Hockey Fest details and off-season business notes

Several notes from the Kings’ business offices from this afternoon:

-Earlier today, the Kings announced the details of Hockey Fest ’14, which will feature additional events outside of the popular question and answer sessions and panels of players, executives and broadcasters. The annual event will take place on Sunday, September 14 at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo.

A special game between Kings alumni and the Medvedev All-Star Team will be held after the conclusion of Hockey Fest.

Though subject to change, the Kings team is scheduled to feature Luc Robitaille, Nelson Emerson, Craig Johnson, Mike Donnelly, Jim Fox, Daryl Evans, Ron Duguay, Charlie Simmer, Rob Blake, Sean O’Donnell, Jaroslav Modry, Mike O’Connell and Jamie Storr, while Rogie Vachon and Glen Murray are slated to serve as honorary coaches. The Russian team is expected to ice Alexey Yashin, Slava Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov, Pavel Bure, Valeri Bure, Darius Kasparitis, Vladie Malakhov, Alex Kovalev, Andrei Kovalenko and Tony Esposito.

The inclusion of the Russian all-star team stems from a trip that AEG Sports COO Kelly Cheeseman took to Germany to visit AEG-owned Eisbaren Berlin, which hosted an exhibition against the Russian team. Luc Robitaille had also played in a similar game in the past.

That the Kings had also been looking to host an alumni game – something they were unable to do surrounding last year’s Stadium Series game – allowed this to become a good fit.

“To be able to bring something unique related to hockey into it that celebrates our history the way we wanted to for years is the reason we did it,” Cheeseman said.

Tickets for the game – which will have a capacity of 500 spectators – are $150 and will include an all-access day pass to Hockey Fest. For tickets to the alumni game, click here. For Hockey Fest tickets and information, click here.

That evening, the Kings will host a Royal Feast at Salt Creek Grille in El Segundo featuring players, alumni and broadcasters. For a $500 ticket – with all proceeds benefiting the Kings Care Foundation – fans will also receive a seat to the alumni game earlier in the day and an all-day pass to Hockey Fest. For tickets and more information, click here.

On Saturday, September 13, the LA Kings 5k Run-Walk will be held in Redondo Beach, with proceeds benefiting the Kings Care Foundation and the Hydrocephalus Association. Similar to the team’s South Bay Parade in June, the LA Kings 5k will continue to extend the relationship between the Kings and the beach cities where interest in the club is high and many players, coaches, executives and staff members live. To register for the 5k, click here.

On Monday, September 15, the Kings’ annual charity Golf Tournament will be held at Pacific Palms Conference Resort in the City of Industry. All proceeds from the event – which features a shotgun start, a post-game cocktail reception, an awards ceremony and a live and silent auction – will benefit the Kings Care Foundation and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Click here to register and for more information.

As reported earlier, the Kings are moving their radio flagship station from 1150 AM to Cumulus Media-owned 790 AM.

“Clear Channel was great partners, but in this case we’re the anchor tenant on the home station where we’re going to be heard, and they’re going to talk about us, and they’re going to brand themselves around us, and we didn’t have that with our partnership before, so we think it helps us build our brand further by doing a deal like this,” Cheeseman said. “Financially, it’s very, very good for us, which is just a bonus in the piece of it. But it allows us to be an anchor on that network, which is important.”

There is the possibility that the agreement with KABC could include a weekly radio show, though nothing firm has been established at this point. Though select playoff games were aired on ESPN LA 710 last year, that won’t continue in 2014-15. The Kings are KABC’s first sports anchor since the 2011 departure of the Dodgers, whose games were aired on 790 AM from 1974-97 and 2008-11.

-The announcements of this year’s Legends Nights will be coming soon. As reported earlier by LA Kings Insider, due to the process of gaining league approval for the new gold jerseys, and then having the jerseys constructed, the first Legends Night is likely to be held in December.

-The commemorative Stanley Cup Blu-ray will be released tomorrow. Note that the Blu-ray is produced by the NHL, and that the popular Stanley Cup Moments series, which was created by KingsVision, is currently in production and will debut later this year. I hope to have more on the well-received Stanley Cup Moments series later this summer. To purchase the commemorative Blu-ray on Tuesday (or the DVD or a digital download), click here.

-There are several thousand tickets left for the preseason Battle at the Broadmoor, which I’ve been told is a general number that the Avalanche feels good about. While the event serves to further the Avalanche’s footprint and marketing opportunities in Colorado Springs, both teams will host a celebrity golf tournament benefiting the USA Hockey Foundation at the Broadmoor Golf Resort on Wednesday, October 1. For more information, click here.

-The Kings, who have sold out a club-record 120 consecutive regular season and playoff games, have capped off their season ticket ceiling at 16,000. That number includes full and partial season ticket memberships, as well as premier seating.

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