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A Decade in CondorsTown!
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Anonymous user Fri Oct 19, 2007 09:57:27 PDT
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This year the Bakersfield Condors celebrate 10 years as part of our community. Also this year, Matt Riley celebrates 10 years as the man on top of the local organization. As president of the Condors, Matt has played an essential part in turning the Condors into the top attended sports franchise in town and one of the most successful in the 25- team league.
    From the standpoint of his front office staff, the goal is not necessarily the one scored in the net. The sport itself can actually take a back seat to the enjoyment of the game from the fans’ point of view. “The number one thing we have to worry about is when that person walks through the door, are they going to have fun? Because nothing else matters. We put ourselves in the customers’ shoes,” Riley says. “And that’s kind of fun because we’re all hockey fans.”
    In preparation for the ’07-’08 hockey season, Riley and his staff have been busy getting ready for 36 home games. Work in the office continues even when the hockey team is taking their annual break. “The summer in hockey is the most important time because that’s the planning and the preparation. We prepare for promotions and the things we think are going to be thrown at us so we’re ready,” he says.
    With the 10-year anniversary season now underway, it seems fitting to celebrate
the milestone and the many Condors legends. “We really want to put a lot of emphasis on our history this year. We’ve got former players that are still in the community and they still want to be involved with  the Condors in the community. We want to honor them any way we can. That’s the thing I’m really looking forward to the most this season.”
    Something must be working right, as this summer Riley was honored as the best in the business with the ECHL Executive of the Year award. Riley shares the trophy with the people he works with every day. “The Executive of the Year award is a team award most definitely,” he says. “So a little piece of that paperweight belongs to the people that work here now, but also to a lot of people who did work here and laid the foundation and building blocks to what is Condorstown.”
    As well as being the leader of the Condors front office army, Riley is also a member of the ECHL’s Board of Directors Executive Committee. This responsibility allows him to be involved with decisions that guide the entire league. “If we don’t have any teams to play against, we’re out of existence. It’s competition on the ice,
but off the ice, we’re all trying to better our business, so we better be willing to work together and not against each other,” Riley says.
    The majority owner of the Bakersfield Condors is Jonathon Fleisig, a New York City native primarily occupied as a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Fleisig bought the team 11 years ago and put Riley in charge in 1998. “ I can’t imagine working for a greater guy,” Riley says. “When he handed me the keys, he said, ‘Don’t lose my money, and get involved with the community.’ Everybody wants to win a championship, that’s a no-brainer. Anything I would talk with Jonathon about is not necessarily financial topics. Most of it is community-oriented discussions,” he adds.
    Riley has seen firsthand the generosity of the Bakersfield Condors fans. The giving nature of the fan base combine for some of Riley’s proudest memories over the past ten years. “We’re just the conduits for the great fans we have in Condorstown,” Riley says. “Sure, we did Teddy Bear Toss, but we didn’t make 6,000 people bring stuffed animals to donate to kids that are less fortunate. People did that of their own free will. We just told them about it. We’re indebted to the people that support us and the community.” Year in and year out, Condors players mention that the fans go out of their way to make them feel at home. Riley attributes this to the caring nature of fans and the residents of Bakersfield. “They (the fans) recognize these guys are coming from far away. Not only do we have loud crowds and supportive crowds during the game,” he says, “but after the game fans will actually go above and beyond to help players get settled. When you’re in a new place, that’s pretty important.”

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