Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowlord
I dunno. The Flames had the chance to put their farm team in Calgary a couple of years ago when the deal with Abbotsford expired.
It didn't happen then, someone can enlighten me as to why.
My complete guess is that the population of Calgary can't support the Flames, Hitmen and the Heat, and also the travel issues since (I believe) Abbotsford was the western-most AHL team by a long stretch. This was somewhat remedied by creating an "all-California" division where multiple AHL teams were moved Westward. It reduces travel between teams if they're closer together (remember that AHL teams will sometimes travel by bus).
On the plus side, putting the AHL team in Calgary makes call-ups a lot easier without having to worry about quarantine crossing the Canada/US border. Might also allow some of the younger AHL players to get some exposure to the NHL vets.
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Average attendance in Stockton was 3,690 and I'm guessing average ticket price at about $25.00 factoring in discounts. That's about $92,250 average gate per game.
If the Flames decided to sell tickets at a low price to target kids and schools and minor hockey associations, how low could they go to hit that $92,250 per game gate?
Could they sell tickets at $10 per and attract 9,225 fans per game? A family of 3 (say one parent and two kids) could maybe have a decent night out for $50 (including parking and concessions). Dinner for 3 at McDonald's is about $30 alone so and extra $20 and you get to watch some hockey seems good to me. Season tickets of $1,750 for 3 seats?
I might consider that but only because I like watching Flames prospects. Is the hockey market here big enough? I feel like Edmonton could probably support that since they are already paying a tonne for an AHL team, not sure about Calgary.