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Golden Knights Planning To Debut Hockey Fan Development Program Next Month

The Golden Knights are "finalizing plans to explain the game" throughout Las Vegas and the surrounding area with the their Hockey Fan Development Program, a "series of clinics" expected to debut next month, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Golden Knights Senior VP & CMO Nehme Abouzeid said, "We know there are people who want to learn about hockey, especially children, and we are going to create a series of events to introduce people to the game." Carp reported the initiative is a "precursor to what the team hopes will evolve into its own brand of youth and high school hockey." The Golden Knights are "looking into hiring someone to oversee the youth hockey program it plans to start." It has had "discussions with the Las Vegas Storm, the local youth hockey program, about either merging or having the NHL team take it over and rebrand it." Abouzeid said that the team is "planning a 'Hockey 101' presentation" aimed at adults that will be "easy and fun to understand." Meanwhile, the team store at T-Mobile Arena is "being expanded and will serve as the Knights' flagship store." Abouzeid said that the upgraded store is "expected to be open well before the team’s season opener in early October." There will also be a "smaller team store at the practice facility when it opens in late August, as well as a kiosk" at McCarran Int'l Airport (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/21).

MARKETING TO THE LOCALS: Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz took part in a Q&A with SPORTSNET.ca's Adam Stanley and said the make-up of the crowd demographic is "going to be 85-90 per cent local." He admitted, however, they might be "transient-local," meaning they moved to Las Vegas from somewhere else. He said, "We are setting aside some of our ticket inventory for that convention or leisure traveller, but the vast majority of our inventory is going to be sold locally. The local who happens to be from another market ... we’re going to be embracing the fact that they may be fans of another team. But we’re going to encourage them to join our team as well. You can only play those other teams once a year." Bubolz also addressed the lack of "Las" in the team's full name, as it identifies itself as the "Vegas Golden Knights." He said, "A lot of that process had already been completed before I got here, but one of the first things I remember saying was that I liked it because it was shorter. That was something I understood before I got to the market, and I realized, yeah, I referred it to as Vegas quite often, I don’t say 'Las Vegas.' ... People here refer to it as Vegas. It’s really a brand unto itself. It makes the team feel more national, and international" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/22).

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