Game On: Ducks Looking to Net Sponsors, Fans

Getting back on the ice may turn out to be the easy part for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The real battle: convincing sponsors it’s a good move to reup while rekindling fans love for hockey.

The Ducks are ramping up to promote the coming season now that the National Hockey League and the players union finally put an end to the unprecedented 10-month lockout that wiped out its last season,and left it scrambling to fill holes.

The Ducks’ staff was slashed in half. Bitter fans said they wouldn’t come back to the game.

The team had about 8,000 season-ticket holders during the 2003-04 season,the last that was played. Some 1,800 had failed to renew by February when the season was canceled.

Now it’s up to the Ducks to get people back into the game. The regular season is set to start Oct. 5.

Whether fans forget about the canceled season,a first for any major sport,remains to be seen. Local sports fans already have a lot of other distractions, such as basketball, baseball and the start of the football season.

Not to mention that the Ducks fell short of the playoffs the last time the NHL season was played.

Meanwhile, the league’s national TV picture has dimmed after its five-year, $650 million deal with ESPN and ABC expired last year.

Comcast Corp. last week won a $100 million bid for a two-year contract to show two games a week on its Outdoor Life Network station. ESPN, a higher profile network for sports, has the right to match the offer. The NHL also has a minor deal with NBC that isn’t expected to generate much revenue.

The team seems to be saying the right things.

“Our strategy is to successfully market the team in new and creative areas while trying to reach our targeted demographics and creating new fans,” said Steve Obert, the Ducks vice president of sales and marketing.

The Ducks have made a series of moves to get back into fans’ hearts.

Off the ice, the team plans to expand community relations. It has created a new unit that will send workers into schools and local hockey rinks with coaches and players to create buzz about the game, Obert said.

The Ducks also plan to get more aggressive with their marketing. They plan to push ticket packages in newspaper ads and radio commercials, among other places.

The team also is talking with its sponsors, such as Lake Forest-based Del Taco Inc., trying to get them to commit to the new season.

A spokesman said it was too early to tell which sponsors are going to bite.

The marketing moves are just part of the Ducks’ new face.

The hockey team has a new owner, management team and coach.

This will be the team’s first season under new owners, Henry Samueli, chairman, chief technical officer and major shareholder of Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom Corp., and his wife Susan.

The couple bought the team for a reported $60 million to $70 million from Walt Disney Co. earlier this year in a deal that included Anaheim Ice, the team’s practice rink.

Since Samueli came onboard in June, the team has seen an uptick in season ticket sales. The Ducks expect to meet their 2003-04 numbers, according to Obert. He declined to give specific figures.

“Our hope is that this positive momentum continues into the regular season,” Obert said.

The Ducks drew an average of 14,987 fans to each home game the last time the season was played. That put them at No. 23 of the 30 NHL teams in average attendance. The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, which the Samuelis’ management company runs, can hold thousands more.

Samueli, who’ll continue focusing on Broadcom, is expected to play a hands-off role in running the Ducks, Obert said.

“He has put a strong executive team in place to run the team and building,” Obert said.

Still, the Ducks have gotten a lot of input from Samueli, particularly when it comes to life after the lockout. The owners have cut ticket prices by 5% during the next two full seasons.

“Henry and Susan Samueli felt the fans needed to be thanked for their patience and support of hockey during the last year,” Obert said.

The Samuelis also gave the Ducks the green light to rehire staff.

The team had 60 workers prior to the lockout, and roughly half were cut, a spokesman said. During the past few weeks about 30 to 40 people have been hired, including some who work for the Arrowhead Pond, according to a spokesman.

The team said it plans to listen to what fans want, particularly when it comes to its name. The team took its moniker from a Disney movie,and got heat from diehard hockey fans.

Samueli in a past Business Journal interview said he may change the name, but ultimately fans will make the call.

“We’ll do what the fans want,” Samueli said. “If they want to change the ‘Mighty Ducks’ name, we’ll do it. But we absolutely, 100%, will not change ‘Anaheim.'”

The Ducks will be asking for fans’ input on their Web site and at games, the team said.

Meanwhile, the team is readying to hype its new-look lineup. Most NHL teams have cut loose players that don’t fit under each roster’s $39 million salary cap.

Key to the Ducks’ new look is Scott Niedermayer, considered by many to be the league’s top defenseman. Niedermayer signed a four-year, $27 million contract with the Ducks.

He turned down a more lucrative deal with the New Jersey Devils. The lure here: his brother, Rob, who plays center for the Ducks.

“(Scott Niedermayer) will be a key component of our marketing, in not just advertising but grass roots and community development initiatives,” Obert said.

The team also plans to play up the brothers in its marketing, Obert said.

The Ducks have a new coach, Randy Carlyle, whose coaching style could bring more excitement to local games. Carlyle was hired by Brian Burke, the team’s new general manager. Burke was known for building fast, tough teams in Vancouver, among others.

“As a team, we will be marked by aggressive play and an up-tempo, offensive-minded system,” Carlyle said in a statement.

The Ducks, under former coach Mike Babcock, played a tight-checking, defensive-minded game. Babcock was tapped to coach the Detroit Red Wings.

In the meantime, the league has changed rules in a bid to give fans a faster, more exciting game.

Changes include adding shootouts to end tied scores, the end of a ban on two-line passes and smaller goalie equipment to encourage more scoring.