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Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Are you really trying to suggest that one of the most profitable teams in the NHL is going to somehow abandon one of the best markets in the NHL?
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There is no such thing as a good market if you don't have a good venue. How's that NHL team in Seattle doing?
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Last I checked, the Flames were still selling out.
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Last I checked, the Flames were still
announcing sellouts. Does anyone actually believe the official attendance figures?
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This argument is so disingenuous it poisons the whole conversation. The Saddledome isn't falling apart, it isn't decrepit, it isn't a safety hazard and it isn't preventing fans from coming to games. The flames are still wildly popular, still generate incredible operating income and are benefiting from the national rogers TV deal. The 'dome isn't even ugly!
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None of that is even remotely relevant. The big money at the NHL box office comes from luxury boxes and other amenities. The Saddledome is maxed out in both those areas, and far behind any arena built in the current century. It's the revenue-generating capacity that makes the difference to the owners – as any rational person would expect.
The Saddledome was badly designed from the get-go. Nine-tenths of NHL franchises are based in arenas where the designers did not make those mistakes.