Quote:
Originally Posted by FireGilbert
The NHL should do something even if it means taking a loss for a few years. They are missing out potential hard core supporters from half of society. Yeah it’s a big risk but they need to try something.
The teams need to be linked to NHL teams to have any success. No one cares about the Inferno but call them the Calgary Flames, put them in the same jerseys, give them a part of the marketing power, and play a few games as double headers before NHL exhibitions and all of a sudden it has legitimacy. You’d get young girls who are maybe casual fans really into the game and they would also gain instant support from die hard Flames fans both male and female.
AFLW is the model to follow. It went from playing one exhibition game per year to 16 teams with 50k crowds in 3 years.
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On the AFLW: That is a massive misrepresentation. They drew 50k
once, for the Grand Final. And while that is obviously extremely impressive, it's the peak moment for the sport. Women's hockey will sell out NHL arenas for the Olympic Gold Medal game, which is the peak moment for women's hockey.
That said, the AFLW teams drew crowds - in a 10 team league, not 16 - that is roughly equivalent to what junior hockey draws here. Most teams in the 2-4,000 range and a couple in the 9k range. On a season where every team plays only three or four home games. Also, 6 of the 10 teams play in the same city, which certainly helps travel costs.