.jpg)
So Far, So Good - October 29, 2008
Howard Dolgon - President & CEO
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Dear Crunch Fans:
So far, so good.
Our Crunch team is off to its best start in years despite the rash of injuries which have hit both our club and the Blue Jackets.
I think Columbus did an outstanding job during the off-season acquiring both veteran talent and leadership to complement the young first and second-year players we have in Syracuse. It's important, and critical to success, that your NHL partner recognizes the need to surround their top prospects with quality, experienced professionals. I like our mix.
I'd like to take this time to address an off-the-ice topic which comes up on a regular basis among our fans. That is, of course, the status of our new scoreboard.
As you all are well aware, the scoreboard was the one item rejected in the proposed renovation package for our arena and the overall Oncenter Complex. Your legislators, the ones who YOU elected and who represent YOUR needs, opted to vote along party lines and temporarily killed the proposal strongly supported by County Executive Joanie Mahoney.
What really gets my goat here is the ridiculous rhetoric we were subjected to during the legislative debate on the scoreboard. I had a front row seat to the debacle, listening as speaker after speaker insisted they had a civic responsibility to look after the "needs" of their constituents in a time of rising fuel costs and other economic plight. (By the way, the price of a gallon of gas has actually decreased by about a dollar since the meeting). At the end of the day, every legislator voted within their own caucus - - the Democrats supporting the scoreboard upgrade and the Republicans voting en masse against it.
In the months that have passed, we have had ongoing dialogue with the County and recently met with a legislator who opposed the scoreboard but, to his credit, wanted to see if we could find some common ground. A suggestion was made with regard to adding a surcharge to the price of our tickets. Our response: thanks but no thanks. Not going to happen under our watch. We made a pledge to lock in ticket costs for a three-year period and we will honor our word.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: your County Executive, Joanie Mahoney, and Deputy County Executive, Ed Kochian, are doing everything in their power to make the scoreboard happen. But ultimately, the decision does not lie in their hands. Rather, it must be approved by the legislators . . . the folks who YOU elected.
What's next? That remains to be seen. When we signed our recent lease it was with the understanding that significant improvements, ones which our fans could recognize and appreciate, would be made to our building. Our five-year deal calls for a three-year option, one we have told the County we would gladly extend long-term as a show of commitment if a new scoreboard was approved.
Over the years I've had the pleasure of spending time with both Joanie Mahoney and Ed Kochian at Crunch games. They come as true fans, rub elbows and exchange high fives with the "regular folks" at the arena. That's right, the same regular folks who they also represent.
I haven't seen too many legislators at our games lately and I'm willing to bet that there are many of them who haven't been inside the War Memorial in years, maybe decades.
So here's an offer I'm going to throw out to our fans: invite YOUR legislator to a game as your guest. We'll provide the tickets. He/she can bring their families too. Let them see, and understand, what they are voting for . . . or against. What better way for them to understand their constituents than to share in the excitement of a Crunch game. Make the offer!
We'd love to have them.