On Wednesday the NFL approved a deal that allowed Stan Kroenke to transfer ownership of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke. The news was originally reported by The Los Angeles Times.
The transfer of ownership was necessary for Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams because the league does not allow its owners to own non-NFL franchises in cities other than their NFL franchise. This is, essentially, so that they are not competing against other owners for sponsorship dollars. In essence, they don’t want Stan Kroenke picking Pat Bowlen’s pocket.
(We’ll save our thoughts on how silly it is that Kroenke can’t own the team but is wife can for another day.)
What’s interesting to us is that the Nuggets and Avs are now officially owned by a member of the Walton family. Bud Walton, Ann’s father, was a business partner with Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.
The mega-discount mega-retailer is the largest company in the world by revenue and operates more than 11,000 stores in 28 countries, according to a Forbes 2014 report.
Walmart flies under the corporate banner “Save Money. Live Better,” which is a slogan we think new owner Ann Walton Kroenke should carry over when considering how to care for her new teams’ respective fan bases.
As such, we’ve devised a few plays straight from the Walmart playbook so that the newest big league owner in Denver can accomplish just that. Enjoy!
No. 5 – Roll back prices (especially on the Avs)
We get it. The NHL doesn’t have the TV revenue that the NBA does and it’s way more expensive to outfit 23 dudes in hockey regalia and cover Pepsi Center in a sheet of ice than it is to put 12 guys in satin shorts and tank tops and roll out a couple basketballs and hoops. But seriously?
Face value on a lower bowl ticket is anywhere from $97.00 to $298.00. At those prices, season tickets are quite out of reach for Average Joe Hockey. Even upper level seats run $23.00 to $69.00. When the best you can do for a family of four for $100 is the worst seats in the house, it’s a little depressing.
The sellout streak is over and fans want to come to more games, they just can’t afford to. Ann should take a page from the old Walmart playbook and roll back prices – especially on those lower bowl seats.
Pepsi Center used to be a great home ice advantage. That’s faded in recent years. It needs to return and it starts with making it more affordable for more people to attend more games.
No. 4 – Communicate everything you can to your partners
This one comes straight out of Sam Walton’s “10 Rules for Building a Business.”
According to Sam, “The more [your partners] know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.”
“Partners” can take on any number of meanings in this case, whether it be the fans, the media or even internal “partners” like staff, players, coaches and personnel.
“Silent Stan” was notoriously quiet, allowing his executives to speak for him. His son Josh, who now runs both teams, has been a far more forward-facing member of the ownership family tree.
Fans want to see and hear from their owner (so long as the message is “we’re committed to winning and here’s how were going about it”), the media is always happier when they have access and answers, and staff, players, coaches and personnel are always glad when ownership is open and upfront about the short- and long-term goals of the organization.
Those groups can’t care about what they don’t understand. Keep the communication lines open and you’ll have an organization surrounded by people who both know and care.
No. 3 – Add self checkout
The greatest invention to the modern grocery store since refrigeration is the self checkout lane should come to Pepsi Center.
Sure, it’s annoying when the old lady with 40 items in her cart attempts to go through a self checkout lane, but the beautiful part is that there are usually at least three more checkout stands that could open up at any given time.
Self checkout has expedited and de-stressed the grocery store process, especially for the person who just needs a gallon of milk (or in this case an ice cold soda) and nothing else. There’s no reason it can’t have the same revolutionary impact at Pepsi Center.
Plus, the faster people can get in and out of the food lines, the more likely they are to return to them for a second and third time.
There’s a better fan experience to be had and more money to be made.
No. 2 – Follow Sam’s Rule No. 2
No. 2 on Sam Walton’s “10 Rules for Building a Business” is this:
“Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners.”
That means open up the wallet for your players. The Avs were once known as a free-spending bunch, willing to pay anything to win. Since the onset of the salary cap, they’ve been at or near the league bottom in salary. For 2015-16, according to Spotrac, they’re 24th out of 30 clubs.
The Nuggets come in at 26th in the NBA this year, and haven’t been much better in years past.
Don’t follow the trend of the Rockies, paying a handful of guys mega money while the rest of the club makes the league minimum.
If ownership wants the Nuggets and Avs want to win, and want to get full player buy-in, they need to reinvest their profits fully with the “associates.” After all, those are the guys who are responsible for the on-ice and on-court product.
No. 1 – Endlessly pursue the goal of being No. 1
Walmart goes to some very extreme ends (often to great criticism) to stay on top of the pile. The mentality in sports is no different.
The New England Patriots (love them or hate them) are currently the Walmart of the NFL. They’ll do just about anything – even if it gets them into some hot water – because they know what their fans want more than anything else. It’s the same thing Robert Kraft wants. Championships.
So the Nuggets have to overpay for an elite player to complement Emmanuel Mudiay? It’s better than hoping Rocky can invent some crazy new stunt that will keep the fans coming back again and again.
Have to sign some grizzly characters to shore up the blue line in front of Semyon Varlamov? The ice girls certainly aren’t going to do it.
Walmart is tireless in its pursuit of being the world’s largest company. Can the same be said about the Nuggets and Avs pursuit of a title?
Maybe with a Walton now at the helm, that will be the case in the months and years to come.