OT - Sacred Heart Moving Home Games to Webster Bank Arena

[huskymedic]

Finalized: College Hockey News: Sacred Heart Moving Home Games to Webster Bank Arena

>>Sacred Heart has reached a five-year agreement to have its home games played in nearby Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., beginning immediately.<<

>>As part of the agreement, SHU hockey will have a dedicated locker room within WBA. The facility will include athletic training and equipment areas, as well as a team room and coaches offices.<<


SHU Release: Men's Hockey To Call Webster Bank Arena Home Beginning This Season

 

[Adios]

This is awesome for Bridgeport. Now people need to show up! Crowds at the Milford Ice Pavilion have gotten better as time went on.

 

[kibblesnbits]

This is awesome for Bridgeport. Now people need to show up! Crowds at the Milford Ice Pavilion have gotten better as time went on.

Now that UConn (obviously one of their better drawing opponents) is out of their league I'm not sure that's true. Last year SHU averaged 243 fans per game - and that included 1500 when they played Arizona State in Danbury. They only averaged about 150 per game in Milford.

They've tried playing in Bridgeport before and it was a disaster. Six or severn years ago they tried playing a few games per year at Harbor Yard but they dropped it after a couple of seasons. I went to an RPI-SHU Saturday afternoon game and there was so little demand for tickets that they literally just gave them away at the door. Total attendance was probably about 200 and 2/3 of that was rooting for the visitors. Evening games didn't fare much better. It was embarrassing.

 

[Adios]

Now that UConn (obviously one of their better drawing opponents) is out of their league I'm not sure that's true. Last year SHU averaged 243 fans per game - and that included 1500 when they played Arizona State in Danbury. They only averaged about 150 per game in Milford.

They've tried playing in Bridgeport before and it was a disaster. Six or severn years ago they tried playing a few games per year at Harbor Yard but they dropped it after a couple of seasons. I went to an RPI-SHU Saturday afternoon game and there was so little demand for tickets that they literally just gave them away at the door. Total attendance was probably about 200 and 2/3 of that was rooting for the visitors. Evening games didn't fare much better. It was embarrassing.

I've been to games over the past few years. I was at the game in Danbury, too. Don't go by listed numbers. The SHU crowd seems to be developing.

 

[kingdobbs]

Now that UConn (obviously one of their better drawing opponents) is out of their league I'm not sure that's true. Last year SHU averaged 243 fans per game - and that included 1500 when they played Arizona State in Danbury. They only averaged about 150 per game in Milford.

They've tried playing in Bridgeport before and it was a disaster. Six or severn years ago they tried playing a few games per year at Harbor Yard but they dropped it after a couple of seasons. I went to an RPI-SHU Saturday afternoon game and there was so little demand for tickets that they literally just gave them away at the door. Total attendance was probably about 200 and 2/3 of that was rooting for the visitors. Evening games didn't fare much better. It was embarrassing.

I reckon the thought process is something like "we're renting an arena that's a dumpster fire filled with diapers and old tires. If we are gonna be renting, let's be renting somewhere worth the money that's closer to our students". With a side of "arena ownership might be more likely to promote our events if we are full partners with full year contracts rather than occasional date fillers."

Consider that WBA may also be considering the merits of another regular tenant, even if it is 1/4 the audience of its main tenant at best.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I only go see them every year or two, but for the game I saw last year the attendance was listed as less than 200 and it seemed legit. I've always wondered how a school without a big endowment can justify playing a scholarship D-I sport at a rink 15 miles from campus and with such little interest. I wonder if this is a last ditch effort to see if they can make it work. Renting the WBA will cost a lot more, but take a shot for a few years and see how it goes. I wonder where they are practicing?

 

[jho]

This makes sense for SHU to help build their hockey program. AIC is doing the same thing in Springfield and with the Atlantic Hockey Conference increasing the number of scholarships offered it signals a commitment to upgrade the caliber of hockey. Keep in mind that there are only 60 D1 hockey teams so don't be surprised if Bobby V has made a decision to go all in on hockey as a means of raising the profile of Sacred Heart athletics.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Good point. With Bentley having broken ground on an on-campus rink and AIC's move downtown, SHU would have been the last team playing in a community rink. Then again, Mercyhurst's and Holy Cross' on-campus rinks are smaller than some community facilities.

 

[Adios]

This makes sense for SHU to help build their hockey program. AIC is doing the same thing in Springfield and with the Atlantic Hockey Conference increasing the number of scholarships offered it signals a commitment to upgrade the caliber of hockey. Keep in mind that there are only 60 D1 hockey teams so don't be surprised if Bobby V has made a decision to go all in on hockey as a means of raising the profile of Sacred Heart athletics.

He definitely is committed to the hockey program.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Let's hope it works better for them that for Fairfield basketball, which has drawn poorly off-campus.

 

[FDNY99]

Let's hope it works better for them that for Fairfield basketball, which has drawn poorly off-campus.

IMHO There is a better chance of students attending a game a Webster Bank Arena than traveling to Milford.

 

[kibblesnbits]

That's almost a given since virtually no students traveled to Milford. However, I'm not sure many will travel to WBA either unless the new brew pub just down the street (Brewport) develops a reputation for being an easy mark for fake IDs.