dteowner 20 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 Contraction isn't financially viable, so the discussion is pretty meaningless. As an academic exercise, though, I'll play devil's advocate to stir the pot a bit. What do you do with a team that can't even sell out a playoff game? The arena is often half empty during the regular season (even though the seats are technically sold). Sounds like a market that can't support a team, yes? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 Contraction isn't financially viable, so the discussion is pretty meaningless. As an academic exercise, though, I'll play devil's advocate to stir the pot a bit. What do you do with a team that can't even sell out a playoff game? The arena is often half empty during the regular season (even though the seats are technically sold). Sounds like a market that can't support a team, yes? Easy. When you realize that the stratospherically high price of their playoff tickets means that the team made money hand over fist regardless of whether the arena sold out or not, the choice becomes easy. The team you refer to also sells far and away more merchandise than any other NHL team (probably more than many of them put together). If I have this right, the Wings are still the only team that you can walk into the store and grab the jersey of any player you want. The brand and logo are internationally known, making them quite possibly the most famous and most recognizable hockey team on the entire planet. (Despite what those in Toronto and Montreal might think - the problem is they just don't have enough Swedes but in all seriousness, Lidstrom and Hasek are the best two players from their respective countries - not to mention that Fedorov was once considered the best Russian on the ice - so the Wings have a following internationally that no other team can claim. That's worth a LOT of money for the league, both directly and indirectly.) "Fan support" is not the actual point, the goal is MONEY, and though the arena might have had a few more empty seats than it should, money is the reason you need fan support. If there were a source of money that paid a team a billion dollars each year to play in Bozeman, Montana, you can bet there'd be a team in Bozeman, even if it had a paid attendance of four. And you can bet this: If the Wings had a playoff ticket price comparable to, say, Nashville's, the arena would be jam-packed, but the Wings wouldn't be as profitable. Which is the whole point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dteowner 20 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 Well reasoned response, but could you not say the same (albeit to a lesser extent) about some of the teams that have been bantered about in this thread? I would think the Devils have moved a fair bit of swag over the years, but their name has come up in a few posts. I just found it interesting that people here are going to deep six teams based on empty arenas without at least addressing the Wings' problems. Figured I'd ready the burn kit and see what happened. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 The thing is, as much as I agree with Nashville TN not needing a hockey team...Bettman is in bed with the owners so hey aren'g going to be contracted no matter what. You do realize that the owners are Bettman's bosses? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 Well reasoned response, but could you not say the same (albeit to a lesser extent) about some of the teams that have been bantered about in this thread? I would think the Devils have moved a fair bit of swag over the years, but their name has come up in a few posts. I just found it interesting that people here are going to deep six teams based on empty arenas without at least addressing the Wings' problems. Figured I'd ready the burn kit and see what happened. I think the fact that the wings had the longest streak of consecutive sell outs argues its own point, but when it comes to playoffs, Detroit has seen this before. Correct me if I am wrong but the last time they tried to raise the price of tickets the same thing happened correct. Or they threatened to raise the price and the fans refused to pay the price. something along those lines. But to me the main reason why Detroit is not an option is that they are an O6 team and the league needs to do more to foster the O6 rivalries and embrace the heritage of the game. IMO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dteowner 20 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 But we're basing contraction on empty seats during the regular season, too, right? Can't put that problem at the feet of playoff ticket prices. So what do we tell some misguided soul from Florida when he shows us a tape of a nationally televised, weekend regular season game (with playoff implications even) and the only people in the lower bowl are Mo Cheese and the Knitting Lady? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted June 20, 2007 The attendance part of it is not a part that I can speak on, I never get to watch Wings games well except when they are nationally televised. I do know that sell outs don't always involve every seat being filled, so that may be a misguiding factor, but as I said I can not speak to attendance at the joe. My main reasoning is the O6 thing. (and a little of it is that I am a wings fan :-) ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
