Desert Hawks. Red Hawks. Nighthawks. Any way you cut it, the NHL expansion team in Las Vegas is going to have a pretty cool name.
This summer, the NHL announced its first expansion in 17 years. Having already received 14,000 deposits for season tickets, the something-hawks look like a promising team, at least in the business sense. T-Mobile Arena, less than a 10-minute drive from the famous Las Vegas strip, will be the team’s home.
Like any pro sport, at an NHL game, advertisements are everywhere as soon as you step into the arena. As someone who attends a decent amount of Rangers games, I can tell you all the subtle and not-so-subtle advertising that goes on during a game.
As you enter the arena, you and every other person are handed a rally towel or other merchandise with a different logo every time (Delta airways, enterprise rent-a-car, party city). On the way up the escalator, you pass a Lexus covered in the Rangers logo. At the beginning of every period, the lights dim and Chase projects their logo on the ice. During the game, Coca-Cola products can be purchased in red cups bearing the company’s signature script. Ads from McDonalds to Geico cover the boards that surround the ice. Bud Light and Kia logos are painted on the ice and remain there for the entirety of the season. It goes on.
The point is that a single hockey team exposes thousands of people a night to a lot of brands. With an average of around 3 games per week, they are making impressions on a massive amount of people. Most of the promoted brands don’t even have the slightest connection to hockey; the door is open to any type of sponsor.
Besides the T-Mobile’s sponsorship of the arena, the Las Vegas team currently has no sponsors. The NHL expansion provides a huge opportunity for potential sponsors, particularly local Las Vegas brands. The Las Vegas team has a promising future and will profit off of the tourist traffic of the area, especially if they aren't the only major league team in the area. Now is the time for any brand that in interested in buying into the hockey market.