Developed a crisis communication plan for the Syracuse Crunch Hockey team located in Syracuse, NY with three other classmates in my Crisis Communication course that I took during Fall 2016 at Ithaca College.

1. Syracuse Crunch Crisis
Communication Plan
─
Bianca Esposito, Kelsea Schagrin, Rachel Fishman, Julia Frazee
Syracuse Crunch
War Memorial Arena
800 S. State Street
Syracuse, NY 13202

2. 1
Table of Contents
Welcome…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
.
Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Objectives………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Statement from Management to
Staff…………………………………………………………………………………
Warning Signs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Crisis Communication Team Directory………………………………………………………………………………
Spokesperson………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Key Publics………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Staff Directory………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
List of Media………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Phone………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Email………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Emergency Personnel………………………………………………………………………………………………
Crisis Inventory………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Example Press
Release………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Social Media………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. 2
Interview Tips………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Control Room………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Welcome
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League.
They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter. They are the primary
development affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
With any business, large or small, a crisis can strike at any time. Large corporations have
systematic plans to follow in event of a crisis and may even have staff on-hand hired
solely for the purpose of handling crises. Small businesses, on the other hand, have a
limited amount of staff and must deal with crises in a different way. The Crunch need to
be prepared for different types of crises during day-to-day operations and games days
where about 5,000 fans pack the stadium. Because of their small staff, employees are
expected to be able to communicate and work together to find a solution as quickly and
as efficiently as possible while still maintaining business as usual.
Many different crises can arise at the Syracuse Crunch but we will be focusing on one
crisis that is likely to happen or has happened. This crisis we feel is high probability and
highly damaging. We are focusing on player actions, outside the arena that have a direct
effect on the Syracuse Crunch’s representation. They are expected to represent the
league at all times. We will list the other crises that can potentially arise at Syracuse
Crunch.
Following our Crisis Communication plan for this example crisis serves as a flexible
guideline for staff to follow should a crisis arise. This plan serves to benefit the entire
Syracuse Crunch team, staff, and community.
By signing this statement, I verify that I have read this plan and am prepared to put it into
effect.
X___________________________
Jim Sarosy

4. 3
Chief Operating Officer
Acknowledgments
President/CEO/Governor
____________________________
Senior VP of Business Operations/CFO/Alt. Governor
___________________________
Chief Operating Officer/Alt. Governor
___________________________
Public Relations & Digital Media Manager
___________________________
Objectives
The purpose of this plan is to educate staff in the event of any crisis so that will have
access to all the information needed in the instance of a crisis.
● Educate staff
● Give staff access to all information
● Control the message
● Be honest and transparent
● Notify all upper management and internal stakeholders as soon as possible
Until further notification, staff is expected to show up at normal working hours. Jim will
call a meeting with all staff as soon as everyone is in. All staff will be informed on the
crisis and details of the incident. Each staff member has signed a nondisclosure
agreement, and should honor that contract throughout the duration of the crisis. Only
the designated spokesperson will talk to media.
We will make every effort to:
● Initiate the crisis communication plan (CPP) within an hour of crisis
● Inform all employees, and internal stakeholders within the hour
● Inform all persons directly involved with the crisis such as: fans, media, emergency
personnel, and external stakeholders within the hour
● Determine the source of the problem as soon as possible
● Create and deliver a consistent message with factual information to deliver to all
internal and external stakeholders throughout crisis

5. 4
● Inform all persons not directly involved with the crisis within three hours through
social media outlets, or press release
● Maintain honesty and transparency with fans, media, employees, and players
● Document details of the crisis and what decisions were made
● Develop ways to prevent future incident
● Implement any necessary changes as soon as possible
● Follow-up, and maintain post crisis on social media
Statement from Management to Staff
Syracuse Crunch Staff,
As you know, I take great pride in working for the Crunch and I know the
organization is very important to all of us. Having said that, our reputation is
everything and we need to be prepared for any crisis that could occur. We believe
in being open and honest with the public and to communicate any incidents
promptly and factually. In order to represent the Crunch, as well as the Tampa Bay
organization in the best way, we all need to read and understand this plan in order
to better prepared. Should any type of crisis occur, this is the standard guideline
that should be followed. With all of you, the Crunch organization would not operate
as smoothly as it does. To ensure that this practice continues, I urge all staff to
become familiar with this crisis communication plan.
Thank you,
Jim Sarosy, Chief Operating Officer

6. 5
Warning Signs of Possible Crisis
● Negative social media chatter
● Accidental/Incorrect social media posts
● Angry fans
● Unfair call during game
● Overcrowded stadium
● Fights outside stadium
● Injured Fan
● Players going out to bars/parties
● Controversial player post on personal social media
● Wifi issues
● Short staffed
● Maintenance Issues
Crisis Communication Team Directory
Jim Sarosy, Chief Operating Officer
● Spokesperson, authorized to speak to media
● Most knowledgeable about day-to-day operations, team information
● Contact Tampa Bay
Megan Cahill, Public Relations & Digital Media Manager
● Authorized to speak to media
● Controls all social media, messages to outside media
Howard Dolgon, President, CEO, Owner
● Authorized to speak to media
● Contact Tampa Bay
Julien BriseBois, General Manager
● Authorized to speak to media
● Reports directly to Tampa Bay

7. 6
Spokesperson
The media spokesperson will represent and speak on behalf of the company during the
crisis. The individual will be required to make public statements on both the local and, if
needed, national level.
The primary spokesperson for the Syracuse Crunch is​ Jim Sarosy.
The secondary spokesperson for the Syracuse Crunch is ​Megan Cahill in the event that
primary spokesperson is unavailable at the time of the crisis.
The reason these individuals have been chosen as spokesperson is because:
● They have well-established relationships with both internal and external
constituents
● They are available to make decisions and are accessible throughout the crisis
● They are able to articulate, speak concisely, clearly and be cordial.
● They must appear rational, concerned, and empathetic during the crisis
● They have the most knowledge of the operations of the organization and team
Key Publics
Internal:
● Staff
● Tampa Bay Lightning
● Team
● Coaches
● Building Staff
●
External:
● Fans
● Syracuse Community
● Sponsors
● Partnerships
● AHL Teams
● Media Representatives
○ Television
○ Radio

8. 7
○ Internet (social media, news sources, blogs, etc)
Staff Directory
Name Position Phone Email
Front Office
Howard Dolgon President/CEO/Governor 315-473-4444 (x31)
Vance Lederman Senior VP of Business
Operations/CFO/Alt. Governor
315-473-4444 (x28)
vlederman@syracusecrunch.com
Jim Sarosy Chief Operating Officer/Alt.
Governor
315-473-4444 (x32)
jsarosy@syracusecrunch.com
Todd Cross Vice President of Ticket Sales 315-473-4444 (x25) tcross@syracusecrunch.com
Mike Hayes Senior Director of Revenue &
Partnership Development
315-473-4444 (x33) mhayes@syracusecrunch.com
Jonathan
Smaldon
Senior Director of Group Sales 315-473-4444 (x20) jsmaldon@syracusecrunch.com
Dan D’Uva Broadcaster/Account Executive 315-473-4444 (x22) dduva@syracusecrunch.com
Andrea Marino Corporate Activation and 315-473-4444 (x13) amarino@syracusecrunch.com

9. 8
Marketing Manager
Jan Stransky Season Ticket Retention
Coordinator/Account Executive
315-473-4444 (x26) jstransky@syracusecrunch.com
Hannah
Wheaton
Promotions & Team Services
Manager
315-473-4444 (x30) hwheaton@syracusecrunch.com
Rory Specia Account Executive 315-473-4444 (x24) rspecia@syracusecrunch.com
Megan Cahill Public Relations & Digital Media
Manager
315-473-4444 (x21) mcahill@syracusecrunch.com
Kristen Denick Crunch Foundation and
Retention Manager
315-473-4444 (x27) kdenick@syracusecrunch.com
Hockey Operations
Julien BriseBois General Manager
Benoit Groulx Head Coach
Trent Cull Assistant Coach
David Alexander Goaltending & Video Coach
Stacy Roest Assistant Coach
Jeff Halpern Assistant Coach
JW Aiken Head Equipment Manager
Brad Chavis Head Athletic Trainer
Mark Powell Strength & Conditioning
Sam Nicholson Assistant Equipment
Manager

10. 9
List of Media
Name/Organization Phone Email
Lindsay Kramer
(315) 843-2394
lkramer@syracuse.com
News Channel 9 assignmentdesk@LocalSYR.co
m
sports@LocalSYR.com
CNY Central News 315.477.9400 news@cnycentral.com
TWC News (315) 234-1000 Ext. 2 yournews@twcnews.com
570 YSYR (315) 472-9797 wsyrnews@iheartmedia.com
Orange TV 315-443-6892 orangetv@syr.edu
Emergency Personnel
Organization Phone
Syracuse Fire Dept. (315) 473-5525
(315) 471-1161
Syracuse Police Dept. (315) 442-5250
(315) 442-511
Syracuse School District (315) 435-4499
Upstate Medical (315) 464-5540
Syracuse University Public Safety 315-443-2224

11. 10
Crisis Inventory
Crises’ that the Syracuse Crunch organization should be prepared to handle both
internally and externally include, but are not limited to:
● Player altercations
● Player acts of misconduct
● Building Technical/ Electrical Difficulties
● Severe weather event
● Medical emergency (potentially serious injury or sudden, potentially
serious illness)
● Weapon brought into stadium
● Fire
● Snow/Weather Emergency
● Fan altercations
● Fan injuries
Threat Matrix
Impossible Near
Impossible
Remote
Possibility
Possible Probable Highly
Probable
Earthquake Entire staff
doesn’t show up
Drunk fan runs
onto ice
Wifi outage
during game
Fan gets hit by car
outside of stadium
Fan gets into
fight or
altercations
Tornado Other team
doesn’t arrive
Electrical outage/
generator outage
Animal gets
loose in
building
Scoreboard
malfunction
Player gets into
fight or
altercation
Heat Wave Entire team
illness
Player
suffers life
threatening
injury
Food
contamination
at concession
stand
Technological
difficulties
disrupting headset/
microphone
communication
Player does
something that
affects team's
image
Ice rink melts Run out of
alcohol
Fan suffers life
threatening
injury
Underage
drinking
Social media
trolling by fans
Fan gets sick or
injured
Lighting strikes
building and
causes a fire
Fan brings
weapon into
stadium
Inappropriate
activity on players
social media
accounts
Teams don’t
receive
intermission
stats

12. 11
No Damage Little Damage Some
Damage
Considerable
damage
Considerable
damage & Media
Involvement
Devastating
Teams do not
get stats at
intermission
Scoreboard
malfunction
Run out of
Alcohol
Entire staff
doesn’t show up
Wifi outage during
game
Tornado
Drunk fan runs
onto ice
Underage
drinking
Other team
doesn’t arrive
Animal gets loose in
building
Heat Wave
Entire team
illness
Food contamination
at concession stand
Earthquake
Electrical outage/
generator outage
Scoreboard
malfunction
Lighting strikes
building and causes
a fire
Inappropriate activity
on players social
media accounts
Ice rink melts
Lighting strikes
building and causes
a fire
Player
suffers life
threatening injury
Fan brings weapon
into stadium
Fan suffers life
threatening injury
Fan gets hit by car
outside of stadium

13. 12
Example Press Release for Player Crisis

14. 13
Social Media Response Examples for Player Crisis
We will keep all of our social media response consistent with one message. If the
incident is for the player incident, this is what our accounts would say. We want to
direct our fans to one message and not have conflicting statements on different
platforms.
Facebook​:
Twitter​:

15. 14
Interview Tips
● Do not lie
● Be as open and honest as the situation permits
● Do not try to hide the truth or spin the situation
● Remain calm, and courteous, and truthful
● Run through possible interview questions beforehand, especially with a
player if he has to speak on a topic
● Do not let the reporters stray you from the topic
● Make sure to be briefed beforehand and prepared for possible out of line
questioning
● Call for press conference early on, do not wait
● Avoid the phrase “No Comment”
● Apologize if necessary
Control Room
___ Televisions
___ Radios
___ Computer
___ Cell Phones
___ Batteries
___ Generator
___ Police Radio
___ Blueprints of stadium
___ Map of surrounding area
___ Flashlights/Lanterns
___ Battery powered lights
___ Food and beverages
___ Contact list (Staff, Building, Team)
___ Pens and paper

16. 15
___ Phone directory
___ First aid kit
___ Press kit
___ Desks and chairs
___ Chargers (Computer, Phone, etc.)