tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post6729313534199937952..comments2023-10-20T04:45:00.350-06:00Comments on Coming Down the Pipe!: WHL Attendance - Reason for Concern?Guy Flaminghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03178739486819659419noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-37325274361341882182010-10-26T16:04:14.542-06:002010-10-26T16:04:14.542-06:00Thanks Alan...major braincramp on my part as I att...Thanks Alan...major braincramp on my part as I attend AJHL games in most venues but somehow never even thought of the AJHL in this discussion.<br />thksGreghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098099083485470093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-51075477198300608592010-10-26T14:51:13.996-06:002010-10-26T14:51:13.996-06:00Quick note - Prince George is not the only city we...Quick note - Prince George is not the only city west of Ontario with both major junior and junior A teams.<br /><br />Calgary has a WHL team and two Junior A teams, with a 3rd Jr A team about 15 minutes south of Calgary. <br /><br />Also, the BCHL's Westside Warriors play out of West Kelowna. That is essentially the same place as the WHL's Rockets since their arenas are only 10 km apart.<br /><br />And a third WHL city, Edmonton, may not have a Jr A team bearing the Edmonton name, but there are teams in St. Albert, Sherwood Park, and Spruce Grove, which are all within a few minutes' drive of the city.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668218392221086476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-23307759721340891482010-10-25T21:08:14.087-06:002010-10-25T21:08:14.087-06:00Being a former Prince George resident and a former...Being a former Prince George resident and a former Cougar season ticket holder I offer this-<br /><br />-Prince George is one of very few cities and the only 1 west of Ontario that I know of that has both a major junior club (Cougars/WHL)and junior A club (Spruce Kings/BCHL)<br />- Prince George is a 2 horse town as far as industry goes: forest industry and railroads. The forest industry has been bleeding, companies gone under , merged, massive layoffs, cut back on expenses.<br />The Govt. sold BC Rail to CN. Again hundreds of people lost their jobs.<br />most forest companies and both railroads were huge season ticket holders and also had corporate suites.<br />Alot of these are no longer and many of the forest companies left are based out of the US or Asia...not big on hockey.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098099083485470093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-44840861839649793912010-10-25T16:32:49.387-06:002010-10-25T16:32:49.387-06:00Thanks Les... an appearance on our show is well ov...Thanks Les... an appearance on our show is well overdue I think. We'll have to set something up in the near future.Guy Flaminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03178739486819659419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-68094672469813590732010-10-25T15:44:03.891-06:002010-10-25T15:44:03.891-06:00Hi Guy and Dean;
Great show and great blog. ...Hi Guy and Dean;<br /><br /> Great show and great blog. In addition to the people who've responded regarding the drop-off in attendance for the Blades in Saskatoon being due to the World Juniors having come and gone, this city is also Roughriders and U of S Huskie football crazy! Saturday's crowd vs. Medicine Hat was under 3,700 and was head-to-head against the Riders at Eskimos' game. Hopefully, attendance will spike once football is done...so long as the Blades are still humming along at relatively the same pace as right now.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Les LazarukUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07045641615906280711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-48021421377818896242010-10-25T08:23:51.275-06:002010-10-25T08:23:51.275-06:00My thinking with the Hitmen numbers is that there ...My thinking with the Hitmen numbers is that there are a lot of season tickets sold, but not necessarily everyone going to every game. If you're busy and can't make it, you can always bank the tickets to be exchanged for more for your friends at any time, so it's not a big deal. That being said, yeah, it's not like they don't know how many people bothered to show up. They have scanners, for crying out loud.<br /><br />Also, the team's kind of bad this year, at least in the early going. Once everyone picks up on that, expect a decrease in paid attendance.Doogie2Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14703778878103452453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-55192358767064191482010-10-24T10:11:19.257-06:002010-10-24T10:11:19.257-06:00Saskatoon is not a sports town and the arena was b...Saskatoon is not a sports town and the arena was built too far away from where the people live.<br /><br />The drop from last year is due to the World Junior season ticket deal. Many didn't renew.<br /><br />I don't understand the theory behind artificially inflating the attendance numbers. Why not report the actual attendance and maybe people in the community will feel a little guilty that they aren't supporting their local team.SK Oiler Fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10969149602501447047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-48408708621885541462010-10-22T19:13:37.005-06:002010-10-22T19:13:37.005-06:00As an outside observer (but in a CHL market myself...As an outside observer (but in a CHL market myself), could the Oil Kings lifetime winning percentage of .386 have a bit to do with it as well?<br /><br />To use an example of Halifax in the QMJHL, they've missed the playoffs two years in a row (in a league where all but two teams see post-season action) and so other than the home opener and tonight's game against local rivals Cape Breton, the attendance has been announced at around 4000 (about 40% of capacity) and likely is much less than that. For a team that used to lead the league in attendance, the drop is substantial, but can be directly tied to the quality of the product on the ice.forbeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10245454677168347353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-52086791912027265622010-10-22T18:24:35.850-06:002010-10-22T18:24:35.850-06:00Part of the issue in Saskatoon and Regina is that ...Part of the issue in Saskatoon and Regina is that there were people who bought Blades/Pats season tickets in order to get World Junior tickets. I'd think that a bunch of those people didn't renew.<br />As for attendance in Calgary, I was at a game that had maybe 4000 people there and they announced over 8000. Hitmen attendance totals have always been a bit inflated but this year it has been even more pronounced than usual.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342929390036155987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6677867857097423502.post-40544072400020186202010-10-22T09:55:52.280-06:002010-10-22T09:55:52.280-06:00I think for the Oil Kings, Oilers should help them...I think for the Oil Kings, Oilers should help them out a little with the marketing. Especially when teams like Prince George or Medicine Hat are here. Or even a team like Red Deer or Portland. You know saying like watching Oilers draft picks / future picks and stuff like that.SumOilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02626982502098222964noreply@blogger.com