Quote:
Originally Posted by marsplasticeraser
Flames games aren’t sold out because the team is mismanaged. It’s why people don’t fill a theatre to watch a stinker of a movie.
It’s actually remarkable how many fans they get for such a terrible fan experience, and there are few other cities that would get the turnout Calgary does.
We have a terrible fan experience unless you like trucks on the concourse.
We have an on ice product that historically is amongst the worst in our league over the last 39 years.
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If the product were “that terrible” we wouldn’t sit on a website and talk or think about it. I have my well documented gripes about the NHL but in full honesty I’m not going to go away next year or the year after that. The NHL has consistently done things I hate and I’m still following hockey because I love hockey.
But I don’t know if Calgarians love hockey that much. I don’t really see the proof. The entertainment value isn’t really that bad and they aren’t selling out. The prices are competitive and the after market for tickets is struggling. This isn’t what it was in 2005 / 2006 and it’s not like Calgary is some special market more than any other. The truth is that winning is what matters to keep tickets sold and that’s true even for places like Calgary. So it’s not like Calgary is some unicorn light on the top of the hill. Calgarians don’t sell out the building, not even in a playoff run which was actually decently interesting/ exciting this year. Continuing declining attendance when the issue is not prices (or shouldn’t be, in observance for the average of pricing of the NHL product) is not a good look. Fans sitting around bitching about the Flames 24/7 (myself included haha) is not a good look. Outright refusing to support to build the arena is not a good look to an owner. And with all of these things, everyone has extremely valid and good viewpoints, many that I agree with- with regard to entertainment value or the arena. But do those things matter if it comes to keeping the Flames in Calgary? Would Calgarians look back and regret their previous position if it meant the Flames moved? I think so.