Interview: Don Waddell, President Carolina Hurricanes

Back in the game

More than just winning: From Zoom to digital fan tunnels, pro sports teams like the Hurricanes are staying connected

Don Waddell

President – Carolina Hurricanes

What were some of the lessons learned by the organization over the last year? We spent a long time preparing for a return to play. You have to provide an environment that’ll make everyone feel comfortable, not only our players but our staff and now our fans, too. We spent a lot of time preparing for that. We were following the government rules to the greatest extent possible.

Also, we do everything by Zoom, even our player meetings. It’s a different world but we’re doing what we can.

How is the team using technology to increase revenue and improve the fan experience? The world’s gone digital. It was happening before COVID but obviously the pandemic has just taken it to the next level. When we post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, our views are just off the charts. The way you do that is by having good contact and our players are part of the community, they want to be part of the community, and we try to encourage them to identify with the fans.

At games, we would do fan tunnels, where fans could high-five players as they came out onto the ice. Now, we do the same thing but virtually. It’s been a great success for people. The players see all these fans on a Zoom call, they stop and talk to them, they thank them for their support. So, we’ve been able to continue that in a way I never thought would be possible. In these crazy times, you’ve got to find ways to engage your fans with your teams. Winning hockey games is incredibly important for that but so is staying in touch with your fans.

What is your outlook for both the team and the RaleighDurham sports industry? I think it’s going to be robust. We were allowed to have 4,500 fans in the arena and we sold every ticket in minutes. People are looking for things to do and I think as other events come back, people are going to be very excited. They are looking for activities not only to participate in but also to support.

My feeling is that when we come out of this and people feel comfortable between the vaccine and everything else, that the 2021-22 season is going to be incredible. We have so many big shows lined up for the arena and they’ve been demonstrating strong sales.

Even in areas like the music industry, people haven’t been able to tour over the last year and they’re excited to do so. We’re very encouraged by what we’ve been seeing and we hope that everything continues in a positive direction.