Could the Detroit Red Wings actually be moved?

[ashenhigh 9]

Little caesar's is the perfect company to own in hard economic times

Honestly it is, I picked up a large pizza and some breadsticks last night for like 7 bucks.

[Chelios57 31]

Never EVER take anything seriously by the idiots from HNIC. (At least not with more than a grain of salt). Ron/Kelly excluded I'd say.

Anyways simple answer. No. Never.

[shoe 165]

what everyone else has said annnnd, GM wont go bankrupt they might change a bit im sure they will be there for a long time to come.

[Zetterling 16]

So you're tellin' me there's a chance!?

[T.Low 1,011]

I think you guys are missing the guys point entirely, hes saying that if the Auto Companies go under then the Joe would not even come close to the attendance it has now. Now i don't think they would move, but it would put a lot of stress on the franchise. His point has nothing to do with Illitch's money, it's about the fans having no money.

Exactly.

Who gives a s*** if the pizza industry is good, its not the kids that make the pizzas that buy all the18,000 Red Wing tickets every night, its the people that work in the auto industry. Illitch doesn't take pizza money and pay Lidstrom with it. He takes the money made from the Red Wings, with the vast majority of it from ticket sales.

ANd BTW, Little Ceasars has closed 2,000 restaurants since the early 90's and has dropped to fourth place behind Pizza Hut, Dominos and Papa Johns.

And its not the guys that just lost $1,000 at Motor City Casino (Another Illitch company) thats gonna buy tickets either.

The Red Wings were at a $16million operating loss just before the lockout.

Mike Illitch is going to be 80 years old next July. I doubt that Chris Illitch would ever move the team he grew up with...but stranger things have happened. Who knows what goes on at Illitch Holdings, Inc.

And Michigan's evconomy is NEVER going to be what it was under Engler, NEVER AGAIN.

Of course there is a chance of them moving someday, don't be such Homer's, my God, man. Denial aint just a river in Egypt ya know.

Of course we don't want that to ever happen, it would be a travesty. But the historic Cleveland Browns moved. The historic Brooklyn Dodgers moved, the New York Baseball Giants moved, lots of historic teams move.

Bottom line is, to support a pro sports frnachise, you need a population with losts of discretionary income to blow on very expensive entertainment, and Detroit is losing that faster that Rosie Odonnel turns away from a treadmill.

It would be a shame, but of course it could happen someday.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

They shoudl move the arena to troy or plymouth, so the fans can have wings right in there back yard

[CrossoverThrash 0]

and the wings should get sponsorship form toyota

[Doc Holiday 0]

Exactly.

Who gives a s*** if the pizza industry is good, its not the kids that make the pizzas that buy all the18,000 Red Wing tickets every night, its the people that work in the auto industry. Illitch doesn't take pizza money and pay Lidstrom with it. He takes the money made from the Red Wings, with the vast majority of it from ticket sales.

ANd BTW, Little Ceasars has closed 2,000 restaurants since the early 90's and has dropped to fourth place behind Pizza Hut, Dominos and Papa Johns.

And its not the guys that just lost $1,000 at Motor City Casino (Another Illitch company) thats gonna buy tickets either.

The Red Wings were at a $16million operating loss just before the lockout.

Mike Illitch is going to be 80 years old next July. I doubt that Chris Illitch would ever move the team he grew up with...but stranger things have happened. Who knows what goes on at Illitch Holdings, Inc.

And Michigan's evconomy is NEVER going to be what it was under Engler, NEVER AGAIN.

Of course there is a chance of them moving someday, don't be such Homer's, my God, man. Denial aint just a river in Egypt ya know.

Of course we don't want that to ever happen, it would be a travesty. But the historic Cleveland Browns moved. The historic Brooklyn Dodgers moved, the New York Baseball Giants moved, lots of historic teams move.

Bottom line is, to support a pro sports frnachise, you need a population with losts of discretionary income to blow on very expensive entertainment, and Detroit is losing that faster that Rosie Odonnel turns away from a treadmill.

It would be a shame, but of course it could happen someday.

4th most valuable team in the ******* NHL last year.

If the NHL is going to get rid of a team that makes so much moolah and gives them such a huge fanbase they are out of their ******* minds.

Detroit isn't moving. Even when they don't sell out they make money.

[hallelujahlogic 1]

They shoudl move the arena to troy or plymouth, so the fans can have wings right in there back yard

yeah because heaven knows there aren't any detroit red wings fans that actually live in close proximity to detroit...

[YoungGuns1340 1]

yeah because heaven knows there aren't any detroit red wings fans that actually live in close proximity to detroit...

Dude...Troy is like 30 minutes down 1 75 from Detroit with traffic. I'd call that close proximity. What he likely means is that by nature of the area, if you're from troy or plymouth, youre probably doing better financially than some in Detroit.

[Guest Shoreline]

I'm originally from Windsor, Ontario which is almost a sub-urb of Detroit... I could see the JLA from one of my apartment Windows.

You should run for Stevie's position as VP.

Anyways, Wings stayed even in the worst of conditions in terms of filling the Joe (last I saw, the stands looked much worse than this), and on top of that weren't winning for crap. It makes far less sense to do so during an economic depression and when the team is still amongst the elite.

[Jwo 7]

They shoudl move the arena to troy or plymouth, so the fans can have wings right in there back yard

Or the fans can move to Detroit and have the wings in their back yard.

[wingslionstigers 12]

Hey T.Low

Is there something you dont understand about us being in the top 5 in the entire NHL on ticket sales THIS season?

[T.Low 1,011]

Hey T.Low

Is there something you dont understand about us being in the top 5 in the entire NHL on ticket sales THIS season?

Yes there is: How does that relate to the OP question of "Could they ever move?"

Of course they could. Most likely won't happen, but nothing stays the same forever.

I just watched the unlikely event of the Seattle Supersonics move to frikin Oaklahoma City. The Sonics have been a staple of Seattle sports for over 40 years, including a championship. Owned by a Seattle guy worth twice as much as ilitch. It all happenned in less than a year.

Don't get mad at me for pointing out the obvious. Remember the Los Angles Rams? The biggest market in all of Pro football with no team now...hmmm. Things happen, its business. Lets hope it never happens in Detroit.

Edited November 28, 2008 by T.Low

[OsGOD 3]

I think you guys are missing the guys point entirely, hes saying that if the Auto Companies go under then the Joe would not even come close to the attendance it has now. Now i don't think they would move, but it would put a lot of stress on the franchise. His point has nothing to do with Illitch's money, it's about the fans having no money.

i understand what you are getting at... or what he is getting at...

truth of the matter is all that would happen is Mr. Moneybags would have to lower ticket prices to reconcile them to the state of the ecomony. thus making it more affordable for out of town wing nation members to attend games

[BlakChamber 8]

I just watched the unlikely event of the Seattle Supersonics move to frikin Memphis Tennesee. The Sonics have been a staple of Seattle sports for over 40 years, including a championship. Owned by a Seattle guy worth twice as much as ilitch. It all happenned in less than a year.

The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City. It was the Vancouver Grizzlies that moved to Memphis.

[OsGOD 3]

Dude...Troy is like 30 minutes down 1 75 from Detroit with traffic. I'd call that close proximity. What he likely means is that by nature of the area, if you're from troy or plymouth, youre probably doing better financially than some in Detroit.

But in all truth i haven't met a single person at a game EVER that was from detroit... nobody in the city goes to games who are from down there... they all commute the 30-45mins. I would all be for an arena in plymouth right around compuware.. that would be a dream come true.. wings and whalers (illich and karmonos as neighbors) it would be a party!

[CrossoverThrash 0]

But in all truth i haven't met a single person at a game EVER that was from detroit... nobody in the city goes to games who are from down there... they all commute the 30-45mins. I would all be for an arena in plymouth right around compuware.. that would be a dream come true.. wings and whalers (illich and karmonos as neighbors) it would be a party!

exactly, 2 years ago i was at the game and there was not one sould walking around downtown in the afternoon, NOBODY, here in chicago everyone is walking around, but there was no body there. Very few people from det. city limits go to wings games, sure lots come from Windsor but still, the hockeytown within hockey town is Troy.

[T.Low 1,011]

The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City. It was the Vancouver Grizzlies that moved to Memphis.

Thanks, caught that too after I re read it. Made the change.

[wingslionstigers 12]

People come places other than Detroit. I would probably put money on atleast half the nightly attendance comes from places over 1-2 hours from Detroit. People including myself travel from the U.P. to go see Wings games. I know 4 or 5 people personally up here in the U.P. that have season tickets. Thats just people out of my little social circle i know good enough to be aware that they have season tickets. So whats that tell you? I can't even imagine how many people from the U.P. alone attend Wings games yearly.

Detroit's auto manufacturers going down arent ever going to make a big enough impact for anyone to ever consider moving the team over. Yes if the economy got alot worse its possible to hurt attendance to that degree but if the economy got THAT bad i think were going to have far greater concerns than about a hockey team.

[2probert4 8]

I'm originally from Windsor, Ontario which is almost a sub-urb of Detroit... I could see the JLA from one of my apartment Windows. Anyway I moved from the area 3 years ago because it was tough to find work then. With this recession hitting and the big 3 automotive dying it's gotten steadily worse and does not seem to be slowing down. Michigan and Southern Ontario are hurting really bad because of this as we all know. I have heard rumours that if GM goes bankrupt that the Wings will likely be moved. Please excuse my ignorance here but is this at all possible or is it just people freaking out and speculating this? I don't know if could cheer for the Winged Wheel anywhere else... losing an original 6 team, any original 6 team would suck so bad I don't know what more to say. Can anyone shed any light on this?

People who have no knowledge of the Wings finances are making wild speculations....

[2probert4 8]

exactly, 2 years ago i was at the game and there was not one sould walking around downtown in the afternoon, NOBODY, here in chicago everyone is walking around, but there was no body there. Very few people from det. city limits go to wings games, sure lots come from Windsor but still, the hockeytown within hockey town is Troy.

Lakeshore Drive (area) is a different story than downtown Detroit.....

[2probert4 8]

Never EVER take anything seriously by the idiots from HNIC. (At least not with more than a grain of salt). Ron/Kelly excluded I'd say.

Anyways simple answer. No. Never.

The idiots in Nashville seem to think this will happen, but yet they don't seem to think their hockey team is losing money and rumored to move elsewhere.

[evilmrt 636]

Impossible. It will never happen...the NHL could fold and the Wings would still exist in some form in Detroit (I hope they could figure out how to keep the name/logo).

That said, I could see the new arena being built somewhere other than the CITY of Detroit, but still within the metro area. However, I think things will have to get dramatically worse for that to even be discussed seriously. I expect the Joe to be renovated as a cheaper stop-gap until better things are on the horizon, economically. New arenas, in or out of the city limits, seem out of place in these times.

[Chelichic 12]

But in all truth i haven't met a single person at a game EVER that was from detroit... nobody in the city goes to games who are from down there... they all commute the 30-45mins. I would all be for an arena in plymouth right around compuware.. that would be a dream come true.. wings and whalers (illich and karmonos as neighbors) it would be a party!

I have friends that live in downtown and go to every game they can.