Download - Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce

More documents

Recommendations

Info

HockeytownAlbany Devils make Times Union Center their new home–– and bring dollars to regionPictured l-r: Chris Valente, Christopher Ciceri, Sr. andKevin Zalaznik are confident that the Devils’ winningtradition will continue in AlbanyThe Albany Devils represent more thanjust the return of American HockeyLeague (AHL) action to the TimesUnion Center and the high level of skilland competition they display on the ice.By attracting tens of thousands ofhockey fans downtown from October toApril, the Albany Devils have an economicimpact on the region, contribute to theoverall business climate in and aroundAlbany County and enhance the qualityof life here, according to Bob Belber, theTimes Union Center’s general manager.“When businesses decide they’regoing into a market, they look at everyfactor, including real estate, tax incentives,the quality of the employment pool andquality of life,” he said. “I firmly believethat having an AHL team here, with thetop players in the world, makes a bigdifference. It puts us on the map as amarket that has quality sports.”In June, the National HockeyLeague’s (NHL) New Jersey Devilsannounced that they would shift theiroperations for their AHL affiliate, theLowell Devils, from Lowell, MA to Albany.The Times Union Center had served as34 | acchamber.org | techvalley.orghome ice for the Devils’AHL team, then knownas the Albany River Rats,for 13 seasons through2005-06. In 1994-95, theorganization won boththe NHL Stanley Cupand the AHL Calder CupChampionships.Most recently, the AlbanyRiver Rats were affiliatedwith the NHL’s CarolinaHurricanes. When the River Rats’ owner,Walter Robb Jr., sold the team to a buyerin Charlotte, NC, that left Albany withoutan AHL franchise and sent Belber on amission to bring the Devils to the CapitalRegion.“The New Jersey Devils organization isfirst-class, top to bottom, and I made threetrips to Newark, NJ to negotiate with them,”he said. “This is not a situation where theteam has a franchise agreement with aseparate owner; it’s a direct relationship withthe New Jersey Devils for the Times UnionCenter and our market. There’s a lot ofinterest from the Devils to make sure they’reinvolved in the community, and we alsowant businesses to be engagedwith them.”Christopher Ciceri, Sr.,the Albany Devils’ executivedirector, is thrilled to havethe Devils’ organization callAlbany its AHL home onceagain and is respectful ofAlbany’s recent hockeyhistory.“We’ll keep the RiverRats’ championshipbanners hanging, butnow we come back toAlbany, owned by theDevil Dawg, the AlbanyDevils’ mascotNew Jersey Devils,” he said. “We’re theonly NHL team that has all its franchisescalled the Devils. We’re returning to Albanywith great stability; the New Jersey Devilshave won three Stanley Cups, we’re readyfor four, and we’re aiming for our secondCalder Cup. Our new motto is, ‘AlbanyDevils Hockey…Now This Is Fun.’”Goals and assistsChris Valente, the Albany Devils’ vicepresident of sales and marketing, notedthat the AHL is a fertile breeding groundfor NHL players, and the quality of playis second only to the NHL itself, with theconstant influx of players moving up ordown in the organization.“Eighty-five percent of AHL playerswill play in the NHL, and 92 percent ofplayers in the 2008 NHL All-Star Gameplayed in the AHL,” he said. “You can’tbeat it, in terms of the entertainmentdollar. All of the money that comes intoAlbany because we play a hockey gameone night is significant. It’s a braggingright for any city, and Albany knew whatthey had and understood they couldn’tafford not to have an AHL team.”There’s a major impact of having4,000 to 6,000 people come to the arenaon game nights, Belber pointed out.“These are fans who support restaurantsor bars before or after games. Plus, forevery game, the Times Union Centerhas 175 to 200 people working, whichis a significant amount of employmentdollars,” he said.Hockey fans aren’t the only onesspending money when an AHL franchisecomes to town, Ciceri noted. “It’s greatfor the economy of the region,” he said.“We’ve got 25 players earninga lot of money, and manyof them buy cars, some ofthem buy homes or rentcondominiums. There’s a bigimpact. We also want to getout into the community,because becoming a fabricof the community isextremely important.”The AlbanyDevils’ relocationwill benefit morethan just hockeyfans. Among the
new highlights of the Times Union Centerwill be a brand new, HD video boardand 150 feet of LED ribbons encirclingthe arena just above the corporate suites,giving the arena the look and feel ofMadison Square Garden or a similarvenue.“These will generate a lot morerevenue, and businesses will want to have“The City of Albany is proud to onceagain be the home of the New JerseyDevil’s AHL team,” he said. “The Devilshave a first-class organization that is aperfect fit with our first-class facilities atthe Times Union Center and our loyalfans here in Albany and the greaterCapital Region. The economic impact ofhaving a professional hockey team in Newby our Albany Devils. This is great newsfor the Times Union Center, for AlbanyCounty and for the business community.AHL games attract thousands of visitorsto downtown Albany, which remains akey to the continued economic growthof downtown Albany and the success ofmany restaurants, bars, hotels and otherdowntown businesses.”“I firmly believe that having an AHL team here, with the top players in the world, makes a big difference.”their images on display,” Belber said.“That revenue generation advertisingwas extremely important to the Devils,in order to make sure that once theymove here, they can survive. They reallyneed to have corporate support to dothat, and businesses have the ability toget their message out to 1 million visitorsby advertising on these LED systems.Business leaders in the market are goingto be proud of our venue and will wantto get involved. In National BasketballAssociation (NBA) markets, they went fromhaving 10-15 advertisers to selling out, andwe’re hoping for the same.”The cost of the $1.6 million inenhancements will be recouped overthe next five years, with a $1 surchargeper ticket for concerts, family shows andspecial events at the Times Union Center.In the spotlightIn addition, there are new lighting andsound enhancements for the front of thefacility, with LED, color-changing tubeson arches to match the team colors of theAlbany Devils (red and black) or Siena(green and gold) when they’re playingthat day. The locker rooms have also beenrenovated to meet the standards of theAlbany Devils in its facilities and improvethe development of players.Ciceri is grateful to Albany MayorJerry Jennings, Albany County ExecutiveMike Breslin, Belber and SMG, the TimesUnion Center’s management company,for collaborating in the effort to bring theDevils to Albany. “It’s wonderful to telleverybody that Albany is home for us,” hesaid. “Everybody is so welcoming.”Jennings eagerly anticipates thesuccess that an AHL franchise will bring toAlbany and the surrounding region.York’s ‘All-America’ Capital City cannotbe overstated. We have a strong andvibrant downtown, and the Devils’ seasonwill be a perfect complement to our yearroundentertainment district.”Breslin anticipates championshipcaliberhockey and an economic windfallwith the return of AHL competition inAlbany.“We are very excited that the traditionof AHL hockey will continue at the TimesUnion Center,” he said. “We are evenmore excited to renew the affiliation withthe New Jersey Devils and await withanticipation the pursuit of the Calder CupLanding the Albany Devils as theTimes Union Center’s newest tenant is anoteworthy achievement and rounds outthe Times Union Center’s sports offerings,Belber noted. Now it’s up to local fans andbusinesses to support the Albany Devils, asspectators and advertisers.“Siena basketball is just as big andimportant, but to have both Siena andthe Albany Devils play here really makesour calendar schedule,” Belber said. “Weask the local business community to comeout to games, get involved and enjoy greathockey.” •September 2010 | VISIONS | 35
Page 1 and 2: September 2010 | VISIONS | a
Page 3 and 4: My Purpose:Financial flexibility
Page 6 and 7: 4 | acchamber.org | techvalley.org
Page 12 and 13: BE A SMALL BUSINESSSUPERPOWER.Exert
Page 14 and 15: Albany labor parade held soon after
Page 17: Fruits of laborRyan’s Farmers Mar
Page 20 and 21: Export control essentialsCompanies
Page 22: Thousands ofhistoric photos andcolo
Page 25 and 26: cancer patients. By injecting fluor
Page 27 and 28: upstream. We’re mostly productdev
Page 29 and 30: personal and professional developme
Page 31 and 32: Anchor50thAd_1.qxp 5/7/10 10:44 AM
Page 33 and 34: What do we do?All aspects of commer
Page 35: DID YOU KNOW?Take steps toprevent i
Page 39 and 40: Don’t miss Flett’s keynote pres
Page 42 and 43: Chamber hosts September16 breakfast
Page 44 and 45: WORD ON THE STREETWhat is the most
Page 46: VIEWPOINTYour next careerawaits you

Download - Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?