Will Cain Country - Dallas Stars CEO: This Is The Future Of Watching Sports 

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

On this edition of The Will Cain Show’s Friday sports episode, Will sits down with Dallas Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts to discuss how the team is pioneering a direct-to-consumer streaming model, potentially reshaping the future of sports media. They break down the challenges of losing regional TV deals, the economics of streaming, and what this means for the NHL and beyond. Plus, they dive into the Stars’ success, fan loyalty, and the team's future in Dallas Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain or @WillCainShow_ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a limited time at McDonald's, enjoy the tasty breakfast trio. Your choice of chicken or sausage McMuffin or McGrittles with a hash brown and a small iced coffee for $5.00 plus tax. Available until 11 a.m. at participating McDonald's restaurants. Price excludes flavored iced coffee and delivery. Right now and today, where we sit, not just the world of sports, but the world of sports, but the world of sports, world of media is changing under our feet. It truly is. You listening to me right now on podcast or some of you on radio represents a shift in how you consume media. And that's specifically happening in sports and it's specifically happening in the NHL. And if we're pinpointing a place

where you're saying this is the bull's eye of where it's changing, it's the Dallas Stars. I'll explain why with the president and CEO of the Dallas Stars Brad Alberts. It's the Will Cain Show, normally streaming live every Monday through Thursday at 12 o'clock Eastern time at Fox News.com on the Fox News YouTube channel and the Fox News Facebook page. This is a cane on sports edition of the Will Cain show, available by subscribing at Apple or on Spotify. You know how I am. I'm like born to my teens, so I was born Cowboys, Born Mavericks, Born Rangers.

I in time became Texas Longhorns through my years as a teenager. and I, in time, as they moved here, became a fan of the Dallas Stars. And then winning the 1999 Stanley Cup is one of my favorite memories in sports. It just is. It was awesome. I remember where I was. Logans in Austin, Texas, as a law school student, huge celebration. A lot of fun.

But as I've gotten older, I've gotten to know some of the people involved with the Dallas Stars, and they are absolutely fascinating because of necessity losing their regional sports network rights out of bankruptcy from the RSN. they have started streaming their games direct to consumer over the app. It's the first sports league that do so. You know, even news organizations, entertainment organizations like Disney, while they're doing it,

they're doing it to try to bolster what they're losing. Well, the stars lost it all and went all in on this. And it might just be the future of professional sports. I got to talk with Brad Alberts, who's become a friend. He's the president's CEO of the Dallas Stars about this and much, much more, about the Dallas stars, the NHL, media, and the future of business and sports. Here's Brad Alberts. This is Jason Chaffetz from the Jason and the House podcast.

Join me every Monday to dive deeper into the latest political headlines and chat with remarkable guests. Listen and follow now at Fox Newspodcast.com or wherever you download podcasts. Fox News Audio presents Unsolved with James Patterson. Every crime tells the story. stories are left unfinished somebody knows real cases real people listen and follow now at fox true crime.com from the fox news podcasts network hey there it's me kennedy make sure to check out my podcast kennedy saves the world it is five days a week every week download and listen at foxnews podcast.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast i'm here now with the president and

CEO of the Dallas stars Brad Albert's who's become a friend I should say that out front I like Brad I like him a lot I'm also a fan of the Dallas stars have been really from the day that they moved to Dallas so don't expect any big cross-examination

I'll do my best but this is this is interviewing somebody that you've been a fan of let's start I want to start with the cutting edge start of the business here because whether or not you're a stars fan even whether or not you're a hockey fan you have done something incredibly unique in the world of sports with the launch of the victory plus app you're going

direct to consumer everyone watching who's a fan of the stars if that matter the rangers and i believe some of the ducks games and a couple of blues games can go download for free the victory plus app and watch the stars for free rangers cost $100 but this is huge brad i mean you are going straight to consumer i think you're the first professional sports team to do so yeah first Well, thanks, Will, for having me on, and thanks for those kind comments. Yeah, you know, we started this process, you know, two years ago when Diamond, the old Bally's, you know, RSN announced their bankruptcy. And we knew that we had, you know, we knew we had a problem. We knew we were in the region that was, you know, probably the worst financial region for the Diamond Company. The NHL had told me, Brad, you better start to think about a new option. And so, you know, we went to work starting two years. ago, and we did all of our normal due diligence, talked to all of the local over-the-air companies, and none of them really stood out to me to be great options for our team and the fans. And in the middle of all that, Will, I was introduced to the CEO of APMC, a guy by the name

of Neil Gruninger. He had just launched Dude Perfects, Direct the Consumer Opportunity, and he basically came to me and said, you know, we can do this for you. And, you know, we were skeptical. I was skeptical and our team was, but we sat down and we went through the process. And the longer we worked with his group, the more detailed we got into the discussions, the more we liked the opportunity. And at the end, I think we ended up in a spot where we were not afraid to pioneer into the streaming world. And we all believe, and we still to this day believe that streaming is the future for local sports. And we're on the cutting edge of it. And I think we're as a group here over at the Stars, we're excited to pioneer that new initiative and to bring it to our fans free.

People have credit card fatigue, sophisticated streamers, know how to get around paywalls. And that was one of the reasons why we wanted to bring it to people free and to give the distribution opportunity the best chance we could get. And I think we've done that. So help me, Brad, I just have to follow my curiosity on this. And my level of knowledge within hockey is way less, if I'm being honest. with NFL and college football and NBA, especially on the business side. So if I'm looking at those other sports, television licensing revenue is a major,

and I don't know the percentage of it, but I would have to assume it's a very high percentage, major part of the revenue pie. You know, we read about the massive deals for the NFL and college football conferences, giving up the television revenue by going direct to consumer and free from the outside, you'd go, wow, that's a big piece of the pie lost to the business side of professional sports. But I may be wrong, especially when it comes to hockey, I was even wondering how many commercial breaks you guys have because you've only got the three periods

and how many opportunities there is for you to generate advertising revenue or for a broadcaster to generate advertising revenue. So maybe TV rights weren't that big of a part of the revenue pie for you guys to start with. Just help me understand that sacrifice. Yeah, Will, you're on to it. I mean, the NHL was at the bottom of that, you know, the flagpole, if you want to, if you don't want to call it that. The NFL obviously is at the top. The NBA, I think now is probably, you know, second, MLB, third, and then we're kind of at the bottom.

So the situation financially for us to fix was a lot easier than somebody like the Rangers or people in MLB that were getting an enormous rights fee. So, yes, I mean, we were, you know, are less dependent on TV revenue to make our economic model work compared to some of these other sports. And I think you're seeing some of the fallout, you know, in some of these other sports because of the changing nature of television revenue and the rights fee.

That being said, I mean, it's still a very, very important piece, you know, of top line revenue for our business. And that's part of what I said to the APMC folks when they asked me to kind of, you know, take this risk. I said, you guys have to de-risk the financial piece of this for me, and they've done that. So they've been a great partner. The stars are not at, you know, right now are in no financial risk compared to where we were before. So that gave me the confidence will to be able to go out and kind of rip the Band-Aid off and do this.

And I've said yesterday in an interview with the Dallas Morning News, the next piece of understanding this model is really trying to get a feel for the economic, you know, kind of. situation behind it? Is this, you know, an economic model that's sustainable over time that we can depend on year over year to help fund, you know, our team and our payroll for our players? That's still to be determined. We're only five months into this thing. It's brand new. So, right. But yeah, you're on to it. There's a very big disparaging, you know, area here between other leagues and ours. So when you talk about it becoming a part of the economic pie, what is that? Is it that you do go to a subscription at some point?

Is there a model of advertising supported that it can remain free to the consumer? And you may not have the answer yet, but you have vindicated to me there. You've got to figure out a way for it to be a revenue generating side of the business. There's no question. We figured out the distribution. We went into this, you know, trying to figure out two things. One, how do we distribute better and get the games in front of as many of our fans as we can? I think we've solved that.

And that's going to continue to get easier and better as the marketplace starts to understand what Victory Plus is, starts to embrace and adopt to the new way of watching these sports. Now, the second piece of that was we've got to make money with it. There's an economic reality to it. And that's what we're still figuring out. The advertising community so far that has been with the stars on TV has been incredibly supportive and receptive to this new way. And we're going to continue to grow that and need to grow that.

And I think get creative and figure out new ways that we can generate revenue in and around streaming television. And I think that's going to be something over the next couple years that we really work on. And, you know, that'll be something for you and the media to watch. How does this all evolve? So I think, yeah, five months into it, I don't know. And, you know, somebody asked me yesterday, are you guys going to charge? Our plan is not to charge in the short term.

We still want to offer it free. I can't commit to we'll never charge because to your point, we still don't know where this is all going. And three, four years down the road, how is it going to look compared to where we are now? I think it's going to be quite different. So I'm, by the way, again, I don't think this is just, obviously it's not just a Star's story. And I don't think it's just a hockey story, although you guys become the perfect, you do become the perfect guinea pig on this because of the situation we talked about earlier. The problem for every linear television model going over the top is, how do you give up what you already have in the meantime?

That's the same calculation for Fox News, for Disney, for the NFL, but because your risk was less and you weren't getting as much on the television licensing fee, you become the perfect guinea pig for this direct-to-consumer. And I read this, Brad, so this is, for the record, this is how you guys are doing. You surpassed 500,000 downloads. This is according to the article I was reading, a 65% increase in viewership and a huge jump in the demographic, specifically 18 to 25 year olds. So, but when I can't, and by the way, also this, watching for longer, you've gone from 70 minutes, almost to 100 minutes. So they're not just dropping in and watching, you know, TikTok level clips of the stars.

They're watching the game. But here's my question, Brad, do you measure this? it's like in anything podcast too downloads subscribers whatever that's one metric but the number of people actually watching as well is the big metric like the eyeballs not just the not just the potential eyeballs who've said yeah I'm downloading victory I'm in on the stars but game in game out watching oh and we are 100% monitoring that that is really our number one, you want to call it analytic number, viewership that we're looking at, Will. And I told, you know, the Dallas Morning News this week, I have high standards for our business. Our viewership

is significantly better than where it was last year on the RSN. No question, but the bar is really low there. Most people couldn't get the RSN. So those numbers, that's great. They absolutely look good. And I think we've created a really nice foundation in our first year. What I want to see moving forward is that viewership number increase. You know, just like you said it, just podcasts, you need more listeners, we need more viewers. The key to the streaming world is viewership plus CPM growth equals revenue. It's a simple formula. So the more people that are watching, you know, the better the CPM will be, and that's all part of this economic model and viability that I talk about. So we're going to continue to look for ways to increase viewership

that comes with, you know, more people downloading, more people understanding, what Victory Plus is, how to get it, where to go, all of this. But through five months, our first half of the season, I think if you look at it, we're in a tremendous spot after, you know, a short period of time. Real quick, last one on this, Brad. Are other teams talking to you about joining Victory Plus? Yes, a lot of teams are looking at this.

Several hockey teams that are still under now the Fandual footprint, the, you know, the diamond, you know, kind of newly revised RSN model. I just spoke to all of the MLB presidents last week at their owner's meeting about the decision of why we went in this direction and kind of where we're at. So, yeah, everybody's paying attention, but, well, everybody's got a different situation. Everybody's got their unique situation in their own marketplace. You know, they may own an RSN. They may be with somebody else. They may be with the Diamond Group.

They may have an over-the-air component. So everybody's got to make their own decision. And there is no real right or wrong. decision at this point. It's what's good for you with your ownership situation in your market, you know, and I think for us, this is the, what we ended up figuring out here was this was the best situation for us in this market. And we didn't have a lot of other choices either. That was the other thing. I've told that story. It's not like we had five different options. We kind of had to come up with one and we figured this out. Oh, necessity is the mother of invention.

Yeah, exactly. That's how it happens. Correct. So, okay, I'm not butter i'm not i'm not i'm not buttering you up nor nor to the audience i texted you this last night and i know people with all the other organizations so i'd say this to them as well i think in the city of dallas the dallas stars have probably the most goodwill of any professional sports franchise with the fans in dallas obviously that's not to say you're the biggest it's always a cowboys market you know the mabs went to the finals last year we know what's going on with the Mavs right now in the fan base and honestly I think the cowboys have a little bit of a problem with their fan base right now um when it comes to app that's just me telling you the way it is

there's a great amount of love for the Dallas stars it's just it's love they love the team on the ice Brad um there's something very likable about this team I think it's its youth and a lot a lot it's a youth combined with some some guys that they've grown to love like like hints and Robertson guys that have been around, you know, but it's also, while they may not know you, Brad, that you guys have been here since the 90s and I don't know, the 99 cup, everything about what you guys have built right now has created, I think, a really intimate relationship with the stars and you did it in Dallas, Texas. Well, I appreciate you saying that, Will.

And obviously, you know, as the president of our team, I like to hear, you know, those kind of comments. We take great pride in trying to do things the right way. I'll tell you that. And we also take great pride and just staying focused on what we do and being quiet and not over talking about, you know, things. And I think I give a tremendous amount of credit to our general manager and his staff. Jim Nill is the two-time general manager of the year in this league for a reason. He's done an incredible job of building a team full of character. Our coach, Do a great job. Our scouts have done a great job. I mean, we can go in and look well at our drafting over the last five years. There's a reason, I always like to say, there's a reason why teams win. And it's not just luck. You need some of that. You need some good bounces, especially in this sport. But when you go look at how we've drafted, there's a reason why we're in the position that we're in, that we've been to back-to-back, you know, Western Conference finals. You know, we're going to have 100 plus sellouts here, you know, in March. The sentiment around our team is at a high level. We are knocking on the door to bring

a Stanley Cup back to Dallas, and that is what our organization is 100% committed to. I think what we've just talked about is another example. We tried to take care of our fans with television. We recognized the problem. We saw that the RSN was not working for our fan base, and we pivoted in a direction to try to deliver the games to as many people as we possibly could in the easiest way, free of charge. So now we do have a business and we have to pay attention to all that and we have to charge for tickets and all those things. But the fans are at the core of why we're here and every decision that we make, you know, we factor in fan sentiment.

And so that doesn't make us perfect in every way. But certainly we think that way, and I think that hopefully transcends to why you're saying the things you are, you know, in the marketplace. We're trying to do things right. We're the stewards of hockey in this market. I take that very seriously from the grassroots level all the way to the NHL level. And I think, and the other thing that we've taken great pride is creating a great game and experience and entertainment. You know, you've been at our games here recently. Coming to a stars game is really fun.

It's really fun. Let's do hockey for just one second. You brought up Jim. Are you guys going to be active at the trade deadline? You're going to be getting somebody, a defenseman? I think Jim is certainly having those discussions. I think it's got to be right. You know, hey, we know where we are.

I think we're, what, we've got the third best record in the league. We know we have a good team. And like I just said, we're committed. We're trying to win the Stanley Cup here. So if Jim thinks that we can make a move that will help us do that, I think he and his team will pushing that direction. But he's certainly going to be open to those discussions. We'll just have to see how that plays out over the next several weeks. I'm not a normal fan, Brad. I can't pretend hockey

expertise, but I do keep up with you guys. I do think, to your point, I do think one of the things that makes your team so likable is what you pointed out, the way you guys have drafted. When you draft and you develop and you have your own guys, I don't know, I'm the kind of fan that I have a deeper connection to a Wyatt Johnston, right? Even a Maverick Fork, Logan Stankman, because they feel like our guys, right, as opposed to a big time free agent. I mean, honestly, if we're being upfront, that's obviously a big part of what Dallas is so upset about the trade of Luca.

It doesn't matter how great Anthony Davis ends up being. Luca was our guy. And sometimes, Brad, and I wonder if executives understand this. And I've said this when it comes to the Mavericks. I'm not sure a championship washes that away. Would we rather have a championship or 10 years of Luca? You know, would I rather watch the stars compete and grind and sometimes, most times, fall short in the Western Conference finals

or would I rather them trade away Wyatt Johnston for somebody else that you think is going to help you win a cup this year? I mean, do you feel like that is understood at executive level of sports? Is that understood by you guys? And it doesn't apply to everybody. It can't. but there are some guys it has to apply to within your organization. Oh, yeah, I don't know.

I can't speak for other organizations, obviously, well. I don't know how they think. And there's always behind the scenes, things with teams, whether it's with players or coaches or staff that you just don't know about. So in the situation with Luca, I don't know the details behind the scenes. But certainly for us, I think the answer is, yeah, we do. I think we do understand, you know, our fans' connection to Miro and to Robo and to Wyatt and to our, you know, let's not forget about our captain, Jamie Ben.

I mean, Jamie has been a Dallas star from day one. He has led this team for, you know, I think over a decade now as the captain. He is the exact kind of person that you want in an organization like ours, leading an organization like ours. He is respected by every player in that locker room, every staff member, every coach. He shows up every night and plays hockey. whether he's hurt or not, nobody knows it. You know, I think those are the kind of people that we want in our organization.

And we recognize that the fans are connected to that as well. And so from our perspective, yeah, we're very well aware of not only our, you know, feelings towards our guys, the fact that they're homegrown and developed, but also to your point, the fans, you know, attraction to that and loyalty to that. Right. I think that's one of the reasons why you said our team is, you know, so thought of, you know, so positively right now. I mean, it starts with Jamie, you know, and having Joe Pavelski here for the last, you know, four or five years added to that. And then you bring in these young guys that we've drafted and developed into our system. I mean, they're Dallas stars. And that doesn't mean that they'll all be here forever because the business is what it is. And you have to make tough decisions. And sometimes players have to do that too. But we certainly love the character. of our guys. There's no doubt about it. And we know that our fans do too. Hey, you brought up Miro. I'm just going to have to ask you this one quick question about Mero Heskinen. I've never, maybe this is a hockey thing, but I've never seen it before. I read he was month to month, Brad. What does month to month mean on an injury? I've heard day to day. I have never heard month to month. Well, he's got a, you know, he's got a significant lower body

injury. Let's just put it that way. So we hope Miro was back, you know, better than ever and sooner than later. But he's recovering from from a lower body injury. Let's put it that way. Okay. All right. Hockey, very protective of their injury information. Yes. So let's go back, let's go back to, it's hard not to ask you about the Maverick, Brad, because you guys have a somewhat of a symbiotic relationship. You share the AAC together. The new owners, group with the MAVs have said publicly they won a new arena. They are casino developers. They're hotel developers.

And I think they have grand plans on that. Where does that put you guys? Like, are you going to be with the MAVs? Are you AAC? Are you looking for your own spot? I mean, it's a, much like the TV side that you dealt with, this is a difficult thing I would imagine for you to negotiate. Yeah, it is.

It's a very complicated situation. I think, yeah, you said it. I think this all started with, you know, the Mavericks have said, you know, now for years, to be honest, that their plans are to move away from the AAC and build a new building specifically for themselves and basketball. And I think that's the assumption that we continue to work under that they're ultimately going to build their own building. They've said that publicly. They've essentially told us that privately that that's what they want to do. So we have to assume that that's what they're going to do, and we have to then figure out what works for us.

And obviously, one of those options is to continue to play at the American Airlines Center under a different business, to be honest. I mean, this partnership was created really back in 1998, Will, when the Metroplex was far different. Certainly our sports businesses were different. I think the reality of the situation now, if I look at it from my perspective, you know, neither one of the teams really need each other to make this work. We obviously need a place to play, but we don't need to be together. The Mavericks in the NBA business is far more sophisticated and bigger now. The fan base that they have is far more mature than it was in 1998, and you can say the same thing about us. And the Metroplex is bigger and more mature than it was in 1998.

So, I mean, the situation has changed. I think it's, you know, building an arena is a very, very costly endeavor. It's a big issue. So it comes with a layer of complication that other business deals don't. So you have to think about that. And it also, you know, it has a public component because you have to work with a city to get that done, which adds a whole other layer of complication to this. But we remain committed to Dallas.

That's where our preference would be to play. Whether or not that plays out here over time, depending on where the Mavericks choose to go and what they want to do, I think we're happy and content being patient to see what they want to do, and then we can figure out what we want to do, Will, and I think that's only fair. Well, I have to follow up because of what you said, we want to stay in Dallas.

Is there a prospect? The Stars would leave Dallas? I think there is. I mean, we have, you know, people that have come to us showing interest in, you know, us moving, you know, away from the AAC because of all this rhetoric. It's not our preference at this point. Wait, maybe I should change it to Metroplex. Are you talking about a prospect that Dallas, the Stars, couldn't leave the Metroplex?

Are you talking about just Dallas? We are not leaving the Metroplex. Let's not to start that room. Got it. Dallas Stars are not leaving. Okay. I'm glad we clarified. You scared me for it.

So you mean just like the Cowboys. or in Arlington or whatever it may be, you want to stay in Dallas, but if you're not, you're saying there's prospects of people coming to you, I don't know, Frisco or wherever it may be. Yeah, I think there are definitely areas in the Metroplex that have expressed interest to us over the years. If we were ever looking for, you know, our new arena that they would be open to having those discussions. And so I think there are options out there. Our preference continues to be to stay focused on where we are in Dallas and the urban core. But again, that situation may change. And then we have to analyze, you know, does that

business work for us if the Mavericks do leave to go build their own building, whether that's in Dallas, which I think they're working on as well, or if it's somewhere else. And it doesn't mean that we're going to leave, but we just have to understand business-wise, what does that mean if the business metrics that we've worked under for the last 25 years change? So that's, so I want to hit a of more things with you in the time we have together um and you and i were talking about this a little bit but i don't know that this is an easy conversation in terms of a short answer the future of the business of sports right like the victory plus thing is a whole that's that's one side of this business that you're on the the cutting edge of you're at the front of it but the whole model of

professional sports um i don't know it's it's tickets it's it's different everywhere you go by the way European soccer, different than the NFL, NFL, different from you. How do you guys look at the future of, the valuation of ownership of the ownership is totally, from my perspective, Brad, is totally divorced from the actual business side of it. I mean, it's often, looks like a parlor game of cards among rich men. Yeah. But you still have to make money because nobody likes losing money. Absolutely nobody likes his money, especially billionaires.

So, like, what is the future of how professional sports is monetized? Well, I think, Will, you've got it dead pegged. It's a valuation business. It's not really an operating business, but we were trying to treat it as an operating business. And so, yeah, I mean, the Dallas Stars, you know, are focused on running a good fundamental business. And I think my biggest concern about where the industry is going. And I would really say this, whether I was sitting here with the Stars or if I was, you know, working for a major league baseball team anywhere in the country, or if I was an athletic or

or at any school. I would be saying the same thing. Where is the revenue going to continue to come from to continue to pay, you know, for the talent, the expenses? That's my biggest concern in the business, especially with television not being the answer to your problems like it's been in, you know, in years past for the last 20 to 30 years. I don't think that we can turn to television anymore as the answer for the fix on where the revenue is going to come to pay the talent. And so athletes don't want to take less. Will Kane does not want to take less from Fox. Brad Elberts does not want to take less.

None of us do. So we all want to continue to grow. Well, where's the growth in the business going to come from to justify and warrant that and to continue to allow these businesses to operate efficiently and profitably? So top line revenue to that is the biggest concern. I mean, is that an open question or do you have some indication of where that's going to be? Well, I have my ideas. I think we as an industry and as a business have to become innovative. We have to become creative in thinking about new ways and how to evolve and morph our organizations into something more than just, you know, selling tickets and selling merch when people walk in the, you know, the four walls at the American Airlines Center.

I think you can look at throughout history, I mean, and see how business. businesses, if they stay stagnant and don't evolve, you know, get blown away. And I think what's going on in college sports right now is a great analogy. I mean, if you, if you're an SEC football team, let's just use Alabama and you don't want to embrace the NIL and all of a sudden you wake up one day and Vanderbilt's now getting all the players because they've embraced it, you're going to get blown away. You'll be dead before you knew you were sick. That's my analogy. And so you have to change. Is gambling a big part of it, Brad? Is gambling? I think gambling is a big part of it. And it's one of the issues that we're facing in this state that Texas, I don't believe, is going to, you know, legalize sports betting and other states are. And sports betting is allowing engagement, you know, and it's also bringing new revenue, you know, to the business. It'll be something, well, to be honest, that'll hurt the teams in Texas. We will have to overcome that. Our competition is being able to tap into that engagement in those dollars. And we're not going to be able to do that.

We've tried to make that case to the lieutenant governor, but I think it's gone, you know, kind of, it's been ignored to this point. Do you think so? Are you pessimistic on Texas legalizing gambling? Yes. I do not think that it's going to get done anytime soon. Okay. Last thing with you, Brad, I want to talk to you about. You've been here for a long time. You're from Wisconsin. When were you with the team when they moved from Minnesota to Dallas? No, I came three or four years after. I came in a summer of 96. Okay.

So you can't say what it was at the beginning, the very beginning. I remember, I was reading Dallas Morning News. I was at Southern Made Donuts in Sherman, Texas. And I remember reading about the Minnesota North Stars moving to Dallas. And I'm like, what's that? A whole new sport. Well, I was so excited, man. I was like a young teenager.

And I was like, I was just excited to dive in and start learning the players. Of course, we had Madonna and all that, who's a legend. but I tell me about building what I think we've established together is an innovative and successful business in Dallas, but the idea of building hockey in Texas. Yeah, I mean, it's a tremendous story, Will, to look back over the last 30 years what this organization and all of its leadership

and people that came before me and us have, you know, I've really, the foundation that was laid. I think it started with two things. Number one, a real emphasis on game entertainment and making coming to a hockey game in Dallas really, really fun. And I think if I think back to the 90s at Reunion and where we're at today, that priority and that focus

is still there and the games like we discussed earlier are incredibly fun. Nobody comes to one of our games and walks away saying that was boring. So I think that's number one. Number two was the commitment from the the very beginning and now to where we are today with just about to have 18 sheets of ice in the Metroplex was the building of ice rinks and the commitment to grassroots hockey

at the lowest level and getting kids, you know, into the sport and playing. And now we have, you know, a Tier 1 elite program that is spitting out kids that are now playing in the NHL, playing in college. We've got thousands of boys and girls. playing in our house leagues. We've got a little rookies program that is teaching kids how to play and how to skate. So it's a great story. Yeah, I can't tell you how many kids, by the way, I meet to play hockey. And I mean, every time you do, you're like, wow, you play hockey.

But, I mean, it happens quite a bit. All right, Brad Albert, CEO and President of the Dallas Stars. Great conversation. I truly enjoyed it. A fascinating place that you sit in the world of sports and media right now. Thank you, Brad. Thank you, well. Appreciate it.

There you go. I hope you enjoyed that conversation. with Brad Albert, CEO and president of the Dallas Stars. Hope you'll subscribe to the Will Kane Show on Spotify or Apple, and I will see you again next time. Listen ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. And Amazon Prime members can listen to this show, ad-free on the Amazon Music app.

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