If teams charged baseball prices for hockey tickets i'd be pretty surprised if every team in the league didn't sell out. Instead it's 40 dollars a seat for the seats highest up from the ice at Flyers games. Granted this is a good hockey market and people are willing to pay that.
Hockey has no chance of ever bringing in minorities with the expenses of equipment and the prices of games.
Every team would sellout but more teams would be losing money if they had MLB prices, which is half the NHL average (but they play twice as long). Philly does have an AHL team. HNIC did a story on Calgary and that they have a section for $20 tickets to make games affordable. I know Ottawa has a $20 section as well. Atlanta has a 2 for 1 deal, and a family of four deal for $80 plus food/drinks.
The equipment companies are to partially blame.
To grow the game of hockey I don't think you send a expansion or relocated team to a non-traditional market. You need to start from the bottom by building community rinks, maybe put an AHL franchise their depending on the market, have an NHL exhibition game, have street hockey tournaments, build floor hockey rinks, getting involved with the local schools and universities. Have players visit the cities.
Then after 10 years look at moving to that market. Back in the late 80s the NHL should have looked at potential markets and planted "seeds" in a dozen markets and monitor how things are going and then select the best for expansion. Nashville won't payoff for another 40 years. They only went there because they had a rink ready and they were the only ones with the entire expansion fee ready, while Hamilton couldn't make the franchise fee in one payment. Nashville did and that's why they were playing before Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota.
Across Canada as soon as you can walk on skates you're in a league. All the midget leagues, junior leagues, high school, university, provincial, the AHL and NHL then all beer leagues/rec leagues. Its everywhere. Its like football.
I agree, but before concentrating on taking hockey to warm weather climates i really think they need to find a way to urbanize the sport. I think if Hockey was able to somehow find a gem minority player who was just REALLY REALLY good an entire new wave of an NHL fan base would be born, and kids from the inner city black, white, Hispanic anyone impoverished would see that it's not impossible to make it in hockey no matter where you come from.
I don't know how many minorities are in Buffalo but Hasek donated a million dollars to help lower class children play hockey. We need more millionaire players (like OV does he need $9million?) giving away a fair bit of change to grow the game.
Ovechkin inks massive extension with Caps
Alex Ovechkin has agreed to terms on a monstrous 13-year deal with the Capitals worth a staggering $124 million.
It is the most lucrative contract in NHL history that will pay the Russian superstar $9 million per year for the first six years and $10 million for the next seven years. Ovechkin has been a force for Washington this season with 32 goals and 52 points in 43 games. Who knows, maybe now other NHL players will have Alexander the Great negotiate their deals as well after a return like that. Jan. 10 - 7:14 pm et
Source: TSN.ca
Good thing for Hockey, that such an exciting player is now locked in long term to a struggling franchise.
Speaking of good thing for Hockey! Tonight in Fraudway:
Flyers 5 Rangers 2 MID 3RD
The Caps will always struggle as long as they have Ted as their owner. He makes all the big decisions, and where has it gotten the franchise? They have OV and Semin and they're still at the bottom of the East. Meanwhile Crosby and his Penguins are looking at home ice advantage.
He should've signed a 1 year deal and then seen what teams (playoff/Stanley Cup contenders) would've been calling.
