NHL Hockey thread

[Grey Fox]

IIRC the date for the schedule is sometime in May.

[viper37]

Ain't gonna happen beeb

But while it seems certain the hockey side would thrive in Winnipeg, where pucks are as native as the prairie, the business side is less certain. Winnipeg is the eighth-largest TV market in Canada, behind even Quebec City, which also lost its NHL team in the mid-'90s and wants the league to return, and there are concerns about the population and corporate base. The MTS Centre – currently home to the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose (the farm club for the Vancouver Canucks) – seats 15,015 and would be the smallest arena in the NHL.

Let's see.

Cities like Pheonix and Atlanta are bigger than cities like Quebec city or Winnipeg, unless I'm mistaken.

Average attendance to Quebec city's old Coliseum was 15 000 people in the good years, 12 500 in the very bad years, when the Nordiques were constantly finishing last, and that was for 2-3 seasons (they did not qualify for the playoffs 5 years in a row) in a 16 year reign in the NHL.  The max capacity is just above 15 000 people, and that's when the people in the top rows can't see the ice and need to watch the game on a black&white monitor.  I'll assume the numbers were similar for Winnipeg.

Coyotes & Trashers attract about 8000 people on their biggest games.  Out of these, many tickets are given.

Figure 15 000 for 41 games vs 8000 people for 41 games.  Pop size of the city is irrelevant if there's no NHL fans willing to shell 40$ for a game compared to others paying 100$.

So, all these things about numbers, I'm taking it with a grain of salt.

[saskganesh]

size doesn't matter. it's what you do with it.

[Grey Fox]

Numbers at the gate aren't that important anyway.

TV Deals! TV Deals! That's Bettman's #1.

[Barrister]

Speaking of Bettman...

Bettman, Daly headed to Phoenix
By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 03/8/2011 9:43 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/8/2011 10:11 AM | Updates
Print E–mail   67Share15Share83Report Error WINNIPEG — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly are headed to Phoenix today.

It is unknown whether the two are going there to try and make a last-ditch effort to save the Phoenix Coyotes or to inform the City of Glendale the NHL will begin exploring other options for the league-owned franchise.

Bettman and Daly are scheduled to meet with Glendale officials, and potentially with the Goldwater Institute. Goldwater has opposed the arrangement struck between Glendale and potential owner Matthew Hulsizer.

Any meetings with Goldwater would have to be held publicly with members of the media invited as stipulated by CEO Darcy Olsen in a letter issued on Monday. Glendale has threatened to sue Goldwater for tortious interference due to the institute's insistence the deal between city and Hulsizer contravenes Arizona's state gift clause law.

Goldwater has warned investors they may sue and in doing so made it difficult for Glendale to sell a $116 bond issue the city needs in order to raise $100 million in cash they have pledged to Hulsizer to help him meet the $170-million purchase price.

The league bought the team out of bankruptcy for $140 million and have accumulated losses in the neighbourhood of $30 million while operating the club.

The league has been in the position to exercise its relocation option since Dec. 31st.

True North Sports and Entertainment is considered the front-runner to purchase and move the team to Winnipeg should the league determine it cannot reach a favourable outcome in Glendale.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Bettman-Daly-headed-to-Phoenix-117582273.html

Could they be there to deliver the bad news in person?  What else is left to talk about?

Beats me, but I certainly want to find out...

[Barrister]

Seriously - after the mini-controversy of players learning they'd been traded on trade deadline day by the media, not management, I feel pretty confident they're going to deliver the bad enws before it leaks to the media.

What else could they be going to Phoenix for?

[saskganesh]

I think it's an attempt to put leverage on GWI to back off or City of Glendale will sue them for "tortious interference."

[katmai]

@ Beeb.


Your tears are going to be delicious.

[Barrister]

I think it's an attempt to put leverage on GWI to back off or City of Glendale will sue them for "tortious interference."

But they already tried that.  Go back to one of the articles I posted yesterday, which was GWI's response to the threat of litigation.  They don't have any other leverage to use against GWI.

Maybe I'm wrong that this is to deliver the bad news.  But if I'm wrong, the visit has nothing to do with GWI (who, in their statement, said any meeting with them would need to be in public, which'll never happen).

[Barrister]

@ Beeb.


Your tears are going to be delicious.

You're not even trying anymore.   

[crazy canuck]

The analysis of the ability of Winnipeg to support an NHL team are not exactly promising.  No potential for a good TV/Radio contract; no major corporate sponsorship; no high end corporate suites; not a lot of people able to afford what the tickets are going to cost.


Vancouver on the other hand has all those things and the number 1 team in the league.  It is not by accident that Vancouver's farm team is located in Winnipeg.

[katmai]

@ Beeb.


Your tears are going to be delicious.

You're not even trying anymore.   

No need to try, you've gone completely off the deep end.

[Barrister]

The analysis of the ability of Winnipeg to support an NHL team are not exactly promising.  No potential for a good TV/Radio contract; no major corporate sponsorship; no high end corporate suites; not a lot of people able to afford what the tickets are going to cost.

And what "analysis" is that?  Your own preconceptions by the sounds of it.

From the G&M website, posted today:

Population:

1994: 676,000

2010: 750,000

Average house value:

1994: $84,000 (Canadian average $158,000)

2009: $227,000 (Canadian average $340,000)

Total value of building permits issued:

1994: $300-million

2009: $1.1-billion

Housing starts:

1994: 972

2010: 3,200

Average household income:

1994: $43,000 (Canadian average $49,000)

2010: $72,000 (Canadian average $70,500)

Unemployment rate

1994: 10.4% (Canadian average 9.5%)

2010: 4.9% (Canadian average 8.1%) (best in Canada)

Total employment

1994: 318,000

2010: 425,000

Retail sales:

1994: $4.3-billion

2010: $9.8-billion

GDP per capita

1994: $21,100 (Canada $26,700)

2009: $37,500 (Canada $39,000)

Personal disposable income per capita:

1994: $17,700

2010: $29,900

Difference: +170% increase

NHL average ticket Prices:

1994: $34

2010: $49

Difference: +140% increase

Corporate head offices, companies of all sizes:

Edmonton: 157

Winnipeg: 129

Ottawa: 101

Corporate head offices, total employment:

Winnipeg: 6,890

Ottawa: 4,667

Edmonton: 3,428

Canada's 800 largest corporations:

Winnipeg: 32 plus three 3 subsidiaries = 35

Edmonton: 25 plus one subsidiary = 26

Quebec City: 16 plus two subsidiaries = 18

Ottawa: 15 plus one subsidiary = 16

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/winnipeg-by-the-the-numbers/article1933707/



In the end David Thomson isn't doing this for love of hockey.  He doesn't even live in Winnipeg and could care less about us.  He's in it for the money, and thinks he can make money on this deal.

Winnipeg is no Vancouver, to be sure.  Neither is it a Toronto or Montreal.  But the Peg can hang with Edmonton and Ottawa just fine, thank you.

[Grey Fox]

And all this BS because MLSE are being a bunch of babies.

[Neil]

But the Peg can hang with Edmonton and Ottawa just fine, thank you.

Let's not go crazy here.