for taking the time to talk to me about this.”
“Don’t mention it.” Richard sat down and gestured for us to do the same. “Jase gave me the rundown of what you and he have in mind, and he’s been very vocal about it.” With a big grin, he added, “It sounds like a great thing to do for some of the fans who have to miss games. That’s an entire market we haven’t been able to reach before.”
It grated on me a little that this was a marketing ploy for him. That he saw this as a way of catering to fans who otherwise weren’t buying tickets, and to ultimately add some sparkle to the Snow Bears’ public image and to their bank accounts. But I also understood that money made the world go around, and if bottom lines and dollar signs motivated him to do this, then I could work with it. To a point.
“Before we get too deep into this,” I said, “I feel like ticket prices are a thing we should discuss upfront.”
Richard’s eyebrows rose.
I cleared my throat. “The thing is, a lot of the families who would be interested in these things are under serious financial strain already. I’m going to be in debt until I’m dead, and I can name at least half a dozen families off the top of my head who’ve had to file for bankruptcy as a direct result of costs associated with their child’s healthcare. I realize there’s going to be some cost involved in making something like this happen, but maybe we should go into this thinking of ways to offset those costs right from the start.”
Richard looked dubious, and preemptive disappointment set in. I’d shot this down before it ever got off the ground, hadn’t I?
But Jase spoke up first. “There’s always fundraisers. We can charge a modest rate for tickets, and do fundraisers to help anyone who needs it. I remember last season, there were some firefighters killed in Boston, and the team did kind of a spin on the Pass the Boot thing that firefighters do. They did Pass the Skate at one of their games to raise some money for the families, and they brought in a ton of cash that way. We don’t necessarily need to do that, but game night fundraisers can get a lot of donations. Plus I’m sure we could get some sponsors, and players might be willing to donate their time for the games themselves.”
Richard nodded slowly. “That’s true. Well, we’ll need to figure out how much this is going to cost. Even if players are willing to donate their time, we still need ice resurfacers, stadium employees—that kind of thing. I can’t ask those folks to work for free.”
“No, of course not,” I said. “But I think Jase is on to something with game night fundraisers. Even if it’s just… I don’t know, a booth where they play some kind of game and get prizes—people love things like that.”
Richard looked at me, and he smiled. “You sound like you’re in the wrong line of work, Mr. McKenzie. You should be working here.”
I laughed. “Yeah, probably. But I’m happy to volunteer.” I glanced at Jase. “And if you need a spokesman, I’m happy to do that too.”
“Perfect,” Richard said, and I swore I felt Jase relax beside me. It took all the restraint I had not to reach over and squeeze his hand. Oblivious to us, Richard went on, absently thumbing his chin. “And you know, after Jase and I talked last time, I remembered that some of the teams around the league have had the occasional low stimulation nights. No flashing lights or loud music, things like that.”
I nodded. “Those are great, but I’m thinking something for kids who can’t even handle that much. Like those who have issues with crowds, strong smells from the concessions—that kind of thing. That’s why I can’t bring my daughter to a game. Even without the flashing lights or loud noise, there’s still the noise of the crowd, plus the smells. All the caution about lights and noise goes right out the window when she catches a whiff of some cologne or something.”
“Really?” Richard asked.
“Yep. Her classmates can’t bring anything to school that has any kind of smell, and even their lunches can be an issue.”
“Wow. That must be a nightmare.”
“It’s, um… It’s not easy, let’s put it that way. And some kids can’t cope with crowds for other reasons.”
Brow furrowed, he nodded. “Hmm.