TORONTO (Aug. 27) – It had to be obvious to every employee of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment that took in the four-day World Hockey Summit this week: a variation of the event is an absolute no-brainer for the company that owns one of the most wildly popular teams in all of professional sport. And, it’s the reason I expect that MLSE will launch a late-summer “festival” for rabid fans of the Maple Leafs as early as next year at this time.
From an economic standpoint, the Summit showed how lucrative it is to exploit this anticipatory juncture of the hockey off-season. It was during this week a year ago, in Calgary, that more than 18,000 fans jammed the Pengrowth Saddledome to watch Team Canada Olympic hopefuls in a glorified scrimmage. Here in Toronto, training camp is on the horizon; Leaf players are skating and working out in the city; there’s a nip of autumn in the air, and the ubiquitous enthusiasm that precedes NHL warfare is blossoming feverishly.
What better time for MLSE to open the Air Canada Centre and the west-side Maple Leaf Square for a pre-season gathering of fans and team personnel. If the hockey patron in this city will shell out $450 for one day of an indoor seminar – fascinating though it may be – imagine the possibilities for a richly-sponsored carnival involving the Maple Leafs:
*Autograph and photo sessions with players and management.
*Question-and-answer assemblies with Brian Burke and Ron Wilson.
*Topical seminars… i.e. "The Essence and Magnitude of the Leafs Captaincy" with Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Dion Phaneuf; "Remembering the Stanley Cup Years" with Johnny Bower, Bob Baun, Ron Ellis, Eddie Shack, Frank Mahovlich and any other ex-player that wishes to attend; "The Business of Hockey in Toronto" with Richard Peddie, Tom Anselmi and others in the MLSE hierarchy; "Media Coverage in Hockey’s Most Intense Market" with such wide-ranging favorites as Damien Cox and Steve Simmons; "The Leafs and Hockey Night In Canada" with Ron MacLean, Don Cherry and Elliotte Friedman; "Hockey History in Toronto" with Brian McFarlane, William Houston, Frank Orr, John Iaboni, authors Mike Leonetti and Kevin Shea.
*Guided tours of the Air Canada Centre, including the Leafs’ dressing room; press box and media facilities; directors’ lounge and private luxury suites.
*A gala closing dinner with players and management on the floor of the arena.
If you have disposable income; if you and/or your children are insatiable Leaf followers looking for a unique, up-close experience with the team, would you pay “Summit prices” for the privilege of attending such an event? As you can see with the abovementioned, an enterprise like this would require the cooperation of the biggest hockey names in our city, and the organizing skills of numerous behind-the-scenes people. To make it an exceptional, distinctive affair, it would be open to a finite number of guests, and the cost would be prohibitive… along the lines of the sports fantasy camps that came into vogue the past decade. But, I sense that MLSE would have no difficulty attracting 1,500 avid followers of the Blue & White – at $500 a pop – to mingle with Toronto’s hockey elite. And, how many other teams in the NHL could gross $750,000, plus sponsorship revenue, so easily?
“The Chicago Blackhawks have held this type of thing for a few years now,” said Burke, when I asked him about the possibility of a Leafs-centric gathering. “Yeah, it would probably work for us.”
Indeed, the defending Stanley Cup champions hosted the third annual “Blackhawks Convention” at the Chicago Hilton on the weekend of July 30, 31 and Aug. 1. It featured participation by current and former ‘Hawk players; autograph and photo sessions; Q&A panels, exhibits, and interactive games. Blackhawk legends and ambassadors Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and Denis Savard took part in the festivities along with current players Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith. Once again, it sold out.
The club will follow with the third annual “Blackhawks Training Camp Festival” on Sep. 18 at the United Center. ‘Hawk fans will invade the enormous rink to watch a team practice with coach Joel Quennville wearing a microphone. Outside the arena (hopefully during the day), there will be a 5-kilometer walk/run and a 10-kilometer in-line skate called “The Mad Dash to Madison”, as well as a 3-on-3 street-hockey tournament.
Isn’t it long overdue for the Maple Leafs to hold a similar convention at the ACC? Don’t be surprised if the wheels are put into motion very soon.
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