New arena? Malloy wants to bring the NHL back

[upstater]

CT fans are the definition of fair weather, when Hartford won the attendance was good, when they weren't it wasn't. UConn sports teams are similar. The XL was really too small even when the Whalers were in town... with a hockey capacity of only about 15k... even if you sell out every night you were still near the bottom of the league in attendance.

Attendance is pretty bad in many arenas these days. The Whalers had many bad years during the 80s with pretty good attendance. I think the new owner danced around moving them for at least 3 or 4 years, so yeah attendance fell off while he was looking to move the team.

 

[IMind]

Attendance is pretty bad in many arenas these days. The Whalers had many bad years during the 80s with pretty good attendance. I think the new owner danced around moving them for at least 3 or 4 years, so yeah attendance fell off while he was looking to move the team.

Yup.. actually if you look at atttendance as a percentage of capacity the Whalers weren't all that bad even in off years.... but when the best you can ever do is 14th in the league in attendance.. and you don't have an arena to maximize corporate money... the move is pretty much inevitable.

 

[Waquoit]

I think the new owner danced around moving them for at least 3 or 4 years, so yeah attendance fell off while he was looking to move the team.

That wasn't it. Those owners only had the team 2 years and attendance was good the last year. It was the Richard Gordon years. He made many lousy hires and cut off all community outreach. The team got worse and worse. It wasn't too long ago when the Sox never won, you'd hear stuff like "if the fans are still going to buy tickets, why would they try to do better?" (I know this was BS but you would hear it a lot) Whale fans finally got sick of the losing, stopped coming and lost the team.

 

[upstater]

That wasn't it. Those owners only had the team 2 years and attendance was good the last year. It was the Richard Gordon years. He made many lousy hires and cut off all community outreach. The team got worse and worse. It wasn't too long ago when the Sox never won, you'd hear stuff like "if the fans are still going to buy tickets, why would they try to do better?" (I know this was BS but you would hear it a lot) Whale fans finally got sick of the losing, stopped coming and lost the team.

I think the fans rallied at the end trying to save it, no? At the very end. But weren't the moving rumors going on with Gordon?

By the way, about the Red Sox, Fenway Park used to be pretty empty in the mid 80s to early 1990s. I used to walk over after classes for the 7th inning, and they'd let you in free. They'd draw the gates at the 7th inning, and it was free in. I'd sit and watch the last 2 innings in empty bleachers.

 

[Husky25]

And one other thing. The article says Malloy was the one behind UConn to Hockey East. If that's true, it would have been better if he hadn't slashed UConn's budget last year.

The Athletic Department is not state (nor, by extension, taxpayer) funded. THis has been established and rehashed ad naseum.

 

[Husky25]

Fans in CT don't tend to be good fans of CT sports. We're good Red Sox/Yanks/Mets fans, they're good Knicks/Celtics fans, and they're good Pats/Giants/Jets fans.

But as a state, we weren't really good Whaler's fans. And even UConn basketball (Men's and Women's), we aren't that good. I'd wager its because they weren't good until the late-80s early 90s, and that, as younger fans grow up our state will get much better (Johnny-come-lately fans are always fair-weather)--but still, we've had problems with attendance in both sports, even as we've been the best Women's program for the last 20 years, and among the top 5 men's programs over the same period.

That being said, I think i'd be a huge waste of money to bring a team to Hartford. We had a team. While they sucked most of my life, they weren't supported. That means we lost our chance.

Fan attendence in arenas might be the worst metric by which to judge popularity, in the age of inexpensive flat screens and high definition. Hartford definitely needs a new arena if it wants to attract a major league sports franchise. It needs luxury boxes and more importantly, corporate partners to fill those boxes. Regarding Joe and Jane Q. Public, the in-arena experience must beat the convenience of its in-home counterpart. All things being equal, there is no way I choose watching a UConn game from row VV of the XL Center, drinking a watered down $10 Coors Light, when I can be infront of a crackling fire, a High Def 47 inch LCD, sipping a Stella Artois for about 1/9 the cost...Oh, and with the ability to rewind every single play if I so choose.

 

[CTBasketball]

Since Hartford is New England's Rising Star, why wouldn't a hockey team want to come here?

 

[John]

Fan attendence in arenas might be the worst metric by which to judge popularity, in the age of inexpensive flat screens and high definition. Hartford definitely needs a new arena if it wants to attract a major league sports franchise. It needs luxury boxes and more importantly, corporate partners to fill those boxes. Regarding Joe and Jane Q. Public, the in-arena experience must beat the convenience of its in-home counterpart. All things being equal, there is no way I choose watching a UConn game from row VV of the XL Center, drinking a watered down $10 Coors Light, when I can be infront of a crackling fire, a High Def 47 inch LCD, sipping a Stella Artois for about 1/9 the cost...Oh, and with the ability to rewind every single play if I so choose.

The concession prices are a big problem, especially for basketball where you can't eat a feast before like for football. We go to Quinnipiac games too, and their concession prices are much more family friendly and the food is actually better in some cases (the hot dogs are huge, and in fresh buns rather than those atrocities they serve in the XL).

 

[upstater]

The Athletic Department is not state (nor, by extension, taxpayer) funded. THis has been established and rehashed ad naseum.

I have never seen that established anywhere. Link? I've been reading this board over the years, and never once have I seen anything like that. In fact, the facilities were partially state sponsored, the school provides student fees and direct institutional support to the AD. Indeed, I am 100% certain your comment is entirely incorrect. Would you like to see the links that prove it?

 

[upstater]

Last night I watched part of the 1995 Nova blowout over UConn, and it was obvious there was a different crew sitting in the prime seats. Many wore white shirts as part of a whiteout. In 1995, there were simply not the same number of corporate people.

 

[ctchamps]

Attendance wasn't really the problem. Relative to the teams performance it was actually great and much better than the first several years attendance in Carolina after the team moved. It was the lousy media contract Karponas inherited. The only way to break it was to move since it was a regional media deal. Whalers were a perennial bottom dweller but they had a great supporting fan base.

There were no fair weather fans going because the weather was always miserable with that team. But I loved my seasons tickets. I still don't watch NHL because of the bail.

 

[Husky25]

I have never seen that established anywhere. Link? I've been reading this board over the years, and never once have I seen anything like that. In fact, the facilities were partially state sponsored, the school provides student fees and direct institutional support to the AD. Indeed, I am 100% certain your comment is entirely incorrect. Would you like to see the links that prove it?

If you are referring to Rentschler, the facility is owned by the state, not the school and tuition is not considered state funds. Also this fact was reasonably covered with the whole "Not a Dime Back" controversy of 2010. Also go back to some of the threads this fall re: potenial buyout of Pasqualoni's contract. Here are a few other links as well:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/uconn-construction-begin-basketball-center-0
http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/02/athletics-establishes-stadium-enhancement-funds/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46891487/Paul-Pasqualoni-Contract

 

[Dove]

Scott Grey and Jeff Jacobs must be on Malloy's advisory board.

Grey said Malloy was a possible future NHL Commissioner candidate

 

[tzznandrew]

Since Hartford is New England's Rising Star, why wouldn't a hockey team want to come here?

Haha. There is no where to go but up, right? So this is true by definition.

 

[upstater]

If you are referring to Rentschler, the facility is owned by the state, not the school and tuition is not considered state funds. Also this fact was reasonably covered with the whole "Not a Dime Back" controversy of 2010. Also go back to some of the threads this fall re: potenial buyout of Pasqualoni's contract. Here are a few other links as well:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/uconn-construction-begin-basketball-center-0
http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/02/athletics-establishes-stadium-enhancement-funds/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46891487/Paul-Pasqualoni-Contract

In all your links, they are counting funds from the academic side as athletic revenues. No school in the country is in the black, not Texas and not Michigan. Here is the link from the gov't database:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/spor...ollege-athletics-finances-database/54955804/1

Look at student fees and direct school support (the hidden costs are debt servicing and cost per student subsidy).

There is definitely taxpayer money supporting athletics.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Even if the NHL wanted to expand/relocate unpopular southern teams, I just don't see how Hartford could be even a top-5 option. Just think of the other cities that could support a team better than Hartford...

Quebec
Seattle
Hamilton
Toronto
Portland
Milwaukee

After the debacle of the last franchise. I don't see how they will be supported any better this go round. We were told that if we could get 12,000 fans into the Civic Center, the Whale would stay. they managed something like 9,000 plus, so it wasn't enough. I don't think I want to go through that baloney again. Having a sword over your head to meet a certain goal.all I can say is Ihope the Hurricanes miss the playoffs every year (though they did get a championship there).

 

[Huskygamble19]

We need a new arena, but if it's not in Hartford why bother?

How about Mohegan Sun casino? They have an arena and the players could gamble afterward

 

[Huskygamble19]

CT might have had a shot at either the Devils or the Islanders before their arena situations got drastically better. Not now though.

Ct is starting to look more and more like the little engine that could...except they can't in all major sports. I would imagine that NY and Boston would have more complaints about a new team in Hartford. They had a big impact in the teams moving to NC.

 

[John]

How about Mohegan Sun casino? They have an arena and the players could gamble afterward

Arena is too small and too old-style.

 

[SubbaBub]

Attendance wasn't really the problem. Relative to the teams performance it was actually great and much better than the first several years attendance in Carolina after the team moved. It was the lousy media contract Karponas inherited. The only way to break it was to move since it was a regional media deal. Whalers were a perennial bottom dweller but they had a great supporting fan base.

There were no fair weather fans going because the weather was always miserable with that team. But I loved my seasons tickets. I still don't watch NHL because of the bail.

Thought I was the only one who stopped watching the NHL.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Huskygamble19]

Arena is too small and too old-style.

Totally tongue in cheek. I know for a fact that it would never work there, but you could go shopping in the metropolis of Uncasville???

 

[ctchamps]

Thought I was the only one who stopped watching the NHL.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

Loved going to Whalers and UConn games. It was tough for many years seeing both getting beat downs. But every year a buddy and I would look at the teams and know "this" year was going to be different. Well it never panned out for the Hartford Whalers, but UConn gave me the holy grail. It didn't make matters better that I was a Red Sox fan as well. And a Pats fan. The Bucky Dent and Bill Buckner thing and the beat down by the Bears and the Fridge. And UConn with it's perennial 8-9 game BE tournament matchup and the Whalers trying to get a winning season. Those were the days when you weren't a fair weather fan, that's for sure.

 

[methodology]

Attendance wasn't really the problem. Relative to the teams performance it was actually great and much better than the first several years attendance in Carolina after the team moved. It was the lousy media contract Karponas inherited. The only way to break it was to move since it was a regional media deal. Whalers were a perennial bottom dweller but they had a great supporting fan base.

There were no fair weather fans going because the weather was always miserable with that team. But I loved my seasons tickets. I still don't watch NHL because of the bail.

I pretty much stopped watching Hockey when the Whalers left also. My grandfather had season tickets to the Whalers and Nighthawks.

Interesting thing about the Whalers. When the NHL started to remerchandise and start selling Whalers gear it became one of the best selling team gear in the NHL. A friend of mine works for the merchandising part of the NHL and they said they couldnt keep up with the demand and orders for Whalers gear. They kept selling out and probably missed out on a lot of sales because they were not ready for the demand of remerchandising Whalers apparel

 

[Waquoit]

they managed something like 9,000 plus, so it wasn't enough.

Not true. The average announced attendance was over 12K. In fact, this understates the actual attendance. The new owners refused to included the skybox and club level attendance in the total.

 

[upstater]

Loved going to Whalers and UConn games. It was tough for many years seeing both getting beat downs. But every year a buddy and I would look at the teams and know "this" year was going to be different. Well it never panned out for the Hartford Whalers, but UConn gave me the holy grail. It didn't make matters better that I was a Red Sox fan as well. And a Pats fan. The Bucky Dent and Bill Buckner thing and the beat down by the Bears and the Fridge. And UConn with it's perennial 8-9 game BE tournament matchup and the Whalers trying to get a winning season. Those were the days when you weren't a fair weather fan, that's for sure.

I'm a fan of all the teams you liked, and the new millennium starting in 1999 is an entirely different experience than I had growing up. I first started following the Patriots when I was 8 or 9 during the infamous Ben Dreith call and Dent's homer was the in the same year as Fairbanks leaving for Colorado.

The only championships during all those years were by the Celtics.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Not true. The average announced attendance was over 12K. In fact, this understates the actual attendance. The new owners refused to included the skybox and club level attendance in the total.

In that case than these wonderful new owners had it already made up theirmind that they were moving regardless of the hoops we had to jump through to get the team to stay. I remember vividly them saying we had to get 12'000 for the last few games, but only 9'000 plus showed up and they lowered the boom on us. No more talk of an NHL team just to go through this again.

 

[ctchamps]

In that case than these wonderful new owners had it already made up theirmind that they were moving regardless of the hoops we had to jump through to get the team to stay. I remember vividly them saying we had to get 12'000 for the last few games, but only 9'000 plus showed up and they lowered the boom on us. No more talk of an NHL team just to go through this again.

As I stated, Karponas hated the media agreement he was saddled with when he bought the Whalers. He was unable to renegotiate it so he moved the team. Since the contract was a regional media contract, Karponas was able to buy it out on the cheap.

 

[BoatShow]

The new busline could lead right into the arena!