Holla At Hockey
Sports Clubs Suit Up For Game-Winning Promos 

The NHL has hit the ice, and sports bars around the nation are gearing up for another season of soaring profits from hockey fanatics. While the pucks are flying, revenue is rolling in at the coolest places to catch the game. This year, operators have the upper hand on assured ways to keep spectators in one place.  

If You Win It, They Will Come
    In North Carolina’s triangle cities, there’s still buzz among Hurricane devotees over the team’s victorious Stanley Cup win which carries them headstrong into the 2006-2007 season. Amidst the craze to prepare for another promising triumph, the Carolina Ale House is ushering in anxious crowds and devising ways to make hockey night as intense as the game itself.
    Jonathan Savage, general manager at Carolina Ale House’s location in Cary, is as eager as his customers about another potential sweep by the Hurricanes. In an effort to keep ‘Canes fans returning to watch the game on one of the club’s myriad televisions, Savage and his team put their collective heads together and are teeming with inventive ways to boost revenue and attendance.
    When the sports bar isn’t pairing up with Red Bull, Budweiser and other beverage sponsors for contests and giveaways, Savage encourages his bartenders to put their creative juices to work.
    “We try to direct our drink specials around what’s going on with the hockey season,” he says. The Ale House often utilizes brews, such as Labatt’s, that are tied to the sport, but the staff also uses various spirits to concoct unusual, hockey-related mixes.
    “We make up shots. We made up a Power Play shot last year, which was almost like a Royal Flush –– we just switched the liquors around a little bit. We make up different things like the Slap Shot. One night we made a Flyer Shot based on the Philadelphia Flyers,” Savage says. “We just go with whoever (the Hurricanes) are playing.”
    The bar also hosts three or four tent events in early spring as the weather warms up and the finals approach. These outside gatherings are a small part of The Ale House’s own Cool Bars promotion that gives avid fans the chance to show their support during away games and playoffs. It’s also a golden opportunity for those present to win prizes, participate in contests and even meet the team.

Keeping It Cool
    The Ale House sets up outside bars beneath a behemoth 40-foot by 40-foot tent and offers a special menu for the occasion. A large projector gives patrons the option of viewing games on a 12-foot screen.
    Following their reign last year, Carolina’s Hurricanes visited the Ale House to share their victory with loyal supporters. “Two nights after they won, the entire team was here with the Stanley Cup, drinking and hanging out with the owner,” Savage says.

An Eye On The Prize
    “Usually, a local radio station comes out and does a live broadcast. (The Hurricanes) have a pretty loyal fan club,” says General Manager John Galanos at Carolina Ale House’s Brier Creek venue. Cool Bars alternates between the five Ale House locations in the area. Last season was the first year for the promotion and, according to Galanos, it received an “excellent response” from bar goers.
    “Usually, one of the beer purveyors will team up and do a promo for the day, with a feature of that beer,” Galanos says.
    “We have definitely seen a tremendous increase in volume and sales due to the Hurricanes playing,” Savage says.                  NCB