Excellent Article on Nashville

[Hank 0]

that's your opinion. I think it's wrong

I could be. But I don't know how anyone dispute hard evidence. They're attendance has gone down 4,000 in only 3 games since the opener.

I seriously don't know how anyone can say, with a straight face, that Nashville is a good hockey town.

They've had 2 prospective buyers and 1 current owner and all 3 parties have exercised or looked into seeing how they can get the team out of town. That can't be good.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

probert, I haven't been arguing anything on here, just answering people's questions. You're the one who has just come up in this thread trying to put me in a negative light.

and great, you used to live here.. USED TO. so that means that you know so much more about what's going on here than me right? you're an idiot man.

and where do I post these debates on the preds boards? the only one i've taken there is the Tootoo fight.

--------------------------

as for the season ticket holders. well there are no more 3 or 6 game packs. But you used to live here, so you should know that right?

and yes, 13 game packs and 21 game packs are season ticket holders. Can you not do math? I think I laid it out for you pretty simply.

There are 41 home games each season.

1 season ticket equals 41 games.

2 of the 21 game packs equals 42 games. Therefore, 2 of the 21 game packs equals 1 season ticket.

3 of the 13 game packs equals 39 games. Therefore, 3 of the 13 game packs equals 1 season ticket.

all 3 packages (41, 21, 13) have playoff priority, they all get the season ticket holder perks.

--------------------

104.5 is the flagship of the Predators. the program director George Plaster actually organized most of the rally this summer and is a member of Our Team. Sorry that you happened to hear some Titans coverage on there, it's a 24 hour sports station, so they're not going to go hockey 24 hours a day. They talk preds for a few hours every day though, sorry you missed out on it. The simple fact is that football is more popular here, what the hell do you expect?

So, you can continue being bitter about Nashville and the Predators for whatever reason, but you're a little out of line on this one.

go back and look at every season through our history. October is always the worst attendance. Neither of game 2 or 3 was in the mini plans, so the only tickets sold were to full season ticket holders and walk up buyers.

Come back at the end of the season and look at the attendance. Our second half attendance is always miles ahead of first half attendance. it's called AVERAGE attendance. not first 3 games attendance. There are still 38 left, a little too soon for you to be making a judgement isn't it?

Of course if you're sitting at 13-18-4 in the next couple of months it might be hard to sell more tickets. They looked pretty bad last night. Except the Legwand line. Man, what I wouldn't give to have Radulov in a wings sweater. That kid has talent that hasn't even been tapped into yet. You can see it in his thought process, not only can he finish, although he's having some trouble now even though he had a s***load of chances last night, but his passing skills are way better than I thought. Any chance you can talk to the people down there and get them to trade him to us? I'd be happy to give you Matt Ellis for him. What do you think? I'll even buy a season ticket package myself to sweeten the deal!

[Hank 0]

Of course if you're sitting at 13-18-4 in the next couple of months it might be hard to sell more tickets. They looked pretty bad last night. Except the Legwand line. Man, what I wouldn't give to have Radulov in a wings sweater. That kid has talent that hasn't even been tapped into yet. You can see it in his thought process, not only can he finish, although he's having some trouble now even though he had a s***load of chances last night, but his passing skills are way better than I thought. Any chance you can talk to the people down there and get them to trade him to us? I'd be happy to give you Matt Ellis for him. What do you think? I'll even buy a season ticket package myself to sweeten the deal!

I think you're on to something Gordie! Teams can buy Preds players for ticket packages! Brilliant! It's probably the only way you'll be able to get tickets sold!

Lets get some money together and we'll buy 4 seasons passes for Legwand, Weber and Radulov.

Heck, I'll even throw in a standing room only pass for Tootoo and then banish him to laundry duty. I don't want him in the kitchen as he might attack the dish washer without any warning while wearing knights armor.

[Legionnaire11 0]

Radulov really needs a legit 1st line center to fully realize his potential. Arnott and Legwand are nice in their own respect, but neither of them is any more than a decent second line center. Just look at what Radulov did with Forsberg last season, he became a really scoring threat.

as for his passing skills, yeah he racked up a ton of assists in juniors. not many people realize that he has that kind of vision and skill, they assume he's just a typical russian sniper. in fact, when he was drafted, many scouts agreed that his all around offensive ability was second only to Ovechkin, but he lacked the defensive game which is what dropped him down to #15.

anyway, like I said, the last two games were not included on any of the ticket plans other than full season tickets.

as for buying season tickets in exchange for our players, you'll have to do better than that most of the players here bought at least 10 season tickets themselves, so youd have to at least double that if you want to get them away from us. Jason Arnott even bought 1,000 tickets to the opener. These guys love playing in Nashville, the fact that they're willing to shell out so much money for tickets to keep the team here should tell you something. It's just a very frustrating time.

Think about what has happened to us so far. Just 4 seasons into our history, Leipold makes his "Playoff Pledge", where he raised season ticket prices for the 5th season in exchange for guaranteeing that the team would make the playoffs. Of course, he didn't add anyone to the roster. Traded away some popular players (ronning, dunham, fitzgerald) and after Legwand was injured the team lost the final 11 or 15 games and missed the playoffs. That really turned a lot of people off at that point.

Then the following season (6th) we finally make the playoffs and have a great series with the Wings... The buzz was huge here! of course, then came the lockout.

So, season after the lockout we did great, attendance built throughout the year, and then the disappointing loss to the sharks. But it was still a nice season and last season our attendance went even higher (even though most outside of nashville like to pretend our attendance was never getting better). Another himuliating loss to the sharks hurt, but season tickets were on the rise since we had a great team and Forsberg. Then came this whole sale fiasco, and even though we had the rally, and all of the goodwill. Half of that effort was needed just to replace all of the existing season ticket holders that canceled after the news came out.

This will be a difficult season, but things were getting better before this summer, and they'll get better again. Our season ticket base is larger than it has been since the 2nd or 3rd season, and that doesn't even include the couple thousand from last season who canceled. get them back on board and every 13k game becomes 15k, every 14k game becomes 16k and every 15k game is a sell out.

ditching this market now is a mistake.

[MacK_Attack 108]

Not sure if this was posted or not.....

Balsillie wants Preds again

[2probert4 8]

probert, I haven't been arguing anything on here, just answering people's questions. You're the one who has just come up in this thread trying to put me in a negative light.

and great, you used to live here.. USED TO. so that means that you know so much more about what's going on here than me right? you're an idiot man.

and where do I post these debates on the preds boards? the only one i've taken there is the Tootoo fight.

--------------------------

as for the season ticket holders. well there are no more 3 or 6 game packs. But you used to live here, so you should know that right?

and yes, 13 game packs and 21 game packs are season ticket holders. Can you not do math? I think I laid it out for you pretty simply.

There are 41 home games each season.

1 season ticket equals 41 games.

2 of the 21 game packs equals 42 games. Therefore, 2 of the 21 game packs equals 1 season ticket.

3 of the 13 game packs equals 39 games. Therefore, 3 of the 13 game packs equals 1 season ticket.

all 3 packages (41, 21, 13) have playoff priority, they all get the season ticket holder perks.

--------------------

104.5 is the flagship of the Predators. the program director George Plaster actually organized most of the rally this summer and is a member of Our Team. Sorry that you happened to hear some Titans coverage on there, it's a 24 hour sports station, so they're not going to go hockey 24 hours a day. They talk preds for a few hours every day though, sorry you missed out on it. The simple fact is that football is more popular here, what the hell do you expect?

So, you can continue being bitter about Nashville and the Predators for whatever reason, but you're a little out of line on this one.

go back and look at every season through our history. October is always the worst attendance. Neither of game 2 or 3 was in the mini plans, so the only tickets sold were to full season ticket holders and walk up buyers.

Come back at the end of the season and look at the attendance. Our second half attendance is always miles ahead of first half attendance. it's called AVERAGE attendance. not first 3 games attendance. There are still 38 left, a little too soon for you to be making a judgement isn't it?

Thanks for resorting to the personal bashing when you get backed into a corner. Ive also been watching hockey longer than youve been born dude (Im 41 now, ive got a good head start on you) and theres many on here that know more than I do, so stop acting like youre the ultimate authority. I also spent alot of money watching that team when I was a resident, I still have my seat available if I move back to Nashville, my friends split the cost and do whatever they choose with that seat. Are you even a partial season ticket holder ? You have your opinions and theories, youre entitled to them, but when people tell you that youre incorrect, or what they are told , this is what you do, with the personal bash. Ive told you more than once that I do have some friends in that Metro Sports Authority, I asked you if you knew what it was, apparently not. For example, they received the letter from Balsillie today about wanting to be involved in the team ownership. They are involved with money aspects that concern the city, as in how much money is spent on arena costs, upkeeps for the Titans stadium etc. But those people are in the know about many of the items concerning attendance, the selling of the team, who the prospective buyers were, etc. You just talk in circles dude, first its saying how the Tennessean spews incorrect information, but then you spew numbers. If youre not quoting the paper, then where do you get your info ? I would like to see ...I tell you where I get mine, from my pals that are season ticket holders, and the contacts I still have in that town, (refer back to the sports authority) which I touch base with about once a week. Telling me I dont know anything because I dont live there any longer (I may be coming back at the beginning of the year) is just silly. I also had a former boss there who had a significant other in the front office, so I heard stuff, regardless if I wanted to hear it or not.

As for your quote about not linking conversations between this site and the Preds, there was a debate ( you and GS&T) about Tootoo punching Lapierriere in the face not long ago, and you did the link to the Preds site and there was some remark about someone comparing it to Robidas and I think there was something about someone being stupid. I do stand by my remark earlier that I believe that you like to argue. Hows the barn building going by the way?

[Legionnaire11 0]

Thanks for resorting to the personal bashing when you get backed into a corner.

yeah, calling someone an idiot is really personal bashing.

Ive also been watching hockey longer than youve been born dude (Im 41 now, ive got a good head start on you) and theres many on here that know more than I do, so stop acting like youre the ultimate authority.

Glad you've been watching hockey for a long time, it's a shame that more people haven't. Though, I would have sworn that we're discussing off ice issues which don't recquire any knowledge of the actual game?

I also spent alot of money watching that team when I was a resident, I still have my seat available if I move back to Nashville, my friends split the cost and do whatever they choose with that seat. Are you even a partial season ticket holder ?

3 seats for 4 seasons. For someone who was a supporter, and is supposedly so connected with supporters... you do an aweful lot of poo-pooing on the situation here.

You have your opinions and theories, youre entitled to them, but when people tell you that youre incorrect, or what they are told , this is what you do, with the personal bash. Ive told you more than once that I do have some friends in that Metro Sports Authority, I asked you if you knew what it was, apparently not. For example, they received the letter from Balsillie today about wanting to be involved in the team ownership. They are involved with money aspects that concern the city, as in how much money is spent on arena costs, upkeeps for the Titans stadium etc. But those people are in the know about many of the items concerning attendance, the selling of the team, who the prospective buyers were, etc.

oh, so it's your friends who are the ultimate authority, I see! You must also know that most people in Nashville who even know that the sports authority exists, thinks that it's a useless entity and is full of folks who aren't even sports insiders?

You just talk in circles dude, first its saying how the Tennessean spews incorrect information, but then you spew numbers. If youre not quoting the paper, then where do you get your info ? I would like to see ...I tell you where I get mine, from my pals that are season ticket holders, and the contacts I still have in that town, (refer back to the sports authority) which I touch base with about once a week. Telling me I dont know anything because I dont live there any longer (I may be coming back at the beginning of the year) is just silly. I also had a former boss there who had a significant other in the front office, so I heard stuff, regardless if I wanted to hear it or not.

Umm, I get it from folks who actually work for the Predators. Probably a little more knowledgable about it than the sports authority.

As for your quote about not linking conversations between this site and the Preds, there was a debate ( you and GS&T) about Tootoo punching Lapierriere in the face not long ago, and you did the link to the Preds site and there was some remark about someone comparing it to Robidas and I think there was something about someone being stupid. I do stand by my remark earlier that I believe that you like to argue. Hows the barn building going by the way?

did I not say that I took that one over there?

Was this not a friendly conversation until you popped in?

Do I like to argue? maybe. Do I like to come on another team's boards to debunk the idiocy that is spread by people who live 600 miles away and have no interest in my city at all? yes.

like I said 100 times here, say what you want about me, it's not a big deal. this is a message board, we all have opinions, most of them wrong. at the end of the day I can sleep soundly, even with this whole fiasco taking place here. It would seem that most people who aren't involved one bit aren't able to do so.

[WingsZR2 1]

Not sure if this was posted or not.....

Balsillie wants Preds again

The plot thickens

[Legionnaire11 0]

Not sure if this was posted or not.....

Balsillie wants Preds again

probably an attempt to sway the city gov't so that they miss the deadline and he can get back in. But if they believe that he's sincere with this sudden change of heart, they're the biggest bunch of fools ever. He has one intention and one intention only. David Freeman pretty much summed up what all of us preds fans feel.

David Freeman, president and chief executive officer of 36 Venture Capital and leading the local effort to buy the Predators, issued the following statement: "I think it would be inappropriate for me to comment on Jim Basillie or any of his activities, statements or certainly his obvious intentions.

"The Predators belong to Nashville. Quite frankly, I'm tired of our community's resolve to retain the Predators on a permanent basis being questioned by outsiders that neither contribute to our community nor care about our community. In effect, they question the character and commitment of our city and our people. This is our home. This is 'Our Team.'

"I believe that we will thoughtfully and successfully complete our discussions with the city very soon and that Mayor Dean will be able to present recommendations to the Sports Authority and the Metro Council that will allow us to complete our transaction by October 31.

"In the meantime, to paraphrase one of my favorite fans, 'Keep your damn hands off our hockey team!'"

[2probert4 8]

yeah, calling someone an idiot is really personal bashing.

Glad you've been watching hockey for a long time, it's a shame that more people haven't. Though, I would have sworn that we're discussing off ice issues which don't recquire any knowledge of the actual game?

3 seats for 4 seasons. For someone who was a supporter, and is supposedly so connected with supporters... you do an aweful lot of poo-pooing on the situation here.

oh, so it's your friends who are the ultimate authority, I see! You must also know that most people in Nashville who even know that the sports authority exists, thinks that it's a useless entity and is full of folks who aren't even sports insiders?

Umm, I get it from folks who actually work for the Predators. Probably a little more knowledgable about it than the sports authority.

did I not say that I took that one over there?

Was this not a friendly conversation until you popped in?

Do I like to argue? maybe. Do I like to come on another team's boards to debunk the idiocy that is spread by people who live 600 miles away and have no interest in my city at all? yes.

like I said 100 times here, say what you want about me, it's not a big deal. this is a message board, we all have opinions, most of them wrong. at the end of the day I can sleep soundly, even with this whole fiasco taking place here. It would seem that most people who aren't involved one bit aren't able to do so.

I remember once you said you didnt have seats. Ummm the Sports Authority works with the Predators, and you basically said you have the same types of contacts that I have, nice try. Sports Authority has been the group that exposed Leopolds lies more than once. There are people who dont like them, but truth hurts eh ? Hows the barn building going ? Ahh I see the Sports Authority is involved again in the latest Predators offer, great move for a group that you declared as unknowing. Preds office is known for lying, so please stop with that one, its ridiculous. It was a nice conversation while I was involved, youre the one that started with the attitude. Nice try once again. If you knew people in that office, you would have spewed it long ago. As for the idiocy comment, look at how your home crowd acts towards the visiting team fans before talking about others.

Edited October 13, 2007 by 2probert4

[betterREDthandead 58]

Hows the barn building going ?

I thought you didn't like personal insults.

[2probert4 8]

I thought you didn't like personal insults.

Its not a personal insult, he said that he was fixing up a barn. Thats hard work, been there done that. He said that back a couple of months ago, not sure how thats made out to be a personal insult.

[Legionnaire11 0]

when did I say I didn't have tickets or was fixing a barn? if I said that, i'd like to see it.

I might have said I didn't know if I'd be able to get tickets again this year, but I ended up stretching thin for it, couldn't miss out on this season of all seasons.

[lfd250 1]

Are we playing Nashville tonight? Why are we still talking about them? This is a Red Wing board. Can we please put this in hockey rumors since it's a rumor that Nashville will be bought or be around next year.

Or start another feed for other NHL teams in the hockey disc. form.

Edited October 13, 2007 by lfd250

[Legionnaire11 0]

This whole debacle belongs on 1 of the major networks as a daytime soap-opera

yes it does!!

You have no idea how much we all wish this would go away. While 29 other markets are talking about, goals, penalties, fights, etc... we're talking about attendance, leases, city government... it SUCKS!!!

[2probert4 8]

Hmm - the only current pro sports franchise that belongs to "the community" is the GB Packers; as of yet Leipold owns the Preds - not the "community", or city of Nashville.....This whole debacle belongs on 1 of the major networks as a daytime soap-opera

youre right, its gone past hockey talk.......now it's "I know, you no dont I do, no you dont I do" so whatever. He wants to talk nonsense about me or whomever disagrees with him, his choice. Not really sure why the Predators take up so much bandwidth on a Red Wings site, especially their money issues.

when did I say I didn't have tickets or was fixing a barn? if I said that, i'd like to see it.

I might have said I didn't know if I'd be able to get tickets again this year, but I ended up stretching thin for it, couldn't miss out on this season of all seasons.

I didn't come to this site for a month or so, and had lots of unread posts. So I came across one where you were asking for support on your diet, and something about building or repairing a barn as part of your exercise routine was in it.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Preds are 2-3 now.

I think a tumbleweed just rolled by the Sommet Center...

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Sweet, so do you think we could trade for JP Dumont?? Hes a pretty decent sniper and has shown up in his past 2 playoff performances. Hed look a hell of a lot better down low than Sammy would.

[Guest REDWINGS4LYFE]

seattle is a good spot for the preds

[Hank 0]

seattle is a good spot for the preds

Mexico City would be just as good as Nashville. I'm sure they could get 12,000 fans out a night too.

[Hank 0]

"The Predators belong to Nashville. Quite frankly, I'm tired of our community's resolve to retain the Predators on a permanent basis being questioned by outsiders that neither contribute to our community nor care about our community. In effect, they question the character and commitment of our city and our people. This is our home. This is 'Our Team.'

This line just killed me!

The Preds have done nothing but SUCK money from this community and now they're asking for more. Freeman is the absolute definition of hypocrite.

I'm sure there are a lot more than 12,000 people in Nashville and yet all the tax payers are being asked to shell out even more money to keep a franchise, that nobody wants, around for a few more years.

I know I'd be ticked off if I saw more and more money come out of my pocket for a team I cared nothing about to remain in my city.

It's quite obvious that Nashville doesn't like hockey and could care less about the Predators.

The only people that care about this team are rich dudes who are trying to suck even more money of the city or guys like Ballsillie who are at least honest and want to move it to a place that actually likes the sport.

Hell, Hamilton didn't even have the team yet and they sold 15,000 vouchers in less than 48 hours. Nashville can't get 12,000 people to the rink on a nightly basis despite actually owning the team. And this is after being told point-blank "Come to the arena or you will lose your team".

Hahahaha! I guess the local wittlin' contest was too good to pass up.

[Legionnaire11 0]

I didn't come to this site for a month or so, and had lots of unread posts. So I came across one where you were asking for support on your diet, and something about building or repairing a barn as part of your exercise routine was in it.

ah, yeah we ended up not buying that house. we're sticking with the current one through the winter and plan on looking again in the spring.

---------------------------------------

okay. as for the Preds right now. What can I say? the fans of nashville and the team itself are disproving every argument I had this summer.

I will always fight, tooth and nail to save this team. I wouldn't be a fan if I didn't. But it's quite shameful to see how this city as a whole has responded so far. Are they waiting for local ownership to come on? or did this summer finally kill any chance we had of planting a solid root in Nashville?

The team, is playing terrible. The first two games they came out and looked like a team that was ready to win a playoff series. Flat out dominated two top teams in Colorado and Dallas. Perhaps it gave them big heads and now they think they're more talented than they actually are, but the last 3 games have been embarassing to watch. I've never seen a preds team that seemed to care less about working hard and fighting for a win.

I hope things turn around quickly. I hope that attendance spikes after october. I hope the players turn it around on the ice...

...but I don't see either of those things happening right now.

[Hank 0]

ah, yeah we ended up not buying that house. we're sticking with the current one through the winter and plan on looking again in the spring.

---------------------------------------

okay. as for the Preds right now. What can I say? the fans of nashville and the team itself are disproving every argument I had this summer.

I will always fight, tooth and nail to save this team. I wouldn't be a fan if I didn't. But it's quite shameful to see how this city as a whole has responded so far. Are they waiting for local ownership to come on? or did this summer finally kill any chance we had of planting a solid root in Nashville?

The team, is playing terrible. The first two games they came out and looked like a team that was ready to win a playoff series. Flat out dominated two top teams in Colorado and Dallas. Perhaps it gave them big heads and now they think they're more talented than they actually are, but the last 3 games have been embarassing to watch. I've never seen a preds team that seemed to care less about working hard and fighting for a win.

I hope things turn around quickly. I hope that attendance spikes after october. I hope the players turn it around on the ice...

...but I don't see either of those things happening right now.

You think you're mad? I grabbed Chris Mason in my pool and looked like a genius after week 1. It didn't take him long to get tossed on my reserve list after week 2. I think he gave up 14 goals in his last 3 games.

Meanwhile, I had sat Vokoun for him this week and all he did was get 2 wins including a shutout. Man do I hate hockey pools!!!

[vangvace 12]

Hamilton Preds

hahahahaha :rotflmao:

sorry legion but... this is just too funny. Ticketmaster is still selling tickets.

[Hank 0]

I'd say the Preds are all but gone:

The Predators’ paid attendance for last Thursday’s loss to Phoenix at Sommet Center was 9,264, according to the Metro Sports Authority.

A total of 2,898 complimentary tickets boosted overall attendance to 12,162.

Through three games the average paid attendance was 12,237. Figures from the team's fourth home game, Saturday night against Calgary, were not yet available.

As matters stand now, the Predators must average 14,000 in paid attendance this season to keep the lease between the team and the city intact. That would keep the team in Nashville for at least the next three seasons.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...015/1002/SPORTS

I've been reading some of the posts over at the Nashville Message boards and things don't look good:

http://boards.nashvillepredators.com/index...?showtopic=7202

And now that the teams lost 6 games in a row and to some of the poorer teams, I don't see that attendance getting any better.

This whole scenario wreaks of "Major League". Everyone that's lining up to buy this team wants to move it. The 'local' group that includes a heavy hitter from LA wants the team in KC who offer a very sweet lease deal while Ballsillie wants the team in Hamilton.

I'd prefer the team goes to Hamilton because the league needs stability and we all know the team will thrive there. KC would be nice, as a Wings fan, because it would help us move East when expansion hits.

In any event, I don't see the Preds averaging more than 12,000 paid attendance the rest of the year. Stick a fork in them, they're done.