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ECHL coming to Stockton


Puckguy14

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The top ten teams in the AHL by average attendance through 40 games (market population rank in brackets, "small" being outside the top 10):

1. Manchester - 9,140 (small)

2. Wilkes-Barre - 8,298 (small)

3. Chicago - 8,005 (1)

4. Providence - 7,497 (10)

5. Hershey - 7,469 (small)

6. Rochester - 7,425 (small)

7. Philadelphia - 7,261 (2)

8. Manitoba - 6,914 (small)

9. Grand Rapids - 6,727 (small)

10. Utah - 5,672 (9)

Numbers 3-8 of the largest AHL markets are not represented in the top 10 by attendance.

Some lurking variables include arena sizes. For instance, Manitoba has been limiting the amount of tickets it releases for games far below capacity in order to reduce the drop off as the arena's novelty wears off.

Regardless... I'd rather have a team in a small supportive market than in a large apathetic one.

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I'm not sure about the ECHL affiliate for Calgary. Lowell's ECHL team is the Florida Riverblades, but I think those players are Carolina prospects.

Calgary's ECHL affiliate is in Lost Wages... I mean Las Vegas. They are the Wranglers, and have pretty cool jerseys.

Home:

jerseyhome.jpg

Road:

jerseyaway.jpg

Alternate Jersey:

altjersey.jpg

I still say 3 logos for home, away & alt is overkill--but the home one I like...

Comic Sans walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "Sorry, we don't serve your type here."

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New Hampshire loves hockey. UNH and the Monarchs consistently draw near-capacity levels for all their games. I'm not sure about Dartmouth, but I'd guess it's close to the same attendance there as well.

I don't know if it was Worcester or SMG that renovated the DCU Center. A few years ago, a large convention/exhibition hall opened adjacent to the arena, and much of the orange decore inside was changed to green. Coincidentally or not, green is the corporate color of Digital Credit Union, the nameholder of the arena. DCU bought the rights over the summer, ad subsequently changed the name from the Worcester Centrum Centre to the DCU Center.

I don't know when it happened, but when I was at the DCU Center this past Friday, I noticed brand new video scoreboards and message boards installed. A two-level jumbotron (video up top, color animated video graphics & score below) above center ice, and horizontal video screens on the facade of the upper deck. Lots of big money put into those, but I don't know if they are new for this season or not.

I think Portland has smaller video projection screens at opposite corners of the Cumberland County Civic Center. It's feels very old inside, I don't know how much updating has been done since the building opened in the 1970s. It holds anywhere between 6,000 and 7,000, depending on configurations.

Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016

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The ownership group for the proposed ECHL franchise in Bloomington, Illinois decided to discontinue their pursuit of an ECHL team after the Peoria Rivermen's owners announced that they were making the jump to the AHL. The Bloomington-based group was primarily interested in the ECHL because it would have provided for the establishment of a natural geographic rivalry with Peoria. It is now expected that the Bloomington group will pursue a franchise in the UHL.

As for a move of the Portland Pirates to Worcester, I would not be surprised if Portland subsequently garners interest from ownership groups eyeing a market for an ECHL, UHL or QMJHL (given Lewiston-Auburn's success) franchise, via either expansion or relocation.

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