Published: November 13, 2008 11:45 pm      

Businesses commit to Chiefs

Several local businesses have made new sponsorship commitments to the Johnstown Chiefs, although General Manager Bill Bredin conceded the ECHL team is well short of the $380,000 goal set a month ago.

“Listen, we’re absolutely thrilled with the response from the business community so far, as well as the support we’ve received from Bob Layo and the Chamber of Commerce,” Bredin said Thursday. “We have recently added major sponsors such as Crown American, The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, CTC and E.MAP, and we will continue to meet with other business leaders in the community.”

Bredin declined to state the amount of new sponsorship dollars secured during the past month.

W. Graeme Roustan, whose Richland Township-based company Roustan United Arena Solutions manages the Chiefs, met with 30 business, community and governmental leaders from Cambria County on Oct. 9.

Roustan set the $380,000 goal for new sponsorship, hoping to add 28 sponsors and bring the Chiefs in line with the ECHL league average while increasing current sponsorship levels by 135 percent.

Roustan wanted the new sponsorship in place no later than Saturday.

“We’ve got a lot of support, and we’ve got a lot of stuff in the pipeline,” Bredin said, downplaying the original Nov. 15 target date.

“It was kind of the perfect storm. People were waiting to see what other people were going to do.”

Roustan’s plan calls for four sponsors at $27,000 a year, eight at $17,000 and 16 at $8,500. Sponsorship deals may include the sponsors receiving advertising in Cambria County War Memorial Arena and on the dasher boards, season tickets or use of the suites, radio spots and public address announcements, Web site links and game program advertisement.

“We believe that the Chiefs are an important community asset,” said Crown American President Mark Pasquerilla, whose business made a two-year sponsorship pledge. “Their games represent the largest venue for family entertainment in the region. The success of the Chiefs, being the largest tenant for the arena, is critical to the success and viability of the War Memorial.”

The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies agreed to a two-year deal, and set up the Johnstown Hockey Supporters Fund, which enables businesses and individuals to make donations that go toward purchasing Chiefs tickets for children or groups.

“We share the vision of the organization and expect the Chiefs to remain in Johnstown for years to come,” Community Foundation Executive Director Mike Kane said.

Bredin said CTC extended its current agreement.

“CTC has a long-standing history of support of the Chiefs because we understand the importance of the team in terms of quality-of-life issues for the community as well as direct economic impact that the team has on Johnstown,” CTC President Ed Sheehan said.

“We’re excited about the direction of the team and believe that Roustan United will provide the solid leadership needed to preserve the rich Chiefs tradition in Johnstown.”

E.MAP, a business coalition serving five counties, is another new sponsor.

“It’s part of our mission to invest back into the local business community and be involved in endeavors that help keep our local economy strong,” said E.MAP President Jack Babich.

Even though $380,000 wasn’t raised in the past five weeks, Bredin said the drive is moving in the proper direction.

“I get the sense that the community is hopeful that things will work out and the Chiefs will be here for the long term,” Bredin said. “At the end of the day, I think people are still waiting for a sign that there is a long-term commitment. Once we can go public with that, I think we would receive a big boost.”