just because you get 15-18k in your building and they are loud/into it doesnt mean you have a godo fan base, AKA Phoenix....it means you have a small group of solid fans.
- Homer

well does Winnipeg qualify as a good fan base?

because if so they averaged about 300 more fans than Columbus and Columbus is not much bigger. I would dare to say that if the Blue Jackets are putting up numbers similar to a canadian city, it can't be a bad fan base can it?

Amen brother. I posted mine before I read yours--we're saying the same thing.
- AL SEC0RD

sure are.

14,000 got you 27th in attendence....the Bills havent made the playoffs in 12 years and we still pack the place most Sundays.

Its not just about attendence to be a hockey town. How are TV ratings for Blue Jacket games? How is TV ratings for the playoffs when other teams are playing. Lots of factors play into if youre a hockey town or not.

I know what I'm talking about just fine thanks.
- Homer

please explain to me Winnipeg's number then?

I have this feeling that we are witnessing the ultimate game of chicken! Kinda like 2 cars approaching each other at a high rate of speed. Who gets out of the way first? Do they collide and blow everything up?

Too easy? They've been in existence for the better part of a decade and made the playoffs once I believe.
- MJL

Too easy to answer the question, not Win in Columbus.

please explain to me Winnipeg's number then?
- BooBoo997

small arena.

small arenas can work in canada where the average ticket price is severely inflated.

rather than look at attendance figures in a vacuum, they must looked at in conjunction with average ticket price.

attendance figures are also wildly inflated by several clubs. if you look at the phx coyote bankruptcy filings, the average number of paid tickets was approximately 8-9K the 2 years prior to the filing. the club said it was approximately 11-12.

my point is that attendance figures don't matter b/c a) they are inflated to make the product look more attractive; and b) attendance doesn't mean much if the tickets are being sold dirt cheap.

the nhl is now officially a joke. this 48 game season stuff is a total "lets make some $" deal. how many times have you written "the lower revenue teams would be happiest with a 60 game season" well now the group is catering to those franchises now. i never thought philly and NY would have to suffer thru how to generate $ for phoenix.

the issues havent changed since 2011 yet no one got to the table early and no one works thru any issues. if i showed up for work for 3 hours over 2 days, i would not be employeed for long.

i will never love the game the way i did pre 2012 lock out. i dont trust bettman or fehr. fehr ruined baseball for me and demaurice smith may not be re elected to the NFLPA so maybe he still has a shot at runing the NFL too. i have no love for bettman and will boo him too when given the chance.

stay classy NHL/NHLPA!

and change that stupid meter already

Phoenix was thought to be an absolute can't-miss NFL market when the St. Louis Cardinals relocated there in 1987. Within 7 years, sold-out crowds had given way to a barely half-filled Sun Devil Stadium as people got sick and tired of watching a cheap owner refuse to put money into a perpetually 6-10 (or worse) team. If the Cardinals are even going 9-7, fans show up in droves (as they did when the Cardinals actually started winning - despite playing all the way out in Glendale, next to where the Coyotes play).

Bottom line: winning attracts fans. Perpetual losing chases them away.


I can't believe you even attempted to compare a market that's had a team for 11 years - 10 of them crappy - to a market that's had a team for 50+ years and has had significant extended success at lease once in the franchise's history. P.S. - the Bills don't "pack the place most Sundays." They haven't averaged a sell-out (or even 98% of capacity) in any of the last 5 years (they're working on being well short this year, too) and the last two years they weren't even at 90% of capacity.
- Irish Blues

I will compare because the "newness' of having a franchise come to your city should spark excitiement and ticket sales, win or lose. Sure, eventually you have to win, I get that.

I said almost every Sunday.....sure we have a game or two we dont sell out lately.

please explain to me Winnipeg's number then?
- BooBoo997

smaller building, simple. Winnipeg would have 5K more if their building would hold it.

Let the record reflect the problem was the AZ Cardinals, not the Sun Devils nor Sun Devil stadium.

Carry on.

Let the record reflect the problem was the AZ Cardinals, not the Sun Devils nor Sun Devil stadium.

Carry on.
- Travis Yost

should have named the stadium the pink taco.

that was their biggest mistake.

I will compare because the "newness' of having a franchise come to your city should spark excitiement and ticket sales, win or lose. Sure, eventually you have to win, I get that.

I said almost every Sunday.....sure we have a game or two we dont sell out lately.
- Homer

You really can't compare football with hockey. You only get 8 home games in football. If the bills had 41 home games a year the crowds wouldn't be as big as they are, you would think. Plus football is the most popular sport in America. Hockey is between Soccer & Grass Cutting on the popular charts here in the states

Let the record reflect the problem was the AZ Cardinals, not the Sun Devils nor Sun Devil stadium.

Carry on.
- Travis Yost

Who cares Lakers vs Knicks tonight. Let's Go!!!!!

They want a short term CBA because they believe in Fehr and believe in 5 years he could go after the Hard Cap and win.

A great idea if the players want to drive the NHL into the ditch. If the players do this they will lose the fans that they didn't lose this time.

You really can't compare football with hockey. You only get 8 home games in football. If the bills had 41 home games a year the crowds wouldn't be as big as they are, you would think. Plus football is the most popular sport in America. Hockey is between Soccer & Grass Cutting on the popular charts here in the states
- Vukota

i swear to god, i've seen lawn mower racing on espn.

that was the day i cried for hockey... or was it when i saw the mini putt championships on espn (also a true story).

Who cares Lakers vs Knicks tonight. Let's Go!!!!!
- Vukota

The pre-game will be more exciting than anything the NHL has exhibited in the last, forever.

i swear to god, i've seen lawn mower racing on espn.

that was the day i cried for hockey... or was it when i saw the mini putt championships on espn (also a true story).
- RealityChecker

I believe it

You really can't compare football with hockey. You only get 8 home games in football. If the bills had 41 home games a year the crowds wouldn't be as big as they are, you would think. Plus football is the most popular sport in America. Hockey is between Soccer & Grass Cutting on the popular charts here in the states
- Vukota

fair points........but that's also why I'm saying a more than just attendence comes into play if youre a 'hockey town" or not.

The pre-game will be more exciting than anything the NHL has exhibited in the last, forever.
- Travis Yost

I feel like its a playoff game

Who cares Lakers vs Knicks tonight. Let's Go!!!!!
- Vukota

lakers suck right now, easy win for the Knicks.....should'nt be too exciting

i swear to god, i've seen lawn mower racing on espn.

that was the day i cried for hockey... or was it when i saw the mini putt championships on espn (also a true story).
- RealityChecker

ESPN also proudly carries the National Spelling Bee...

fair points........but that's also why I'm saying a more than just attendence comes into play if youre a 'hockey town" or not.
- Homer

I agree with you

14,000 got you 27th in attendence....the Bills havent made the playoffs in 12 years and we still pack the place most Sundays.

Its not just about attendence to be a hockey town. How are TV ratings for Blue Jacket games? How is TV ratings for the playoffs when other teams are playing. Lots of factors play into if youre a hockey town or not.

I know what I'm talking about just fine thanks.
- Homer

14,000 average is pretty good for a team that has made the playoffs once in 11 years, never won a playoff game, and has one of the worst GMs in the game.

ESPN used to air an outdoors competition where guys used to hack and climb trees for time.

It was at least better than their morning programming these days, which mostly consists of negro-baiting phony debate b/t Skip Bayless and Screamin' A Smith.

Should Owners/Players be worried about money squabbles right now or the fact that they were barely coming out of the shadow in the sporting world here in the US? The revenue won't be there if they NHL falls back into sporting obscurity.