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Abbotsford Heat


chickenfish13

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Victoria's metro population is 383,000.

15th largest in Canada.

Double that of Abbotsford.

They also have an airport.

I would assume that an AHL team would be able to cut a deal with some airline to charter planes across the country like Abbotsford has. There are also smaller charters between the mainland and the island.

Optimally I would like to see Victoria with an AHL team and Abbotsford with an ECHL club. Who knows if Victoria will get the AHL, but its way more likely than Winnipeg getting an NHL team again.

What part of "The AHL is still primarily a bus league" don't people understand? It doesn't matter how many people you have...what matters is that the closest team to you is in WINNIPEG. Followed by an arc of Milwaukee, Chicago, and Rockford. And maybe Iowa...depending on their current franchise status.

What part of "Abbotsford don't play like that" don't you understand? They will be flying in and out for games and subsidizing travel for visiting teams. If Victoria is to get an AHL team they will follow a similar protocol.

Those are the prerequisites for an AHL team in BC. The league has accepted it. Why can't you?

For a team operating on a minor-league budget, it's still financial suicide. There are still no direct flights in and out of Abbotsford from Winnipeg, and paying for travel costs will only cut into the bottom line. It's a relatively small arena, around 7000, and all the extra income to pay for these additional costs will have to come from somewhere. Merch sales will go strong for the first year or so, but once everyone has a Heat jersey or shirt, where is this extra travel subsidy revenue supposed to come from?

Methinks the league wanted an expansion fee, and let Abbotsford in based on that. They obviously need an economics primer.

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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Methinks the league wanted an expansion fee, and let Abbotsford in based on that. They obviously need an economics primer.

Or a quick look over to the AFL, to see how that expansion-fee-heavy business model worked for them.

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.

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Methinks the league wanted an expansion fee, and let Abbotsford in based on that. They obviously need an economics primer.

Since its the relocated Quad City franchise, they didn't even get that. It just hammers home the point that the relationship between the AHL BOG and a NHL team is NHL team says "jump", AHL asks "How high?"

(At least if the AHL team guarantees that they will pay travel for everyone.)

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Methinks the league wanted an expansion fee, and let Abbotsford in based on that. They obviously need an economics primer.

Or a quick look over to the AFL, to see how that expansion-fee-heavy business model worked for them.

Or a quick look over to the NHL, to see how that expansion-fee-heavy business model worked for them.

Major-junior is probably the best fit for Victoria. Why should Victoria want or need the AHL?

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Methinks the league wanted an expansion fee, and let Abbotsford in based on that. They obviously need an economics primer.

Or a quick look over to the AFL, to see how that expansion-fee-heavy business model worked for them.

Or a quick look over to the NHL, to see how that expansion-fee-heavy business model worked for them.

Major-junior is probably the best fit for Victoria. Why should Victoria want or need the AHL?

Like I said before, RG Properties original intention for the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre was a major junior tenant, but the WHL shafted us once again. So the next available franchise was the ECHL. I think a lot of Victoria hockey fans would love the WHL to come back, but until the WHL pulls their horns in and stops having it in for the city, we are going to stick with the ECHL (and most likely into the future the AHL). On that note, does anyone know why the WHL has it in for Victoria? I've heard a few years back that Len Barrie (owner of Bear Mountain resort, (part) Tampa Bay Lightning and the Victoria Grizzles of the BCHL) was going to try to get a WHL team to play out of Bear Mountain Arena, perhaps the Kootney Ice who I've heard are in a bit of financial trouble.

On a side note, this isn't the first time Victoria has been the subject of rumors with a big name minor pro leage. Back in the mid 90's, a guy from Victoria had bought the IHL San Fransisco Spiders and planned to move them to a new arena where the old Memorial Arena stood. I think the plans were for a 12,00o seat arena. It was a big project that never saw a shovel hit the ground. I actually interviewed the guy for a school project and saw the jerseys and all that. They were pretty nice. Anyone have to logo from that team?

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In my fantasy world, the Canucks have their farm club in Victoria, Calgary has theirs in Manitoba, and the Edmonton Roadrunners are still in Edmonton instead of the Oil Kings.

...and after two years, they'd pull up stakes and leave.

I've thought that Winnipeg would have been a much nicer fit for the Wild, but I believe they own full or close to full share of the Aeros, do they not? 'Tis a shame.

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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They should still be the Omaha Aksarben Knights. I miss them. :cursing:

Okay, as an Omahan, can you shed some light on why the Knights failed? Was the market just too saturated with UNO and the Lancers? Was the team underpromoted, as was the case in QC? I mean, at least in season two, the on-ice product was good.

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.

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most teams go with the same name for their AHL team like the WBS Penguins, Lowell Devils, etc...

Actually, that's decidedly not the case.

Of the 29 teams that took the ice in the AHL during the 2008-2009 season, just 6 used the same nickname as their parent-clubs: Binghamton, Lowell, Providence, Quad City, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Worcester. Meaning 23 AHL franchises employed nicknames different from that of their parent-club.

While it really doesn't impact the final numbers, the Toronto Marlies have an idenity that's VERY close to that of the Maple Leafs.

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most teams go with the same name for their AHL team like the WBS Penguins, Lowell Devils, etc...

Actually, that's decidedly not the case.

Of the 29 teams that took the ice in the AHL during the 2008-2009 season, just 6 used the same nickname as their parent-clubs: Binghamton, Lowell, Providence, Quad City, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Worcester. Meaning 23 AHL franchises employed nicknames different from that of their parent-club.

While it really doesn't impact the final numbers, the Toronto Marlies have an idenity that's VERY close to that of the Maple Leafs.

It's different enough to keep Torontoans away though. :P

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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They should still be the Omaha Aksarben Knights. I miss them. :cursing:

Okay, as an Omahan, can you shed some light on why the Knights failed? Was the market just too saturated with UNO and the Lancers? Was the team underpromoted, as was the case in QC? I mean, at least in season two, the on-ice product was good.

Well, as I saw it, it was kind of a combination of what you said. Most hockey fans in Omaha like the Mavs. They are almost like a pro team here. When it's not the Mavs, it's the Lancers. There just wasn't enough hockey fans to come to the Knights games. When there was a Mavs and Knights game on the same night, more people would be at the Qwest Center watching the Mavs. That gets into to marketing and promotion deal. The Knights were not well known. I walked into school one day with a Mavs jersey on and everyone knew what it was. Later I came in with my Knights jersey, and nobody knew what it was. Many people thought it was an alternate Lancers jersey or something. Another problem was the arena. The lower level Mavs got to play int the Qwest Center. The pro team got to play in the dump, the Civic Auditorium. Most people would rather watch hockey in the amaxing Qwest Center than the Ciciv, even if the quality of hockey wasn't as good. I think if the team had stuck around another year or two, they could have promoted the team a little more and more people would have been excited about seeing an almost pro hockey team.

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Not sure when the logo and uniform are to be released, but have it on pretty good authority that the Heat logo will be a stylized "A" of some sort.

Jerseys similar to the current Calgary Flames jersey design I think, although any yellow will be replaced by grey.

Canada and BC Provincial Flag shoulder patches.

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They shoulda been the QUAD CITY MALLARDS...then they woulda done better! (see Rivermen, Peoria and Icehogs, Rockford)

I bet that would have helped a bit. The hometown fans get to see "their team" move up the ladder. Probably wouldn't have changed the ultimate outcome, though, especially considering the way Calgary approaches this team.

However, as much as the Q-C has wanted to be a Triple-A market (the baseball push was big in my youth) I wonder if the combo of the economy, bad/different hockey and increased ticket prices (I assume, UHL vs. AHL) were just too much. The CBA Thunder, af2 Steamwheelers and the UHL Mallards all were the hot ticket in town at certain points, but all faded in attendance and are either gone or threatened.

And I have not yet heard if hockey is returning to the Q-C in any form. What a change from a dozen years ago. If nothing else, the Mallards made hockey a part of the youth culture in the area, which was not true when I was growing up. What's amazing is that the same Class A Midwest League franchise is still chugging along and might be the last one standing by next year. I certainly hope the Q-C Angels-Cubs-Angels-River Bandits-Swing-River Bandits survive.

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They shoulda been the QUAD CITY MALLARDS...then they woulda done better! (see Rivermen, Peoria and Icehogs, Rockford)

I bet that would have helped a bit. The hometown fans get to see "their team" move up the ladder. Probably wouldn't have changed the ultimate outcome, though, especially considering the way Calgary approaches this team.

However, as much as the Q-C has wanted to be a Triple-A market (the baseball push was big in my youth) I wonder if the combo of the economy, bad/different hockey and increased ticket prices (I assume, UHL vs. AHL) were just too much. The CBA Thunder, af2 Steamwheelers and the UHL Mallards all were the hot ticket in town at certain points, but all faded in attendance and are either gone or threatened.

And I have not yet heard if hockey is returning to the Q-C in any form. What a change from a dozen years ago. If nothing else, the Mallards made hockey a part of the youth culture in the area, which was not true when I was growing up. What's amazing is that the same Class A Midwest League franchise is still chugging along and might be the last one standing by next year. I certainly hope the Q-C Angels-Cubs-Angels-River Bandits-Swing-River Bandits survive.

Not true. Read in the recent hockey news that the following cities have not yet applied but have expressed interest in joining the IHL. They are:

- Dayton, Ohio replacing the Bombers from the ECHL that went belly up this season

- Quad Cities, Illinois replacing the Flames from the AHL who relocated

- Evansville, Indiana. They have had on going talks with the league for more than a year and will be opening a new building there in either 2011 or 2012

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