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Hockey Tonk: The Amazing Story of the Nashville Predators
Since becoming an official franchise of the National Hockey League in May 1998, The Nashville Predators have gained an incredible amount of regional and national attention. In Hockey Tonk , owner Craig Leipold and Richard Oliver take readers on a fascinating journey from the birth of the Nashville Predators to the planning and execution of the team's inaugural season. From their first game in October 1998 before a sell out crowd of more than 17,000 to games being played today, the Nashville Predators have drawn a total of more than a million fans to their games. This book goes behind the scenes to describe not only how the Predators got and kept so many fans so fast, but also how they became one of the NHL's most successful expansion teams in just one season. Fans and business people alike will be interested in this amazing story.
- GenresSportsNonfictionHockey
238 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 29, 2017
I enjoyed this story of the beginnings of the Nashville Predators. I lived through much of this, but knew little of the behind-the-scenes story. I remember Bredesen working to bring a NHL team to the arena and the campaign to sell tickets - but knew little of the incredible work that it took to get here. Of course, now almost 20 years later this team is on the verge of franchise history - they are 4 wins from the ultimate trophy: Lord Stanley's Cup. This history only tells the initial story, the first year of the franchise. There's been much more since this was written in 2000. There was an attempt to move the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario in 2007 that was thwarted by Pred fans and Nashville city leaders and businessmen. The franchise itself has had good success reaching the playoffs since the NHL lockout - making the playoffs in 9 of the past 12 seasons. Tomorrow starts their run at the Cup and only time will tell if they achieve the ultimate goal. My husband and I have been fans for years but this year were able to get a 'mini-plan' (about 15-16 regular season games from October to April) as well as a ticket to each round of the playoffs (don't ask how much the Stanley Cup tickets were - suffice it to say, I'm not retiring anytime soon). So LET'S GO PREDS!!!
Quotes to remember:
The marriage between country music and hockey represents a melding of Southern broken hearts and Northern broken bones.
One of the jokes making the rounds...was that Nashville would be the only hockey franchise in the country where the fans had fewer teeth than the players.
I found a traditionally northern sport that was finding a new and growing market in the South. NASCAR! It's the NASCAR of team sports.
The fact is that the economy in Nashville has been growing and is strong. It has economic diversity: health care, the Saturn and Nissan plants, government, education, tourism, and entertainment. If you are going to have a viable economy in the new millennium, though, you've got to keep moving forward. That was Phil's vision. Phil focused on some things that are economic engines. Sports is one of those engines, but Phil also paid close attention to the intangibles. Cities that are emerging as great cities today have those intangibles - energy, spirit, and a commitment to break out of the mold.
There are plenty of big-time cities that have teams, but their downtown areas are small. Their sports facilities and arenas are in the suburbs. But the fact is, Nashville made a commitment not just to growth, but also to the economic vitality of its downtown. In Nashville, there are concerts, there is culture, there are museums, there is opera, symphony, and ballet, and now there is professional sports. It's all part of the package.
...the reason for the quick success of the Predators in Nashville was their becoming part of the community...He understood the need to take a sport that people viewed as nontraditional and make it Nashville's team.
...my management style is pretty simple: be concerned about people as individuals, develop an atmosphere of trust in the organization, and help each person succeed so that the overall organization succeeds.
...much of hockey is still family oriented. That rural, hardworking ethic still pervades hockey.
We expect professional hockey players to give a consistently good effort...Even the most talented guys have two responsibilities. One is to themselves, to perform at a high level and give everything they have all the time. And the other is to the passion of competition and the responsibility they have to their teammates.
Ice hockey is really a game for Southern sport tastes: speed, blocking, and fighting. It's a good ol' boy's dream, and not so bad for the rest of us either. It's demolition derby with a stick...It's a whole new ball game coming to town, with action, body contact, and fan delirium. That's an old Southern recipe for success.
We recognize that we are talking about human beings. There will be times when it doesn't work. The key, though, is what you do about it. If your game plan is never to make a mistake, you're doomed. Our game plan is to be very well prepared, make as few mistakes as possible, and if we do mess up, then we do something about it.
...it's not a honky-tonk. It's a hockey tonk. . . . The unlikely pairing of a northern-rooted sport and a smallish southern city devoted to football, NASCAR, and country music has sparked an instant infatuation, uniting worlds that turn out to be surprisingly alike.
Quotes to remember:
The marriage between country music and hockey represents a melding of Southern broken hearts and Northern broken bones.
One of the jokes making the rounds...was that Nashville would be the only hockey franchise in the country where the fans had fewer teeth than the players.
I found a traditionally northern sport that was finding a new and growing market in the South. NASCAR! It's the NASCAR of team sports.
The fact is that the economy in Nashville has been growing and is strong. It has economic diversity: health care, the Saturn and Nissan plants, government, education, tourism, and entertainment. If you are going to have a viable economy in the new millennium, though, you've got to keep moving forward. That was Phil's vision. Phil focused on some things that are economic engines. Sports is one of those engines, but Phil also paid close attention to the intangibles. Cities that are emerging as great cities today have those intangibles - energy, spirit, and a commitment to break out of the mold.
There are plenty of big-time cities that have teams, but their downtown areas are small. Their sports facilities and arenas are in the suburbs. But the fact is, Nashville made a commitment not just to growth, but also to the economic vitality of its downtown. In Nashville, there are concerts, there is culture, there are museums, there is opera, symphony, and ballet, and now there is professional sports. It's all part of the package.
...the reason for the quick success of the Predators in Nashville was their becoming part of the community...He understood the need to take a sport that people viewed as nontraditional and make it Nashville's team.
...my management style is pretty simple: be concerned about people as individuals, develop an atmosphere of trust in the organization, and help each person succeed so that the overall organization succeeds.
...much of hockey is still family oriented. That rural, hardworking ethic still pervades hockey.
We expect professional hockey players to give a consistently good effort...Even the most talented guys have two responsibilities. One is to themselves, to perform at a high level and give everything they have all the time. And the other is to the passion of competition and the responsibility they have to their teammates.
Ice hockey is really a game for Southern sport tastes: speed, blocking, and fighting. It's a good ol' boy's dream, and not so bad for the rest of us either. It's demolition derby with a stick...It's a whole new ball game coming to town, with action, body contact, and fan delirium. That's an old Southern recipe for success.
We recognize that we are talking about human beings. There will be times when it doesn't work. The key, though, is what you do about it. If your game plan is never to make a mistake, you're doomed. Our game plan is to be very well prepared, make as few mistakes as possible, and if we do mess up, then we do something about it.
...it's not a honky-tonk. It's a hockey tonk. . . . The unlikely pairing of a northern-rooted sport and a smallish southern city devoted to football, NASCAR, and country music has sparked an instant infatuation, uniting worlds that turn out to be surprisingly alike.
April 25, 2026
The book, co-written by the founding owner Craig Leipold, shows how the Predators were founded and goes through the business side of things on their first season. Leipold, writing in the third person, notes how he got interested in owning a sports team and how he worked to get into the NHL, and then how the Predators were set up. In hindsight it is funny to see him quoted as saying "I’m in this for the long haul. I’m committed to being in hockey, in Nashville, for a long time to come," considering he would complain about financial losses just a few years later and leave (and instead bought the rival Minnesota Wild), and the book also spends a lot of time seemingly trying to upsell the team to a prospective audience, but overall it's a nice look at an expansion team, and one that ultimately did firmly establish itself (albeit not under Leipold's leadership; turns out he was right: it helps to have a local ownership group that's committed to the city. It just wasn't him). It's also funny to see them heap praise on the potential of David Legwand, who was an alright player but certainly fell far below expectations.
February 27, 2019
An exhaustive history of the formation of the team; complete with photos, memoir and first-person narrative. Some of the most exciting writing about hockey I have ever read, too - feels like being at the game in a couple of places.
July 9, 2013
Read the story of how the NHL came to Nashville ,Tn . If you are a fan of the Nashville franchise from the beginning ,grab a copy used somewhere. It has some really behind the scenes looks at the workings of building a professional sports team ,in a market that most thought would fail to become successful.
Is it an incredible ,hard hitting , he shoots he scores ride of a book ? NO ! But for those whom have to have it all hockey junkies like myself ,it's worth your time .
Is it an incredible ,hard hitting , he shoots he scores ride of a book ? NO ! But for those whom have to have it all hockey junkies like myself ,it's worth your time .
September 11, 2007
Work hard, Play hard...things you do when youare in the real world, amazingly inspiring.
October 26, 2013
If you like the Nashville predators, you will like this little history of how the team came to Nashville.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews