AHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers Annouce Jeff Longo As New President

Published on October 2, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Charlotte, NC - Thursday, October 2, 2003) - The Charlotte Checkers announce today the appointment of Jeff Longo as the team's new President. The announcement is made by Checkers Owner / Chief Executive Officer, Carl Scheer. Longo, 28, will oversee every phase of the Checkers front office, and report directly to Scheer and Checkers Owner / Chairman of the Board, Felix Sabates. The new Checkers President comes to Charlotte after serving most recently as the President of the San Diego Gulls Hockey Club, formerly of the West Coast Hockey League and now a new member of the ECHL. Bob Scheer, who has served as Charlotte's President since May of 2002, felt the need to transition to several new roles with the Checkers and other ScheerSports ventures, focusing on f! inancial analysis and management.

Carl Scheer commented on the hiring of Longo."We feel very fortunate to have Jeff join our organization. He is known among hockey circles as one of the outstanding young leaders in minor league hockey. Jeff came highly recommended to us from the ECHL office, who very much wanted to keep him in our league. Bob will still be greatly involved with the Checkers and our other properties including the Greenville Grrrowl, ScheerSports and ScheerGame as a financial analyst and manager. We're very blessed to have two quality people in Bob and now Jeff in our organization"

A native of Hazlet, New Jersey, Longo was pleased to have the opportunity to come back to the east coast. "The city of Charlotte was certainly at the top of a short list of ECHL cities that I felt would be a good fit and offer the most positive opportunities,"! remarked Longo. "When I came to Charlotte for the first time back in June for the ECHL annual meetings representing San Diego, I loved the city. I'm excited about many of the market similarities that exist between San Diego and Charlotte that allowed us to achieve a strong level of success, particularly the Checkers extensive hockey history and solid fan base. My focus will be to help our talented staff expand that base and establish Checkers hockey as the top sports entertainment value in the city. The opportunity to work with Mr. Scheer, who has achieved so much in this industry and to be able to learn from his experience, is also particularly inviting."

Bob Scheer shared his remarks on his new direction and on Longo's appointment. "As I transition in a new direction with the Checkers, Greenville Grrrowl, Scheer Sports, and ScheerGame, I feel our Presidency will be in great hands with Jeff. I will be heavily involved in the transition process, and will still continue to oversee many of the financial management responsibilities for the team. I love the Charlotte Checkers and always will, and look forward to my new focus with the organization."

Longo graduated from Rutgers University in 1997, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Psychology. While attending Rutgers, he served an internship with the National Hockey League's New York Rangers, and then after graduation he joined the club serving in the media relations department. Late in 1997 he joined the West Coast Hockey League's San Diego Gulls as an account executive. Over the next five years Longo quickly moved up the ladder in the Gulls' organization before being named President this past summer. In between he served as Executive Director of Hockey Operations from 1999 to 2001, and Vice President from June of 2001 to August of 2003, when he was named President. The new Checkers President brings to Charlotte extensive experience and success in all phases of sports administration. Longo has particular strengths in marketing, ticket sales and strategies, and community relations ventures. During Longo's association with San Diego, the team led the the WCHL in attendance in each of his six seasons there. Since the 1997-98 season, the Gulls averaged nearly 7,000 fans per game and also had over ten crowds of at least 11,000 fans.

The Gulls were also named "Organization of the Year" twice during that span. San Diego also won three Taylor Cup Championships during Longo's tenure. He also served on the WCHL's Rules Committee and as an Alternate Governor.

Longo's strong commitment to community involvement saw him win the "Volunteer of the Year" award in 2002 by North Bay Association for work with a program called Help Just One. The community program assisted underprivileged families at Christmas time with specific gifts that they pre-selected which were delivered by Santa Claus and Gulls players at a holiday party at the Arena. Jeff is currently residing in Matthews with his wife Alisa.

CHECKERS TICKETS: All regular season individual game tickets and preseason game tickets are on sale. Tickets may be purchased at the Cricket Arena Box Office, the Charlotte Coliseum Box Office, and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by using a credit card and calling Ticketmaster at (704) 922-6500, and through the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com.

Individual game tickets for the 2003-04 season are priced at $7.00 for balcony seats, $10.00 for end mezzanine seats, $12.00 for side mezzanine seats, $15.00 for circle seats, and $20.00 for box seats.

All tickets for the Checkers / Columbia Inferno preseason game at Cricket Arena on Monday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. are reserved and priced at $5.00. Checkers full season ticket holders will rece! ive their tickets for free. Parking for the preseason game at Cricket Arena will be FREE for ALL fans on October 13.

Season Tickets, mini plans and group tickets remain on sale through the Checkers office. Season tickets start as low as $245.00. Further information can be obtained by calling the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423.

The Checkers will begin their 11th season in the ECHL with the regular season and home opener Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. hosting the Gwinnett (GA) Gladiators at Cricket Arena.

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