Wreaking Havoc & Star Gazing
Here, it’s fun just watching as spectator sports options abound

The Huntsville Havoc has kept die-hard hockey fans entertained since they first skated onto the scene in 2004.

From future big leaguers to current little sluggers, from hoops to hockey (yes, hockey), Huntsville has options for every sports fan in the family.

The Huntsville Havoc play in the Southern Professional Hockey League and are just one example of the city’s longtime devotion to the sport.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville remains the only southern school to win an NCAA championship in ice hockey.

“Hockey is alive and well in Huntsville,” says Charles Winters, vice president of marketing for the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau. In fact, the city was the first in the state with year-round ice. Winters, with help from the Huntsville Sports Commission, works to keep Huntsville as a destination for sports teams and competitions of all age and skill levels.

“Twenty-six percent of group marketing we track can be traced to sports marketing,” Winters says.

Huntsville’s premier sports team is the Huntsville Stars, a Class AA baseball team in the Southern League. The franchise has been playing in the community since 1985, making it the longest-running team in the Tennessee Valley.

And if 2005 was an indication, the franchise’s popularity is hardly on the wane. The Stars were honored with the Southern League’s Award of Excellence, an honor given based on the team’s 18 percent increase in attendance during the 2005 season.

General Manager Tom Van Schaack attributes the Stars’ stellar season to a good promotional schedule, decent weather and an excellent fan base. The team plays its home games at Joe Davis Stadium, a 10,000-seat facility built in 1985 when the Stars were on the way south from Nashville.

But the Stars and Havoc aren’t the only games in town.

Youth baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball tournaments, among others, attract throngs of kids, parents and grandparents to Huntsville each weekend. For years, Winters handled the sports marketing chores alone, though in 1999 the city of Huntsville created the Huntsville Sports Commission to devote greater attention to the burgeoning sports event business.

Greg Patterson serves as executive director of the non-profit sports organization. He says the commission’s mission is two-fold: “create economic impact and enhance quality of life.”

Those quality of life amenities are delivered through attractive spectator sports events, such as an Auburn University softball game lured to town by the sports commission.

“The out-of-town people help pay for the facilities, and the locals get to enjoy them year-round,” Winters says.

Of course, if the locals are interested in taking in a big league ballgame, options also abound. Nashville, home to the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and NHL’s Nashville Predators, is just 90 miles away, while all four major sports leagues have teams in Atlanta, just a little more than 200 miles east.

Story by Dan Markham
Photo by Brian McCord