Are flames fans concerned about the team leaving if the arena situation falls through

[nik-]

Originally Posted by kermitology

No.

It's an idle threat from both the NHL and CSEC to even suggest it. There are other markets that are in worse situations. If this is such a big deal to the NHL then they need to create an arena fund. It has to stop being paid for by the public.

This is just the same playbook run in basically every city for all the big four sports.

[Canadianman]

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

[SportsJunky]

Go ahead.

[Jason14h]

100% they move if they don’t get a new arena

It’s the timeline that would be the question , and it isn’t critical yet , but with every year that passes moves in that direction

Unless the city comes out and says no money for arena they are eventually going to work it out

[saillias]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

How many actual sell outs did the Flames have this year? Oilers? Leafs?

As a STH I struggled to give away tickets at times.

Agreed and same. It was a common conversation with my sth friends. Yet you go on social media and hear this narrative that why would the Flames ever change when the dang fans keep filling up the building! Not exactly. in total attendance we did ok because the dome has a large capacity, ranking 14th overall with 17,956 per game. But % capacity wasn't great at 93%. 9th from the bottom. I think CSEC would probably like higher attendance than that

[PepsiFree]

Edmonton making the playoffs has shown us that there are no shortage of Flames “fans” willing to jump ship to the Oilers, so I’m not sure it would be the biggest loss.

[Monahammer]

I personally don't believe the other owners would allow a move from Calgary.
But I would be ok if it happened at this point, it would be a way to finally escape the heel of current ownership.

There would be a case made to attract an expansion to Calgary in extremely short order, have to think our market metrics would easily put us front of line. We could all be excited about an expansion draft.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I personally don't believe the other owners would allow a move from Calgary.
But I would be ok if it happened at this point, it would be a way to finally escape the heel of current ownership.

There would be a case made to attract an expansion to Calgary in extremely short order, have to think our market metrics would easily put us front of line. We could all be excited about an expansion draft.

The last two expansion teams have within their first one or two seasons met or exceeded the level of a Flames roster that took almost a decade to build so I would be all over starting fresh with an expansion team.

[blankall]

The NHL is having attendance issues, so the solution is to move the Flames from a city that is habitually top 10 in attendance to a city that has already had two failed NHL teams?

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Yeah.

If the Arena deal isn't done (soon), I would expect the Flames to leave.

I don't think it will happen, but if an arena deal doesn't come together? Yeah, that only makes sense. They can't keep going in the Saddledome forever.

It is utter lunacy that replacing the Saddledome has not been a priority at any level of government.

This building was flooded up to the luxury boxes ten years ago. It is a relic. The city needs a new facility to host 18,000 person events, because the one they have is a structural liability.

Figure it out. Pick a spot and start digging.

Christ. Everyone has the money.

[undercoverbrother]

Honestly the older I get the less concerned I am about Calgary having an NHL team.

It's nice, but it's not a deal breaker for me by any means.

I don't want the Flames staying here if it means a horrible deal for the city.

[Ashes]

These last 12 months as a Flames Fan... please make the nightmare stop.

[JohnnyB]

I couldn't care less if they moved. I've only been back to Calgary a couple of times since my early twenties. They could play on the moon for all I care.

[madmike]

U.S. cities are much bigger suckers than Canadian cities when it comes to subsidizing sports teams and their billionaire owners.

That said, a team in Atlanta is never going to get the kind of fan support the Calgary Flames have. So I wouldn’t be that concerned.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by nik-

You should be banned for this avatar

who is it?

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

I couldn't care less if they moved. I've only been back to Calgary a couple of times since my early twenties. They could play on the moon for all I care.

Right, but independent of the Calgary Flames playing here, the Saddledome is a structurally unstable place that cannot continue to host 18,000 people a night in perpetuity.

The Calgary Flames represent the only opportunity to have someone else shoulder part of the cost - if they leave, the city still needs to build a new arena venue, and then they’d have to pay for it all themselves.

[dissentowner]

Edwards can't move the team, they have to exhaust a search for a new owner that will keep the team here first and there will be plenty of interest. The last thing I would worry about is the team moving.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

who is it?

Norman M. Edwards.

Better known by his middle name -- Murray.

[Torture]

Nice try Murray.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by madmike

U.S. cities are much bigger suckers than Canadian cities when it comes to subsidizing sports teams and their billionaire owners.

That said, a team in Atlanta is never going to get the kind of fan support the Calgary Flames have. So I wouldn’t be that concerned.

I'm not so sure that would always be correct.

Calgary came close to losing the team once. They've shown they won't support the team in every instance.

There may be a viable reason why the owners are scared to do a full tear down rebuild.

Calgary wasn't selling out every game this year. And the resale market is non-existent, except at a discount under season ticket prices.