Scott Fischer had never considered himself a hockey fan.

Even while he was growing up in Columbus, Ohio, the sport failed to catch his

interest. He rarely attended games and would have struggled to explain the

difference between a blue line and a line change.

But about four years ago, Fischer, the president of

Harley-Davidson of Fort Myers and Harley-Davidson of Naples, heard about a new

minor league team called the Florida Everblades and decided to become a

supporter. He learned the rules, got to know the players, and displayed his

newfound devotion by shelling out $25,000 for a luxury suite.

“The Everblades became very big here very fast,” Fischer

says. “I can honestly say that I try to go to all the games. I wasn’t able to

last year, but hopefully I’ll see every one of them this season.”

That kind of support and enthusiasm were exactly what owner

Craig Brush was hoping to find when he decided to place the Everblades in

Southwest Florida. At first, he just “wanted to fill a void, to give something

fans can identify with.” Now, heading into their fifth anniversary, the

Everblades, who play at TECO Arena in Estero, have become a force in the

community.

They’ve led the East Coast Hockey League’s 28 other teams in

attendance the past two seasons. Last season, they also led the league with a

base of 4,981 season-ticket holders in the 7,181-seat arena. And 15 companies

are on a waiting list for one of TECO’s 26 luxury suites, which Fischer says

now costs him $36,000 a year.

“I’ve always believed the game of hockey sells itself,” says

Brush, who played for the 1970 Cornell University team that won the NCAA

national championship. “Those fans who attended on an occasional basis had a

good time at our games and are now our diehard fans. They know that our games,

overall, are a good experience. That keeps them coming back.”

Brush is one of three owners of Raleigh, N.C.-based Gale

Force Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, the Everblades

and another minor league hockey team in Plymouth, Mich. The company also owns

TECO. When Brush initially began searching for a home for the franchise, he

considered other areas of Florida, including an existing building in West Palm

Beach. But he was intrigued by Southwest Florida, where he had bought a home in

1988. A study for the NHL’s Florida Panthers, based in Sunrise, showed the area

was a viable market. As a part-time resident of Marco Island, Brush realized

the potential for growth. He saw that there were few nightly entertainment

options, and he understood the demographics of the commun-ity. “We knew a lot

of transplanted Northerners lived here,” Brush says. “They’re hockey fans, and

they didn’t want to make the drive to the east coast or to Tampa to watch the

games. That was part of our impetus.”

Brush searched for the perfect area to build an arena. He

asked questions, listened to the advice and opinions of locals and shrugged off

skeptics who said a hockey team wouldn’t survive. “A lot of people raised their

eyebrows,” Brush says. Finally, he decided on a parcel of land adjacent to

Interstate 75, about halfway between Fort Myers and Naples.

“It was the one that made the most sense,” says Mark Miller,

the team’s director of sales and marketing, and one of five employees who have

been with the team since its inception. “It was and is a sheer growth area. We

knew that people from Fort Myers wouldn’t drive to Collier County to see a game

and vice versa, but if we put the facility where it was centrally located, then

we thought people would come. It just made great sense.”

Response was immediate and tremendous. In 1998-99, their

first season, the Everblades averaged 6,405 fans per game. Suites were hot

items. Local businessman Jim Dwyer bought the first one. “I grew up watching

[New York] Rangers games at [Madison Square] Garden, and when I lived in

Chicago, I had Blackhawks tickets, so when the Everblades came here, I adopted

them,” says Dwyer, a veteran of the telecommunications industry. “When they

came here it was like a breath of fresh air. We’ve always supported our teams.

I wanted to continue that tradition here.”

The team immediately built a strong relationship with local

news outlets, receiving daily coverage from two newspapers and four television

stations, and having live broadcasts on WQAM (770 AM). “The media response has

been sensational,” Miller says. “We’ve worked hard to cater to the media, to

make things easy for them. They, in turn, have provided outstanding coverage.”

Part of the Everblades’ success is linked to TECO, a clean,

modern, fan-friendly facility with easy access to I-75 and Southwest Florida

International Airport. Just as Brush predicted, the area has flourished, with

continuing development of Florida Gulf Coast University, Miromar Outlets and

other commercial centers as well as several upscale golf course communities.

The team and arena have a unique, symbiotic relationship.

Unlike most minor league teams, which play in places built with public funds,

the Everblades and TECO are both owned by the same private company. So when

TECO plays host to an event other than hockey, part of the revenue goes to the

team, giving it a distinct advantage over minor league teams that pay rent.

“It’s all under one common management,” Brush says. “There’s a synergy

developed from that.”

Miller agrees. “When I’m marketing the team, I’m basically

marketing the building. It’s a unique entity. That’s an advantage,” he says.

On 110 days in 2001, TECO played host to a major event,

sporting or otherwise. The arena is also home to the Florida Firecats of

arenafootball2 and the United States Basketball League’s Florida Sea Dragons.

Those teams combined to play 23 games at TECO this year, paying about $5,000

per game for use of the $30 million facility. As a result, the Everblades make

money year-round and drop about $8 million a year into the economy.

“It’s been a godsend having TECO there,” says Gary Ewen,

sports development director for the Lee County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“It’s an economic marketing tool to attract events to our area.”

And when the Everblades are at home, they draw well. Miller,

who received the ECHL Marketing Award for 2001-02, says the Everblades have

averaged 6,748 fans per game in their four seasons, about 95 percent of TECO’s

capacity. The team also has led the league in postseason attendance the past

four years and will host the 2003 ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 21. It took the

Everblades just four seasons to attract more than one million fans (1,039,302

total), compared to 11 seasons for the Fort Myers Miracle, a Class A baseball

team that plays 65 games a year at 7,500-seat Hammond Stadium. But Miller says

there’s still plenty of room to grow. “I wish my job would get easier, but

there’s a new challenge every day,” he says. “We’re going to keep doing it.

We’re not resting on our laurels.”

All the media attention allows Miller to promise added perks

to corporate sponsors and companies that buy advertising inside the facility.

Purchased signage, Miller says, often shows up in news highlights and in

newspaper photographs from the games. “That’s basically an ad on the front page

of the sports section,” he says. “You can’t put a price on that. That goes

beyond what we promise them.”

The club also keeps a high profile off the ice. Last season,

Everblades players spoke at ap-proximately 70 schools. The team contributed to

fundraisers for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Boys and

Girls Club of Collier County, and participated in several charitable events

including an Easter canned food drive. Proceeds from the team’s season-ending

jersey auction were donated to the YMCA of Lee County, the Shelter for Abused

Women and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“We’re in a very philanthropic community,” Miller says. “You

have to give something back. If you don’t do something, people notice that, so

we’ve tried to do a good job in the community by helping out where we can.

That’s important for us. We don’t say no to anybody.”

The Everblades are especially kind to their luxury suite owners.

Again, thanks to the team’s relationship with the arena, suite owners such as

Fischer receive 10 tickets, parking passes and catered meals for every arena event. That includes concerts,

the circus, ice-skating extravaganzas and other shows. Fischer often passes his

tickets on to his employees, ensuring that his box is almost always packed.

“The suite gives us a great opportunity to entertain

employees in a very exciting way,” Fischer says. “It’s not expensive when

you’re able to share the cost by letting so many people go to so many events

over the course of a year. The Everblades appeal to everyone, men, women and

children. They’ve brought a lot to the community and hopefully the community

will continue to go to their games and support them.”