The Edmonton Oilers had a season Ticket Holder meet & greet with the players this past Sunday at Rexall Place. My wife & I attended so we could see what is up with the team moving forward and to get a few photos with some of our favorite players.
I was shocked at the number of ticket holders that showed up. This town really supports their team! If I had to guess at the attendance numbers...I would say there was probably 5000-6000 people there. Most of them stayed for the Hot-stove portion of the event and open practice afterwards.
Some media types have implied that this is "an olive branch" by the team to garner renewal for season seats. I can't say that it is or isn't, but what I will say, is that this team didn't have to treat 5000-6000 people to free food, photos with the players and an inside look into what the plan is for the proposed new Arena. Anyone that is trying to spin this into something selfish or political is just looking to sell a paper in my mind. I did speak to someone at the event that is directly involved in managing season seats and they told me that they are doing better than projected with renewals at this point.
The Arena Project and Upcoming Interview...
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| Patrick Laforge, President, COO, & |
Governor for The Edmonton Oilers
I saw Patrick Laforge on Sunday after the Hot-stove and mentioned to him that I would like to do a piece for this blog on the Arena project and where it's at. He graciously accepted, I interview him on Thursday Afternoon and I will have the interview posted on this site a day or two later.
I am not from Edmonton originally, and one of the things that I dis-like about this city is the lack of a vibrant down-town. I have tried to support this project in what small way I can by posting the surveys here on my site, I have written City Council to let them know that I will not vote for a Councilor that does not support this project too. I think this is going to be a turning point for this city.
I come from other larger Canadian cities where Down-town is the place to be. When in Toronto & Vancouver you go down-town to enjoy the Arts, Entertainment districts and not into the suburbs. With Edmonton having a place to go and enjoy life Down-town, not only will all the other business that exist there already benefit, but it will also become a destination for travelers to come and see how we have made this city better.
I will ask Patrick some questions that I feel are important from three perspectives.
1) As a season seat holder of the Edmonton Oilers.
2) As a citizen of Edmonton that may not care about hockey.
3) As a Tax Payer.
if any of you have a question you would like to ask Mr. Laforge, please comment here and I will do my best to get you an answer.
GO Oilers GO!
Really looking forward to that interview! I'm interested to see how much of the progress that Pat leaks to you. Nice job getting the interview.
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