Page 6 - BusinessWest August 8, 2022

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While the playoffs are not a ticket to guaranteed financial success, the Thunderbirds fared well, selling out each of its three games in the Finals.
AHL, Costa said it happened because many pieces fell in place and because all the various players — from the local ownership group that provided the needed resources to a parent team, the St. Louis Blues, that “understands the value of winning at this level,” as he put it, to the players and management — did their respective jobs.
Overall, he said the deep playoff run was and is validation of every- thing that management and ownership have done to not only bring hockey back to Springfield but to generate interest in hockey and build a successful brand.
“It’s been a huge validation, not only for me personally, but for the owners, who stepped up for the city, made a big investment, and did it the right way,” he said. “To be able to get the Eastern Conference championship and do something that hadn’t been done in 30 years ... that’s pretty special.
“All the positives around the business now, and all the stuff that comes from having a nice run like this is ... huge, and it’s something we’ve never had before — we’ve never even made the playoffs before in my time with the Thunderbirds.”
“Getting to the playoffs is really important to the development of these players; these guys are getting extra games, they’re getting extra high-pressure games ... that all means a lot to development,” he added. “The really cool thing is that there is lot of continuity between last year’s team and this year’s team, which is a testament to the Blues — they’re bringing back a lot of guys.”
For this issue, BusinessWest talked with Costa about the season
— and postseason — that was, how the team made the most of that unique opportunity, and how it intends to build on all that was gained during the 2022-23 season and beyond.
Banner Year
One of the many items on the to-do list for Costa and his team this offseason is to order a ‘2022 Eastern Conference Champions’ banner to hang in the rafters at the soon-to-be-renamed MassMutual Center.
Costa said research revealed the name of a company in Waltham that makes such banners for a number of professional sports teams, and preliminary talks with that outfit will commence soon.
“We want to do it right — to go the company that does this for everyone,” he said. “I want to get their input — I want to get some direction on how to design this the right way, because it’s going to live in our rafters for a long time.”
Finding a company to make a banner for the rafters was about the last thing on anyone’s mind during a very challenging start to the 2021- 22 season, said Costa, adding that this past year was a stern test on many different levels.
6 AUGUST 8, 2022
FEATURE BusinessWest