Winnipeg Jets return

[Hordie Gowe 17]

Article/Newspaper blog regarding the Atlanta situation. Interesting comments from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly at the end.

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/05/12/will-nhl-abandon-thrashers-atlanta-after-rescuing-others/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog

[raganblink 82]

For Atlanta for instance, if falcons are good, and hawks are good (both are) there pretty irrelevant compared to them. Pittsburgh is number two in they town, not four or five.

Phoenix, atl and Miami seem to have pretty crappy attendance, and when they do sell a lot of seats its to other teams fans. Speaking of popularity in the town though, in Kansas city they'd be behind the chiefs. In Houston however... maybe 5th? Dynamo in mls are pretty big. Rockets are relevant, same with astros qnd texans.

[donkey87 0]

For Atlanta for instance, if falcons are good, and hawks are good (both are) there pretty irrelevant compared to them. Pittsburgh is number two in they town, not four or five.

When it comes to any sport, Atlanta has a ton of bandwagon fans. If the team(whether the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, or Thrashers) is winning they will draw fans.

[Chadd 916]

For Atlanta for instance, if falcons are good, and hawks are good (both are) there pretty irrelevant compared to them. Pittsburgh is number two in they town, not four or five.

Phoenix, atl and Miami seem to have pretty crappy attendance, and when they do sell a lot of seats its to other teams fans. Speaking of popularity in the town though, in Kansas city they'd be behind the chiefs. In Houston however... maybe 5th? Dynamo in mls are pretty big. Rockets are relevant, same with astros qnd texans.

First of all, the Pittsburgh situation should prove that if you aren't winning, you're going to have attendance problems. Phoenix has had to deal with the "are they going to move" thing for three years now. That kills season ticket sales and attendance in general. People aren't going to commit to a team they think is going to leave. Look at Nashville. Their season ticket sales tanked when Balsillie tried to move them. Their sales for next year are way ahead of past years thanks to the deeper run this year. Unless you're in Toronto or Montreal, you better win if you want people to show up.

[Jason Harris 31]

We have to assume that the NHL is trying to emulate the formulas of the other major North American leagues, meaning there are ultimately tiers of revenue.

1) National broadcast rights, which are based on number of viewers, while overall numbers increase based on the number and size of cities that have teams

2) Luxury boxes and corporate ticket sales

3) Season ticket sales to individuals

4) Website and merchandising licensing

5) Concession sales

I'm sure there are other streams I'm omitting, but when you view it from the NHL's perspective, it becomes apparent why the NHL wants to keep the teams in Phoenix or Atlanta or MIami. Those are all large markets and lead to higher broadcast rights fees if attendance and viewership is acceptable. So, while Winnipeg and Hamilton are undoubtedly better hockey markets, they probably don't help the NHL grow their broadcast fees from $600M to $1.2B.

And the best way to increase attendance and viewership in non-traditional markets is to build consistent contenders, if not champions, so It wouldn't shock me if the NHL secretly hopes that the Sharks take the title.

[jds 20]

Here's the latest. Sounds like Thrashers may move to Winnipeg.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg/article2029179/

[crazyhick 19]

they just had something during the intermission of the bos/tb game that the thrashers have already been sold and are going to move to winnepeg for next season

[RadioGaGa 162]

No official confirmation from either side (according to Dreger/B Mac). Sources have said the negociation is on-going...but that it could realistically be close to done.

[17D1998 1]

About freaking time

[skyscrape 5]

It is official...Atlanta is moving to Winnipeg. Just rolled across the screen on SportsCenter. No serious details but it rolled as official news.

So after seeing this late night on SPortscenter, I open up yahoo sports and it is says it is not true. SO I am not sure what is going on. As was stated earlier.

[Jsmells 0]

On Sportscenter, they just reported that Gary Bettman said that a deal hasn't been made yet.

[number21 3]

Yeah it's on ESPN's site too.

[jds 20]

Bettman et all are playing the official game. Brunt is a good enough reporter that I doubt he would get duped but you never know. I suspect some of the huge media denials are partly to deflect the fact that, if Brunt is right, they all got smoked by the Globe and Mail.

[JTully317 11]

On NHL Network this morning they said that it is unsubstantiated, but ATL will be moving to Winnipeg after being bought by a business group from the Winnipeg area. They also went on to say that Gary Bettman has said that it is not yet official.

[aknee9 0]

A good indication that the move will happen and will be announced very shorty is that the Manitoba Moose have relocated to St.John's.Link

[Chadd 916]

Interesting that the Thrashers are 28th in attendance with 13,500 and the building in Winnipeg only seats 15k.

[raganblink 82]

15500, like it makes a difference.

They'll average a sellout for first couple seasons then won't be surprised if they drop to about 14-15. Atleast there won't be 7,000 empty seats... hopefully

[chippa13 1844]

Over/under on the number of years before the Winnipeg Thrashers start begging for a new building?

[raganblink 82]

Two games lol

[MLSman 22]

2 days! :P

Atlanta is a TERRIBLE pro sports city. They love their college football, but even in the haydays of the Braves they struggled with regular season attendance.

I say kudos to Winnipeg for working hard to get a team back in Manitoba. Get hockey back to its fan base. Hope the same happens with Phoenix...Glendale is a freakin joke. I get why they will never survive...just try to get there from Scottsdale or Phoenix and you'll see what I mean.

[Leafsrule16 5]

It would just be plain stupid if they didnt call this team the jets ..

[jds 20]

There are now rumours floating around that a member of the Thrashers has bought a home in Winnipeg.

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

It would just be plain stupid if they didnt call this team the jets ..

+1000!!!

[chippa13 1844]

Don't think they can do it. I believe that Phoenix owns the name as part of owning the franchise formerly known as the Jets.

[Chadd 916]

Don't think they can do it. I believe that Phoenix owns the name as part of owning the franchise formerly known as the Jets.

They could probably make a few bucks by selling the rights, or licensing it to the Thrashers. It's not like they couldn't use the money.