At a press conference held at the Newcastle Telewest Arena yesterday, the Newcastle Riverkings officially became the Newcastle Jesters. In front of a large crowd of fans and media, key members of Jesters management team spoke of the future of ice hockey in the north-east, unveiled their line-up for the 2000/01 season and their new logo, designed by Nike. The following are quotes from the press conference:

Harry Harkimo, Chairman of Board for Jokerit HC Oyj, and Director of Jesters: ‘Last August I sat here in a press conference when we (Jokerit) announced our involvement with the Newcastle Riverkings. One year on, I feel more confident. We now know the hockey here, we can make a fresh new start and make things work.’

Graham Gutteridge, Managing Partner of Fablon Investments Limited and Director of Jesters. ‘Fablon identified ice hockey as an under exploited sport in the UK. We want to develop ice hockey, with the Superleague, on a national and international basis by bringing in sponsors and increasing media coverage. We are convinced that on a commercial basis ice hockey can make money and that Newcastle can have a team to be proud of.’

Paul Smith, Managing Director of Eye Group and Chairman of Jesters: ‘We aim to get ice hockey in the North-East back to the highest level and develop the club on and off the ice. We want a winning team. People say that it is not important how you win – I think it is. We want a team with aggression and grit.’

Mike O’Connor, General Manager of Jesters: ‘With the new partnerships in place with Jokerit, Fablon and Eye we feel encouraged. We can look to the future with optimism and compete with the best in the UK. We have recruited young British players to train with the Jesters this season and will be looking to introduce more British players into the team in the future.’

Jukka Jalonen, Jesters Head Coach: ‘We will be in a better position this season than last as we now know the teams and coaches. This year we have a strong, skilful and mobile team and it will be a tremendous help to have Glenn (Mulvenna) as assistant coach as he is a very experienced player.’

The Newcastle franchise is now owned jointly by Jokerit, Fablon Investments and the Eye Group.

Jokerit are a privately owned entertainment and sports group. The core of their business is the Jokerit Ice Hockey team, which regularly attracts crowds of 12,000 to their matches, and the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki.

The Eye Group is a sports rights exploitation company and a strategic partner of Fablon Investments. Eye Group’s commercial program includes all rights, which incorporates television, internet and digital media, sponsorship, advertising and event management.

Fablon Investments was established in 1998 to identify, acquire and optimise the exploitation on a broad range of undervalued and under exploited intellectual property rights, primarily of sporting properties.

For full details visit the Jesters website at www.riverkings.co.uk, or contact the club on 0191 260 2327.