TRAVERSE CITY -- Raj Wiener wanted to make sure the North Stars junior hockey team remained in Traverse City.
So she and her husband Rick stepped up to become majority owners of the North American Hockey League team. They will lead an ownership consortium that will include founding owners Steve and Sue Fournier; area business owners Peter Jones and Blaine Vadeboncoeur; retired businessman James Jalovec; and former Detroit Red Wing Dallas Drake.
The group was officially introduced at a press conference Thursday at Centre ICE.
"When it appeared the North Stars were about to be moved or sold or shut down, I suppose the easiest thing would have been to walk away from it," Raj Wiener said. "But we had a strong desire to make sure that it stayed in place, and that it stayed in Traverse City.
"We've been involved in junior hockey (in Lansing) for a long time. We housed a lot of players, met a lot of players, watched them go on to college and into professional hockey. We're going to some of their weddings now. We know how important junior hockey is in the development of a young hockey player who wants to go on. We just didn't want to see the North Stars fold. So we rolled up our sleeves and jumped in."
Rick Wiener is the founder of Wiener Associates, a governmental affairs law firm. Raj, formerly the director of the Michigan Department of Public Health, is a partner in the business. They are longtime Traverse City area homeowners.
The consortium came together in the spring.
"A lot of people were interested and wanted to make sure the North Stars were here in Traverse City," Wiener said. "It (group) just needed somebody to take a leadership role and pull it together, and that's what we're doing."
The couple became hockey enthusiasts through their son.
"That's how we learned about it," Raj Wiener said. "I also learned a lot about gymnastics because that's what my daughter did. Places where young people can come and test their skills and grow are great places to have in a community. And when you've got one you don't want to lose it. We watched, for example, in Lansing our gymnastics club kind of falter and shut down. We got involved too late to be helpful. I wish we had been helpful because there were hundreds and hundreds of young gymnasts who were at a loss. With something like this, we saw an opportunity where we felt we could help."
The Fourniers were part of an ownership group that started the franchise, which is ready to embark on its fifth season. They took over sole ownership a couple years ago. Steve Fournier, who owns Grand Traverse Construction, said he was looking for "assistance" so he could devote more time to his business and spend more time with his grandchildren.
He acknowledged the North Stars could have been history here if other investors had not stepped up.
"There was that possibility," he said. "It's a big task. There's a lot of work to be done. We had a lot of help, a lot of support, but I own a construction business that I need to focus on. We've got grandkids we want to spend time with. We just needed some help."
Fournier said he's thrilled with the ownership team that's been assembled.
"I'm excited, ecstatic," he said. "I can't say enough. In the last two years we've put a lot of things in place. We're starting to get there. You can see it coming.
"And I think the community is becoming more aware of what's going on out here (Centre ICE). These kids are really good players. They are the best at their level. They want to get to another level, then another level and, of course, everyone's dream is to get to the level where Dallas was. How sweet is that? They can talk to him about it because he didn't get there by just wanting to get there."
Fournier said it was important to recruit Drake to the ownership team.
"We needed to get Dallas involved," he said. "It was a no-brainer."
Drake said he was approached by Fournier in the spring.
"When Raj came on board, and she brought in the other investors, I thought long and hard about it with my wife," Drake said. "We thought it was an opportunity. We're not throwing our money at this to get rich. We're trying to help out the community and give back a little bit. I think this is a good way to do it."
Drake played his junior hockey in western Canada.
"This (NAHL) is very similar to the league I played in growing up," Drake said. "It's a great league, great brand of hockey."
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