By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It’s been a year of transition for Bill Foley’s hybrid Las Vegas sports and West Coast wine/hospitality business operations.
Hockey is famous for its Canadian beers, but Foley has forged his own unique convergence of hockey and wines at his two wine bars along the main concourse at T-Mobile Arena and even at a wine bar at the new Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson.
And this past year, the the Foley Entertainment Group, as it’s called, had broadened its scope with purchases of a prominent hotel in Santa Barbara, California, and a vineyard inn property in Oregon, while seeing its Henderson Silver Knights minor league hockey team and Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League start play at the new arena in Henderson’s Green Valley Ranch area.
Foley has blended sports with wine by promoting his Foley Food & Wine Society at T-Mobile Arena and during VGK radio broadcasts, with his “Inner Circle” members making two trips to see Foley’s Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara and three Foley central California coast wineries, said Eric Tosi, the Foley Entertainment Group chief marketing officer.
The 121-room resort near the Pacific Ocean also includes a new wine-tasting room.
Foley also purchased the Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, which is located in Dundee, Oregon in the Willamette Valley wine region on March 1.
The vineyards purchase came around the same time the new 6,000-seat arena in Henderson was opening. The city of Henderson owns the $84 million venue, with Foley paying $42 million toward the arena’s construction.
Less than a month ago on March 18, the Knight Hawks football team made its debut at the arena.
Meanwhile, Foley’s Henderson Silver Knights moved from the Orleans Arena on Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas to the medieval-themed arena in Henderson for their first game in the new venue April 2.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Tosi about the idea of creating a “loyalty program” card for fans of all three teams — the Golden Knights, Silver Knights and Knight Hawks. Tosi said, “that’s premature,” but acknowledged the Foley group is exploring the concept of a loyalty-style card for fans of all three teams.
As for the Vegas Golden Knights, which have cruised into the playoffs their first four seasons in the NHL, it’s been a very choppy season dominated by a slew of injuries, a trade of a player that was rejected by the league and inconsistent play. There have been impressive wins over teams like the Rangers, Predators, Panthers and Flames, while disappointing lackluster losses to teams like Vancouver.
With only three home dates left on the VGK schedule, the Golden Knights have averaged 18,090 fans a game at T-Mobile Arena after 38 dates — good for sixth in the NHL. The Knights are also filling the arena at 104.2 percent of capacity (17,367) — tops in the league.
The Knights are generating very respectable ticket revenues because their average ticket price of $124.09 is the fourth highest in the 32-team NHL. That’s based on data by Team Marketing Report, which tracks the costs of attending major league sports games.
The Knights are scraping for every point to qualify for the playoffs, but Vegas Saturday suffered a big setback in Edmonton where the Oilers blanked the Golden Knights, 4-0. The Knights finished their three-game road swing through Canada with a tie against Vancouver, a win over division-leading Calgary and a loss to the second place Oilers.
As of today, the VGK do not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. LVSportsBiz.com will be at T-Mobile Arena Monday for the VGK’s next game against the New Jersey Devils. The Golden Knights have a half-dozen games left in the season, three games in Las Vegas and three games on the road in Dallas, Chicago and St. Louis.
PSA