Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
Yet Buffalo, New Jersey, Anaheim, Ottawa and Florida (for many years) do have the fanbase and economy to do this?
In 2019-2020, the Flames were 6th/31 in average attendance. In fact, from 2010 to 2020, the Flames were 6th/7th almost every year.
All of the other teams I just listed were in the bottom 12 last year.
Even Edmonton doesn't compare to Calgary economically.
Calgary's total GDP in 2021: 129,953
Edmonton's total GDP in 2021: 96,107
Calgary economy is more than 30% larger... In fact, Calgary's GDP is almost as high as the metro-Vancouver area (145,892).
If the team doesn't want to rebuild, it's an ownership problem, not a fanbase/city problem. |
I agree that it's definitely an ownership problem if the Flames are moved, but let's not underplay the fact that there are a number of large US cities that are "untapped" markets for hockey in the US.
If we're only looking at GDP, Calgary is on par with middleweight US metro areas like Columbus, Nashville, Las Vegas, and San Antonio - somewhere around the 35-40th most economically powerful metro area in the US.
If push came to shove and the NHL or Edwards felt like the long-term investment wasn't worth it, approval would easily be given to move the team to Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, Portland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, or somewhere else.
It would be stupid to move the Flames, but Bettman and Edwards are both incredibly petty (albeit successful) businessman that would move a team based on principle.