from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,
The Stars wrote one of the NHL's great success stories back in the '90s, and they're working on a pretty impressive sequel right now.
But selling hockey in Texas is difficult at the best of times, and that means the challenges to find success could be even tougher 20-something years into the process.
"As much as we had to start from scratch last time, I think having a history is actually something we do have to overcome now," said Stars CEO and President Jim Lites, who was with the team when it moved from Minnesota in 1993. "We were fresh and new and we had a chance to make a good first impression back then. Now, we've been here and people have formed opinions, and to be frank, some of that isn't good. I think going through a rough stretch and a bankruptcy created some apathy about our team, and now we have to change some minds, as well as reach out to a new audience."
The Stars appear to be doing that, pushing their average attendance to 18,376 last season and increasing buzz by posting the second-best record in the NHL at 50-23-9. And while the work of the sales and marketing people behind the scenes goes a long way in making the business successful, the product on the ice drives the profit margin.
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