Sports Business
NHL Seattle Fans Flock to New Interactive Portal
The site drew 20,000 fans within 24 hours of its launch
By Rob Smith May 30, 2019
A new interactive fan portal is an immediate hit with hockey fans who are still two-plus years away from the debut of Seattles NHL expansion franchise.
The site, SeattleNHLFans.com, drew 20,000 unique users and 144,000 unique page views within its first 24 hours of launch. Advertising firm Wunderman Thompson Seattle created the site with NHL Seattle, the management arm of the franchise.
The fan portal is a way for us to talk directly to our fans and bring them into the creative process as we build a brand and game-day experience, said NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke.
The site features a section for fan comments or questions, season ticket information, fan profiles and forums and polls. It also features the history of Seattles bid to land the franchise, which was awarded last December. Last year, fans purchased 10,000 season tickets just 12 minutes after they went on sale, and about 32,000 fans have made deposits on season tickets. The team’s name, logo and colors have not been decided.
Seattles new franchise, the National Hockey Leagues 32nd, will begin play in the 2021-2022 season. The club will play in the former KeyArena, now known as Seattle Center Arena. The arena is in the midst of a $930 million redevelopment to make it ready for NHL play.
Seattle last had a professional hockey team in 1975, when the minor league Seattle Totems folded. Between 1915 and 1924, the Seattle Metropolitans played in the professional Pacific Coast Hockey Association, winning the Stanley Cup in 1917 by defeating the NHLs New York Rangers.