Hill & Knowlton's Goldy Hyder.

A concert by punk rappers the Beastie Boys may not come across as a typical business networking event, but for Hill & Knowlton's Goldy Hyder, the NHL lockout demands creative thinking.

Mr. Hyder, the PR firm's senior vice-president of business development, is one of the city's many businesspeople left scrambling to fill the void left by the loss of a regular NHL season. It's not that businesspeople are twiddling their thumbs for lack of other networking events to attend, rather, it is the loss of a unique, laidback atmosphere that characterizes a night in the box at a Senators home game, he said.

"You play the hand that you're dealt," he said. "It's not our preference to have the NHL lockout, but you can't do anything about it and you have to adjust to the new reality and, hopefully, it is a short-lived reality because clearly there are advantages ... to having the relaxed atmosphere that a suite provides at a hockey game."

Self-styled networking guru Michael Hughes agrees.

"There's definitely a void there, no question about it," he said. "And it's got an effect of ... hurting the business development opportunities for businesses within our community, no question."

But if "adversity builds character", then "challenges create new opportunities", Mr. Hyder said, and so suite holders must take advantage of other events at the Corel Centre to get some return on their investment. Last week, he took a number of civil servants from various federal departments to the Beastie Boys concert.

"That probably attracts a different audience than the audience you would get to a playoff hockey game," he said. "But, nevertheless, you make use of your investment the best that you can. The alternative is to just lose the money that you've invested in it. That's not a very viable option for us, nor is it an option we'd recommend to clients."

Typically, the five-year lease on a Corel Centre suite includes all events taking place at the arena, in addition to Sens games. Due to the lockout, suite holders were granted some rebate, but are still paying for the right to use the suite during other events, such as concerts.

While suite holders may be left struggling to get a return on their investment at the Corel Centre, the rest of the business community appears to be getting along without the NHL season just fine. If anything, an empty hockey schedule has left people with more time to attend other networking events across the city, said Kim Kelly, principal at conference and event firm Kim Kelly & Associates.

"It's reduced some of the conflicts people might feel trying to fit in the various events that sometimes do conflict with hockey events," she said. "However, that being said, I think that certainly people are missing the element of the suite at the hockey game ... it's probably removed something of the casual opportunity for businesses and clients to get together."

* One event filling some of the void is this month's Grey Cup game. Mr. Hyder noted that the money that Hill & Knowlton has saved this year on its Corel Centre suite has been used to buy a package for this month's Grey Cup CFL game, a purchase the firm otherwise would not have made.

On a more regular basis, there are any number of events hosted by the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, the Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Club, to name a few.

But while many people suggest much of the business networking activity from the NHL games will simply shift to other venues, such as the chamber and junior hockey, the feedback from those organizations suggests this isn't happening.

"I wouldn't say we've noted a marked increase per se ... Our attendance has been good for our events, but I wouldn't say we've had a sizeable increase," said chamber president Gail Logan.

She suggested chamber events and Sens home games co-existed, rather than competed with each other. Her organization only hosts a handful of evening events throughout the year and attempts to ensure they do not coincide with NHL home games.

At the 67s junior hockey club, director of community and business development Shawn Williams said the franchise hasn't seen any significant upswing in interest from the business community for season tickets or suites. In only a few instances can he say the club has picked up a client as a result of the NHL lockout.

"To suggest it's had a dramatic impact on us ... it would be somewhat dishonest of us to suggest that," he said.

Even if there was a sudden upswing in demand, Mr. Williams said most comers would be disappointed, since the majority of suites are leased under three-year contracts.

He acknowledged that the junior league simply isn't on the radar for many area businesses.

"By that I mean that, when you take a look at the Corel Centre and the Senators, I think it would be fair to say that the majority of businesses that have tickets in the 100- and 200-levels are Senators fans," he said. "They're not necessarily your traditional, pure, hardcore hockey fan. They're Senators fans and rightly so, because that's the place that companies in this town feel they should be taking their clients to do business."

He added that it's his club's responsibility to remedy the situation. A dedicated inside sales team has been trying to do that since July, with "good old-fashioned cold calling".

"We certainly don't want to be seen as trying to be vultures or in some way cutting the grass of our friends at the Corel Centre and with the Senators. We just want to make businesses aware that we have a low-cost option here," he said.

The consensus opinion appears to be that something special has been lost with the NHL lockout, but local businesspeople are adjusting by making the most of other networking venues that were already on their schedules, venues that generally cost far less to attend. If people find they can still drum up business without the expense of a Corel Centre suite or season ticket package, what will be the consequences for the Sens franchise when the lockout ends?

Mr. Hyder points out that it took major league baseball teams years to fill their stadiums again after the players strike a decade ago.

"It does run the risk of having more serious consequences for hockey operations because people are finding other ways of getting their message out and doing their business development and arranging meetings for clients," he said.

On the other hand, Mr. Hughes suggested a prolonged lockout might instill a greater appreciation among businesspeople for the unique venue provided by an NHL game.

Either way, "Business doesn't stop. It has to keep going," Mr. Hyder said. n