it was becoming less of a satellite of Britain, which made it tremendously difficult for Canada’s elite to protect British ideals such as self-improvement and participating in sport for the game’s sake. (Gruneau et al, 1993). In the early 1940’s, after the great depression forced many franchises to dismantle, the National Hockey League (NHL) was left with six teams, which made up the famous “original six.” At this time, America had a strong influence on the game, as four of the original six teams were based in the United States, and all of the players in league were paid in American dollars (Gruneau et al, 1993). By the early 1960’s, televised sports were emerging in North America, and NHL players were becoming mainstream stars. Inspired by this, along with the threat of the NHL losing its television contract to the Western
Since 1931, Hockey has meant so much to Canadians that it became a part of our identity. The Summit Series has created a new way of hockey is played , as well it gave Canada it's national title of a hockey culture , known by every hockey fan . This essay will prove how the 1972 Summit Series was a significant part in Canada's Hockey Culture Identity.
Hockey is a sport thats origins may be from Persia, Egypt or China, while archaeological evidence shows an early ball-and-stick game played in Greece in the 400s BCE. As civilization spread, so did the games. In 1872, a young man from Halifax, Nova Scotia named James Creighton moved to Montreal, bringing the sport of ice hockey with him bringing with him hockey sticks and skates. Which in turn a man named Lord Stanley created the first national hockey organization. In 1912 the very first professional hockey game. I’ll present my information in chronological order with also talking about how and when hockey affected the country presented.
Professional hockey players eat, sleep, and breathe the game. This passion breeds a rare type of diehard fan to follow the sport. The game of hockey is over 100 years old and fighting is one element that has kept players engaged and fans hooked throughout the years. The first indoor hockey game was played in 1875 and the NHL was formed 42 years later in 1917. In 1922, fighting was added to the rule book as a regulated aspect of the game. Looking at the history of hockey shines a light on the players and fans’ passion for the game. Hockey fights should stay in the game for the protection and safety of skilled players, rivalries between teams, and finally because it's a unique part of the sport.
The Edmonton Oilers were one of the 4 new teams that entered the NHL during the 1979/1980 expansion team. Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky were on the team at this time. Although none of the players that came from the 4 expansion teams could claim the calder trophy because they played in the WHA for the first 3 games. The oilers made the playoffs that year but got eliminated very early
In 1927-1928, a new structure was streamlined and a vertical shape of the Cup was used and by 1948, the Cup became to tall to hold as well as even stand up without tipping over. This Cup was changed to what we see today with the wider rings at the bottom standing at 35 inches tall and 17 inches wide. Since 1958, 5 new rings were added around the base of the Cup for championship teams, which means rings had to be removed to maintain the structure of the Cup. The rings that get removed and preserved in Lord Stanley’s Vault in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. This ends the evolution of what the Cup is today and we can now see all the alterations done over the years, plus see how the NHL has kept all the history of the cup either on the cup or in Lord Stanley’s Vault so none of the history is forgotten or left behind.
Canada has the most medals out of all 12 countries competing; Team USA has the second most with sixteen. All of the rosters of the twelve teams have at least one NHL player on its roster. However, the NHL is thinking about not letting its players play in the Olympics because it cuts into the season, and there is a risk of getting there star players injured.
With more teams in the league, that means more players. As you add more players and more teams to the league, the talent of the extra players eventually decreases. If there were only 15 teams instead of 30, you would get rid of many less talented players and have only the best. Also, with more spots in the NHL, there are not enough talented players to fill all of the spots. This means the most talented players are sought after
Sometimes it is easy to forget the game played on frozen ponds and backyard rinks, and get lost in the overwhelming professional sport known as hockey. However, we strive to remember that hockey became Canada's game because it made our never-ending winter months more bearable . The game gradually became a sport, then an entertainment industry. It seems like the lockout was one of the biggest news stories of the year. Part of the amazing nature of the game is that it's origins are fairly vague. However, we always remember that hockey is our game. It may not be our official sport, like lacrosse is, but hockey is what Canada seems to be most well-known for, and it continues to have immense influence on our free society, with its unique style
Although the Predator’s on-ice performance continued to mature, they still struggled with growth in ticket sales. How does a number three ranked NHL team fall to twenty-three of
This research paper is going to discuss facts about hockey and rules of hockey and the history of hockey.
As a result of the effect that it has on the Canadian economy, hockey should be named Canada’s true national sport. Accounting for roughly one-third of the National Hockey Leagues ticket sale revenue, the seven Canadian hockey teams have a much larger market than the 23 American teams. Not including the newly added Winnipeg Jets, the six Canadian teams account for 31% of the $1.2 billion (U.S) sales ticket revenue of the NHL. This means that $341,000,000.00 (U.S) is contributing to the Canadian economy annually. The Toronto Maple Leafs has the largest franchise revenue at an estimated $119,000,000.00. The ticket revenue of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the highest in the NHL at $1.5 million per game. This is an astonishing amount in comparison to the Dallas Stars at $660,000. The construction of sport facilities could cost upwards to over $1 billion (U.S). With this in mind, Canadian hockey facilities (e.g.: the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario) revenue millions of dollars annually and creates thousands of jobs. Costing $265 million to build, the Air Canada Centre generates revenue of nearly $23 million annually. Additionally, large Canadian sponsors such as Air Canada, Molson Canadian, and Tim Hortons
Economic theory introduces us to four different types of markets: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Professional sports teams operate in an environment that is different than the typical business structure. The goal of this paper is to look at this industry, in particular the NFL, in an economics context and gain an understanding of the market structure of this unique industry. To do this I will discuss a brief history of the National Football League in the U.S. and how this organization is structured. I will also discuss typical market structures and type of
For more than a century, hockey historians have found that precisely tracing the sports origin is not only a difficult task but, a virtual impossibility. Therefore I can only try to deduce for myself, from the records, claims, and accounts, which are available to me, when, where, and by whom the first ice hockey was played. I’ll also discuss the early problems and obstacles that the NHL encountered. Plus I will also tell a little bit about early equipment, along with early game play and ice conditions that players encountered. Lastly, the Stanley Cup, which is the most prized and oldest sports award of the NHL. It has been won many times, by many different teams. Ice hockey is traceable to games played on fields as far back as nearly 2500
Professional hockey has been around in Canada for over one hundred years. Tradition runs deep in programs like the Toronto Maple Leaf's and Montreal Canadians, which have been located in