Quote:
Originally Posted by kn
QC lost $2.5 million over two years or $1.25 million/yr. Not to be flippant, but isn't that chump change for 'have' NHL teams like Calgary? Abbotsford sure doesn't look like a good destination because of the rivalry with the 'Nucks and the horrible travel.
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The losses aren't Calgary's, they're the QC's.
If they wanted to, the Calgary owners could probably subsidize the QC owners, but with crappy attendance and the horrible marketing efforts by the QC ownership described in this thread, there's not really incentive for the Calgary team to keep the QC team propped up.
I don't know how the AHL/NHL partnerships usually work, but I'd guess that it costs the Calgary Flames roughly the same amount to have their AHL team in Omaha, Quad Cities, Abbotsford, or Balzac (Balzac would probably be the cheapest because the travel expenses when calling a player up from the farm would be much lower), and it would be up to the local ownership of the AHL franchise to sell the team to its local fan base and to make their money that way.
About whether or not the people of Abbotsford would support the Flames farm team, consider this: The Hamilton Bulldogs are the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, the biggest rival of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Copps Colesium is 66km from the Air Canada Centre. The new arena is Abbotsford is 72km from GM Place.
If the Bulldogs can get a solid level of support in Hamilton, there's no reason the Flames affiliate couldn't be successful in Abbotsford.
The only concern I would have with putting a team in Abbotsford is the obvious travel concerns.
I wonder what the Flames' "Plan B" is if the AHL rejects the move to BC?