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Living here in St pete all i ever hear is how bad the local teams owners suck and are all cheap skates. From the Glazers (Bucs) to Sternburg (Rays) to Koules and Barry (former Lightning) none spending money and always B*tching that fans dont show up.
So i thought id share what the new Lightning owners are up to. Jeff Vinik purchased the team last year and wasted no time making changes. He hire the great Steve Yzerman and gave him basically an open check book and stayed out of the decision making player-wise, and boy did it pay off.
But thats not what makes him one of the best owners, i think, in any sport. He gets "it". Money in this areas tight so not only did he keep a lot of the ticket prices the same but he lowered a majority of them. He took 40 MILLION of HIS OWN MONEY and redid the majority of the hockey ring. He added a huge pipe organ, TOOK OUT approx 400 seats and added huge breeze ways so you could see the ice as you were getting your beer, they added tesla coils, yes telsa coils, to shoot lightning bolts whenever they score. he made EVERY seat in the place padded with a cup holder not just the lower deck.
Hes also giving back to this area. last year he donated 10 million to local charities and this year for every game they are picking a "hometown hero" and he gets to pick a charity that 50k will be donated to on their behalf.
and oh yea hey Glazers and Sternburg hes actually going to live in the community of his hockey team, not L.A. or New York, here in Tampa Bay.
So i thought id share what the new Lightning owners are up to. Jeff Vinik purchased the team last year and wasted no time making changes. He hire the great Steve Yzerman and gave him basically an open check book and stayed out of the decision making player-wise, and boy did it pay off.
But thats not what makes him one of the best owners, i think, in any sport. He gets "it". Money in this areas tight so not only did he keep a lot of the ticket prices the same but he lowered a majority of them. He took 40 MILLION of HIS OWN MONEY and redid the majority of the hockey ring. He added a huge pipe organ, TOOK OUT approx 400 seats and added huge breeze ways so you could see the ice as you were getting your beer, they added tesla coils, yes telsa coils, to shoot lightning bolts whenever they score. he made EVERY seat in the place padded with a cup holder not just the lower deck.
Hes also giving back to this area. last year he donated 10 million to local charities and this year for every game they are picking a "hometown hero" and he gets to pick a charity that 50k will be donated to on their behalf.
and oh yea hey Glazers and Sternburg hes actually going to live in the community of his hockey team, not L.A. or New York, here in Tampa Bay.
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