Vancouver Canucks executive Chris Hebb was on the golf course when his cell phone rang to notify him that the club had selected former Ohio State center Ryan Kesler with the 23rd pick in the recent NHL draft.
Most of Hebb's colleagues were similarly notified, Hebb said, as part of an effort by Canucks ownership to illustrate for its management some new and creative ways of generating revenue for the club.
Hebb is vice president of broadcast and new media for Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Canucks. Team officials are pursuing a cell phone provider and additional sponsors for new wireless applications they hope to roll out next season.
Vancouver-based Feed Me Sports Inc. built the wireless Web service for the draft demo, which was conducted with Canadian telecommunications company Telus Mobility. Feed Me Sports is among the finalists, Hebb said, to handle wireless content for the Canucks during the 2003-04 season.
Both Hebb and Kevin Day, president of Feed Me Sports, said it's too early to speculate on how big the revenue stream could be.
"This type of thing we think has real value," Hebb said. "[But] we're working with a group that didn't grow up on cell phones. We have no idea."
During the 2003-04 NHL season, Canucks fans will be able to access news updates, online contests, text messaging, downloadable images, ring tones, games and even the ability to take digital photos, Hebb said.
Hebb added that discussions are continuing about how the local service can work without infringing upon Nextel's national wireless deal with the NHL. The NHL and Nextel teamed in April to offer Nextel subscribers a suite of league content on their mobile phones.
"While the league obviously has areas of these applications that they're going to own," Hebb said, "teams are going to have to work around what is left."
Ryan Hughes, the NHL's director of new media business development, said a few other clubs have tested wireless applications, but it's generally just gaining momentum on a team level.
"It's a potentially lucrative area for us to experiment," Hughes said.
