Bill Foley.
In the Las Vegas management offices of the Golden Knights ice hockey team, the extent of the empire behind A-League bolters Auckland FC is made clear.
Judging by the pathway of the Golden Knights, billionaire owner Bill Foley’s investment into the Auckland club goes beyond money, encompassing philosophies on life and winning.
Foley is the original Golden Knight who – as a White Knight – is driving the Black Knights to potential history as the first expansion club to win the A-League football grand final in its first season.
The Steve Corica-coached newbies are on target to emulate the Western Sydney Wanderers as regular-season champions in their rookie season. While the Westies fell at the final hurdle in 2012-13, beaten in the final, there is a growing sense of belief Auckland FC can snare all the lollies.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights certainly believe so. And they’d know. The ice hockey franchise was Bill Foley’s first foray into sport in 2017-18 and, despite starting from scratch, stunned the National Hockey League by challenging for the prestigious Stanley Cup in year dot.
The NHL newcomers finished runners-up, but the foundations were laid. The “Holy Grail” was claimed in only the fifth year of the club’s existence – remarkably, in a desert city that only had one ice rink and virtually no history in the sport when Foley was granted the expansion licence.
Kerry Bubolz, president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and the club’s chief marketing officer Eric Tosi took time out from running the 2022-23 Stanley Cup winners to provide the Herald with insights into billionaire owner Foley and his expanding business, sporting and entertainment empire: the Foley-verse.
Bubolz has no doubt what has propelled the Knights entities to instant success in their respective realms.
“The common variable is our owner, Bill Foley,” Bubolz said. “His expectations of the organisations, in terms of what we do in business and what we do on the ice and on the football field are extremely high.
“In our case, I don’t believe he ever felt that just because we were an expansion team we had to have expansion expectations. He’s not wired that way.
“Was he so believing in what we could do that we’d go all the way to the Stanley Cup final in our first year and play for a championship? That would probably be exaggerating his expectation, but he did say before we’d even hit the ice, ‘playoffs in three years; Stanley Cup in six’. Well, we obviously exceeded that because we went to the cup in our first season and won the championship in our fifth year.
“I can’t speak exactly to the communications with the Auckland side but having excelled in our realm we can honestly say it’s not a pipe dream. We’re excited to see what the Black Knights are delivering down there in New Zealand.”
Tosi, who – like Bubolz – has been living and driving the Golden Knights’ dream since inception, believes Foley fills a void by identifying unique opportunities at ideal points in time.
“That was particularly the case here in Vegas,” Tosi said. “From the research we conducted, engaging the locals, there wasn’t anything significant that tied this city together. There wasn’t a professional sports team as a significant community thread that rallied everyone.
“It’s one of the key reasons this business has been successful, because it filled a gap in the market that people were craving. We’re obviously not as familiar with the Auckland market but the city didn’t have a football team in the top echelon and viewing its development from afar, the club has quickly become a real source of pride for Aucklanders. The VGK are a source of pride for the people that live here too, so that’s a trait shared by both organisations.”
Auckland FC has quickly become a shot in the arm for the A-League, a feat the Golden Knights achieved in the NHL, a league that’s now 107 years old.
“What we initially did from a fan experience was polarising,” Bubolz said. “We weren’t afraid to tap into the Las Vegas reputation for showmanship. Some really liked it and some thought it was going too far away from the traditions of hockey.
“We have a VGK Showgirls team,” Tosi said, “and we go so far as to have them in operation during warm-ups, where they’re positioned behind the net of the visiting team’s warm-up area. It’s called our Wall of Distraction and it wouldn’t work in the other 31 NHL cities, but it certainly does here.
“It’s on-brand in that it’s thoughtful, humorous and entertaining … and that’s what we’re all about. It’s edgy but it’s also tasteful. We play within the values boundaries that we have established. Our eye-catching performers are a classy take on what the Vegas Showgirls represent.”
The Showgirls support two mascots, a cheer team, a DJ and a mesmerising troupe of scantily clad ice girls who scrape the surface in a choreographed whirlwind during breaks in play.
The game-day entertainment experience also features projections on to the ice that enable fan competitions like relay races and a live version of snakes and ladders. Bubolz is flattered that traditional hockey markets are now leaning into a number of the presentation techniques that the Vegas franchise pioneered eight years ago.
“It’s great to see some of the ideas we created being adapted and used in a slightly different form around the NHL. It’s a good thing because it raises the bar for everyone around the league … although I still think we’re the best in terms of what we do and how we do it.”
Tosi – who has also held senior communications and marketing roles in the NFL, with the New York Jets, and Major League Soccer, with Red Bull New York – points to Foley as the inspiration for the club’s brand development and match-day experience.
“When you look at the Golden Knights brand, we really pull from three different elements and sources,” Tosi said.
“Number one is Bill and his background in the US armed forces, going through the West Point military academy and serving with the Air Force.
“You’ll see on the collar or our jersey Never Retreat, Never Surrender – that’s the core mantra of our team and business and that comes directly from him. He’s also influenced how we conduct ourselves – no ego, be humble. That’s directly from Bill and it’s the cornerstone of our brand.
“The second component is our name, the Golden Knights. A knight represents being brave, valiant and courageous – protectors of our community – which plays into how we serve our city and are embedded in the community, how we help the residents and those less fortunate.”
That community assistance was to the fore in the lead-up to their first season, when Vegas fell in love with the players for the support they provided after the deadliest mass shooting in American history, when 60 people were killed and more than 400 injured when a gunman fired on a music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.
“There was a feeling the locals fell in love with the team before falling in love with the sport,” Tosi said.
“The final piece of our brand foundations is our city itself. That’s our third pillar. What is Vegas? It’s bright, filled with energy, glitz and glamour. We provide the level of entertainment fans expect when they think of Vegas.
“What we do on game day at T-Mobile Arena isn’t going to work in Boston or Columbus, but it works here because of the culture and fabric of our city. We want to be the best show on the Strip and, in order to do that, you have to set the bar and exceed that bar.
“Every piece of that experience is very intentional and under Kerry and Bill it was a priority from day one that we had to be best-in-class from an in-game experience standpoint. We’re really proud of the work that we’ve done in that area and it has been reinforced by the recognition and accolades we’ve received.”
The Vegas innovators have been determined to imbue their golden glow on their Auckland counterparts.
Bubolz and Tosi were both heavily involved in Auckland FC’s bid to join the A-League.
“We were brought in as advisers to look through some of the framing and see if we could take some of the ideas, initiatives and successes that worked well in Vegas and apply them to Auckland,” Tosi said.
“In the initial conversations with the A-League it was important to showcase what the ownership group looked like and communicate the resources and commitment.
“During the initial brand launch we were heavily involved with Nick [Becker, Auckland FC chief executive] and the team in providing initial guidance and additional feedback.”
Nowadays Bubolz and Tosi have fortnightly calls with the Auckland FC management and marketing team. They’re linked by Omar Cruz, the head of commercial partnerships at Auckland FC, who used to work at the Golden Knights. Members of their team have had stints in Auckland to provide support. Todd Pollock, the chief ticketing officer in Vegas, has just returned from assisting his Kiwi counterparts with pricing for next year, talking about the renewal process, data capture, group sales and building on the stellar first year.
The sharing of knowledge and best practice is driven by Foley, who – at 80 years young – was estimated to be worth $US1.6 billion ($2.79b) in 2023.
After a distinguished military career the Texan-born Foley became an attorney and has excelled in law, finance, hospitality and now sport. Bulboz and Tosi say it’s those experiences that have provided “top down” guidance to his sporting properties.
“You just have to look at the messaging in our head office,” Tosi said. “‘Always Advance, Never Retreat’ is one of the catch-cries on the wall, alongside ‘Ignore The Naysayers’. In the locker room it says ‘Never Give Up, Never Give In’ and ‘There’s No Substitute For Victory’.
“These are all themes that originated from Bill’s time and studies in the military service, so that’s where a lot of the structure and motivational values come from. And then you look at his character where he has a humble, no-ego approach. He’s a guy that’s been successful in every aspect of his life but he still wants to be called Bill.”
“Don’t call him Mr Foley. He’ll correct you,” Bubolz added.
“He’s generally in jeans and a polo, so he’s very down-to-earth,” Tosi said. “You wouldn’t know he’s had such success. If you just randomly popped into the office he’s as warm and welcoming as anybody else in the office.”
“Even structurally, when you look at our organisation,” Bubolz said, “he’s not interested in a traditional corporate structure. If wants to have a conversation about ticketing, for instance, he doesn’t come to me, he’ll go straight to Todd, sit down in his office and work through issues and plans without ever forcing his opinion or providing ultimatums.
“We’re very much a flat organisation when it comes to decision-making. That’s just the way Bill’s wired. He doesn’t have to talk to the top person in a hierarchical structure, he goes to the source. And it works.”
Foley has also been the driving force behind the Vegas club punching above its weight, determined that market size would not undermine revenue generation and business clout.
Despite being in arguably the smallest ice hockey market in America, the Golden Knights are generally between third and fifth in ticket revenue and between fifth and eighth in total hockey-related revenue across the entire 32-team league.
Their success has had a startling impact on local participation numbers.
When the Golden Knights set up shop in 2016, converting a patch of desert into a phenomenal headquarters that includes two rinks open to the community and a restaurant and merchandise store open to the public, there were 93 kids registered with USA Hockey in Nevada. Now there are 6000 players at the youth level.
“We’re by far the fastest-growing sport in Nevada,” Bubolz said. “Now we have to work out how to build more facilities because we’re at a stretch point. If we don’t build more rinks the numbers will flatten off due to a lack of time available on the ice. It’s a unique challenge.”
Having seen Foley build their headquarters and three rinks in total, Bubolz is certain he would back a downtown stadium in Auckland with the Warriors, Blues and Black Knights as core tenants.
“Facilities are important, not only in terms of training for your athletes but with regards to being valued community assets.
“One of the first things we did when taking over the Bournemouth Premier League team in September 2022 was fast-track the development of a training facility, because the existing amenities did not meet the necessary standard compared to the other participants in one of the best leagues in the world.
“A £45 million [$101.4m) investment was made to develop first-class facilities for off-field training. We have two fields now but when we move into that new facility soon we’ll have twelve fields, so our Premier League team, women’s team and all our development teams – the Under-16s, Under-18s and Under-21s – will all be together and connected in a truly powerful way.
“That was our first significant investment in infrastructure outside of the United States. Now we’re going to be transforming the existing stadium in Bournemouth – Vitality Stadium. So you can see facilities are a major part of how you grow those businesses, both in terms of their performance on the pitch or ice, but also in terms of revenue generation.
“That [facilities in Auckland] will be another priority moving forward. There were limited options when we were approved to join the A-League but we were excited to figure out the right approach and develop the relationship with Go Media Stadium. Facilities will be important going forward and we’ll continue to look at those investments for sure.”
Bubolz can see Foley’s sporting and entertainment empire expanding and would readily stand behind each new venture and share his franchise’s knowledge, just as they have done with Auckland FC, AFC Bournemouth, Hibernian FC in Scotland and FC Lorient in France.
“It’s important to Bill that we’re all thinking about the whole enterprise and it’s not just his sporting investments. He has significant hospitality assets in terms of restaurants, hotel properties and wineries – even in New Zealand,” Bubolz said.
“Bill is keen for us to understand how we can take a typical Vegas Golden Knights fan and make sure they have an opportunity to be introduced to Hotel Californian and the wineries up in Santa Barbara, Napa and Sonoma. There’s an effort to connect those dots.
“A few weeks ago, I spent eight days in New Zealand. We took a group of 20 people, flew in to Auckland, went to Wellington, took a helicopter over to his beautiful country estate Wharekauhau in Palliser Bay, spent time in Martinborough going on the wine trail including time at some of Bill’s wineries, like Te Kairanga, and his gin facility there.
“We utilised that time connecting people from Las Vegas to his hospitality interests in New Zealand. We’re always aspiring to lift the bar.”
The Vegas big brother would be delighted if Auckland went one better than the first-year finalists and actually won the A-League in their debut season.
“We would be disappointed if they didn’t win at this point,” Bubolz said. “We’re all-in, we’re really excited about it. We want to see it happen, so let’s keep it going.”
“The New Zealand time zone works well for us too,” Tosi chipped in, pointing at the clocks on the wall of their head office showing the local time at their sister clubs in the UK and New Zealand. “Better than Bournemouth. A five o’clock match on a Saturday in Auckland beams into Vegas at eight o’clock on Friday night, so it’s a great viewing time.”
And you can bet Bill Foley himself is an avid watcher of his team’s A-League contests.
“Every year he’s gracious enough to host a holiday party for the staff,” Tosi said. “As the festivities were winding down last year we saw some activity on the television and there’s Bill, excusing himself to put the Black Knights game on. If Auckland FC’s playing, he won’t miss it.”
The team's black-and-blue stripes are taking over the city.