April 15, 2025 • 26 mins
In the second hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain chat with Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke about changes for fans at Climate Pledge Arena, the timeline for the NBA, and the team on the ice, then the guys react to what Tod said about the return of the Sonics.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
For some big cracking news today.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
As a matter of fact, it's got nothing to do well,
it's got something to do with a lot to do
with what's happening off the ice as well. Crack and
we'll wrap up the season tonight against the La Kings
at Climent Pledge Arena. And joining us right now on
the radio show The Tzar A cracking boss Gran Todd
Liwiki joining us on the program.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
How are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Well, I'm doing good. I haven't been called a tzar today,
so that's the first for this day.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know what, if you would like to have me
refer to you as the Tzar from now on, I
will do that all right from here until the end
of time, you are on the Tzar. All right, whatever
whatever you want, baby, I got you covered. Well, thank you.
Let's uh, let's first of all, talk about what you
guys announced today. I'm just gonna give you the floor, Todd,
for as long as you need it. Instead of having me,
(00:49):
you know, read off the list of things that you announced.
Why don't you tell the fans, tell people tuning in
what you guys announce this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Well, we had a event where we invited some of
our season taking members over to the Cracking Community ice Plex.
We had a great crowd there and we started by
certainly talking about the journey thus far, because when you
talk about today, and one of the things we did
today is gathered people together and we did review the
(01:20):
amazing journey that got us this point in time. And
I'm not sure if I if you heard me sort
of get into that, but I couldn't be more proud
of what we've done.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
And you know, building an arena that was privately financed,
building a world class training center. You know, we get
close to a million people a year coming to CACI.
We're completely full. There was a debate at the ownership
group whether or not we should we should just build
onto some other facility or did we have too many
sheets eyes? And uh, it was amazing the team brand man.
(01:52):
We built that in the middle of COVID and it
is one of the best brands. I love it. I
think it'll stand the test of time. The community work
we've done, you know, every game honoring a community hero.
And then the work we're doing on a memorial stadium
the American Hockey League set up. Dick was down there
last week and so there's a lot we've done, but
there's other things that are still left to be done.
(02:14):
And we can talk about the hockey team in a minute,
but you know, we had one of the best organizations
I've ever worked with, Victor de Bonus, Bob Lampman, a
whole team of people who have helped us sort of say, hey,
how do we get this to a higher level? And
one are the things we saw when we put broadcasts
(02:35):
on over the air, because that was really the first
big move in this whole idea of how are we
going to build big, deeper and more faandom. We put
those games on the air. People loved it, We produced it,
we told our story in a compelling way, our talent. Hey,
and I'll humbly submit that our broadcast might be as
(02:56):
good as there is in the NHL. For in fact,
ESPN's in the building, and I isn't as good as ESPN.
I don't know, but it's pretty dog gone good. And
they've done a great job of telling a story but
also showing how unbelievably great home games can be. And
people become fans, but real fandom doesn't happen until somebody
actually comes to the building and sees it and feels it.
(03:18):
And so we then researched and we talked to those
fans who who want to be fans, but their perception
is that there's not tickets available they were always sold out,
and additionally, that there's a price point they can't afford.
And at the same time, we asked ourselves questions, you know,
(03:38):
relative to our season ticket members, and you know, if
you're going to create price points for new fans, you
better take care of the people that brought you to
the dance. And I can sound cony saying this, but
the fans who were there in the very beginning will
forever be my heroes. They bought into this when they
(04:01):
thought it was a renovation. They didn't many of them
didn't understand the game, the rules of the game, and
they took a huge leap of faith and they've been
with us. And so today we announced that ten percent
of the house is going to be devoted to what
we call family price tickets. We're going to have family
(04:21):
priced menu items, and then we laid out plans for
our entire season ticket base where we're going to adjust
prices in certain areas and we're also going to pass
along the twenty five percent standing discounted the concession stance.
Why do it now? We're sold out, tonight's full. It's
(04:43):
the time to tell people how much we appreciate them.
And we actually got through some tough phases. You know,
when you build something and invest two billion dollars, the
biggest investment in the history of sports in the city,
privately financed building and all of the other things. Is
what we've done. You know, you're all responsible to lenders
(05:04):
and others who say, hey, you really have the base,
you say, and I know, Sothy, you've talked to me
about terms on tickets. Some of those things were important
to get this thing launched. And so that's what we
announced today. It was well received and it was undo announced.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Well, Todd, these are expensive decisions that the franchise is making,
and so many franchises out there are just simply concerned
with one thing. And that's that's the bottom line. Is
this relatively unprecedented in sports? And what's the process that
has to take place to go from an idea to
lower the ticket prices to actually making it a reality
with ownership?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, what a great question. Well, first, this does all
start with ownership, and Samantha Holloway through the community knows some,
but they're going to get to know a lot better.
You know, she came into our world, is David Vanderman's daughter.
But she's been an incredible gift. And you know, she
was the one that said, hey, we need to do
(06:03):
more intense listening. And I think she might have coined
the phrase, you know, let's think about a reinvention of
the fan experience. We liked a lot of what we're offering.
We love the broadcast. We think the game presentation is
as good as any in the league. You know, there's
work to be done on the team, and I'm happy
to talk about that. But you know, we started this
(06:24):
by and you don't just throw, you know, darts at
a wall. You do intense analytics, You look at where
gaps are, you study the secondary market. But then there's
something called the golden gut and doing right. And I
am so proud to work for an organization that he's
done everything right. We never cut a corner when the
(06:46):
cost of the building went up, We didn't go back
to the city. The community work we've done in Memorial Stadium,
and if you want to talk about that, I'm happy
to do it. I don't know that team has ever
taken on a project so ambitious like that, and we're
going to knock it down. And so there's so much
great about our ownership. And you know you've called me,
(07:07):
you had a name for a leadership. I worked there.
At the end of the day, these are ownership decisions.
And I think what Sam looked at she said, Look,
if we want to really be a brilliant team, we've
got to grow a fandom. If we're going to do
things like create softer points in the entry in the
building on ticket prices, we've also got to pay attention
(07:30):
to the people who've been here from day one. And
so all that came together, and it took probably better
part of the year. In fact, somebody has saying today
we started this a year and a half ago. The
broadcast piece started probably I would say that started maybe
two years ago, and it was really the first dating issue.
(07:50):
We said, if we want more fans, we've got to
show them how great the experience is. And people have
seen that through our broadcast. And there's a clear line
and a pass that takes you from watching a game
to watching a home game, to coming to the building
to the creating fandom for life. And so that's what
today was really all about. And it was a great
(08:11):
day and really fun to stand up in front of
the fans and deliver that news.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, well, Todd LWICKI is with us, and Todd, this
is all about listening to the fan base, as you
guys have said many many times. And I'll just tell
you there's some questions coming in on the text line
here with us in the studio at four nine, four
five one two oh six months to know everything I'm
hearing is in regards to season ticket holders, season ticket
holders getting twenty five percent off, season ticket holders getting
(08:36):
a potential reduction, and how much they have to pay,
not having to commit for three or five year terms.
This person's asking, what about people that buy tickets on
a single game basis. What is the team doing to
appease them your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, I just said that we're going to take ten
percent of our This really started, and that's how I
laid it out today with family priced tickets. Ten percent
of the bold next year will be family price tickets
and we are going to have and you know the
perception that those people watching our home games on TV
are saying well, I'd love to go there, but I can't.
(09:11):
There's no tickets and it's too expensive. Well, we're going
to fix that. And so you tell whoever that person is.
They're writing two things. The season ticket holders, you had
life to this and they we will never ever forget
what they did. And someday, to the extent that another
team joins this market, all the fans of that team
(09:34):
should buy those cracking season ticket holders of beer because
they fix the arena situation. And make no mistake, the
momentum that came with the incredible onslaught and passion early
on here was the tide of wave. We all needed
here to fix our arena situation.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
What's changed the most, todd about your clientele? I mean,
have the wants and needs of the fans evolved over
the four years of the KRACK and have been around.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, I think that. First, the games are you know,
the game environment is much more intense. The fans know
what they're watching, the players know they know what they're watching,
and so there's a really uh, there's a frothy environment
over there on a lot of nights, and you know,
we play a game on Saturday that was just a
dandy the Blues had won ten to twelve, came into
(10:26):
our building, and you know, our fans love our game presentation,
but they especially love the gold song, and I think
that so we've got much more knowledgeable fans. The broadcast
piece has changed, and there are definitely some things we
we love the maritors. I'm a huge baseball fan and
John Stanton is a friend of mine. But you know,
(10:46):
we were on a we were on a platform there
that was going to be hard to grow new fans,
and so we made you know, that was a people
If you want to talk about a dollar and cents
decision by the owner putting all the games on over
the air and walking away from subscriber fees. That was
a big decision. But it was the right decision. And
this will continue to evolve. But you have great ownership
(11:10):
that will read and study and listen and then react well.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
That it is great you're doing it. It's not something
you have to do.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I wish more teams did it, to be totally honest
with you, I mean, you're creating goodwill, which is awesome.
I don't think we have enough of that in sports.
But you mentioned something right there about the impact the
season ticket holders had Todd on the arena and how
much people should kind of get behind them and the
role they played when another team joins the market. I
(11:39):
think we all know the team that you're talking about.
I want to play a clip for you here, Mayor.
Bruce Harrow was on the air with us what a
couple weeks ago Jackson and had this to say, I
want to play this clip Todd and get your thoughts
on it. Bruce Harrow was on with us and gave
us some thoughts on what he thinks the timeline looks
like for potentially some real hardcore news to digest. Regarding
(12:02):
the return of the NBA, there.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Were some legitimate delays again the media deal, the you know,
James Dolan was holding out on a few things. The
sale of the Celtics.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Is behind us, so we're we think in July.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Will be a lot further ahead and discussion. Adam Silver
sort of made it clear that he knows we have
a great market here in his in his reference back
in March twenty seventh, he's very clear, everyone knows that
Las Vegas and Sattler outstanding markets.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
So we're ready and.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
So we we feel pretty confident that this summer, we'll
get some favorable news.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Favorable news this summer, says the mayor. What say you,
mister LIGHTWICKI.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Well, the mayor's an optimistic guy, and it's terrific. You know,
we've said this to the point of nauseum. We're never
going to get in front of the commissioner, right, And
here's the deal. If you're Adam Silver and you know
he said public that when he goes out and he
travels top three questions one of the sonics going back
(13:06):
to Seattle. So it's on our minds and it's on
lots of people's minds. All we have said all along
is we're going to be ready. And I have an
idea who would be a phenomenal owner and her name
is Sam And when that time comes, we will be ready.
But the great gift that I think we've provided the
(13:29):
city is not just an arena, but an arena that
I think is arguably the most beautiful, compelling arena in
the world. That building is so fantastic, and it's only
you know, this season I've had a bit of I've
just turned sixty five, and I'm looking at the word
a little bit differently. I so admire what happened in
(13:52):
that building, in that arena, and how wonderful it's been,
not just for the Kraken, but for the storm and
for all the music that plays in that building. It
is an incredibly tight and I meant beautiful historic, modern
technology with cutting edge. So when and if the NBA
says they're going to expand, we are absolutely one hundred
(14:17):
percent ready to go. And there's other things we've done
to prepare, but I'm not going to get into that
because I'm not going to stir it up, and we're
not going to cause more consternation for the Commissioner because
he's asked about this all the time, and are they
thinking about it? I think, you know, listen to what
the mayor said, he's well read on this issue. And
I won't comment on those specific points. But when the
(14:41):
time comes, we are going to be and we are ready.
And just imagine, by the way, just imagine what it
would have been if we hadn't done the arena, if
the Krack and fans hadn't come along and given life
to this whole concept. You know, this was a two
billion dollar to get to this point, So what would
(15:03):
would we have been? Flat footed? Would another city to
come in with better ideas, somehow er better, and how
heartbreaking that would have been. And I take great stock
in that and so uh and the building has thrown
off so much good energy, so much good vibe. The
building is acoustically perfect. The transportation piece, which we cared
(15:25):
deeply about tonight at the game, twenty five percent of
the people will taken public transportation in some form or fashion.
It's the building is a huge success story, and that's
a wonderful part of their coming back. It checks this
huge box and we're ready to go.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Todd, I do want to ask you about the team
on the ice playing their playing their last game. I mean,
I know I've talked to you about your level of
excitement for the young guys, but you need more than
just young guys to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
So in your mind, what needs to happen for this
team to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs next
year for the second time.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Well, I appreciate that question, and I think that, you know,
there's a couple of pieces I think we've actually while
we we didn't do what we wanted, some good things
happened this year. I think Joey Decord has proven that
he's a top goaltender in this league. I love our
defensive makeup with Vince and Adam and Brandon and Riker
(16:23):
and the Big Rig. The fact that Brandon wont to
Stanley Cup and was I thought the most coveted free
agent in Land and he chose to come here speaks
to our ability to do that down the middle, our centers.
You know, it's such a key part of the game.
But you know, Stevenson is a fantastic player. Chandler came
(16:47):
to us with two Stanley Cup rings in his luggage,
and Maddy and Shane are respectively one years old. Matty
came and talked today about casting his live with his
friend Machester the long haul, and so those guys are
now the young guys are definitely showing up. But we
(17:07):
in the last three years have drafted thirty seven players
that we have in the system. And that's something that
Ron tipped the scales on and said, look, we are
willing to build a stable of prospects. We're going to
put them in a great place to develop in Coachella
Valley and the long term, this is how you build
sustainable winning teams. That's how the whole system is designed,
(17:30):
by the way, and it's true in other sports. If
you grow your own talent, you have a much better
chance of retaining and keeping your talent and building a
sustained winner. And you know, some of those outstanding players coming.
We saw Yani Neiman come up and play for a
couple of weeks here and that kid is just fantastic
and I couldn't be more excited. Berkeley catten over and
(17:51):
Spokane is scoring two points a night. And you know,
there are some that say that this kid might crack
our roster next year. There's a goalie down in Coachella
Valley who is phenomenal. And but you know, we also
go into the summer with cap space. We go into
these next three years. We have ten first and second
(18:13):
round picks in the next three years, and I'm here,
I'm here to I'm going to predict that we will
not use all those of direct picks. We're in a really,
really good spot to not only have cap space in
those picks, but we have the money, the flexibility for
potential trades assets to really add significant pieces the roster.
(18:35):
And we feel like the rosters around me in the form.
Ron's going to talk about some of this next week.
And you know, he told his day one what he
was going to do, and in many ways he's done it.
I wish we had made the playoffs this year. We're
anxious to do that, but we're all so excited to
what's coming.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Hey, let me let me just leave you with this
because you mentioned this. I think today at the season
ticket holder fund about Ron that he's not going anywhere.
Why do you, Todd light Wiki after four years, still
believe in Ron Francis Is.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
This team's GM.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Well, standing this up was not an easy thing. And
by the way, he did it through a stranger in fiction.
So when he came, if we had said, hey, Ron,
you're going to stand up the team, You're going to
stand up a whole scouting staff, right, You're going to
stand up an American Hockey League franchise. By the way,
their East Coast team is in Kansas City, we never
(19:30):
even talk about it. There's a whole roster there that
we've built out. If you'd have told him you was
going to have to do all that in the midst
of a global pandemic, and you know, I know everybody
went through it, but they weren't starting an NHL franchise
and Scratch. Ron is a man of integrity, and I
hope that he's a part of the leadership team for
a long time to come to But we're going to
(19:50):
get into hockey a little bit more next week with
Ron and Samantha, and I'm sure there being things to
chat about there.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I love it all right, go get him, go hit
the treadmill, go walk the arena, and then enjoy tonight's game.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
We'll talk soon. Man, appreciate this.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And thank you guys. With all the great Kracking fans
out there, we love you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Love it.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Todd lightwiki with us on the radio show. He said
something there that really piqued my interest, and I wonder
if it's the same thing that you heard, by the way,
regarding the NBA. Next on ninety three three KJRFM.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
You're listening to the home of the Husky k and
Seedle's best NFL Draft coverage Jim the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft Now back to Suthian Dick, proudly brought to
you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports Radio ninety three
point three kjr FM.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Mayor's an optimistic guy. And it's terrific. You know, we've
said this to the point of nauseum. We're never going
to get in front of the commissioner, right, And here's
the deal. If you're Adam Silber, you know he said
publicly that when he goes out and he travels top
three questions, one of the Sonics going back to see them.
So it's it's on our minds and lots of people's minds.
(21:01):
All we have said all along is we're going to
be ready AI.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
By the way, you want to guess what AI thinks
about when the Sonics will return.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
How by the way, is anybody.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Done, like any kind of a study on how accurate
this thing is when it's all said and done?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Have you done that at all?
Speaker 6 (21:18):
Jackson?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
No?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Is it chat GPT? Is that what it's called.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Did a thing yesterday where somebody like logged in the
next fifty college football national champions and the Huskies won
it in like two thousand and thirty eight or whatever. Okay,
I might sign up for I'm some thousand percent sign
up for that? Are you kidding me? I can hang
on until then, AI says, the Sonics return to the
NBA is uncertain, but the most likely scenario is the
(21:45):
twenty twenty seven to twenty eight season. That means two
more years of basketball. Well did ye did chat gpt
right that? Because we've been saying the same thing. Well,
I've been saying I thought there was going to be
an announcement by the end of last year, and I
was about that. Mostly is the Celtics sales kind of
messed everything up. That kind of just pushed everything back.
But the one thing that Todd Laiwickie said there, Look,
(22:06):
I apologize that I am. Look, I'm a bigger basketball
fan than I am a hockey fan. I love the
fact that we have the Kraken. I've been saying it
for years on this radio station that we are too
big a market to not have everything sports has to offer.
We should have it all. We should have a PGA stop,
we should have a tennis tour stop, we should have soccer, NASCAR,
(22:28):
NASCAR everything, And we've come close, right. They tried to
build a track on the Peninsula and they got shut down, Right,
So yeah, I mean, I just think we're too big
a market to not have everything sports have to offer,
and that includes the Kraken.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
That includes hockey.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I mean the more competition to me for the sports
dollar in this town, Dick I think the better. But
when Todd said, when the commissioner, when the NBA is
ready to expand we are one hundred percent ready to go,
that means everything's done. It means ownership. That means correct everything,
everything's done ownership. They're not looking for people. They know
(23:05):
what the bill's going to be. They have an idea
of what the expansion fee is going to be. Celtics
went for over six billion, te Wolves went for under
two million, but that was a deal that was cut
four years ago with Glenn Taylor and Mark Lower and
Alex Rodriguez, so you kind of push that aside. But
whatever that number is, there ain't going to be no
bocking at it. They ain't going to be what we're out.
That's not gonna happen. So all were waiting, Like I
(23:28):
was actually telling dick Off the ear let's ask him
what the next step is for them, and he kind
of answered the question is no ner step. Nothing's there's
nothing to do. Everything's done, the arena's built, the TV
deals done, the Celtics sales come through. It's kind of
what you know, I know people like to kind of
jump on Bruce Harrel's back a little bit, but it's
kind of what he said when he was out with
(23:48):
us that Hey, we're just kind of in a wait
and see mode.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
So when this.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Does happen and what I think is likely to happen,
and I'm not breaking any new ground here, Dick with
this take, you can jump in with your take is
that if you somebody said this, I think it was
TNT or whatever. Some reporter mentioned this that there's going
to be some announcement in July during the summer league,
because they got to do it the right way, right
(24:12):
that they're forming a committee to explore expansion. That'll be
announced first, and then by September, maybe October, they'll announce
we've identified Seattle in Las Vegas as our two targets.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Well, it's just got to be refreshing for the NBA
or any professional sports organization to have a city that
is one hundred percent locked and loaded and has everything
they need, because that is.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
That's not unusual.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Well like remember when Hanson cut the deal with the
Mulouf family, there was nothing done.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
No, there was no arena, no, there was no TV deal,
or sies.
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Look in Oakland right now and Sacramento, my god, I
mean it's usually there's usually more questions than there are answers.
But in this situation, we are absolutely one hundred percent
ready and it's it's going to happen. It's going happen soon.
I am confident of it. Just we just don't know
exactly when soon is well.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I think again, the sooner the better for a lot
of reasons we've you and I have talked about this.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
One of them is aging people like your dad.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah, I don't want to wait another ten years, right,
because who knows who's going to be around in ten
years from now. So I think there's there's a little
bit of urgency for a lot of people to get
this thing done as soon as possible because people are
getting freaking older, man, right, I mean, who knows, you
know how much time we've gotten this freaking rock. So
but when he said when he said, and the way
(25:33):
he said it, we are one hundred percent ready to go,
that just kind of did that kind.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Of make your intentag up a little bit there, like
it did mine.
Speaker 8 (25:41):
I mean, and this is like what we've heard too,
and it just reiterates the point of we're just all
we're waiting for is the NBA.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
All we're waiting for is.
Speaker 8 (25:50):
Out of the Silver, right, And like Gas was on
with you guys from Husky for last week, right, yeah, right,
and he had the concern of they just kind of
keep finding one more thing to push it down here,
one more sure, right, because before it was you know,
all these financial things, and always in the Celtics sale,
there's been all these things one after another, and then
you have the Adam Silver thing.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
Well we're looking at Europe right now, so like.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Is this just gonna be one more thing?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Right?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Well, Gas's point was he's just he's not he's not
on pins and needles like he was maybe fifteen years
ago or ten years ago. He's like, when it happens,
I'll be fired up, right, but I'm not devoting my
daily life to watching the ticker to see if they're
returning or not. All right, we're gonna break four nine,
four or five one text themdials and then John Wilner,
what does John think about Colorado retiring? Shador Sanders Jersey
(26:35):
number at five on ninety three three KJRFM
For some big cracking news today.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
As a matter of fact, it's got nothing to do well,
it's got something to do with a lot to do
with what's happening off the ice as well. Crack and
we'll wrap up the season tonight against the La Kings
at Climent Pledge Arena. And joining us right now on
the radio show The Tzar A cracking boss Gran Todd
Liwiki joining us on the program.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
How are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Well, I'm doing good. I haven't been called a tzar today,
so that's the first for this day.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know what, if you would like to have me
refer to you as the Tzar from now on, I
will do that all right from here until the end
of time, you are on the Tzar. All right, whatever
whatever you want, baby, I got you covered. Well, thank you.
Let's uh, let's first of all, talk about what you
guys announced today. I'm just gonna give you the floor, Todd,
for as long as you need it. Instead of having me,
(00:49):
you know, read off the list of things that you announced.
Why don't you tell the fans, tell people tuning in
what you guys announce this afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Well, we had a event where we invited some of
our season taking members over to the Cracking Community ice Plex.
We had a great crowd there and we started by
certainly talking about the journey thus far, because when you
talk about today, and one of the things we did
today is gathered people together and we did review the
(01:20):
amazing journey that got us this point in time. And
I'm not sure if I if you heard me sort
of get into that, but I couldn't be more proud
of what we've done.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
And you know, building an arena that was privately financed,
building a world class training center. You know, we get
close to a million people a year coming to CACI.
We're completely full. There was a debate at the ownership
group whether or not we should we should just build
onto some other facility or did we have too many
sheets eyes? And uh, it was amazing the team brand man.
(01:52):
We built that in the middle of COVID and it
is one of the best brands. I love it. I
think it'll stand the test of time. The community work
we've done, you know, every game honoring a community hero.
And then the work we're doing on a memorial stadium
the American Hockey League set up. Dick was down there
last week and so there's a lot we've done, but
there's other things that are still left to be done.
(02:14):
And we can talk about the hockey team in a minute,
but you know, we had one of the best organizations
I've ever worked with, Victor de Bonus, Bob Lampman, a
whole team of people who have helped us sort of say, hey,
how do we get this to a higher level? And
one are the things we saw when we put broadcasts
(02:35):
on over the air, because that was really the first
big move in this whole idea of how are we
going to build big, deeper and more faandom. We put
those games on the air. People loved it, We produced it,
we told our story in a compelling way, our talent. Hey,
and I'll humbly submit that our broadcast might be as
(02:56):
good as there is in the NHL. For in fact,
ESPN's in the building, and I isn't as good as ESPN.
I don't know, but it's pretty dog gone good. And
they've done a great job of telling a story but
also showing how unbelievably great home games can be. And
people become fans, but real fandom doesn't happen until somebody
actually comes to the building and sees it and feels it.
(03:18):
And so we then researched and we talked to those
fans who who want to be fans, but their perception
is that there's not tickets available they were always sold out,
and additionally, that there's a price point they can't afford.
And at the same time, we asked ourselves questions, you know,
(03:38):
relative to our season ticket members, and you know, if
you're going to create price points for new fans, you
better take care of the people that brought you to
the dance. And I can sound cony saying this, but
the fans who were there in the very beginning will
forever be my heroes. They bought into this when they
(04:01):
thought it was a renovation. They didn't many of them
didn't understand the game, the rules of the game, and
they took a huge leap of faith and they've been
with us. And so today we announced that ten percent
of the house is going to be devoted to what
we call family price tickets. We're going to have family
(04:21):
priced menu items, and then we laid out plans for
our entire season ticket base where we're going to adjust
prices in certain areas and we're also going to pass
along the twenty five percent standing discounted the concession stance.
Why do it now? We're sold out, tonight's full. It's
(04:43):
the time to tell people how much we appreciate them.
And we actually got through some tough phases. You know,
when you build something and invest two billion dollars, the
biggest investment in the history of sports in the city,
privately financed building and all of the other things. Is
what we've done. You know, you're all responsible to lenders
(05:04):
and others who say, hey, you really have the base,
you say, and I know, Sothy, you've talked to me
about terms on tickets. Some of those things were important
to get this thing launched. And so that's what we
announced today. It was well received and it was undo announced.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Well, Todd, these are expensive decisions that the franchise is making,
and so many franchises out there are just simply concerned
with one thing. And that's that's the bottom line. Is
this relatively unprecedented in sports? And what's the process that
has to take place to go from an idea to
lower the ticket prices to actually making it a reality
with ownership?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, what a great question. Well, first, this does all
start with ownership, and Samantha Holloway through the community knows some,
but they're going to get to know a lot better.
You know, she came into our world, is David Vanderman's daughter.
But she's been an incredible gift. And you know, she
was the one that said, hey, we need to do
(06:03):
more intense listening. And I think she might have coined
the phrase, you know, let's think about a reinvention of
the fan experience. We liked a lot of what we're offering.
We love the broadcast. We think the game presentation is
as good as any in the league. You know, there's
work to be done on the team, and I'm happy
to talk about that. But you know, we started this
(06:24):
by and you don't just throw, you know, darts at
a wall. You do intense analytics, You look at where
gaps are, you study the secondary market. But then there's
something called the golden gut and doing right. And I
am so proud to work for an organization that he's
done everything right. We never cut a corner when the
(06:46):
cost of the building went up, We didn't go back
to the city. The community work we've done in Memorial Stadium,
and if you want to talk about that, I'm happy
to do it. I don't know that team has ever
taken on a project so ambitious like that, and we're
going to knock it down. And so there's so much
great about our ownership. And you know you've called me,
(07:07):
you had a name for a leadership. I worked there.
At the end of the day, these are ownership decisions.
And I think what Sam looked at she said, Look,
if we want to really be a brilliant team, we've
got to grow a fandom. If we're going to do
things like create softer points in the entry in the
building on ticket prices, we've also got to pay attention
(07:30):
to the people who've been here from day one. And
so all that came together, and it took probably better
part of the year. In fact, somebody has saying today
we started this a year and a half ago. The
broadcast piece started probably I would say that started maybe
two years ago, and it was really the first dating issue.
(07:50):
We said, if we want more fans, we've got to
show them how great the experience is. And people have
seen that through our broadcast. And there's a clear line
and a pass that takes you from watching a game
to watching a home game, to coming to the building
to the creating fandom for life. And so that's what
today was really all about. And it was a great
(08:11):
day and really fun to stand up in front of
the fans and deliver that news.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, well, Todd LWICKI is with us, and Todd, this
is all about listening to the fan base, as you
guys have said many many times. And I'll just tell
you there's some questions coming in on the text line
here with us in the studio at four nine, four
five one two oh six months to know everything I'm
hearing is in regards to season ticket holders, season ticket
holders getting twenty five percent off, season ticket holders getting
(08:36):
a potential reduction, and how much they have to pay,
not having to commit for three or five year terms.
This person's asking, what about people that buy tickets on
a single game basis. What is the team doing to
appease them your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, I just said that we're going to take ten
percent of our This really started, and that's how I
laid it out today with family priced tickets. Ten percent
of the bold next year will be family price tickets
and we are going to have and you know the
perception that those people watching our home games on TV
are saying well, I'd love to go there, but I can't.
(09:11):
There's no tickets and it's too expensive. Well, we're going
to fix that. And so you tell whoever that person is.
They're writing two things. The season ticket holders, you had
life to this and they we will never ever forget
what they did. And someday, to the extent that another
team joins this market, all the fans of that team
(09:34):
should buy those cracking season ticket holders of beer because
they fix the arena situation. And make no mistake, the
momentum that came with the incredible onslaught and passion early
on here was the tide of wave. We all needed
here to fix our arena situation.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
What's changed the most, todd about your clientele? I mean,
have the wants and needs of the fans evolved over
the four years of the KRACK and have been around.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah, I think that. First, the games are you know,
the game environment is much more intense. The fans know
what they're watching, the players know they know what they're watching,
and so there's a really uh, there's a frothy environment
over there on a lot of nights, and you know,
we play a game on Saturday that was just a
dandy the Blues had won ten to twelve, came into
(10:26):
our building, and you know, our fans love our game presentation,
but they especially love the gold song, and I think
that so we've got much more knowledgeable fans. The broadcast
piece has changed, and there are definitely some things we
we love the maritors. I'm a huge baseball fan and
John Stanton is a friend of mine. But you know,
(10:46):
we were on a we were on a platform there
that was going to be hard to grow new fans,
and so we made you know, that was a people
If you want to talk about a dollar and cents
decision by the owner putting all the games on over
the air and walking away from subscriber fees. That was
a big decision. But it was the right decision. And
this will continue to evolve. But you have great ownership
(11:10):
that will read and study and listen and then react well.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
That it is great you're doing it. It's not something
you have to do.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I wish more teams did it, to be totally honest
with you, I mean, you're creating goodwill, which is awesome.
I don't think we have enough of that in sports.
But you mentioned something right there about the impact the
season ticket holders had Todd on the arena and how
much people should kind of get behind them and the
role they played when another team joins the market. I
(11:39):
think we all know the team that you're talking about.
I want to play a clip for you here, Mayor.
Bruce Harrow was on the air with us what a
couple weeks ago Jackson and had this to say, I
want to play this clip Todd and get your thoughts
on it. Bruce Harrow was on with us and gave
us some thoughts on what he thinks the timeline looks
like for potentially some real hardcore news to digest. Regarding
(12:02):
the return of the NBA, there.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
Were some legitimate delays again the media deal, the you know,
James Dolan was holding out on a few things. The
sale of the Celtics.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Is behind us, so we're we think in July.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Will be a lot further ahead and discussion. Adam Silver
sort of made it clear that he knows we have
a great market here in his in his reference back
in March twenty seventh, he's very clear, everyone knows that
Las Vegas and Sattler outstanding markets.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
So we're ready and.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
So we we feel pretty confident that this summer, we'll
get some favorable news.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Favorable news this summer, says the mayor. What say you,
mister LIGHTWICKI.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Well, the mayor's an optimistic guy, and it's terrific. You know,
we've said this to the point of nauseum. We're never
going to get in front of the commissioner, right, And
here's the deal. If you're Adam Silver and you know
he said public that when he goes out and he
travels top three questions one of the sonics going back
(13:06):
to Seattle. So it's on our minds and it's on
lots of people's minds. All we have said all along
is we're going to be ready. And I have an
idea who would be a phenomenal owner and her name
is Sam And when that time comes, we will be ready.
But the great gift that I think we've provided the
(13:29):
city is not just an arena, but an arena that
I think is arguably the most beautiful, compelling arena in
the world. That building is so fantastic, and it's only
you know, this season I've had a bit of I've
just turned sixty five, and I'm looking at the word
a little bit differently. I so admire what happened in
(13:52):
that building, in that arena, and how wonderful it's been,
not just for the Kraken, but for the storm and
for all the music that plays in that building. It
is an incredibly tight and I meant beautiful historic, modern
technology with cutting edge. So when and if the NBA
says they're going to expand, we are absolutely one hundred
(14:17):
percent ready to go. And there's other things we've done
to prepare, but I'm not going to get into that
because I'm not going to stir it up, and we're
not going to cause more consternation for the Commissioner because
he's asked about this all the time, and are they
thinking about it? I think, you know, listen to what
the mayor said, he's well read on this issue. And
I won't comment on those specific points. But when the
(14:41):
time comes, we are going to be and we are ready.
And just imagine, by the way, just imagine what it
would have been if we hadn't done the arena, if
the Krack and fans hadn't come along and given life
to this whole concept. You know, this was a two
billion dollar to get to this point, So what would
(15:03):
would we have been? Flat footed? Would another city to
come in with better ideas, somehow er better, and how
heartbreaking that would have been. And I take great stock
in that and so uh and the building has thrown
off so much good energy, so much good vibe. The
building is acoustically perfect. The transportation piece, which we cared
(15:25):
deeply about tonight at the game, twenty five percent of
the people will taken public transportation in some form or fashion.
It's the building is a huge success story, and that's
a wonderful part of their coming back. It checks this
huge box and we're ready to go.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Todd, I do want to ask you about the team
on the ice playing their playing their last game. I mean,
I know I've talked to you about your level of
excitement for the young guys, but you need more than
just young guys to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
So in your mind, what needs to happen for this
team to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs next
year for the second time.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Well, I appreciate that question, and I think that, you know,
there's a couple of pieces I think we've actually while
we we didn't do what we wanted, some good things
happened this year. I think Joey Decord has proven that
he's a top goaltender in this league. I love our
defensive makeup with Vince and Adam and Brandon and Riker
(16:23):
and the Big Rig. The fact that Brandon wont to
Stanley Cup and was I thought the most coveted free
agent in Land and he chose to come here speaks
to our ability to do that down the middle, our centers.
You know, it's such a key part of the game.
But you know, Stevenson is a fantastic player. Chandler came
(16:47):
to us with two Stanley Cup rings in his luggage,
and Maddy and Shane are respectively one years old. Matty
came and talked today about casting his live with his
friend Machester the long haul, and so those guys are
now the young guys are definitely showing up. But we
(17:07):
in the last three years have drafted thirty seven players
that we have in the system. And that's something that
Ron tipped the scales on and said, look, we are
willing to build a stable of prospects. We're going to
put them in a great place to develop in Coachella
Valley and the long term, this is how you build
sustainable winning teams. That's how the whole system is designed,
(17:30):
by the way, and it's true in other sports. If
you grow your own talent, you have a much better
chance of retaining and keeping your talent and building a
sustained winner. And you know, some of those outstanding players coming.
We saw Yani Neiman come up and play for a
couple of weeks here and that kid is just fantastic
and I couldn't be more excited. Berkeley catten over and
(17:51):
Spokane is scoring two points a night. And you know,
there are some that say that this kid might crack
our roster next year. There's a goalie down in Coachella
Valley who is phenomenal. And but you know, we also
go into the summer with cap space. We go into
these next three years. We have ten first and second
(18:13):
round picks in the next three years, and I'm here,
I'm here to I'm going to predict that we will
not use all those of direct picks. We're in a really,
really good spot to not only have cap space in
those picks, but we have the money, the flexibility for
potential trades assets to really add significant pieces the roster.
(18:35):
And we feel like the rosters around me in the form.
Ron's going to talk about some of this next week.
And you know, he told his day one what he
was going to do, and in many ways he's done it.
I wish we had made the playoffs this year. We're
anxious to do that, but we're all so excited to
what's coming.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Hey, let me let me just leave you with this
because you mentioned this. I think today at the season
ticket holder fund about Ron that he's not going anywhere.
Why do you, Todd light Wiki after four years, still
believe in Ron Francis Is.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
This team's GM.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Well, standing this up was not an easy thing. And
by the way, he did it through a stranger in fiction.
So when he came, if we had said, hey, Ron,
you're going to stand up the team, You're going to
stand up a whole scouting staff, right, You're going to
stand up an American Hockey League franchise. By the way,
their East Coast team is in Kansas City, we never
(19:30):
even talk about it. There's a whole roster there that
we've built out. If you'd have told him you was
going to have to do all that in the midst
of a global pandemic, and you know, I know everybody
went through it, but they weren't starting an NHL franchise
and Scratch. Ron is a man of integrity, and I
hope that he's a part of the leadership team for
a long time to come to But we're going to
(19:50):
get into hockey a little bit more next week with
Ron and Samantha, and I'm sure there being things to
chat about there.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I love it all right, go get him, go hit
the treadmill, go walk the arena, and then enjoy tonight's game.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
We'll talk soon. Man, appreciate this.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And thank you guys. With all the great Kracking fans
out there, we love you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Love it.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Todd lightwiki with us on the radio show. He said
something there that really piqued my interest, and I wonder
if it's the same thing that you heard, by the way,
regarding the NBA. Next on ninety three three KJRFM.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
You're listening to the home of the Husky k and
Seedle's best NFL Draft coverage Jim the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft Now back to Suthian Dick, proudly brought to
you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports Radio ninety three
point three kjr FM.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Mayor's an optimistic guy. And it's terrific. You know, we've
said this to the point of nauseum. We're never going
to get in front of the commissioner, right, And here's
the deal. If you're Adam Silber, you know he said
publicly that when he goes out and he travels top
three questions, one of the Sonics going back to see them.
So it's it's on our minds and lots of people's minds.
(21:01):
All we have said all along is we're going to
be ready AI.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
By the way, you want to guess what AI thinks
about when the Sonics will return.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
How by the way, is anybody.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Done, like any kind of a study on how accurate
this thing is when it's all said and done?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Have you done that at all?
Speaker 6 (21:18):
Jackson?
Speaker 4 (21:18):
No?
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Is it chat GPT? Is that what it's called.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Did a thing yesterday where somebody like logged in the
next fifty college football national champions and the Huskies won
it in like two thousand and thirty eight or whatever. Okay,
I might sign up for I'm some thousand percent sign
up for that? Are you kidding me? I can hang
on until then, AI says, the Sonics return to the
NBA is uncertain, but the most likely scenario is the
(21:45):
twenty twenty seven to twenty eight season. That means two
more years of basketball. Well did ye did chat gpt
right that? Because we've been saying the same thing. Well,
I've been saying I thought there was going to be
an announcement by the end of last year, and I
was about that. Mostly is the Celtics sales kind of
messed everything up. That kind of just pushed everything back.
But the one thing that Todd Laiwickie said there, Look,
(22:06):
I apologize that I am. Look, I'm a bigger basketball
fan than I am a hockey fan. I love the
fact that we have the Kraken. I've been saying it
for years on this radio station that we are too
big a market to not have everything sports has to offer.
We should have it all. We should have a PGA stop,
we should have a tennis tour stop, we should have soccer, NASCAR,
(22:28):
NASCAR everything, And we've come close, right. They tried to
build a track on the Peninsula and they got shut down, Right,
So yeah, I mean, I just think we're too big
a market to not have everything sports have to offer,
and that includes the Kraken.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
That includes hockey.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I mean the more competition to me for the sports
dollar in this town, Dick I think the better. But
when Todd said, when the commissioner, when the NBA is
ready to expand we are one hundred percent ready to go,
that means everything's done. It means ownership. That means correct everything,
everything's done ownership. They're not looking for people. They know
(23:05):
what the bill's going to be. They have an idea
of what the expansion fee is going to be. Celtics
went for over six billion, te Wolves went for under
two million, but that was a deal that was cut
four years ago with Glenn Taylor and Mark Lower and
Alex Rodriguez, so you kind of push that aside. But
whatever that number is, there ain't going to be no
bocking at it. They ain't going to be what we're out.
That's not gonna happen. So all were waiting, Like I
(23:28):
was actually telling dick Off the ear let's ask him
what the next step is for them, and he kind
of answered the question is no ner step. Nothing's there's
nothing to do. Everything's done, the arena's built, the TV
deals done, the Celtics sales come through. It's kind of
what you know, I know people like to kind of
jump on Bruce Harrel's back a little bit, but it's
kind of what he said when he was out with
(23:48):
us that Hey, we're just kind of in a wait
and see mode.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
So when this.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Does happen and what I think is likely to happen,
and I'm not breaking any new ground here, Dick with
this take, you can jump in with your take is
that if you somebody said this, I think it was
TNT or whatever. Some reporter mentioned this that there's going
to be some announcement in July during the summer league,
because they got to do it the right way, right
(24:12):
that they're forming a committee to explore expansion. That'll be
announced first, and then by September, maybe October, they'll announce
we've identified Seattle in Las Vegas as our two targets.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Well, it's just got to be refreshing for the NBA
or any professional sports organization to have a city that
is one hundred percent locked and loaded and has everything
they need, because that is.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
That's not unusual.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Well like remember when Hanson cut the deal with the
Mulouf family, there was nothing done.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
No, there was no arena, no, there was no TV deal,
or sies.
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Look in Oakland right now and Sacramento, my god, I
mean it's usually there's usually more questions than there are answers.
But in this situation, we are absolutely one hundred percent
ready and it's it's going to happen. It's going happen soon.
I am confident of it. Just we just don't know
exactly when soon is well.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I think again, the sooner the better for a lot
of reasons we've you and I have talked about this.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
One of them is aging people like your dad.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah, I don't want to wait another ten years, right,
because who knows who's going to be around in ten
years from now. So I think there's there's a little
bit of urgency for a lot of people to get
this thing done as soon as possible because people are
getting freaking older, man, right, I mean, who knows, you
know how much time we've gotten this freaking rock. So
but when he said when he said, and the way
(25:33):
he said it, we are one hundred percent ready to go,
that just kind of did that kind.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Of make your intentag up a little bit there, like
it did mine.
Speaker 8 (25:41):
I mean, and this is like what we've heard too,
and it just reiterates the point of we're just all
we're waiting for is the NBA.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
All we're waiting for is.
Speaker 8 (25:50):
Out of the Silver, right, And like Gas was on
with you guys from Husky for last week, right, yeah, right,
and he had the concern of they just kind of
keep finding one more thing to push it down here,
one more sure, right, because before it was you know,
all these financial things, and always in the Celtics sale,
there's been all these things one after another, and then
you have the Adam Silver thing.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
Well we're looking at Europe right now, so like.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Is this just gonna be one more thing?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Right?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Well, Gas's point was he's just he's not he's not
on pins and needles like he was maybe fifteen years
ago or ten years ago. He's like, when it happens,
I'll be fired up, right, but I'm not devoting my
daily life to watching the ticker to see if they're
returning or not. All right, we're gonna break four nine,
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