Vegas Hockey Fan Fest scheduled for Oct. 8 at Toshiba Plaza

You’ve been dying to ask owner Bill Foley what the name for his Las Vegas NHL expansion team is going to be. You’ve been wondering who general manager George McPhee has in mind to be the team’s first head coach.

If you show up at Toshiba Plaza on Oct. 8, you’ll get your chance to ask the team’s owner and GM about what lies ahead for the city’s first major league pro sports franchise in what is being billed as the “Vegas Hockey Fan Fest.”

While you shouldn’t expect Foley to tell you the name or McPhee to disclose who he has in mind to coach the to-be-named franchise, they’ll be there to interact with the fans prior to the 7 p.m. Frozen Fury game at T-Mobile Arena between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche.

“With the first hockey event at the arena, we wanted to create some atmosphere and have some fun,” said Kim Frank of the team’s marketing department.

The Q&A with Foley and McPhee is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Fan Fest, which is free and open to everyone, begins at 2 p.m. There’ll be a street hockey rink, a shooting cage, a “Hockey Sauce” game, face painting for kids, beer trucks for adults and the UNLV hockey club will also be on hand promoting its Oct. 9 game at T-Mobile against Arizona State.

NO PRESIDENT YET — Foley said Thursday he has not yet hired his president to oversee the club’s business operations.

“We’re close and we hope to have that done sometime next week,” he said.

Foley recently interviewed six candidates for the position and had narrowed it down to two a week ago. Whoever is selected will oversee the marketing, sponsorship, ticketing and community relations side of the team.

SEAT SELECTION — If you’re one of the 16,000 season ticket-holders, your chance to select your seats is coming soon.

According to Todd Pollock, the team’s vice president of ticketing and suites, the plan is being finalized for the online selection process, which will likely take place during the weekend of Oct. 23-24.

“We’re waiting for the final seating chart from T-Mobile,” Pollock said. “Once we know where every seat is located, we can load it into our computer system.”

A brochure will be sent in the next few days to all season ticket-holders with instructions on how to select their seats and what the priority process.

PRACTICE FACILITY UPDATE — The team and Howard Hughes Corp., announced Thursday the signing of a 20-year lease for the land where the team’s practice facility will be built.

While preparations continue at the site on Pavilion Center Drive to begin construction, some final prep work needs to take place from the corporation. The power and sewer lines must be put in and approved, and the roads surrounding the facility need to be finished.

Final plans are being made for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the first week in October at the site. The goal is to have the 105,000-square-foot, $24 million facility ready for occupancy in time for training camp next September. In addition to two full-sized ice rinks, locker rooms and team meeting rooms, the franchise’s offices will be located on the second floor along with a restaurant.

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow on Twitter: @stevecarprj