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More Flyers Town Hall Interviews: Business Operations with Valerie Camillo and Mike Shane
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On Monday evening, the Philadelphia Flyers held a town hall meeting with season ticket holders at the Wells Fargo Center.
Fans were split up into groups and taken station to station to meet with different departments of the Flyers and Wells Fargo Center’s operations. They were given an opportunity to ask the leaders of each department questions.
The event was closed to the media. However, multiple season ticket holders sent audio recordings of the question-and-answer sessions to Crossing Broad.
As we mentioned in that post, we found that some of the questions were repetitive, from group to group, so we decided the best way to provide these to you was to share one group’s Q/A portion for each session with the different executives, almost as if you were part of one of the groups there Monday night as well.
(Don’t worry, we aren’t leaving anything out that would be considered newsworthy. You’re getting the best group questions for each department).
Crossing Broad would like to thank all of the season ticket holders who took the time to both record these sessions and share them with us so that we could share them with the season ticket holders who could not attend Monday’s town hall as well as the fans of the franchise who are not season ticket holders and did not have access.
Below is simply a transcription of the group Q/A session with Business Ops. President of Business Operations Valerie Camillo (VC below), and Chief Business Officer Mike Shane (MS). We will save analysis for later so this doesn’t fall into my usual too long/didn’t read category where I share my thoughts.
All questions were asked by season ticket holders directly to the Flyers Business Operations Department. Crossing Broad did not provide any questions for STH to ask anyone.
At lower levels of hockey, they do skates on the ice, and I know they do that here as well, but are you able to do that with players, like a certain amount of players, or something similar?
MS: We actually had that scheduled for two years ago, and then we got shut down. And we didn’t bring it back this year because there is a league rule where players can’t interact with fans. That’s across the league and is a COVID protocol, obviously. That’s not going to be the norm going forward. We’re going to get back to ‘Meet the Team.’ Skating with the players is absolutely something we want to do. We kept that holiday skating event on the calendar this year because we were hoping the restrictions might ease a bit and the players could be there. Obviously, they weren’t, but it’s something we’re going to look to do at the skating event next year, yeah.”
VC: It’s the same reason the carnival didn’t happen the past two years – we didn’t feel like we could host it to the same degree without the players – and we weren’t allowed to have any of the players there the last two years. But we hope things are going to be changed for next season for sure.
I want you to know that there are a lot of season ticket holders who have been here a long time, are really disgusted at the way the Flyers treated Kate Smith – and it really bothers us. And it really disconnected from something that was very important to us, who have been with this team since before a lot of you people were even born. I don’t know that there’s anything you can do, but I just wanted you to know there are a lot of us who are really disgusted with the way they treated Kate Smith.
MS: Let me address this and take a step back. Obviously, Kate Smith has a very important role in Flyers history, and we recognize that and we understand that. The other piece of that is there is a lot of commentary that when the songs were produced and when they were [performed] they didn’t mean the same thing. From our perspective, what’s important though is, what does it mean today and how is it going to be perceived today? And our job is to make the Wells Fargo Center a welcoming environment, not only for every fan in the city, but all of our employees as well. There are people who don’t feel comfortable because they feel we are making decisions that are negative to them. That’s not something we can do. So, any decisions about Kate Smith aren’t about her as a person, or the time, or the intention. It’s about making that decision today and it’s not something that we are going to revisit.
VC: I also want to say – thank you for saying it. We’ve had a number of people reach out to us and give feedback on both sides and we appreciate you guys being candid and telling us what you think. Again, it’s not something being revisited by the organization, but there’s no reason to apologize for saying it and we appreciate you guys telling us.
On the nights you have giveaways, these giveaways are being done after the game and it’s causing a major difficulty just trying to get out of the game. You’re allowing people to take into the stands bottled soda, bottled and canned beer. Why can’t we get the gift when we come in so we can just leave when the game is over?
MS: A lot of it has to do with what the gift is. The heavier items could cause damage if they are thrown. Unfortunately, that is something that could happen. We just can’t give those out at the beginning. It’s a safety issue for our fans and for our players. Some of the other things that we give away – like the fanny pack – that’s not going to hurt anybody, so we gave that away on the [way] in. Finger puppets and some of the other things. It’s the [beer] stein and the chia and the nesting dolls – the things that can be thrown and hurt somebody – we have to be mindful of making it safe for people.
But how is that any different than a bottle of beer or a soda? I would think that a bottle of beer or soda is far more dangerous than an Ivan Provorov doll. And I don’t understand why you do one and not the other.
MS: That’s actually the reason when you buy a bottle of beer they take the cap off – so that it would pour out. I understand the frustration. It’s something I think we can look at [as far as] how we make it more efficient on the [way] out, but at the end of the day, safety has to be what we are thinking first and foremost for everybody. That’s our baseline. It has to be safe for people.
Maybe the answer to this is licensing, but you’ll tell me. Before the game and between periods, once the scoreboard does what it’s supposed to do, all you have up there is the ‘Back to Broad’ logo. Is it possible to put up there the other NHL games of the night? Like the scores? It would make it more interesting. All we’re doing is sitting there between periods and looking at the same logo and it’s not doing anything. And yet, there’s other games going on. [Sometimes] even before the game. NHL Network maybe? Or is it licensing?
MS: It’s actually not licensing. I think that’s great feedback and I think that’s a really good idea. I know our marketing team is here. Let us take that and think about how to incorporate more league-wide, highlight-type things.
VC: I’m not texting my friends. I’m actually taking a note. That’s a good note.
MS: Yeah, that’s a good one. I like that.
I don’t know about anybody else, but it drives me crazy – when is (the in-arena host) going to get the chant right? It’s not ‘Let’s go Flyers’ (alternating notes up and down four times) It’s ‘Let’s go Flyers’ (only dropping the third note with he first two and the last one the same). Like back in the Spectrum days.
MS: That’s a fantastic note.
VC: Yes, thank you.
MS: That’s great. We will get it right back to him. That’s an easy one. Thank you.
A couple questions. I know you are renovating the club level for club premiere and even now for luxury suite holders and club box levels. They’re very restricted where, if we’re full season and we’re on the club level or the luxury suite, we can’t go in the Center City Club. We can’t go into the Inside Edge Line and we’re paying all this money. Any reason not to open it up for your high end, full-season fans who can have some of those benefits rather than wait in line at Shake Shack? If we’re paying all this money, why can’t we do it?
MS: The Inside Edge line, you should be able to get in. We’ll make sure we address that. That’s obviously the intention there. Now, next year, I will say, the food and beverage on your level is going to be ‘next level.’ We have a lot of announcements coming out.
VC: It’s going to be the best in the building, I think, and then people in other places in the building are going to say, ‘Why can’t I get up there?’ It’s going to flip. We recognize that the Club level has lacked some love and care for a number of years, and we’ve seen that. People have voted with their feet. The renewals in there and the ticket sales in there have dropped dramatically relative to other parts of the building. We have the plan to do the transformation. It was supposed to be done already, but then the pandemic hit and we paused it, as you guys know. But it will be completed by opening night of this coming season. Without giving away too many surprises, I can tell you that it’s going to be spectacular. It’s going to be the best one in all of sports.
MS: We’re also going to be expanding what you can get in your seat. You don’t even have to leave [it]. In-seat ordering is going to be on a different level, particularly in Club Premiere – pretty much anything throughout the building you’re going to be able to get brought directly to you. We’ve thought a lot about it. The food and beverage on that level in particular has been a major area of focus as part of the transformation, because that level has been left behind the farthest.
When I come into the Center, I’m here to see a Flyers game. How come during the pre-game warmup and stoppages of play is the music blasted at obscene levels that I can’t talk to the person next to me? And I think if you go online you’ll find that a lot of people talk about that.
VC: And I’m one of them. We were just in the last session talking. Our head of game presentation is here in the back. When I’m sitting in my suite, and I’m having conversations and I’m hosting guests, I’ll have the same experience and I’ll text upstairs. It varies. It depends on how many people are in the building. The noise can hit differently, and they think they have the volume right and then the crowd is at a different level and it’s not right. Depending on where your seat location is –
MS: A lot of it, what we found has come down to seat location and it’s something that has been a challenge for us all year. When we missed time, obviously systems get shut down, and then you restart them and they’re not exactly where they were. But that year where we were playing with really restricted fans, we had to completely change all of the levels in the building, and we haven’t gotten them back to that right balance. This week we have a meeting, and we are actually having a section-by-section decibel reading, because as much as it is the volume, it’s the balance. Because there are other sections, and some of you might say the same thing, where [people are saying] ‘I can’t hear anything. I was talking and I couldn’t even hear Lou Nolan talk about the penalty,’ which we’ve heard from others. So, it is something that is top of mind for us. We are putting a ton of attention behind it. We agree. There are areas that are way too loud, and we got to get the balance right, so that everyone can hear.
VC: We’ve been going back and forth too. We got feedback that it was too loud, so we turned it down, then we got feedback from the players that there wasn’t enough pump up and amp, so we turned it back up. It’s been a vicious cycle. That’s why we are doing this seat-by-seat, location-by location, including the ice, to try and get the balance in the place that we need it to be, but we know there are some issues. Thanks for raising that.
I have a two-part question and it has to do with season ticket member tenure and sales for tickets. So, my first question is, if we have someone that we’d like to bring who is handicapped, I have to show up at the arena, go to ticket sales and have the seat upgraded. That’s OK now, but in the event that it’s sold out, I’m at the mercy of ticket sales to get a seat for someone I know can’t sit with me most of the time. I’ve tried to be proactive and email ahead of time to my season ticket member rep, but I keep getting told that’s a game day decision. Is there any effort being made where those seats can be made available ahead of time for season ticket members?
MS: A lot of that policy is dictated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and there are very specific rules that we have to follow and how we have to save seats for the day of the game for these exact situations when someone can’t come. That’s why we have to legally do it on the day of the game. Now, if it was a season-long thing where you say for a majority of the games, I want to move to an ADA location, we can do that for you for the entire season, but when it’s on a one-off basis we have to do it the day of the game. We do save a lot of seats for the day of the game for this exact purpose. It’s by law, but we actually hold even more than that because we never want to find ourselves in a position where we can’t accommodate someone to watch the game. It’s never happened, and we don’t foresee an instance where it would.
My second question is in regard to active reservists and national guard members. I know people who get deployed and then lose their season ticket member benefits. Is there any reason we can’t put that on hold for these tenured members?
MS: We would absolutely put that on hold every single time. Are you a reservist, yourself? Thank you for your service.
VC: Thank you.
I’m wondering if you are doing anything to look at the app we use for electronic tickets, because it’s really, really bad. Sometimes it doesn’t work, or it takes a while to come on. I don’t know. I have Eagles season tickets, they use TicketMaster and it’s like bing, bing, bing, no problem. It’s easy to transfer tickets to people. [The Flyers app] is a multi-step process and I don’t get it. It’s 2022.
MS: It’s interesting. We switched to the app this year, and that was based on feedback that a lot of people were having challenges with the old system we had. We invested a lot of time and resources into the app and so far, the feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive. I would love to hear more about that. If we can catch up afterwards and you can give me your contact information, I’d love to hear what some of the specific challenges are.
VC: The gentleman with the blue shirt if you can get his contact information as well. In the second row.
Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.