dbadefense1990 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 7,311More than likely, this is the number of tickets sold. I can only imagine the actual number of fans in attendance for the game.500? Too high of a count there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 There weren't even any Ottawa fans. Leafs and Habs fans fill the joint, we know that, but there's no Ottawa contingent. Honestly, the idea of a Miami-ish NHL team as a hospitality house for vacationing/displaced northeasterners is one I could get behind, because hockey is great and warm weather is great and ducking out of warm weather to watch a little hockey sounds super-great, but they have to do a little more to justify their existence. Maybe it just doesn't work. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zpqmaowl Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I've seen more people during rainy extra innings at an A-ball game than tonight at the Panthers' game. Quote the worst helmets design to me is the Jacksonville jaguars hamlets from 1995 to 2012 because you can't see the logo vary wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 There was a striking contrast between the Panthers game and the Bolts game. One team doing everything wrong, the other team doing everything right. I know hockey can work in warm-weather cities, but it's not working in this one. Maybe it's because hockey can work in warm-weather cities, not outlet malls abutting swamps or deserts, and boy, when you're talking about Tampa as thoughtful urban planning... Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Right. People are pretty much the same everywhere and people like hockey. When done the right way people really like hockey. I don't think Florida is allergic to the sport. I just think the Panthers are really poorly run in a market that requires you to be well run if you wish to be even marginally successful. The Panthers though are fighting an uphill climb for several reasons: 1. They're fifth fiddle at best in what is arguably the worst sports market in the country. Miami doesn't go to college football games, they don't go to NFL games, they don't go to major league games, and they leave NBA finals games early. The only time they do turn out is when the team is deep in the playoffs, which lately the Panthers have not been. 2. They don't play in Miami. They play in a suburb where a bunch of old people live. It's the exact same problem as Glendale. 3. it's a chicken-egg thing, but they haven't won since 96. When you win people come out (unless you're Glendale) and unless you're Toronto or Montreal when you lose people stay away. NHL players don't want to play for a team that draws 8,000 a game and the team drawing 8,000 a game has a hard time winning to attract more fans when they're drawing 8,000 a game. Winning begets winning and losing begets losing. 4. Their TV numbers are abysmal. So they have to correct all of that before they even get to the same level as other teams so they can compete fairly. I don't think the market is worth saving, however. South Florida sucks and the people would rather do a thousand things before they go to a hockey game. Move the team somewhere people want them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 The thing about the arena placement is such a catch-22. It hurts them a lot to be where they are, but to hear it from diehard Panthers fans, the location in the middle of Broward and thus the Miami-Lauderdale-Palm Beaches corridor is advantageous because the hockey fans tend to live in Broward County or Palm Beach County and sometimes even Martin County (the DMZ between Civilized Florida and Internet Fodder Florida). I think the Panthers did the market a disservice by abandoning Miami and with it even a modicum of lip service to a heterogeneous fanbase, and the numbers bear it out: for all the disadvantages of being in Miami proper, they drew better at the Pink Elephant than they ever have at Sawgrass. Like I've said before, Miami has never had more cultural cachet than it does right now, and here are the Panthers totally cut off from that. Even if there are more "hockey fans" -- a dog whistle for "white people" if ever there was one -- in Broward and Palm Beach Counties than there are in Dade, Sunrise is along neither I-95 nor Florida's Turnpike, which act roughly as South Florida's spinal cord, and is thus out of the way for everybody. Even in the best of circumstances, like somewhere in downtown Fort Lauderdale, you're fundamentally dealing with a metropolis that's 110 miles long and about 12 miles wide. Everywhere is a pain in the ass. The problem now is that the Panthers aren't just bad on the ice, the organization has stopped caring. I get that this is part of a long con to extort more money out of the government, but eliminating discounts and promotions decreases visibility, too. Making yourself obscure and insisting on face value for tickets is a terrible idea. Show me a hotel, an airline, or any place where inventory disappears into thin air forever and everyone's paying face. Worse, the few people who were at this game have remarked on how Vinnie The V has let the arena itself go to crap: the seats are in disrepair, sweaters in the Hall of Fame display are falling off hangers and no one's putting them back up, they're not even cutting the grass around the building anymore. The Panthers are practically going Galt (to get more government money, ironically) and people are saying this is smart? 1 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypower Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I said it earlier, I don't think most people know about Vinnie and the goings-on with ownership and the government. All they see is low attendance and think that the team just has to be good. Well I don't think the Panthers will ever be good in the current situation.I've also seen a thing where the Panthers attendance right now was compared to the Blackhawks circa Dollar Bill, so it's not all bad Panthers. Even the Blackhawks had bad attendance. Yeah, no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 The false equivalencies between the Panthers' current situation and the Blackhawks' former one are dumbfounding. The only way you could make the comparison is by knowing of hockey history whatsoever and just looking up attendance numbers on HockeyDB. The only common thread they share is Dale Tallon, and he only comes into play if the Panthers try to fax their demands to the county. Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsFanBudMan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 There is no sleeping giant fanbase in Florida. Admiral sums up the situation pretty well a few posts up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigers6884 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Wait a minute: Aren't Coyotes and Panthers fans" only around come playoff time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashcarson15 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I went to a Panthers game a few years ago when down in Florida for the Frozen Four.It was... maybe the weirdest sports experience of my life? It's like, here's two NHL teams and there's nobody here. Also the whole "walking out of the 85˚ Florida weather and into a hockey game thing." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CS85 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I don't get the anti-thread joke yet. Quote Quote "You are nothing more than a small cancer on this message board. You are not entertaining, you are a complete joke." twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosioux76 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 From what I can tell, nobody in Portland with money wants to own a team.Apparently Paul Allen has shown minor interest, but minor interest doesn't get a team.From what I can tell, nobody in Portland with money wants to own a team.Apparently Paul Allen has shown minor interest, but minor interest doesn't get a team.Paul Allen in recent years has expressed interest in exploring the possibility of owning an NHL team. As The Oregonian's John Canzano reported in August, he's just going to bite unless it's a good deal. He apparently has no interest in paying $350 million for an expansion franchise, but would entertain the idea of paying $250 million for one that would relocate to Portland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosrs1 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/521851638026219520 This is kind of sad.Starting to remind me of hockey's answer to Chivas USA over in MLS. Two teams that try to put on a brave front but the reality is that no one seems to care.Say what you will about the Coyotes woes, but people in power with the city, league and even some half assed ownership groups seem to have always cared. Not to mention their vocal minority of fans who have clung on and continue to spout hope despite years of evidence to the contrary.With Florida it seems more like Chivas in that no one really seems to care. Not even the fans. They seem to know they're in a terrible spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMac Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I'm sure it has been asked before, but can any one from Portland say for sure that they would support what would most likely be a struggling franchise like the Panthers? I feel that we may go down the same road in Portland if the team's struggles would continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkJourney Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I still wouldn't be surprised if 10 years from now Arizona & Florida are still in their respective cities and we have 6 more expansion teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosioux76 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I'm sure it has been asked before, but can any one from Portland say for sure that they would support what would most likely be a struggling franchise like the Panthers? I feel that we may go down the same road in Portland if the team's struggles would continue.As far as hockey support, the Portland Winterhawks have a very supportive fan base. And hockey culture seems to be strong here historically. Last winter the local historical society held an exhibit on 100 years of hockey history in Portland. There are still fond memories of the old Portland Buckaroos. None of that, though, translates directly into support. But in a good venue, and in a city that is known (at least with the Timbers and Blazers) to have among the more devout fan bases, I think it would be as safe a bet as Seattle.Plus, the team may suck inititially, but it's not like the ownership and administration would move with it. If Paul Allen ends up owning the team, my guess is he would appoint Blazers' President Chris McGowan to a new leadership position overseeing both clubs. McGowan held a similar role in Los Angeles with AEG Sports in which he had leadership over both the L.A. Galaxy and the L.A. Kings when the club won its first Stanley Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddthebucfan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Not quite sure what makes this the "2014-2015 Anti- hread." All we've talked about is relocation and such. That and this thread's been going on for three years now. Quote Shameless Self Promotion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMac Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I'm sure it has been asked before, but can any one from Portland say for sure that they would support what would most likely be a struggling franchise like the Panthers? I feel that we may go down the same road in Portland if the team's struggles would continue. As far as hockey support, the Portland Winterhawks have a very supportive fan base. And hockey culture seems to be strong here historically. Last winter the local historical society held an exhibit on 100 years of hockey history in Portland. There are still fond memories of the old Portland Buckaroos. None of that, though, translates directly into support. But in a good venue, and in a city that is known (at least with the Timbers and Blazers) to have among the more devout fan bases, I think it would be as safe a bet as Seattle.Plus, the team may suck inititially, but it's not like the ownership and administration would move with it. If Paul Allen ends up owning the team, my guess is he would appoint Blazers' President Chris McGowan to a new leadership position overseeing both clubs. McGowan held a similar role in Los Angeles with AEG Sports in which he had leadership over both the L.A. Galaxy and the L.A. Kings when the club won its first Stanley Cup. I don't see why Portland isn't at least on the radar then, other than the NHL is stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phils Phan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Why are people complaining about the attendance in Florida? I saw hundreds of people there! Quote Phillies, Bears, and new NYFC fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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