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In late 1995, rumors began to circulate that the New Jersey Devils would relocate to the planned Nashville Arena after they successfully won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship. Nashville offered a $20 million relocation bonus to any team that would relocate, and the Devils attempted to terminate their lease with the NJSEA before ultimately restructuring it to stay in New Jersey. In August 1997, Barry Trotz was named as the first head coach of the Nashville Predators. After the failed attempt to land the Devils, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated Nashville would probably be considered in upcoming expansion. The arena was opened in 1996, and after an attempt to bring the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings did not materialize, the city instead went after a hockey team. In January 1997, a group led by Wisconsin businessman Craig Leipold made a formal presentation before the NHL requesting an expansion franchise. When Bettman and league officials visited Nashville to tour the arena, thousands gathered on the arena plaza to greet them. In June, the league granted conditional franchises to Nashville, Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The Nashville team would begin play in 1998 if they met the NHL requirement of selling 12,000 season tickets before March 31, 1998. verification needed] Of the four cities, Nashville was the only one with a completed arena and therefore began play first. On July 9, 1997, Leipold named former Washington Capitals general manager David Poile as the franchise's first general manager.[11][12] Portland Pirates' head coach Barry Trotz was named the franchise's first head coach on August 6. On September 25, 1997, Leipold and team president Jack Diller held a press conference where they unveiled the franchise's new logo, a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis)The logo was a reference to a partial Smilodon skeleton found beneath downtown Nashville in 1971 during construction of the First American National Bank building, now the UBS Tower. Once the logo was unveiled, the franchise held a vote among fans to choose a name. Three candidates were culled from 75: "Ice Tigers," "Fury" and "Attack." Leipold added his own submission to the vote, "Predators." On November 13, Leipold revealed at a press conference that his submission had won out and the new franchise would be known as the "Nashville Predators."