The entire time the Fort Wayne Komets were building a championship season, the workers at Cirrus ABS were building the team a new championship website.
The team's new site at www.komets.com went live Monday.
"We have basically used the website for many years as a source of information for the media and the fans and try to let everybody know what's going on with the team," Komets executive vice president and co-owner Scott Sproat said. "We definitely don't think there was anything wrong with the old site, but we were looking to make it bigger, better, bolder. With the jump to the ECHL it just made sense to have everything coincide."
The new site is much more social media-friendly and includes a team store, easier ticket purchasing opportunities, unique collectibles, enhanced game and player pictures, and chances to watch game highlights the next day. Prospective ticket buyers will be able to see the view from their seat online with an interactive seating chart.
"We wanted to take the coliseum experience and move it online in a way we've never done before," Sproat said. "It's a multimedia presentation now."
Cirrus ABS started working on the project last August. Throughout the season, about 20 designers pitched in. More than a business relationship, this was a partnership between the Komets and Cirrus ABS to see how unique they could make the site.
"We've very happy with it, but it's a work in progress," solutions consultant Sam Stratman said. "We work with people in different industries all the time, but because the Komets are a sports team there was a flexibility and encouragement to be a little more creative. The Komets didn't give us any limitations with the design, and a lot of companies don't do that. A sports team says just make it as cool as you can."
Someone from Stratman's family has had season tickets for all 60 seasons the team has played, so he was able to include some of his inner fan in the work.
"The guys in the office are ready to get this site launched to get me off their back," he said with a laugh. "This is going to be my pride and joy. We're quite excited about it. When you say Fort Wayne, we know the Komets are big, and we wanted to make sure we did it up right for them."
Though this is the first sports team website Cirrus has built, Stratman said the organization will use the Komets as a showcase site to attract other business. This is a three-year agreement between the Komets and Cirrus, and the next area of work will be to redesign the Komets Hall of Fame.
"We view the Komets as one of the top handful of brands out of Fort Wayne, maybe next to Vera Bradley, the top-known brand," Cirrus CEO and founder Matt Nickols said. "They are really well-known around the country, so it was exciting to be invovled and have some creative freedom. They let us do some really cool things."
