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Originally Posted by The Original FFIV
I love when people use the population argument against Saskatoon and Saskatchewan as a whole. By this logic, there is absolutely no way a nfl franchise should exist in Green Bay yet somehow it does. Green Bay has a population of 100k with a metro of 360k. Yet Phx has a metro pop of 7-8 million and they can't fill the arena. Yes, it is in Glendale but would it really be better in downtown Phx? And what would be the real attendance not factoring in the out of towers?
Saskatchewan is booming if you haven't noticed and while the population hovers around a million, a good proportion of them are hockey fans. Saskatoon/Regina are half the population and Regina is only 2-2 1/2 hrs from Saskatoon. Farmers set their own hours, especially in winter so getting home late isn't an issue. With all the mining/oil activity there should be enough corporate support to buy boxes.
While it may not be the sexiest market, believe it could succeed if given a chance and if enough US markets fail, the Board of Governors and NHLPA would prefer relocation to contraction.
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One league has games once a week. Look at how the Roughriders get draws. Fans only have to come once a week, and about 2-3 times a month.
Getting night after night solid turnouts would be difficult for a minimum of 41 games over a 182 day period (6 months), whereas 9/10 (not exactly sure) games minimum over 123 day period (4 months).
Calgary and Edmonton are small markets, just having a metro over 1 million. Winnipeg is less than that, making it an even smaller market. Regina and Saskatoon is even less than Winnipeg market; and Winnipeg is in tough to make dough already because of that and other factors. A team in Saskatchewan has no shot under current conditions.