Is Hockey One Of The Four Major Sports In North America?

[Otis B. Driftwood]

I have to read more before I make my decision, but if the NHL drops out of the top 4 I will stop following it.

Made me laugh...

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Columbus had a shitty Arena situation, but were never really in danger of moving. It was a power struggle between the local government and a corporation that suddenly decided they didn't want to own an arena anymore and wanted the city to buy it right away and everyone used the team as the trump card. It was all slush accounting. It was about as likely as the Pens leaving Pittsburgh. Threatened, but never really viable.

Because all that has changed is ownership of the moving pieces and suddenly everyone that was going broke two years ago is fine. It was all BS.

But Melnyk blowing the Sens profits is a valid concern.

I believe what you've written, but the scuttlebutt for years on the BJ's was eerily similar in tone to what was going on down in Atlanta. I always advocated Lumbus could work, FWIW. Very rare that the NHL gets to be the only pro sports franchise in an American city.

 

[forty_three]

I believe what you've written, but the scuttlebutt for years on the BJ's was eerily similar in tone to what was going on down in Atlanta. I always advocated Lumbus could work, FWIW. Very rare that the NHL gets to be the only pro sports franchise in an American city.

I'm always interested to hear how it was all portrayed elsewhere. They did have some issues running it at first with a terrible GM and having it be a division of a larger corporation, but the bottom line was Nationwide built the Arena so they made all the parking and concession money. The team saw nothing of naming rights money. The city only got sales tax and income tax on the employees of the city (the US Citizens anyways), and all three were "damn near broke".

So the city bought the Arena from Nationwide for (essentially) tax breaks.

City gets Concession Revenue and an attraction downtown they control.
Nationwide gets cheap land surrounding the arena that they have filled with condos and restaurants
Team gets a cheap 35 year lease and some of that sweet, sweet naming rights cash.


The crazy thing is, they have another 18k seat Arena right near OSU that the city owns that they were supposed to play in. So they might have moved. Across town.

 

[elocomotive]

LMAO. I was thinking about that when I typed it. I said that golf IS a sport though.

 

[IPostedWhat]

I said that golf IS a sport though.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

I have to read more before I make my decision, but if the NHL drops out of the top 4 I will stop following it.

Not to worry. I don't think the NHL has used it's immunity idol yet / victory in the bank yet.

That will surely restore them to mythical top 4 status.

 

[Harry Crack]

That's where I stopped reading. Of course in the eyes of ESPN and its viewers/listeners, NHL is no longer a major sport because E$PN doesn't cover it nor make much money from it. They will talk down the sport any chance they get unless at some point they have a TV contract with the league, then all of a sudden, it will be "pertinent" again.

Sad but true

 

[Harry Crack]

I actually think that Nashville has a nice niche following...but like any team in these markets (which really means any non-Canadian market): you have to win to maintain financial success.


In regard to the OP: if the NHL had a better TV deal (not necessarily with E**N), the conversation would probably be different. Personally, every time these conversations come up it reminds me how insecure sports fans can be. The NHL is gaining speed, the NBA is not. If Lebron James didn't exist, they'd be in major trouble. If Sidney Crosby didn't exist, I'm pretty sure the NHL would be just fine. But it just reeks of fans who don't understand the sport trying to justify it. "This is confusing, therefore it is stupid and no one in their right mind should like it."

You Know What's Stupid? Everything I Don't Understand | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Crosby didn't exist in the past Olympics and Hockey was just fine. (had the shot , had to take it) , but great points made

 

[Yankees Fan]

Hockey's more of a sport than basketball.

 

[Harry Crack]

I cannot fathom that soccer has more average fans in seats compared to NHL ??? Are the tickets $5 a piece or something ?

 

[elocomotive]

LMAO!

Acheivement unlocked - Made a misreading of a post
on the Internet into a hilarious situation and made a
friend in the process


Eh.... might be a little long.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I'm always interested to hear how it was all portrayed elsewhere. They did have some issues running it at first with a terrible GM and having it be a division of a larger corporation, but the bottom line was Nationwide built the Arena so they made all the parking and concession money. The team saw nothing of naming rights money. The city only got sales tax and income tax on the employees of the city (the US Citizens anyways), and all three were "damn near broke".

So the city bought the Arena from Nationwide for (essentially) tax breaks.

City gets Concession Revenue and an attraction downtown they control.
Nationwide gets cheap land surrounding the arena that they have filled with condos and restaurants
Team gets a cheap 35 year lease and some of that sweet, sweet naming rights cash.


The crazy thing is, they have another 18k seat Arena right near OSU that the city owns that they were supposed to play in. So they might have moved. Across town.

Why did Nationwide even decide to get into the property management business anyway? I mean, since when does an insurance company get into the condo game?

 

[dash]

I cannot fathom that soccer has more average fans in seats compared to NHL ??? Are the tickets $5 a piece or something ?

Maybe if you can get an extra special deal from the Whitecaps, but I think the cheapest ticket is around $20 (still a very good deal).

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I cannot fathom that soccer has more average fans in seats compared to NHL ??? Are the tickets $5 a piece or something ?

They do. Using NHL 2013-14 figures and MLS 2013 figures (since MLS' season is still ongoing), MLS averaged 18,594/game compared to 17,588/game for the NHL.

As for ticket prices, I would guess that MLS is like NHL in that it has franchises that can charge a relatively large sum for tickets and some that need to send a private jet to peoples' homes in order to get them to come to the games.

 

[Comeds]

Not to worry. I don't think the NHL has used it's immunity idol yet / victory in the bank yet.

That will surely restore them to mythical top 4 status.

I really hope so. I don't want to have to buy MLS, NASCAR, or PGA gear.

 

[4thstreet]

There are only 4 major sports for any Canadian
NHL
AHL
OHL (or their junior circuit)
Your kids hockey league

 

[Rex Racer]

Most of the people I talk sports with in my neck of the woods don't give the slightest crap about the NBA and would love to trade the Milwaukee Bucks for one of the floundering NHL franchises south of the Mason-Dixon line. Meanwhile, I'd expect the majority of those polled who rate NASCAR over hockey live south of the Mason-Dixon.


Also, I don't particularly agree with the concept of the NHL needing an individual face of the league. One thing that greatly attracts me to hockey is that it is the ultimate selfless team sport where players sacrifice themselves at all costs for the benefit of the team and the players that don't get exiled. It puts me off when a player's individualism and ego infiltrates and dissipates team unity. I say keep hockey about the team.

I like this comment for a couple of reasons.

1. I barely consider basketball a sport. Like soccer it is an excellent aerobic activity for girls and nothing more. Face it fans, if the girls can play your "game" without any rules changes, well, how hard can it be?

2. You make an excellent point about the NHL and it's marketing campaign since the midget migrated from the NBA to become the commissioner. The NBA has suffered for a number of reasons in the last 20 years, but a very big one is the reliance on marketing individual players instead of teams and the sport itself. Gary Bettman should be shot for bringing this failed strategy to the NHL headquarters and if I can get immunity for that in writing I'll gladly pull the trigger.

As to the attendance numbers, they are mostly meaningless. MLB is America's pastime and has had a stranglehold on summertime sports viewing in our country for over a hundred years. The NFL is hot, hot, hot right now and dominates weekend viewing during the fall and (early) winter months. The short season (small number of games) combined with larger venues means a lot. The NHL doesn't have real attendance issues in the traditional hockey markets and it's hard to be impressed with soccer's #'s when you factor in the size of the stadiums they play in and the dirt cheap ticket prices relative to the real sports. Tickets for a NE Revolution game in Sept. are on sale right now on Stub Hub for a little over $20 a seat. If you show up to Gillette Stadium for a Pats game or the Garden for a Bruins game with $25 bucks and you ain't even parking your car let alone getting inside.

 

[Rex Racer]

I dont want it to be "major"

I like the "cult" like following

I like this too. It's not that I'm rooting for hockey to "NOT" become the most popular sport, it's just that I'm sick and tired of Buttman and the idiot GM's continuous efforts to change the game or specific rules to appeal to people who don't understand the sport anyway.

 

[Center Ice]

Hockey is THE major sport in North America!!

 

[Center Ice]

I like this too. It's not that I'm rooting for hockey to "NOT" become the most popular sport, it's just that I'm sick and tired of Buttman and the idiot GM's continuous efforts to change the game or specific rules to appeal to people who don't understand the sport anyway.

All sports GM's are total roids!