Quote:
Originally Posted by N-E-B
The Flames make way too much money off of the Hitmen to just fold them for an AHL team. It's pure profit and an AHL team would surely mean the end of the Hitmen. I think the crowds would be about the same as the Hitmen, with similar ticket prices. The only problem is the Flames have to pay the players and they don't have to pay the Hitmen players (unless you count $400-$600 a month paying them). They can profit from an AHL team elsewhere and keep the Hitmen money. To essentially eliminate one of your biggest money-makers would be stupid.
That said, I too would much rather watch AHL hockey over WHL games and would be all for folding the Hitmen for a team. I just don't see how it would make sense for the Flames to do that.
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I think you vastly underestimate the loyalties of junior hockey fans. Given the choice between the two, most will stick with the Hitmen. It would be the AHL team as interlopers that would struggle. And they would struggle with far greater operational costs than the WHL. They would steal some fans - and therefore profit - but your best case is probably the AHL team still fails while you create unnecessary risk to your WHL and NLL properties.