Sabers COO Pete Guelli affirms Pegula’s commitment to hockey

Fifteen years ago, Pete Guelli left the Buffalo Bills to join the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats as executive vice president and was tasked with reviving the business side of a franchise stuck in a losing rut.

Fast forward to this spring, when Guelli was hired as dual chief operating officer of the Bills and Buffalo Sabres.

The Bills are doing well financially, with continued success on the field and a new stadium under construction.

The Sabres, not so much. Their 13-season playoff drought is the longest in the NHL, the KeyBank Center looks much older than its age (opened in 1996) and the visuals of seats empty or filled with fans wearing the opponent’s sweaters are a horror.

Guelli, who was hired by Bills/Sabres owner Terry Pegula on March 19, will draw on his NBA experience to help the Sabres.

“It’s obviously a different model than the NFL,” Guelli said. “(The Sabres) remind me of what I walked into when I went to the NBA. After going through this, I know you can mitigate (financial) losses and move toward profitability, and that’s not limited to the hockey team. The arena is an asset that should be exploited as much as possible throughout the year. If you can get the building and Sabers working (well) at the same time, you’ll be able to move in the right direction pretty quickly.

First, a roof/scoreboard construction project was announced on February 26. Then there was the return of coach Lindy Ruff to general manager Kevyn Adams’ staff. And over the past month, Guelli and his team have begun looking at ways to improve the fan experience in and around the arena.

“The focus is on long-term success, on and off the ice,” Guelli said.

The best way to ensure the arena isn’t flooded with Toronto or Montreal fans this season is simple. Earn.

“You try to create an environment where your fans want to participate and be there to support your team,” Guelli said. “We just have to improve the fan experience and perform at a level where our fans want to fill the building.”

The first question regarding the Sabers was asked of Guelli last week: Is Pegula willing to sell the team he bought in 2011 for $189 million?

“I can tell you it wasn’t discussed at all,” Guelli said. “I think Terry’s commitment to hockey in this city should be pretty clear. I don’t know if there are too many owners who are as invested in hockey as he is, especially in a smaller market like Buffalo.

“He loves the sport, he understands the importance of it to the city of Buffalo and (how) the team and the arena can be a catalyst for growth downtown.”

Guelli is also aware of the perception that his priority is the football team. Since moving to Buffalo, he said he spends two days each at the Bills and Sabers and Friday is a “swing” day, depending on his meeting schedule.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to make decisions between the two (teams) and then try to figure out where the two connect to create an advantage for both,” he said.

Guelli, along with Adams and Laura Pegula, are the Sabres’ alternate governors, a role that includes voting on league proposals. Guelli will attend his first NHL Board of Governors meeting at the end of June.

Construction on a new roof began after the Sabres’ season, the addition of a new scoreboard will begin July 1, and both are expected to be completed by August. According to an industry source, the price is around $13 million and will be paid by Pegula.

Once it was deemed that the current scoreboard could not be used as a frame for the new screens, the Sabers looked at several options before selecting a Mitsubishi brand.

Guelli said the Sabers are “discussing” a new audio system, and it’s on the team’s radar.

“We’re trying to figure out how we want to implement some of these changes,” he said. “There are a number of things we’re looking at.”

The Sabers hired Ruff on April 22, diving into the latter era of the franchise’s glory days — he played in 650 games (regular season/playoffs) for Buffalo over 10 years and coached 1,266 games over 15 seasons.

Guelli said Ruff’s return had a “dramatic” impact on season ticket sales. Last year, the Sabers had 10,000 “full-season equivalent” season tickets – for example, two half-season packages equal one full-season equivalent. The team expects an increase of 10 to 15 percent.

“Inbound activity has reached levels that I don’t think the team has seen in a long time,” Guelli said. “This is going to be a real pivotal moment. Lindy’s presence on the hockey side inspires everyone and we have received a very enthusiastic response. People are excited about his return and what it could mean for this team.

Guelli welcomed Ruff’s return and said he had been “really impressed” with Adams.

“Very collaborative, a great teammate, he sees the big picture,” Guelli said. “You can see the talent on the team, and it’s Lindy’s job to unlock it and take them to the next level and they didn’t hesitate to have that conversation.”

On June 12, the Sabers will host “Blue & Gold Insights” for fans at the arena. The event will include tours, an overview of available seating options and a Q&A session with Ruff and Adams. As of last week, nearly 2,000 fans had registered and free tickets remain available on the team’s website.

Guelli said a “big part” of his talk with Pegula earlier this year was his vision for helping the Sabers maximize the fan environment in and around the arena.

Pegula doesn’t own much land around KeyBank Center, so the Sabers plan to reach out to downtown businesses to discuss ideas to maximize game/event days.

“We would like to work with the people who own properties in the space (around the arena) and if there is a way we can partner and make that area as active as possible,” Guelli said. “You’ve seen the growth (in other markets) when an arena works and mixed uses develop around it. We’re thinking about what that could potentially look like, but we’re still in the early stages.

Inside the arena, the Sabers plan to expand their business intelligence and analytics team to interact more with fans. Fan development manager Jeremy Cohen is leading a council of season ticket holders to solicit input.

“What can we do to improve the fan experience as Sabers fans enter the arena this year? » said Guelli.

Citing retail areas and concessions, Guelli added: “There are changes you can make relatively quickly to impact the experience. »