Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley said that merchandise, sponsorship and ticket revenues are "trending above projections and he envisions a profitable first season before the deduction of interest, taxes and amortization expenses," according to Alan Snel of LVSPORTSBIZ.com. Foley said that sponsorship sales are 10-12% "above the budgeted level and the team is 'overachieving in ticket sales.'" Foley: "Game day ticket sales are higher than expected." Foley said that the Golden Knights "sell about 2,500 game-day tickets after 13,400 seats are committed for season ticket holders, 850 are for premium seats and there a few hundred for comp tickets." He added that the team can "sell another 300 standing room only tickets." Snel noted with T-Mobile Arena’s hockey capacity at about 17,300, the Golden Knights are above 100% attendance capacity after "three home games in light of the trio of sellouts." Foley said that to try and "stop too many non-Golden Knights fans from buying tickets, the team will not sell tickets to buyers who are brokers." Meanwhile, Foley said that the Golden Knights budgeted $10M in "team logo gear sales the first year," which meant the franchise would keep $4M of the $10M in overall sales. He added that the the team is "looking to open Golden Knights points of sale up and down the Strip," including in MGM Resorts Int'l properties after "opening a sales kiosk" at McCarran Int'l Airport last week (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 10/16).
PUSHING THE LIMITS: In Las Vegas, David Schoen notes the Golden Knights "issued an apology" for their controversial tweet before Sunday's game against the Bruins and subsequently deleted it. A team statement read, "We do not condone sexism in any form and fully support the inclusive culture of hockey that makes our sport great. We accept full responsibility for our actions and apologize to those who were offended." The Golden Knights' Twitter account, overseen by VP/Communications & Content Eric Tosi, and Dir of Digital & Social Media Dan Marrazza, has "established itself as the boisterous rookie in the locker room." Before the opening faceoff of every game, @GoldenKnights "announces the opposing team’s lineup using a pop culture reference intended to be humorous" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/17).
