Public relations efforts to promote new sports teams

The purpose of this thesis was to accumulate information relative to the various public relations practices, methods, and procedures utilized by the four NHL expansion teams during the two-year period June 25, 1997 to October 7, 1999. The thesis determined the extent of common public relations elements among the four NHL expansion teams. The study was approached from four perspectives: public relations, media relations, community relations and player perspective. Eighteen questions were asked of each team: Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild to determine the extent of communication elements common among them. Through in-depth interviews, it was determined that each team uses similar techniques to communicate with its various audiences. Be it informal luncheons with local beat writers, or outreach programs designed to teach school children the fundamentals of hockey, each team stresses the importance of good media relations and strives to be accessible to its audiences. Each team, although young in its NHL lifetime, has made a name for itself, both in the league and in each city