Back In The Game?

[charger77]

No, we talked about it over lunch.

-Dan

[Linus]

Did anyone else get an email from Balsillie today...

Dear Hockey Fans,

Thank you for taking the time to sign up to MakeItSeven.ca. I want you to know, from one passionate hockey fan to another, I really appreciate it.

Since I announced my offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, the response and support I have received from across Canada has been overwhelming. Within hours, more than 10,000 people had signed up at MakeItSeven.ca and every day thousands of Canadians continue to add their names and their support. Today more than 120,000 people have joined MakeItSeven.ca. Many of you have contacted me with suggestions and advice on a number of matters related to our mission to bring another NHL team to Canada. I appreciate all of it.

While we are early in the process, I am more optimistic than ever that we are one step closer to bringing another NHL team to Southern Ontario and to Canada. I am excited to announce that two iconic Canadian brands, Home Hardware and Labatt, both supporters of hockey across this country, have joined the Make It Seven campaign. The MakeItSeven.ca website is also up and running today as our campaign hub. Through the site you, the fans, will have an opportunity to shape the Make It Seven campaign by uploading your own content, interacting with each other and getting regular updates on our progress. Please take the time to visit MakeItSeven.ca again and continue to participate in this important movement. For those of you who want to follow the progress in other ways, we have also set up an official Twitter account as @makeitseven.

Thanks again for your support. Please contact all of your friends and family and ask them to sign up with you. Together, with our partners Home Hardware and Labatt and passionate Canadian hockey fans from coast to coast, we can make it happen. Together, we can make it seven!

Jim

Jim Balsillie

I got it.

At least the website is half decent now. Notice how the site is now black and gold...

[htd]

an interesting fan-made logo here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6727...0183&ref=nf

[Gordie]

Interesting jersey design on the cover of the Hamilton weekly here:

http://viewmag.com/

It is inspired by the jr. A Paris Mounties team - I believe it's a Flynnagain logo.

CCSLC . . .

Request from 2006

[Davey]

I hope this is right spot for this but ,

Bettman would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton

Im for it .

[Shane Does Art]

I hope this is right spot for this but ,

Bettman would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton

Im for it .

Oh boy... Here we go again.

[NEW.ERA]

I hope this is right spot for this but ,

Bettman would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton

Im for it .

Oh boy... Here we go again.

Public Enemy Number 1 in Winnipeg might have just dropped down to number two seriously I didn't think Gary had the balls to say Winnipeg and NHL in the same sentence the rest of his life.

[The_Admiral]

I, too, would favor Winnipeg over Hamilton. This just gets weirder every day, though, doesn't it.

[charger77]

Send the Coyotes to Winnipeg (remain in the West) and the Thrashers to Hamilton (remain in the East)!!!

Now we wouldn't need realignment.

-Dan

[NEW.ERA]

I'm 100% with charger, Somewhere Gary said that if the NHL had any plans on coming back to Canada it would be to Winnipeg.

And the reason Bettman said this is that Copps Coliseum is well over 30 years old and the MTS Center I believe is 5 Years old.

[cappital92]

I'm 100% with charger, Somewhere Gary said that if the NHL had any plans on coming back to Canada it would be to Winnipeg.

And the reason Bettman said this is that Copps Coliseum is well over 30 years old and the MTS Center I believe is 5 Years old.

Of course, both of them are too small, so take what he said with some salt.

[rams80]

I hope this is right spot for this but ,

Bettman would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton

Im for it .

He also would probably prefer Kansas City over both, so what he's really saying is Canada should content itself with 6 teams.

[Lee.]

I know I've argued time and time again about the size of the MTSC, but how many of these failing markets have arenas that are over 18,500? And what's the average attendance?

Let's stop using attendance figures, because with free tickets and whatnot, those can be inflated, and let's start using average revenues per game. Vancouver may sell out every game at 18,000 seats, but they also average close to $100 a ticket, so that's almost $2M per game right there. Miami might have an announced average attendance of 14500, but if they're averaging $50 a ticket, and giving away 5000 seats per game, that's only $475,000 per game. At 41 home dates, that's $75M as opposed to $20M per season, and therein lies the true value of a franchise, and if they're not selling enough over the course of a season to make their payroll, then they're in trouble.

The one thing that might work in Winnipeg's favor is that if the NHL does come back (longshot), the MTSC will be the smallest building in the league, and demand for tickets will go through the roof (even in Vancouver, where you can only get tickets on the secondary market, scalping isn't really a punishable offense anymore). If they sell 12000 season tickets, and leave the other 3000 open to the public, and Joe Sixpack wants to get into the game, he's gotta go to the scalpers and the ticket brokers to get in, and no team in the league in this position is going to sorry about it. The New Jets will likely be able to charge exorbitant ticket prices in the first place, so they're making their money, the brokers are making theirs, and everyone is happy.

Except the players, who once they realize they're in Winnipeg, and there isn't much more to do there now than there was in 1996, will want trades to Tampa, Miami and Anaheim quicker than you can say "Collective bargaining agreement."

[Linus]

Honestly, I would be a little disappointed if Winnipeg gets a team before Hamilton but in general, Id be happy that the NHL would finally be leaving these failing markets and coming back to where they belong.

[NEW.ERA]

I know I've argued time and time again about the size of the MTSC, but how many of these failing markets have arenas that are over 18,500? And what's the average attendance?

Let's stop using attendance figures, because with free tickets and whatnot, those can be inflated, and let's start using average revenues per game. Vancouver may sell out every game at 18,000 seats, but they also average close to $100 a ticket, so that's almost $2M per game right there. Miami might have an announced average attendance of 14500, but if they're averaging $50 a ticket, and giving away 5000 seats per game, that's only $475,000 per game. At 41 home dates, that's $75M as opposed to $20M per season, and therein lies the true value of a franchise, and if they're not selling enough over the course of a season to make their payroll, then they're in trouble.

The one thing that might work in Winnipeg's favor is that if the NHL does come back (longshot), the MTSC will be the smallest building in the league, and demand for tickets will go through the roof (even in Vancouver, where you can only get tickets on the secondary market, scalping isn't really a punishable offense anymore). If they sell 12000 season tickets, and leave the other 3000 open to the public, and Joe Sixpack wants to get into the game, he's gotta go to the scalpers and the ticket brokers to get in, and no team in the league in this position is going to sorry about it. The New Jets will likely be able to charge exorbitant ticket prices in the first place, so they're making their money, the brokers are making theirs, and everyone is happy.

Except the players, who once they realize they're in Winnipeg, and there isn't much more to do there now than there was in 1996, will want trades to Tampa, Miami and Anaheim quicker than you can say "Collective bargaining agreement."

There's lots to do in the summer go to the lakes but in the Winter it's essentially a cold desolate wasteland but i'll say this Winnipeg essentially said no to the NHL when they built the MTS Center and I haven't heard any talk about building a new arena.

[Lee.]

I know I've argued time and time again about the size of the MTSC, but how many of these failing markets have arenas that are over 18,500? And what's the average attendance?

Let's stop using attendance figures, because with free tickets and whatnot, those can be inflated, and let's start using average revenues per game. Vancouver may sell out every game at 18,000 seats, but they also average close to $100 a ticket, so that's almost $2M per game right there. Miami might have an announced average attendance of 14500, but if they're averaging $50 a ticket, and giving away 5000 seats per game, that's only $475,000 per game. At 41 home dates, that's $75M as opposed to $20M per season, and therein lies the true value of a franchise, and if they're not selling enough over the course of a season to make their payroll, then they're in trouble.

The one thing that might work in Winnipeg's favor is that if the NHL does come back (longshot), the MTSC will be the smallest building in the league, and demand for tickets will go through the roof (even in Vancouver, where you can only get tickets on the secondary market, scalping isn't really a punishable offense anymore). If they sell 12000 season tickets, and leave the other 3000 open to the public, and Joe Sixpack wants to get into the game, he's gotta go to the scalpers and the ticket brokers to get in, and no team in the league in this position is going to sorry about it. The New Jets will likely be able to charge exorbitant ticket prices in the first place, so they're making their money, the brokers are making theirs, and everyone is happy.

Except the players, who once they realize they're in Winnipeg, and there isn't much more to do there now than there was in 1996, will want trades to Tampa, Miami and Anaheim quicker than you can say "Collective bargaining agreement."

There's lots to do in the summer go to the lakes but in the Winter it's essentially a cold desolate wasteland but i'll say this Winnipeg essentially said no to the NHL when they built the MTS Center and I haven't heard any talk about building a new arena.

Where the hell are they going to put another new arena? Island Lakes? Whyte Ridge? Halfway to Stony Mountain? First person to say Point Douglas gets a shot in the head, because when that area was being considered for the new stadium, it didn't make any sense either.

The city dropped the ball and handed its hockey future to Mark Chipman when it tore down the old arena, and placed the no competition clause in the MTSC's lease- that being, no other entity can build a comparable event centre in Winnipeg. The only way anything can happen is if the city goes back to re-do the convention centre, and puts a new arena on one of the adjacent parking lots, removing or constricting all through streets in the area. Of course, other cities have run the streets underneath such structures, but after the underground walkways of Portage and Main, many will see this as political poison and refuse any mention of it.

And as far as there being nothing to do in Winnipeg in winter, that's the point. It's not like the MTSC has revitalized the downtown like everyone assumed it was going to do, it's still pretty desolate. Yes, the Christmas lights on Portage Avenue in December are pretty, but that's not exactly a selling point for Free Agents.

Too many things need to happen for it to work, and although I didn't mean for this to turn into another NO NHL IN WINNIPEG HURRR rant, Bettman and the eastern owners would never allow it. It just won't work.

[SHaMROCK]

I'm 100% with charger, Somewhere Gary said that if the NHL had any plans on coming back to Canada it would be to Winnipeg.

And the reason Bettman said this is that Copps Coliseum is well over 30 years old and the MTS Center I believe is 5 Years old.

...and Gary Bettman shows just how dumb he is. Copps Coliseum opened in 1985. Not WELL OVER 30 years, not exactly 30 years, 24 years. And it's not too small it holds close to 18,000 for hockey and is about to be expanded by Mr. Ballsillie. More regular seating and more corperate suites.

[The_Admiral]

In no way am I doubting that Winnipeg is a desolate wasteland in the winter, but I think the same can be said for a lot of places in this league. I wouldn't want to spend my February in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, St. Louis, Columbus, or Nashville. However, this may actually be more of an argument for keeping Winnipeg off the circuit: "great Scott, we already have to travel to Nashville and Columbus, and now you expect me to go to WINNIPEG?" I wonder what one does in Glendale. I bet they have a kick-ass Ruby Tuesday. Man, which cold-weather cities in the NHL aren't depressing hellholes in the dead of winter? (Strictly rhetorical question; I have no desire for our Newark and Ottawa CoC members to give me rundowns.)

It's highly uphill and illogical, but I'm still pullin' for the 'Peg, which sounds a little dirtier than I had intended. If we've gotten NBA players to live in the theocracy of Salt Lake City, or Portland, where a nation's obnoxious white twentysomethings go to spawn, I'm sure we can get a few Canadians to suffer through Winnipeg for the love of hockey.

[rams80]

I'm 100% with charger, Somewhere Gary said that if the NHL had any plans on coming back to Canada it would be to Winnipeg.

And the reason Bettman said this is that Copps Coliseum is well over 30 years old and the MTS Center I believe is 5 Years old.

...and Gary Bettman shows just how dumb he is. Copps Coliseum opened in 1985. Not WELL OVER 30 years, not exactly 30 years, 24 years. And it's not too small it holds close to 18,000 for hockey and is about to be expanded by Mr. Ballsillie. More regular seating and more corperate suites.

It is, however, also too close to Buffalo and Toronto. Especially Buffalo. Buffalo is less than a decade removed from filing for Chapter 11, and 10 to 20% of their season ticket base comes from Canada. You think that franchise is going to just let another team move in and take away what appears to be their margin of survival versus bankruptcy, followed by a quick departure to parts unknown? (This answer, BTW, is "no."

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, I worry about the Sabres. Robbing Peter to pay Paul or however that goes. Winnipeg doesn't bump up against anybody. They can draw from Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and northwestern Ontario, in theory. They can air the games, at the very least.