THN.com Playoff Blog: Coyotes smartly using golf to grow hockey

Jeff Quinney of the PGA Tour sporting the Coyotes logo. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Edward Fraser
2008-05-15 14:06:01

Let’s face facts, Phoenix is hardly a hotbed of hockey, so any way you can draw local attention to the sport – even if that attention comes from golf fans – you have to go for it.

That’s why I thought it was a great idea when I heard in January the Coyotes had struck a sponsorship deal with former U.S. Amateur champion Jeff Quinney, who’s an up-and-comer in his second full year on the PGA tour.

“Quinney went to Arizona State University and has great ties to Arizonans and has a local following here,” Douglas Moss, president and COO of the Coyotes told me in an email.

And it’s those local ties – and the seemingly innate bond between hockey and golf – that the ‘Yotes are trying to capitalize on.

“We believe there’s a great translation between golf and hockey,” said Moss. “A lot of people who play hockey also play golf and it was just a perfect fit.”

The sponsorship paid big dividends last weekend after Quinney – and the Coyotes logo prominently displayed on the right shoulder of his pink shirt - received plenty of camera time as the Eugene, Ore., native finished third at the highly-publicized PGA Players Championship in Florida.

“I was happy to see him do well, but we were a little disappointed that he fell just short,” Moss said. “The Coyotes logo got great exposure on TV. I got a lot of emails from people talking about seeing our logo on TV and they were really excited about it, as well.”

So Kudos to the ‘Yotes marketing team for thinking outside the box. More initiatives like this will help the NHL reclaim its rightful spot among the Big 4 in the U.S.

FINAL THOUGHT
I wonder if anyone in the Penguins organization uses a BlackBerry?

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Edward Fraser is the editor of thehockeynews.com. His blog appears Thursdays.

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