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Franchises

Lightning Close To Selling 11,000 Season Tickets, More Than Double Last Year's Figure

Lightning officials said that the team is “closing in on selling 11,000 full season tickets, more than double last season's 5,000,” according to Damian Cristodero of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik is “feeling pretty good about the direction of the organization.” Vinik: "We have upward movement on the business side. Obviously, I'm thrilled by that." Vinik also is “becoming more comfortable in his role.” The second-year owner “used to answer questions with talking points.” Now he is “more casual,” and is “interacting more with fans and answers their e-mails.” Vinik said, "I have confidence in this area as a sports market and a hockey market." He added, "I'm very pleased with how the fans are responding. … We just have to have a world-class organization and the plan will be fully realized" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/18).

MUSIC TO MY EARS: In St. Petersburg, John Fleming notes the Lightning this season at St. Pete Times Forum will “take the ice to 'Be the Thunder,' the team’s new theme music played” on a recording by the Florida Orchestra. "Be the Thunder" is “tied into the Lightning's $40 million renovation of the Forum." Lightning CEO & Minority Owner Tod Leiweke said, “The crescendo of this piece of music is going to be these lightning bolts that we're going to shoot in the building, if it all works. There will be coils that shoot bolts of electricity 25 feet each way. How can you be named the Lightning and not have some effect?" Composer Gregory Smith “was commissioned by the Lightning to write the piece, which runs about 21/2 minutes.” Smith said, "When you take a hockey team and have them dance with an orchestra, which this project does, I think it takes it to a real accessible place. I hope to God I see a cellist with a goalie mask somewhere" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/19).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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