After watching the game between the Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks and looking @ the attendence with only 11,000 and according to Dan Russell only 8,000 people actually attended, with free tix given I wonder how this team can survive in a good sports market like Chicago, also in St. Louis, Phoenix, Florida, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Boston, and so on, do people down south care about the NHL?
NHL losing fans in the U.S.
- Thread starter scott231
- Start date
I think to have alot of fans a sport needs to have highschool programs for that particular sport. I'm not sure they do in the south where the price of maintaining a rink where its 20+ degree's year round probably too big for the average underfunded highschool. I guess they could play roller hockey though.
Really its the nhl's fault for not promoting the sport enough. It would probably be very easy to bribe some city school officials in an area where its not popular to get hockey programs going but they don't. I'm kind of glad that hockey isn't big down there because it gives small canadian markets a fighting chance.
Really its the nhl's fault for not promoting the sport enough. It would probably be very easy to bribe some city school officials in an area where its not popular to get hockey programs going but they don't. I'm kind of glad that hockey isn't big down there because it gives small canadian markets a fighting chance.
Wow, as much as I think the NHL is marketing itself poorly in the US, for you to think that Prince George, Winnipeg (note, two "i"s), Quebec City and Halifax can support NHL franchises is absolutely absurd. Hello?? Winnipeg and Quebec used to have teams - they are now called the Phoenix Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche. Have you ever thought that if the league goes broke, then the entire league will collapse? Yes, that would mean the Canucks as well. You should have thought about this a bit before starting your unintelligent tirade.goodlube said:
I agree. I hate Bettman too, but the racist comment was uncalled for.Sonny Burnett™ said:
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The problem with Chicago is the owner of the team, not the game. They used to be one of the top markets, heck, one of the original six. Bill Wertz(sp?) has consistently screwed his fans.
The lack of tv coverage is a big thing in my mind. How do you attract new fans if you don't publicize your game? Show the games on tv, get people familiar with the team and then they might want to come in and watch them live.
As for promoting the sport in the south, from what I've heard, Phoenix and LA have a large minor hockey system in place. What better place to go in a hot place than a cold arena?
The lack of tv coverage is a big thing in my mind. How do you attract new fans if you don't publicize your game? Show the games on tv, get people familiar with the team and then they might want to come in and watch them live.
As for promoting the sport in the south, from what I've heard, Phoenix and LA have a large minor hockey system in place. What better place to go in a hot place than a cold arena?
Wirtz has owned the Hawks forever and the fans are as tough as him. Ownership has little to do with their attendance. Like any city, they want a winner, but they also are experienced fans (much like Canadian fans) and know crap when they see it and the "new" NHL is crap. See my earlier posts about the endless phantom penalties. Great ideas like whistling down play every 30 seconds and playing most of the game 5-4 or 5-3 really makes things interesting.twoblues said:
the problem with the teams listed is that they are now more or less the worst teams in the NHL right now. most fans of sports are the casual fan and only like to watch a there team win. carolina was drawing crap at the gate until they won the stanley cup and now they are almost selling out regulary.
It's a Canadian sport where most of the professional teams are based in the US and stacked with players who's names are unprounoucable and foreign to the average American. All you gotta do is make every European star change their name to something like Chad, Bart, Randall, Troy, Lamar, Kenny, Delroy etc and you're gonna have a hit.
Welcome to the "new" NHL. They've killed the game in their attempts to woo an American public who will never give a rat's ass about the game. They generally don't understand the game or have any interest in trying to, and that's fine, but now it's been completely ruined for the rest of us. It's like watching exhibition game after exhibition game. Horrible.
Its a shame when cheap team owners such as St. Louis, Chicago and Boston have ruined great teams. Chicago was once a great franchise. Owner Bill Wirtz doesn't allow Blackhawk games to be televised in Chicago.
John McCaw may not be a public guy but at least he has paid the bills when the Canucks fortunes were down.
John McCaw may not be a public guy but at least he has paid the bills when the Canucks fortunes were down.
What's even crazy is that a great hockey market like Denver, which sold out ever single game since 1995, isn't selling out anymore. Chicago used to have the best fans at old Chicago Stadium, and now they can't even give free tix away. It's very scary in cities like Miami, Long Island, East Rutherford, Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and so on. The NHL doesn't even schedule more then 1 game on a Sunday because they don't want to go head to head with the NFL. The NHL will be #1 in Canada, but even I'm having a tough time watching, I watched the New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys game over the Stars vs Canucks game on Monday.
Yeah, and for his perseverance, just as the Canucks are making a windfall, he has to write profit sharing cheques so that money losers like Phoenix can come and buy his players! Go Gary, go Gary, go Gary...
Well PPV is where the Vancouver Canucks put 17 of their games this year, and purposley put the Florida Panthers vs Vancouver Canucks game on PPV on Jan 7th. I for one will be watching the NFL Wild Card Playoffs that Sunday and if the Seahawks are hosting a Wild Card game on that day I'll be down there. PPV is where the future lies for the NHL in Canada other teams are doing it already in Canada. People in this city will fork over 179.95 for the 17 game package, I think the NHL Centre Ice Package costs the same in the U.S. on Dishnetwork for the whole season. I think the NHL was @ it's best in the 90's to mid 90's.
originally posted by Scott231
I don't know about the other US cities, but I can tell you that Bostonians are hard core sports fans and yes they even love their Bruins.
A few years back in Sports Illustrated magazine, they named Boston as the best sports fan city in North America (or something like that). The city of Boston will support their teams no doubt about it.
I don't know about the other US cities, but I can tell you that Bostonians are hard core sports fans and yes they even love their Bruins.
A few years back in Sports Illustrated magazine, they named Boston as the best sports fan city in North America (or something like that). The city of Boston will support their teams no doubt about it.
Do you actually think before you post?? Maybe you don't give a fuck but I am pretty sure the majority of Canadians would care.goodlube said:
Actually, I don't even know why I am responding to your posts. Your posts leads one to believe that you are a simple minded asshat who can't actually come up with an intelligent thought.
Hockey is, and will always be a regional sport. It is a winter sport for winter countries and that is where the real interest wil always be. The NHL should concentrate on Canada and the Northern US states and leave it at that. It is not a big-time sport in most of the US and if they'd acknowledge that and keep the cocts down it could be what it once was - a strong small-market pro league. Salaries/costs would come down and the ticket prices would be affordable.It would give a good living to a lot of players, but there would only be a few multi millionaires.
