The Insider Interview - Dr. Salvatore TrazzeraThe New York Cardiologist, NYTEX Sports partner and Texas Brahmas CEO takes time to speak with The Insider
Salvatore Trazzera has had a passion for hockey since childhood, growing up in Massapequa, N.Y. After playing youth hockey and travel hockey for the Oyster Bay Gulls of the New York Metropolitan Jr. Hockey League, he went on to play NCAA Hockey at St. Johns University.
After earning medical degrees from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico and The University of the State of New York, Trazzera completed an internship through New York Medical College at Valhalla and served as medical resident at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset as well as the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
A board Certified Cardiologist, Trazzera is a founding partner of the Huntington and Farmingdale Heart Centers in Long Island, New York. His career in medicine spans 20 years. He conceived of Long Islands’ first women’s heart program and serves as the Associate Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Services at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, New York.
He maintains his USA Hockey Coaching Certification and has coached both at the midget and Jr. ‘B’ levels for Police Athletic League in Suffolk, New York.
When the Fort Worth Brahmas suspended operations for the 2006-07 season after the franchise and the City of Fort Worth failed to reach a lease agreement, the team began the search for a new venue after nine seasons at the Fort Worth Convention Center and Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.
At about the same time, Trazzera and his brother Frank, were negotiating the purchase of the 140,000 square-foot Blue Line Ice Compex as part of NYTEX Sports, LLC, an investment group that included commercial real estate broker Jim Makens. The facility had been vacant for several years. The Trazzeras knew of the Brahmas' situation and thought the professional hockey club would be an ideal anchor tenant for the venue.
After negotiations with Brahmas majority owner Stuart Fraser and general manager Mike Barack, Frank and Salvatore Trazzera joined Andy Moog, Knute Anderson and Jim Makens as minority owners of the renamed Texas Brahmas in May of 2007. The Brahmas would play at the newly named NYTEX Sports Centre beginning with the 2008-09 season.
NYTEX is also the home of the Junior Brahmas, the Texas Renegades of the Junior A Western States Hockey League, the NYTEX Skating Academy, NYTEX Figure Skating, Tejas Volleyball, The Dallas Derby Devils Flat-track roller derby team and soon, the Texas Outlaws professional arena soccer team. Zuroma Sicilian Kitchen is moving into the restaurant site and will be open in the near future.
In town recently, I spoke with Dr. Trazzera about the purchase of the arena, joining with the Brahmas and some of the things NYTEX has to offer.
Q: I wanted to ask you about the decision to purchase what is now the former Blue Line facility. What was your motivation?
A: My brother and I came from a hockey background in New York. I actually played in this arena before it closed. We had looked at it when it first closed and proposed trying to buy it at that time, but the bank wouldn’t sell it. So, as two or three years went by, we kept an eye on things and the opportunity arose and we had a vision. We had a vision of doing youth hockey, and professional hockey sort of came to us somewhat surreptitiously. The next thing you know, we were involved with the Brahmas and we put together our youth program and everything just sort of came into play along with the pro team itself.
Q: How did the relationship with the Brahmas begin; who initiated that?
A: What occurred simultaneous to the time that we were buying the rink was that the Brahmas had suspended operations for a year. Mike Barack and Stuart Fraser were looking for an arena to play in and we felt that for the Central Hockey League and for AA Hockey, it was a good-sized venue and a good match because of the size of the crowds that they drew. They initially had someone else interested who sort of pulled out and we had bought the arena and we saw it as an opportunity. We took the opportunity and we took the chance.
Q: I don’t know the numbers, but it seems like the NYTEX Sports Centre has been pretty successful. You’ve been able to draw other sports like the Tejas Volleyball, the indoor soccer and the flat-track roller derby. How do you feel about how things have worked out in the first couple of years here?
A: Well, we’re perfectionists. We’re happy with our progress, but we focus on where we’re deficient and we focus on how we can make things better. We look at it as a very unique sports venue. It’s not just a hockey venue. We have volleyball, we have hockey and we have Jr. Hockey and we have the kids. We have a nice restaurant. It’s a family entertainment center. We’re also going to have pro soccer here soon. I don’t think that you can say that there’s too many venues like this anywhere in the Metroplex, or in Texas for that matter, that offers families a lot of choices when you get into the building.
Q: With thoughts of the economic times that we are in, it seems that family entertainment and the hometown hockey that the Brahmas are promoting has been pretty successful here. What is your feeling on that?
A: Obviously it’s a difficult time economically. The thing is, we’re affordable entertainment. In comparison to the National Hockey League, it’s a lot cheaper for people to come and watch hockey here. I think that anyone who comes to see hockey here, always comes back. People are really astounded at the level of hockey in AA hockey. For a kid, I don’t think they’re really able to tell the difference. To them, it’s a big boy playing hockey and they’re impressed by it. For other than the real, avid hockey fan, I don’t think that the average person can really decipher the difference between the National Hockey League and minor league hockey. Only the real purist knows the difference.
Q: I love AA hockey, I told someone a few minutes ago, there’s three things you don’t get when you go and see the Dallas Stars – a win, action this close to the ice, and the opportunity to spend time with the players afterwards.
A: This arena is beautiful because you’re right on top of the players. You can hear them talk to each other, you can hear the crispness of the passes that hit the sticks, you can hear them call for the puck, and it’s just different. The beauty of it with the suites here is the opposing goalie can get heckled from right there and it sounds great; fans love it.
Q: What’s coming up with NYTEX that you’d like to highlight?
A: The only thing that’s new is going to be pro soccer. Obviously we’re looking forward to the second half of the (Brahmas) season. The team’s starting to play well and we’re looking to finish strong and we want to win the cup. That’s our goal. That’s been our goal from day one. We want to win it. We want to win it on home ice. We want to win it for our fans. It’s a dream for us.
A: My brother and I came from a hockey background in New York. I actually played in this arena before it closed. We had looked at it when it first closed and proposed trying to buy it at that time, but the bank wouldn’t sell it. So, as two or three years went by, we kept an eye on things and the opportunity arose and we had a vision. We had a vision of doing youth hockey, and professional hockey sort of came to us somewhat surreptitiously. The next thing you know, we were involved with the Brahmas and we put together our youth program and everything just sort of came into play along with the pro team itself.
Q: How did the relationship with the Brahmas begin; who initiated that?
A: What occurred simultaneous to the time that we were buying the rink was that the Brahmas had suspended operations for a year. Mike Barack and Stuart Fraser were looking for an arena to play in and we felt that for the Central Hockey League and for AA Hockey, it was a good-sized venue and a good match because of the size of the crowds that they drew. They initially had someone else interested who sort of pulled out and we had bought the arena and we saw it as an opportunity. We took the opportunity and we took the chance.
Q: I don’t know the numbers, but it seems like the NYTEX Sports Centre has been pretty successful. You’ve been able to draw other sports like the Tejas Volleyball, the indoor soccer and the flat-track roller derby. How do you feel about how things have worked out in the first couple of years here?
A: Well, we’re perfectionists. We’re happy with our progress, but we focus on where we’re deficient and we focus on how we can make things better. We look at it as a very unique sports venue. It’s not just a hockey venue. We have volleyball, we have hockey and we have Jr. Hockey and we have the kids. We have a nice restaurant. It’s a family entertainment center. We’re also going to have pro soccer here soon. I don’t think that you can say that there’s too many venues like this anywhere in the Metroplex, or in Texas for that matter, that offers families a lot of choices when you get into the building.
Q: With thoughts of the economic times that we are in, it seems that family entertainment and the hometown hockey that the Brahmas are promoting has been pretty successful here. What is your feeling on that?
A: Obviously it’s a difficult time economically. The thing is, we’re affordable entertainment. In comparison to the National Hockey League, it’s a lot cheaper for people to come and watch hockey here. I think that anyone who comes to see hockey here, always comes back. People are really astounded at the level of hockey in AA hockey. For a kid, I don’t think they’re really able to tell the difference. To them, it’s a big boy playing hockey and they’re impressed by it. For other than the real, avid hockey fan, I don’t think that the average person can really decipher the difference between the National Hockey League and minor league hockey. Only the real purist knows the difference.
Q: I love AA hockey, I told someone a few minutes ago, there’s three things you don’t get when you go and see the Dallas Stars – a win, action this close to the ice, and the opportunity to spend time with the players afterwards.
A: This arena is beautiful because you’re right on top of the players. You can hear them talk to each other, you can hear the crispness of the passes that hit the sticks, you can hear them call for the puck, and it’s just different. The beauty of it with the suites here is the opposing goalie can get heckled from right there and it sounds great; fans love it.
Q: What’s coming up with NYTEX that you’d like to highlight?
A: The only thing that’s new is going to be pro soccer. Obviously we’re looking forward to the second half of the (Brahmas) season. The team’s starting to play well and we’re looking to finish strong and we want to win the cup. That’s our goal. That’s been our goal from day one. We want to win it. We want to win it on home ice. We want to win it for our fans. It’s a dream for us.
Photo Credit: Robert Keith
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