How would Dallas Stars host a Stanley Cup parade during COVID? Google Hangout? Zoom?
Don’t think the Dallas Stars or Tampa Bay Lightning want to be associated with a “COVID Party” to celebrate the Stanley Cup.
But the reality is that one of these two franchises will become the first major pro sports franchise in North America to win a title during the ’rona era.
So how does one responsibly throw a championship parade during COVID? Zoom call with fans? Google Hangout? Virtual high-fives? Email blast? Drive-by party in front of Jamie Benn’s house?
Put the players in a Plexiglass box inside the American Airlines Center where masked fans can walk, six feet apart, on a carpet around them ... like a zoo?
“We have not had any discussions about that and I’ll refrain from making any comment on it,” Dallas Stars president Brad Alberts said.
Wise choice.
The Stars trail the Lightning, 2-1, in the Stanley Cup Final. The series continues inside the NHL bubble in Edmonton with the next two games on Friday and Saturday nights.
The “parade route” story before a championship is actually won is cliche, but the COVID parade concept is fascinating. To celebrate a title with fans would potentially be a source of fun, as well as a spike.
The last time we had a title parade, when the Dallas Mavericks celebrated their 2011 title in downtown Dallas. A few months later, the Texas Rangers were so close to hosting one in Arlington; something weird happened that prevented the parade.
The Stars hosted their Cup parade in June of 1999.
The Dallas Cowboys ... it’s been so long, historians no longer have any footage of if people back then actually even celebrated Super Bowls.
The Stars and Lightning are equal losers in 2020
The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs offers a cruel paradox: Go on an extended Stanley Cup run, only to not to see any of the profits, marketing, and fun, that come with hosting the games.
The Stars will miss out on more than an estimated $20 million in profit by not hosting these playoff games; then there is merchandise sales that come with playoff runs, and the ability to sell more season tickets than in previous years.
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final would have been a home game at the American Airlines Center in front of a capacity crowd. It should be the Stars’ 10th home playoff game in 2020.
“We made it and we’re in the Finals, but we’re not. We are not at home, in the American Airlines Center,” Alberts said. “We can’t sell tickets. We can sell some merchandise, but not under normal circumstances.
“They have created incredible memories for themselves and the fans. They have reached the level they’ve always wanted to reach. The games are incredible, so there is no asterisk. The asterisk is we are experiencing all of this on TV. There is no in person interaction with this at all. The emotion that comes with being at the games in person, and what makes it all so incredibly special, isn’t there because it’s a TV experience.”
What COVID reminds us of daily is that we can do a lot more virtually than we ever conceived; virtually is more convenient. The trade is not always worth it.
The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are where franchises sell their team, and make the real profit. Hosting a home playoff game typically means a again of about $1.75 million.
If the Stars can extend their Stanley Cup Finals series to at least a Game 6, they will have missed out on hosting 11 playoff games.
“There is nothing we can do about it. Is it sad? Yes,” Alberts said. “On top of that is the cloud of uncertainty around the world. When can we play? When can we sell tickets? All of these questions linger.”
The last time the Dallas Stars hosted a game at the AAC was March 10 against the New York Rangers. When the NHL “paused,” the Stars’ remaining 13 games were canceled.
The Stars then had to offer refunds, or rollovers, for those who had tickets to the seven remaining home games. Then they could not sell a playoff ticket. Now they have no clue about next season, which the NHL thus far has not said when it will begin.
The NHL formula is simple: Go on a run, sell more season tickets.
“This is the hardest professional challenge of my life. There is no business school, or years of experience, that can prepare you for this,” Alberts said. “At least in a lockout we knew when it came back we could sell tickets. With this, we don’t know.”
The Stars have opened the AAC to fans for watching parties during the playoffs, which Alberts says functions as a potential dry run for next season.
They call season ticket holders, and prepare for a variety of scenarios but no one knows.
They all watch, celebrate, while knowing they are missing out, too.
And then there is the real hard part, should they get the chance to do it.
Anyone out there ever host a socially-distanced parade?
