{"id":16292,"date":"2015-02-13T12:37:48","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T17:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/02\/hockey-part-of-dna-of-glens-falls-has-strong-far-reaching-economic-benefits.html"},"modified":"2015-02-13T12:37:48","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T17:37:48","slug":"hockey-part-of-dna-of-glens-falls-has-strong-far-reaching-economic-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/02\/hockey-part-of-dna-of-glens-falls-has-strong-far-reaching-economic-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey, ‘Part Of DNA’ Of Glens Falls, Has Strong, Far-Reaching, Economic Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"hockey\n<\/div>\n
Fans enjoy a recent hockey game at the Glens Falls Civic Center.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY BARBARA PINCKNEY<\/p>\n

One Saturday night in mid-January, Dan
\nBurke and his wife decided to have dinner
\nin downtown Glens Falls before heading over
\nto the civic center to watch the Adirondack
\nFlames play hockey.<\/p>\n

“We were running late, and we went into
\nfour restaurants before we could find a seat,”
\nsaid Burke, president of the Adirondack
\nCivic Center Coalition, which operates the
\narena.<\/p>\n

Packed restaurants on game nights are
\njust one example of the way in which hockey
\nbenefits the Glens Falls region. Retailers,
\nhotels, rental properties, charitable organizations
\nand other entities also are affected.
\nOne study, conducted a few years ago, put
\nthe financial impact of hockey at about $6
\nmillion a year.
\n“I would say it is probably an $8 [million]
\nto $10 million economic factor now,” said
\nEd Bartholomew, president of the Warren
\nCounty Economic Development Corp.
\n“Maybe higher.”<\/p>\n

But the impact of hockey is not just
\nfinancial. Glens Falls has been a “hockey
\ntown” for more than three decades, since the
\nAdirondack Red Wings were formed in the
\n1979. Having a professional team is a source
\nof civic pride, and adds to the quality of life.
\n“It is part of the DNA of the city,” said
\nBrian Petrovek, president of the Adirondack
\nFlames.<\/p>\n

In fact, Glens Falls is such a hockey town
\nthat observers say it may not matter if the
\nresident team is the Flames, of the AHL,
\nor the new ECHL team, the Adirondack
\nThunder<\/a>, that will take over next season,
\nafter the Flames move to Stockton, Calif.<\/p>\n

The community is still likely to support the
\nnew team, and the new team–which also
\nwill be owned by the Calgary Flames–will support the community.
\n“This town for the past seven years has
\nhad a team in here that said they were
\nleaving,” Burke said. “The Phantoms were
\nleaving for six years and when the Flames
\ncame in they said they were leaving. And
\npeople showed up. They came out to support
\nit. Ticket sales were good. We were in the
\nmiddle of the pack in the league in terms of
\naverage attendance.”<\/p>\n

Petrovek said an average of 2,700 people
\nattend each Flames home game at the civic
\ncenter. As there are 38 home games in a season,
\nthat means more than 100,000 tickets
\nsold, as well as concessions and souvenirs
\nthat add to the local tax base. There will be
\n36 home games with the new ECHL team.<\/p>\n

The new team will have ample time to
\nbuild a fan base, because Calgary has signed
\na three-year contract with no opt-outs, as anchor tenant at the civic center. It has the
\noption of staying another two years.
\n“And that is really positive,” Bartholomew
\nsaid. “It provides great stability.”<\/p>\n

In many ways, a professional hockey team
\nis a small business. Petrovek said the Flames
\nhave an annual operating budget of about $3
\nmillion. The team is active for about nine
\nmonths of the year, and during that time has
\n22 players, plus about 8 coaches and other
\nsupport staff, in residence.<\/p>\n

“So the hockey product itself is around
\n30 individuals who are making a pretty good
\nwage,” Petrovek said. “You get young, successful
\nindividuals with some affluence who
\nare adding to the economy. They are renting
\napartments, they are spending money in
\nrestaurants, they are going shopping.”<\/p>\n

On game nights, an additional 40 to 50
\npeople are employed in various capacities,
\nsuch as concession sales and security, in
\nthe civic center.
\n“You roll all that up, it has a pretty good
\neconomic formula attached to it,” Petrovek
\nsaid.<\/p>\n

But as Burke’s effort to find a seat in a
\ndowntown restaurant shows, a hockey team’s
\nimpact goes beyond that of a small business
\nmaking widgets. The nearly 3,000 people
\nwho come downtown on those 38 nights often
\nwant dinner before the game, and perhaps a
\nbeer with friends after the game. That traffic
\nis vital to the city’s establishments.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know, but my guess is that you
\nmight see a restaurant or two go out of
\nbusiness without those hockey nights there
\nto bring people to downtown,” Burke said.
\nHe said this was one of the arguments the
\ncoalition used in its proposal to buy the civic
\ncenter and keep it a sports and entertainment
\nvenue.<\/p>\n

These ripples are seen even outside downtown
\nGlens Falls.
\n“I was in a restaurant up in Queensbury
\nand they say they can tell when there’s hockey nights because they get a wave of
\npeople coming in just before or on the way
\nhome,” Burke said. “And I’ve seen it. You are
\nsitting there and you see a table of eight or
\n10 people, and you figure if that is happening
\nin four or five restaurants that’s pretty good.
\nIt all adds up.”<\/p>\n

Area hotels also benefit, as visiting
\nteams and their fans need a place to stay.
\nBartholomew said most visiting teams stay
\ndowntown, spending up to two nights per
\nvisit at the Queensbury Hotel.<\/p>\n

Like most businesses, professional hockey
\nteams also do their part for the local nonprofit
\ncommunity. Petrovek said philanthropy
\nis a big part of the culture of the Calgary
\norganization, and required of both players
\nand staff. The team has focused most of its
\nfundraising efforts on three area organizations–
\nGlens Falls Hospital, including its
\nAmanda’s House residence for the patients’
\nfamilies; the Double H Ranch; and the Tri-
\nCounty United Way.<\/p>\n

“We are in the midst of a campaign to
\nraise money for Amanda’s House,” Petrovek
\nsaid. “[We are also] just about to launch a
\nschool assembly program with Glens Falls
\nHospital to address elementary and middle
\nschool students with positive lifestyle messaging–
\ndiet, exercise, etc.–as part of the
\nhospital’s Good Moves program.”<\/p>\n

Bartholomew, who was mayor when the
\nRed Wings began playing here, said having
\nprofessional hockey in town has also gotten
\nkids moving in another way.
\n“There was very little youth hockey here
\nin 1978, and very little high school hockey
\nin the area,” he said. “Since then our hockey
\nprograms have basically quadrupled in
\nterms of membership and interest. There
\nare a number of high schools with hockey
\nand the youth hockey programs for boys and
\ngirls have expanded tremendously. So that is
\nanother positive offshoot of having hockey
\nin our community.”<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Adirondack Flames<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fans enjoy a recent hockey game at the Glens Falls Civic Center. 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