Riding Las Vegas’ Hockey Wave, UNLV Hockey Club Hunts For Benefactors To Jump To Varsity One Day
By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
They have forged a core of intense followers who fill up City National Arena for games and they’re also riding the big hockey wave caused by the Vegas Golden Knights’ miracle inaugural year tsunami in the Las Vegas market.
The UNLV Rebel Hockey Club has dreams of becoming a UNLV varsity sport one day. But for now, the goal is to keep growing, while trying to expand the list of donors and financial benefactors that would help generate the $15 million to $20 million needed to seed a college Division 1 varsity hockey program.
“Even though we’re considered a club sport, we’ve done a good job at bringing people in,” said the UNLV hockey club’s general manager, Zee Khan, 37, a former Arizona State hockey player and ex-hotel management staffer who has been with UNLV hockey since 2014.
The economics can be daunting. The UNLV hockey club is a self-funded operation with a $500,000 annual budget, Khan said.
The club carries 35 players and it costs $15,000 per player to cover all the costs, which include the biggest expenses — travel and ice time at City National Arena, the Golden Knights training center in Summerlin, he said.
Do the math — 35 players at $15,000 per means a $525,000 annual budget. Each player chips in $3,000 to play.
UNLV plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, competing against other non-varsity college hockey teams around the country. Travel costs build up because the UNLV hockey team is playing games against teams in Arizona, Colorado, North Dakota, Chicago and New York. Plus, there are postseason games to get to.
The Rebel hockey players have 16 home games, typically selling out 800 tickets at $15 a head and also a new $40 ticket for 90 reserved seats at City National Arena.
Season tickets are $200 for regular seats and $500 for reserved seats, and that $500 reserved seating deal includes a UNLV hockey jersey, Khan said. The hockey club plays Colorado Sept. 14 and 15 at City National Arena. For more schedule info, check out the team’s website.
The Engelstad Foundation is a pivotal contributor for the UNLV hockey club. Also, Derek Stevens, owner of The D hotel-casino and a major sports sponsor in Las Vegas, has helped out the hockey team for travel costs in the past.
The team even has its own medical staff, which includes a dentist, oral surgeon, physical trainer, strength/conditioning staffer and physical therapist. And UNLV hockey players work out at City Athletic Club, Khan said.
Not only does the hockey program need a $20 million kick start, Title IX means a new women’s varsity sport at UNLV would have to be paired with the new men’s sport of hockey, Khan said. The women’s sport would likely be lacrosse, he noted.
The hockey club’s foundation board includes Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz, who grew up in Oklahoma loving hockey and supports youth hockey to collegiate hockey in hopes of creating a generational base of puck fans in Las Vegas.
“With the Golden Knights, they have created passion for the sport. Hopefully, people who have donated to other sports want to see the growth of UNLV hockey,” Khan said.
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Dana Lane, who broadcasts UNLV hockey games, figured it would take five to ten years to realize Division 1 varsity status. He said it’s important for UNLV’s football team — especially in 2020 when the football team moves into the new Raiders stadium — to “get on its feet so that it will a catalyst” for other UNLV sports such as hockey.
Lane also said the games have become so popular at City National Arena that it’s a good idea to find a bigger ice venue, such as Orleans Arena that once hosted the Las Vegas Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League.
“I’ve seen this thing grow in the past three years,” Lane said. “The interest is there.”
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