A Brief History of the Minnesota Wild
After the Minnesota North Stars (the original NHL team in Minnesota) moved to Dallas in 1993, work began to create a new hockey team to represent Minnesota in the league. Among the options for the new team's name were the following: The Blue Ox, The Freeze, The Northern Lights, The Voyagers, The White Bears, and The Wild (Stainkamp, 2010).
In 1997, the Minnesota Wild was officially founded. The team played its first game in September 2000 under Jacques Lemaire, the first head coach. Since then, the team has played in 15 seasons, been in the playoffs seven times, and now has a net worth of $380 million (Forbes Media LLC., 2015). Along with the Columbus Blue Jackets who also played their first game in the 2000-2001 season, the Minnesota Wild is the youngest team in the NHL.
Compared to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Minnesota Wild have been significantly more financially successful. As of 2015, the Blue Jackets had a net worth of $226 million (Forbes Media LLC, 2015). Comparing this to the Wild's net worth of $380 million, one can see that in a relatively short period of time, the Wild has been able to generate a lot of financial support from its fans.
The Wild's $380 million net worth is broken down into these sections:
- Ticket sales
- Merchandise sales
- Sponsorship
According to Forbes Media LLC (2015), the Minnesota Wild's average ticket price is $67.06, which is roughly $8 higher than the national average for NHL teams. Because ticket sales are one of the largest forms of income for the brand, this higher amount is significant.
Starting from the first Minnesota Wild home game, the team sold out all home game tickets for a consecutive 409 games, which is the third-longest sellout streak in NHL history after the Colorado Avalanche (487 games) and the Detroit Red Wings (452 games) (Minnesota Wild News, 2015). Because the Wild is such a young team, this statistic is impressive. The Wild's large and loyal fanbase inspired the slogan "Home of the home ice advantage," which describes the atmosphere at home games and references why sports teams seem to perform better when at home.
However, despite the Wild's financial success, the team lacks success on the ice. The Wild has never won a Stanley Cup, their win-to-player cost ratio is one of the worst in the NHL, and hockey commentators agree that the Wild has had difficulty competing with the most elite teams in the league (Forbes Media LLC, 2015). Despite this, the Wild remains a successful brand because of the specific marketing strategies utilized to appeal to their audience.