Tuesday 21 February 2012

Hurricanes Business Manager Jim Bradley Resigns

The Lethbridge Hurricanes announced today that Jim Bradley will be stepping down as Business Manager. Bradley’s contract was to end May 2012, both parties agreed that an early release date was mutually beneficial. Bradley will remain on through March 10th, 2012 - the last regular season home game.

President of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Don Clark said “We thank Jim for his time and commitment to the organization, we wish him well in his pursuit of other opportunities. The Board has already initiated the executive search process. We are committed to finding the candidate that can, through organizational optimization, help establish sustainable revenue streams, manage expenses, work with stakeholder groups and strengthen the Hurricanes brand.”

Bradley said “I thank the Board of Directors for the opportunity to work with the Hurricanes organization. I am very proud to have worked with this hockey club, the business team, hockey operations and numerous, but critical stakeholder groups in the community. We can all take pride in the body of work over the last two seasons. From a marketing perspective, over a short period we initiated wonderful events, an enhanced game night experience and strong communication disciplines. We worked hard to bring together authentic events to engage local fans, the community and youth. This has been a rewarding process for my family and I, the hockey club is poised for an amazing future. I will take this opportunity to complete my Masters dissertation and discover the next career opportunity".

(From Esther Madziya, Hurricanes Media Relations)

Thanks,
Pat

15 comments:

  1. Good for Jim (to pursue his Masters degree). I was immediately impressed by Jim's involvement and dedication to the club since the moment he stationed himself at the entrance of the Nicholas Sheran Arena greeting fans at a Hurricanes exhibition game.

    Unfortunate that the team's performance did not reflect Jim's efforts during his time with them.

    I hope the organization learned a little something from Jim about the importance of visibility and hospitality from Jim. - Richie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good for you Jim, and good luck with whatever the future holds. Curious to know how much the board will actually let the business man do as far as promo's. A few ideas for the next in line. Make it an affordable family outing $ 50.00 for 2 adult and 2 kids plus a couple of sodas. Post secondary nights. We keep hearing about the team losing money so lets find a way to fill the enmax and make it feel like a playoff atmosphere. AJ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good luck Jim and great job.

    I think season ticket exchange should be valid for all games ($5per ticket exchange). Get the building full, give the season tickets more value, and sell more concessions 50/50's etc.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sell more concessions???? That only benefits the Enmax Centre. Contrary to public perception the Lethbridge Hurricanes do not......do not get one red cent from the concessions.

    Despite all the gimicks...there is only one thing that will put butts in the seats.....a winning team!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Some don't have unlimited income. Cost is a huge deal. I am sure that if season tickets were $200.00 per seat it would sell out regardless of our standings. I guess if the Enmax benefits from concession sales good on them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anon 2:58

    $200 per seat might be a bit cheap but I certainly think they would do much better if they considered keeping the price where it was as opposed to raising the overall prices for anyone who doesn't renew before the end of the season. Everyone else will be paying substantially more over the "old" pricing prior to the 25% off deal. That was Mr. Bradley's last big decision. After three years of no playoffs it is pretty surprising that he thinks he can actually charge more than when the team was winning. With him leaving, maybe the board needs to reconsider this strategy. They need to sell the season tickets cheaper and sell more of them.

    -cc

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just purchased my senior season ticket and after all the taxes, fees etc, it works out to $8.94 per game. Damn cheap entertainment cost.
    No matter what they charge,I still think there is a core of 1800 fans who would buy season tickets no matter the price, just because they like junior hockey and to support the Hurricanes. I do think the walk up prices $20 per adult is high.

    Bradley certainly did his best to put out a good image of the club, but in the end....it comes down to dollars and cents. The club did not meet it sales targets in a lot of areas.

    Winning sells......!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Can anyone tell me what the gross expenses are for the team in one year. AJ

    ReplyDelete
  9. The gross expenses for this team are simple !! Its kind of like marketing 101 ... Expenses - costs = we are broke !!! Right now they are spending much more than they are bringing in !!! How do you remedy that ?? Oh thats right increase season ticket prices cause that always brings more supporters ! Yet again next year dosent mean we automatically make the playoffs !! All this team gives for answers is smoke and mirrors !! Looks like Mr Bradely was sick of trying to be David Copperfield and sees the writing on the wall , if he dosent sell a bunch of new seasons tickets in the next few weeks his paycheck wont cash at the end of March !!
    Even the best magician in the world couldnt put people in the seats of the enmax centre !!!
    Lower the prices , get more people coming to the rink , CREATE a want for tickets , look at what Medicine Hat has done , now go try to find a walk up ticket there !!

    Time for private ownership , the way of doing business 25 years ago dosent cut it in todays junior hockey , the board is clueless and Jim is a fallguy for there mismanagment !!

    ReplyDelete
  10. From what I'm reading from earlier posts, it sounds like people believe Mr. Bradley's leaving was initiated by the Board of Directors. There is nothing in the press release that indicates that this is true although, I understand why people would be led to that conclusion. I fail to see why the Board would fire Mr. Bradley based on the team's won/loss record? He can only control the off-ice situations. Do we know that Mr. Bradley set the price of the season's walk-up tickets?? Or, is that just people spreading their own theories????

    Speaking to Mr. Bradley's resignation, unlike the press release indicates, I fail to understand how his resignation at this stage of his contract and hockey season is beneficial to the Hurricanes Hockey Club??? It's certainly beneficial to him so he can get on with his life, but certainly not for the hockey club.

    I'd appreciate some sort of follow-up press release from the Board of Directors with a little more detail than what I've read. Whether even the shareholders will get further explanation is up for question let alone the general public.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Suggestion....why not email the board at the board email address on the Hurricane's web page. I know they will answer your email, as they have answered mine in the past.

    As for the Medicine Hat example....it just proves my thoughts all along. When Medicine Hat was losing season after season, they could not put butts in the seats. So they dropped their season ticket prices to a very low rate........team started to WIN.....WIN....place is packed.
    Simple formula.....lose and attendance drops.....win and attendance rises. But, I also belive this city is a tougher sell than in others.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Our business manager is not at fault here.Private ownership and a Coach\GM with a game plan for our young players and draft picks other than playing 4-5 minutes on the forth line. Did Russ Maxwell play 4th line all season last year. NO. He played him with his brother and he gained quality experience Rich's plan this yearseems to be to take all of the spirit out of these young players...they should be playing on a team that is less than 500 hockey. Did the Edmonton Oilers sit Eberle Hall ect on the 4th line and let them rot...NO they mixed them in with vets to learn from. Maccoy is the only young player that they are developing and he seems to get too much ice. This whole thing is a mess!! i feel sorry for these young players that they have been drafted to such an old school organization!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anon 4:53: A pet peeve of mine is people who love to criticize without attaching their name to it! If you can't "man up" and put your name to it, quit wasting this space cause it's cowardly.

    As for your comments.....Russell Maxwell has been less than impressive whether he's been on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or now the 4th line. What does a coach do, continue to reward the player for poor play?? No, not a chance.

    Stop using the Oilers as an example. The Oilers had NO CHOICE but to play their young guys. They didn't have anyone else!!

    There's nothing worse than an uninformed opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anon 1:29pm... I believe it's around $2 to $2.5 million.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Why do u say the Oilers had no choice??? There us always a choice that what coaches and GMs do. They chose to play their rookies despite the fact they will lose the majority of their games. They feel that these player will develop and IN TIME will gain confidence do be the players they drafted as high pick...it seems to be working It is all about choices otherwise a monkey could run a hockey team. Uninformed eh! Still anonymous thats the way I like it haha

    ReplyDelete