Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 15, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 19 Produced by in partnership with '16 '16 Did you miss the 2016 Economic Forecast Forum? Watch the event video telecast on Charter TV3 from February 27 - March 25! • Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays @ 7:00PM • Saturdays @ 2:00PM • Sundays @ 8:00PM Media Partner SPEAKERS Peter Howe Business Editor, NECN Karin Kimbrough Bank of America Merrill Lynch Frederick H. Eppinger The Hanover Insurance Group David Siegel Stop & Shop Joseph P. DeManche Ameresco MODERATOR CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS Worcester Business Journal's MANUFACTURING SUMMIT & Excellence Awards MANUFACTURING SUMMIT& Worcester Business Journal's Excellence Awards MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS WE WILL BE RECOGNIZING MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: For questions, contact Brad Kane at bkane@wbjournal.com This spring the Worcester Business Journal will be recognizing some of the area's top manufacturing firms with our first ever Central Mass "Manufacturing Excellence Awards". Winners will be profiled in the special section on Manufacturing in our March 28 edition, and we'll hold the awards and recognition ceremony after a keynote address and panel discussion on manufacturing in mid April. NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 26, 2016 n GENERAL EXCELLENCE – C ompanies that are the best of the best. • Under 25 employees • 25 -99 employees • Over 100 employees n EMERGING MANUFACTURER n PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN n WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTIVITY n SUSTAINABILITY/GREEN PRACTICES n COLLABORATION IN MANUFACTURING Visit www.wbjournal.com/manufacturing for full details and nomination form. Supporting Sponsor The ECHL board of governors on Feb. 5 unanimously approved Rucker's proposal to establish the ECHL's 29th team in Worcester. The name of the team – which will succeed the now- departed Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League – will be announced April 3. Two days after announcing the team, more than 130 hockey club memberships were sold. According to an agreement between the hockey club and the City of Worcester, the city will pay for some upgrades to the DCU Center to get the arena ready to host the new team, including $1.2 million to buy and install a new state-of-the-art digital score- board. The city will give $10,000 for arena painting upgrades and $20,000 for renovations for the team's front offices. Spectators, employees and staff will pay $6 to park at the Major Taylor Parking Garage for the first two sea- sons of play, and the city may be able to increase that rate by no more than $1 a year after that. Although professional sports fran- chises can be more about passion than dollars and cents for their owners, sup- port from fans and corporations are important to the economic viability – and, ultimately, the staying power – of the team. The revenue doesn't have to always cover all team expenses – NBA Commissioner Adam Silver famously stated most basketball teams lose money year after year – but for sole owners like Rucker, the less of a money-losing prop- osition the team is thanks to fan and corporate support, the more likely he is to stay instead of move to a bigger mar- ket like the Sharks did last year. Rucker would not disclose how much he has spent bringing his ECHL team to Worcester, but establishing a new ECHL team costs about $2 million before play even begins, a figure that includes the $750,000 expansion fee Rucker had to pay to the league, ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna said. Rucker also wouldn't disclose the team's annual operating budget – so it is difficult to know how much in corpo- rate and ticket support he needs beyond his ECHL obligations – but the team's president and general manager, Toby O'Brien, did say its biggest expenses would be staffing, team operational costs like player salaries and travel, and paying rent to the DCU Center. The club will cover team members' housing costs, including rent and utilities. As much as 50 percent of the team's revenues will come from ticket sales, which is the case with most ECHL teams, O'Brien said. The Sharks sold about 4,000 tickets per game, which is near the average for an ECHL team. "A minor league sports team can repre- sent a city. It can serve as an ambassador, it can improve quality of life for residents, it can drive a real good identity for the city. All of those things help the business climate, help attract employees, and improve the overall quality of life in a city like Worcester. That's kind of what our job is to do," O'Brien said. One advantage that Rucker has over the Sharks is that the ECHL will allow him to market his team east of I-495. From the ECHL's perspective, Worcester is considered a mid-range market – smaller than Orlando but larg- er than Glen Falls, N.Y. Generally, the league does well in markets that reach 400,000-800,000 people, McKenna said. "Worcester falls right into that, and for us, that's a very workable number," he said. DCU lease Before it approved the hockey team's lease in December, the Civic Center Commission called the agreement between Rucker and the city much more aggressive than the one with the Sharks. The agreement is for five years with a one-time option to renew, although both sides can opt out at various points. Unlike the Sharks and Ice Cats, the team has an agreement to be a part of all of DCU Center advertising – not just the hockey-related marketing. In May, the hockey team will take over 100 per- cent of hockey-related advertising and 25 percent of non-hockey advertising. For the 12,239-seat DCU Center, a hockey team means more consistency in hours for workers. On game nights, about 110 employees are needed, said General Manager Sandy Dunn. Dunn doesn't anticipate hiring any new employees, but the employees she has now will have more consistent hours. n New Worcester hockey team needs $350K from corporations >> Continued from Page 1 Toby O'Brien (left), Worcester Pro Hockey president and general manager, and Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the new team will boost city industries. P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I

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