The Blackhawks-Lightning Stanley Cup Final begins tonight at Amalie Arena, and Tampa has "become a hockey city for now -- and, club executives hope, for the long term," according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. TIMES. The club is "becoming a bigger part of sports culture" in the city. Its "growth has been fueled by renovations that enhanced the fan experience at gleaming Amalie Arena, community involvement directed" by Owner Jeff Vinik after he bought the franchise in '10, and the "current success of the young, exciting Lightning." Lightning and Amalie Arena President Steve Griggs said, "People are so excited about what Jeff Vinik's doing here in the community and then you have a team that's performing well and they want to be a part of it. Their knowledge of hockey might not be like it is in Minnesota or Toronto but their passion for the game and our brand is on an equal level." Elliott notes besides investing about $60M in improving the arena, Vinik "plans a half-billion-dollar real estate development near the arena, along the lines of L.A. Live." From a hockey standpoint he was "smart enough to hire" Lightning VP & GM Steve Yzerman. Lightning Exec Dir of Community Hockey Development Jay Feaster believes Vinik's financial investment in the team and the area will "persuade fans to make long-term emotional investments." Feaster: "I look at it from the standpoint of the fan base. Even if there are some down years in the future, they look at it and say, 'We trust these people.'" Elliott notes the Lightning's season-ticket base "is at 11,500 in an area that has no Fortune 500 company" HQ there. The team "played to 98% capacity this season, up from 96.9% last season." Increasing the number of fans "is a mission for Feaster, who returned to the club last July." The team "runs clinics as far away as Orlando and Daytona Beach, supplies jerseys to participants in local rec hockey leagues, and plans to increase its involvement in local high school hockey" (L.A. TIMES, 6/3).
OWNING THE MOMENT: In Tampa, Tom Jones in a front-page piece notes Vinik for the past six weeks has "proudly, yet quietly, watched his team navigate its way through the bumper-car ride otherwise known as the Stanley Cup playoffs." He was "offered a private suite" at Joe Louis Arena for the Lightning's first-round series against the Red Wings, but "acting like a Regular Joe instead of a Mr. Big Shot, Vinik bought a ticket and sat in the seats." He said, "It has been so much fun for me and my family. ... I'm so proud of them and proud of the entire organization. Personally, for me and my family, we get to travel around. It has been a great two-month experience. It has been terrific" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/3).
MAKINGS OF A DYNASTY? In Chicago, Mark Potash writes while players like C Jonathan Toews, RW Patrick Kane and D Duncan Keith have been behind the Blackhawks' "rise to prominence," it all "starts at the top." Rocky Wirtz became Blackhawks Chair in '07, and "everything fell into place from there." Blackhawks VP & GM Stan Bowman: "All this started ... when Rocky took over the franchise. The changes he made gave us some momentum and excitement." He continued, "Rocky came on board and sort of changed the whole mentality of the organization" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/3). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jonathan Eig writes although Chicago is "a football town, always has been and always will be," the Blackhawks are "doing something extraordinary." The bandwagon "can’t be called a bandwagon anymore," as it is "too big." If the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years, even casual fans "will have to reckon with the fact" that they "got a dynasty" in Chicago. The Bears "have been lousy of late and figure to be lousy again next year." Football as "played by the loutish" Jay Cutler and the Bears "looks especially pointless and ugly when compared with hockey as played by the elegant" Toews and the Blackawks. Eig: "The Blackhawks, in other words, are doing everything we could ask of them. ... They’re a delight to watch, even for fans not versed in the game’s finer points" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/3).
