Edmonton Oilers fans heading to Las Vegas for Saturday’s game are being warned Sin City is quickly turning into a hockey town.
“Get ready. There’s a march to the arena before the game. The fans are as intense and rowdy as can be. It’s going to be noisy,” Edmonton businessman and Booster Juice founder Dale Wishewan said.
He should know. He’s part owner of the National Hockey League’s newest team.
“I had a good friend from Scottsdale who put forward the opportunity,” Wishewan explained.
“Not too many people have the opportunity to be part of a sports franchise. I jumped at the chance.”
Wishewan is one of 19 minority owners of the Vegas Golden Knights. Former attorney and billionaire Bill Foley is the majority owner.
Wishewan also has a stake in T-Mobile Arena. The 18,000-seat facility cost $375 million and was built privately. He admits he has very little say in the business operations.
“It’s a big ownership group. We all know our role and with me, I have no hand in the operations side. We have the right people who are making the key decisions,” Wishewan said.
“We all get together for ownership meetings but overall I am just there for input if they want it, but just sitting back and enjoying the ride.”
It’s been quite the ride. The Golden Knights have exploded onto the NHL and are currently first in the Pacific Division.
“Who would have thought we would have this kind of start to the season? There’s all kinds of Cup talk, which may be a bit ahead of ourselves. It’s phenomenal how great of a start we’ve had,” he said.
Wishewan travels to Vegas about every six weeks. He still spends the majority of his time in Edmonton running Booster Juice.
He will be at the game on Saturday when the Oilers hit the ice for the first time at T-Mobile Arena. He estimates there could be up to 6,000 Oilers fans in attendance. So who will he root for?
“I find myself cheering for two teams.”