For 32 years, the Prince George Spruce Kings have leaned on the success of their Show Home Lottery to help drive revenues to the team and Lu Verticchio, the team's newly-hired business and marketing manager, has no plans to disrupt that tradition.
Verticchio has long been a fan of the community-owned team and knows the importance of having the team's financial house in order to further their efforts to bring home a B.C. Hockey League championship. But to really make the Spruce Kings thrive as a business, Verticchio says its crucial they find other ways to make money.
"They've made a real contribution to this community and I'm looking forward to diversifying and growing their revenue base," said Verticchio, who starts his new job on Thursday.
"I think in the last few years their expenses have been outrunning revenues. They're too dependent on the show home, which covers a large majority of their operating costs [team expenses alone range between $500,000 and $600,000]. It's a wonderful source of revenue but you don't want to to be too dependent on any one thing.
"The costs have really gone up. Those $40 sticks a few years ago are $200 now and those $300 skates are $800. We really need to rely on the fans and the corporate community to continue to support the team."
The Spruce Kings have shown marked improvement with their on-ice product the last three seasons under coach Dave Dupas and general manager Mike Hawes. The Spruce Kings board is confident in Verticchio's ability to market the team, fill seats in the arena and raise the Spruce Kings' profile to a new level.
"Being able to add a person like Lu to our organization as the business and marketing manager will help us to continue to build and maintain strong relationships with the corporate community in the North," said Spruce Kings president Tom Bohmer.
"Lu's connections and existing relationship throughout the city will be of huge value to us. We rely heavily on the support of the community to help us provide an entertaining and exciting brand of hockey that the people of Prince George deserve and can be proud of."
Verticchio, a 60-year-old native of Trail, spent 24 years in the Prince George Citizen's advertising department, including 16 years as advertising manager. He said he wants to continue to build ties between the Spruce Kings and the WHL Cougars and work together with them as much as possible to generate more interest in hockey and convince more fans to leave the comforts of home to attend hockey games.
"With new ownership on the horizon for the Cougars, and with the Spruce Kings having a lot of returning players next year, there's going to be some excitement generated in this community and maybe we can get people to turn off their TVs and head down to the Coliseum or CN Centre," Verticchio said.
"I think it's important that we work together to re-ignite the hockey passion of Prince George and if we're successful in doing it we'll both be net benefactors. There's enough fans and enough corporate support to have both teams in this town."
