BeerGuyJordan

13 hours ago, Rebuy said:

I like the Sweet Teas, not really a fan of any choice to be honest.

 

It's never too soon to consider what the new AA team in Amarillo will be called. I love the movie High Plains Drifter and think it fits Amarillo well. The Amarillo Drifters. I see their colors being predominantly black and white with red trim. I think a good designer could do a lot with that name.

If Brandoise gets a hold of it, we'll probably wind up with the Amarillo Armadillos. Which is actually not bad, by their standards.

15 hours ago, Rebuy said:

I'm always amazed Nashville doesn't get more consideration in these talks about relocation for baseball because I think it's clearly the best option. It's a wealthy area, with good sports fans, a  growing population and has strong secondary markets to draw fans from(Memphis, Knoxville,Chattanooga, Louisville, Huntsville, Birmingham).

There are two main factors to no real push, for a Nashville franchise:

1. Nashville is pretty content with the Sounds. Tennessee is smack dab in the middle of SEC country, where football reigns supreme. The Predators have done well, to build their fanbase, and I'm not sure how much room the market has for a third big 4 franchise.

2. Based on my time in Nashville, the city seems to have no real strong allegiance, to any MLB team. If they built a franchise, though, they'd be eating into a significant portion of the secondary markets of three other teams. St. Louis (Memphis, west TN, and western KY), Cincinnati (Louisville and southeastern KY), and Atlanta (eastern TN and Alabama). For a new market to get off the ground, when they'd be taking so much from three others, there needs to be a much greater demand.

6 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

True, but in converting it to a soccer stadium, Portland was shipping its minor-league baseball team out of town.  Tougher to build support for major league baseball when you don't even have minor-league ball in the city.

 

I don't know, there are a lot of other factors. In some cases, I'd go so far as to say that the AAA presence may actually hurt your chances of landing an MLB team.

Charlotte and Nashville are prime examples. The cities recently dumped so much money into new stadiums that gaining traction, on building an MLB park, would be challenging.

2 hours ago, the admiral said:

Speaking of AAA stability, Omaha has been Kansas City's farm club since the Royals were established. 

 

Apparently TD Ameritrade Park can be expanded to 35,000. More than the Thunder, it would be a Winnipeg Jets deal where it's not only a small park but one you have to sell out every day. You know, there might be something to Omaha and trying to pull off one boutique market in MLB.

Despite only having about 915K metro population, Omaha does have a disproportionate number of Fortune 500 & 1000 companies. The Rays would likely go for a bit of a deal, and Omaha does have a prominent businessman known for loving a good deal.

I'm not convinced, but the idea does have some merit.

14 hours ago, Fassy said:

What about the cities of Charlotte or Indianapolis? Wouldn't they be good markets for an MLB franchise? 

 

There's nothing between Washington D.C. and Atlanta. I've heard you need about 2 million people to make a professional franchise fly. Both metro regions for these cities are right around that mark.  

@the admiral hit the nail on the head, with Indianapolis, and Charlotte.

What he left out was the AAA angle. Both cities host AAA baseball. Trip-A Minor League baseball is, generally, a pretty stable entity. Also, Charlotte just shelled out millions, for a new home, for the Knights.

The only three noticeable US/Can markets not served by MLB/AAA are Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal. All three need a stadium.

As far as I know, the only vacant market with a suitable venue is Omaha. Not a home run, but I can think of worse things to do, with the Rays.

23 minutes ago, Gary. said:

Huge difference between 8 games and 41 games. I guarantee that you will hear the exact same song if they move from Glendale to the Scottsdale area. 

Doubtful. It won't be the panacea some people expect, but it'll be an improvement over Glendale.

Scottsdale has more money, East metro has a higher population and it puts them closer to Tempe, Chandler and Mesa, while being about the same commute, from downtown Phoenix. I have several East Valley friends who would attend more games, in Scottsdale. Two of those would probably make the jump to STH.

3 hours ago, McCarthy said:

 

NFL teams can get away with playing in the burbs, but almost all of those cases would be better for the team if they were downtown. I love when I go to a Bengals game I almost don't even have to think about travel. I just hop on a bus and it delivers me right there. 

5 hours ago, DG_Now said:

 

I really don't know how true that is anymore. Have you ever been to FedEx Field from DC? It's a terrible, miserable experience that makes you feel like an for even bothering.

 

Contrast to CenturyLink, which is at the end of regional and local rail, that it almost feels simple in comparison.

I never meant to imply that it was the preference of the fans, but rather the teams. Placing the team in the burbs/outer city limits seems to afford more control/favorable terms, for the NFL teams.

It's the same reason the other three leagues try it, but the NFL's event style schedule typically sees minimal impact, on the attendance.

Take Phoenix, for example. I almost never hear complaints from Cardinals fans, regarding the drive to Glendale. That same commute has the Coyotes bleeding money, and they play a stones throw away.

18 hours ago, the admiral said:

I've said it before: baseball and bad urban planning don't mix.

That's true of any non-NFL big 4 sport. Football is really the only sport that can get away with their team outside of main metro. In fact, it's probably a preferable tactic, due to the event-like nature, as opposed to the grind of a typical season.

The majority of your NBA, MLB, and NHL franchises that are really struggling, play on the outskirts of the metro area, far from the major population center. This is not a coincidence.

On 7/22/2017 at 0:03 AM, rams80 said:

 

You didn't address the "they made more money from concerts" issue.

The original statement was an oversimplification, and stated that they were booted to make room for concerts. Nothing was said about money.

No AHL team makes more than a concert would. Even Hershey could make more money, if they booked concerts on those 38 dates. The same is also true of many NHL and NBA teams.

The bottom line is that they weren't "booted for concerts." The team was becoming more successful, and their landlords tried to triple their lease. If they had agreed to shell out the extra cash, they would have stayed. It wasn't fiscally wise to stay.

On 7/18/2017 at 8:30 PM, the admiral said:

Even had their hockey team get evicted to make room for concerts, too.

That's not how it went down. I'm not claiming Houston is some untapped Hockey hotbed, but they had a solid AHL market going. Their final 8 seasons were all top 10, performance-wise, and their attendance was in an upward trajectory, until the announcement of the team leaving (their second to last season, they had the 5th best attendance, in the AHL). During their final 5 seasons they outperformed markets like Milwaukee, Providence, Rochester, Grand Rapids and Hamilton, at least twice.

That is even more impressive when you consider that they had more weeknight games than most teams. Les Alexander was known for blocking the Aeros out of the best non-Rockets dates, and asked for a ridiculous increase in their lease fees.

This article outlines some of the history, regarding Houston hockey.

http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-houston-aeros-are-no-more-rip-6714750

The Suns are looking to renovate, rather than build.

http://arenadigest.com/2017/07/20/phoenix-suns-no-plans-share-arena-coyotes/

On 7/19/2017 at 2:22 PM, Still MIGHTY said:

LZ Granderson on ESPN's SportsNation says that the Nashville Predators moved from Atlanta and were the Thrashers. No one on the panel corrected him. (LINK)

 

ESPN and hockey, folks.

At this rate, I think it'd be best, for all parties involved, if ESPN just stopped covering hockey, altogether.

21 hours ago, Wings said:

So with Les "I despise hockey" Alexander possibly selling off the Rockets could Houston land an NHL team in the near future?

 

As I've been saying for awhile, any greater metro area of roughly 2 million, or more can get the NHL's attention. With a suitable arena and a prospective owner who can foot the bill, of course.

The Aeros did well enough that, assuming the arena roadblock is removed, I think the NHL would quit trying to hold team 32 for Seattle.

On 7/14/2017 at 4:20 PM, the admiral said:

Jeremy Jacobs did a real-life Scott's Tots

I hope their feet get held to the fire, on this one. I doubt it, though.

1 hour ago, Brian in Boston said:

The Gwinnett Braves have unveiled the options in their name-the-team contest, along with their (purported) significance and suitability. They are:

Gwinnett Big Mouths - Named after the state fish of Georgia, the Big Mouths are a tribute to bass fishing on Lake Lanier.

Gwinnett Buttons - The Buttons honor Gwinnett County’s namesake, Button Gwinnett, signatory of the Declaration of Independence.

Gwinnett Gobblers - The Gobblers celebrate the outdoors, hunting and eating all the foods we love in the state of Georgia.

Gwinnett Hush Puppies - Our stealthy hunting dog is sneaking through the weeds, about to rustle up some ducks. But don’t think we’re all that serious. You can expect a “corny” fan experience at the “Puppies” game!

Gwinnett Lambchops - A chop off the old block, the Lambchops marry the region’s love of home cooking with the Tomahawk Chop of the Atlanta Braves.

Gwinnett Sweet Teas - It’s a regional icon “to a tea!” The Sweet Teas celebrate the laid-back lifestyle of Gwinnett County while displaying a real sweet look.

Voting is underway through July 24th.

*sigh*. F   you, Brandiose...

Based on info from the guy I know, who works for the AHL, in Springfield:

"No, the Blues weren't talking to the ECHL Mavericks. We initially thought that, too. When we learned who their leading candidate was, let's just say the office had a good laugh."

On a side note, it's amazing how many people are willing to talk to you, when you can ship them a case of Spotted Cow.

11 hours ago, the admiral said:

I feel bad for St. John's, always getting jerked around like this. The Blues should have created a third IceCaps franchise, though subjecting them to a Blues affiliate ultimately bound for Kansas City would have jerked them around even more.

While I agree that St. John's got a bum deal, unless the Blues purchase another team and move them to KC, it's not likely they get an AHL affiliate there. The Colorado Eagles seem pretty poised to jump up, and the Avs sound like they're willing to help create the necessary in-roads to get the arena up to snuff.

The ECHL's Mavericks also just rebranded themselves as Kansas City, likely in an attempt to undermine St. Louis' ability to introduce an AHL team. The reality is that almost no ECHL team can survive with an AHL team in their market.

On 7/10/2017 at 10:34 AM, MBurmy said:

Now that you mention San Antonio, I wonder if anybody's floated around the idea of renovating Freeman Coliseum, putting back the ice plant (or improving it if it's still there) and getting it to AHL specs so that the Rampage won't be as reliant on the Spurs' home dates for their own (and also that their place won't look so empty on game days despite their underrated fanbase)

Since the Spurs own the Rampage (they even have a Spurs shouder patch), I think They're fine where they are.

Well, the NHL & NBA Commissioners are now taking point on the talks, for a joint arena venture, in Phoenix.

http://www.abc15.com/sports/sports-blogs-local/report-nba-nhl-commissioners-working-with-suns-coyotes-on-joint-arena

It looks like a logo for one of those "modern" churches that you see adverts for, on a billboard.

15 hours ago, Cosmic said:

Does it seem to anyone else like it could be a cigarette logo? Just needs a Surgeon General's warning hem stripe.

Roanoke's reaction:

"Guys, are we off the hook for worst identity, now? At least tell us we are for logo."

The Pecos League does have some truly dreadful brandings. That being said, I am excited to go catch Monterey play Tucson, in a couple if weeks. In my hometown (and the nation's oldest ballpark), Bisbee, AZ, no less.

I think the Amberjacks are the best logo, in the league. 

I doubt the Flames will go anywhere. This feels like posturing to try and get the fanbase rallied in favor of public funds.

Not sure where else to put this. I was sent a promo code, to watch the Calder Cup Finals, for free. Griffins and Crunch.

http://ahl.neulion.com/ahl/

The code is: FINALS17 

Speaking of the NHL and bad business, what will it take for hockey's AAA to enjoy the knd of stability AAA baseball does?

A decade ago, 16 of the markets, this coming season, weren't in the league. Hell, go back three seasons, and it's still a third of the league, to turnover.