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The Nashville Predators always call the Bridgestone Arena their home. They have been playing there since the inception of the franchise. They became the Conference Champions in that arena in 2017 and won the President's Trophy in 2018.
The NHL Entry Draft is taking place there now, with many prospects already getting teams to play with. Hence, the Bridgestone Arena has gained a lot of significance in Nashville and is popularly known as 'Smashville'.
The word is everywhere. It's on the hats and the shirts, and every banner around the arena mentions it. Any hype around a Nashville Predators game is incomplete without the mention of 'Smashville'. But where does this name come from? Let's give you the story.
The Nashville Predators: Initial efforts to market the team
When the NHL franchise began in 1997, Tom Ward served as the executive vice president of corporate operations for the Nashville Predators. He assisted in the birth of 'Smashville' and was present when it occurred.
To market a sports club that didn't have anything to offer, Ward and the organization's management had to come up with a quick solution.
They got the biggest country musicians, like Garth Brooks and Marina McBride, to advertise the team. They blacked out their teeth in the ads, creating a 'hockey smile', and it became a hit.
How was Smashville born?
In 2001-02, they still hadn't found a good fan slogan to connect with the audience. Hence, the team asked the fans to give their suggestions.
One of them was Frank Glinski. The moniker 'Smashville' was coined by Glinski during a meeting with the Predators' then-vice president of marketing, who shared Glinski's experience of having been a local minor hockey player.
Glinski was informed that his friend had submitted 'Smashville' in the fan contest for a new motto.
Ward saw this entry and had an epiphany and instantly knew that this would connect. Locally, Glinski is now referred to as 'Mr. Smashville'. He has received complimentary season tickets each year since winning the competition, as the club promised.
So, why this name? Ward viewed it as a link between the roughness of hockey and the prior ad initiatives' origins in country music. Smashville was considered a place "where anything can happen." That was the base concept of the campaign.
The team's television advertisements depicted a fictional community controlled by the love of hockey, where shootings are frequent and aggressive behavior is accepted. A place where disrupting the calm is a way of life with its population of 17,113. This was the average attendance during that time.
It gave the Nashville Predators a unique identity, but it died around 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats employed Ward.
In 2009, there would be a revival. But it wasn't around hockey. Around the experience itself. It exemplified the fans. Their willingness to celebrate, whether it was a small victory or a Stanley Cup final, showed why they were right to advertise it that way.
The Nashville Predators made the city fans of "hockey."
