Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz "faces one of professional team sports’ most fascinating marketing challenges" in building the team's foundation, according to Alan Snel of LVSPORTSBIZ.com. Bubolz is "trying to build a sound foundation for a new NHL club that will rely on cultivating a new generation of fans in not only a classic sunbelt market of transients but also in a town of 40 million tourists who can choose from dozens of competing high-powered entertainment options." But armed with a "solid season ticket base," Bubolz has "already mapped a game plan to build a fan foundation that will go beyond immediate ticket sales." The strategy’s centerpiece is the team’s "impressive new practice facility." Bubolz is "counting on thousands of young kids being transformed into future Golden Knights fans when they play in youth hockey programs in a building equipped with 10 youth locker rooms." Bubolz said that the Golden Knights also "purchased 5,000 youth hockey sticks, including 3,000 that have already been given to kids." He added that an 11-game ticket plan "has been developed to appeal to families." Bubolz said that kids will also "get to games via a Golden Knights partnership with a (soon-to-be-named) hotel-casino sponsor, which will work with the Clark County School District." He added that he is "not too concerned with tickets falling into the hands of non-Golden Knights fans at T-Mobile Arena." Bubolz: "To push them out the door creates the wrong message." He noted that the “'heritage' fans from the older teams could also teach the newer fans in Las Vegas a few things about the sport of hockey" (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 7/5).
