Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire
Were you around for the 90's. The building was almost 1/3 empty for a good portion of it.
|
While there were empty seats, financial support for the Flames never necessarily cratered that badly. According to Hockeydb, the lowest the Flames average attendance at the Dome was 15,320 in 99-00. Obviously not everyone of those sold seats had butts in them, but I think that's actually a pretty solid floor for a team that sucked for a decade, and has been mediocre most of the last 30 years.
Just as a comparison, the Oilers bottomed out at 12,335 in the mid 90s. The Canucks bottomed out at 10,406 in the 80s.
I remember the Save The Fames Campaign and how a lot of us on CP pitched in for season tickets. While there was a threat to leave, I recall there being a lot more sympathy for the Flames position back then with the Canadian dollar and the disparity of wealth among teams in the league.