REPORT: Flames' AHL Affiliate Moving To Abbotsford

[flamingpole]

The thing that bugs me about this is that the AHL affiliate would now be in the canucks region and who is to say that the canucks fans would come out to see the future of the Calgary Flames. I believe that the people in the city of abbotsford or vancouver will not be bothered to come out and watch our up and coming stars perform on a nightly basis, but thats just my feelings on this

[simmer2]

Originally Posted by Locke

I am usually one of the biggest proponents of "where theres smoke theres fire."

But I just dont see this happening. It seems very reactionary and Sutter and King aren't typically knee-jerk reaction kind of people.

Essentially, I dont think they're going to pull out of the QC so quickly, the experiment hasnt yet run its course.

It just seems rather hasty from a pair of usually patient people.

Bottom-line dollars need to be considered in this case though, and from a business standpoint the AHL Flames are going to sell more seats and will have more stability in Abbotsford than in Quad Cities. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by simmer2

Bottom-line dollars need to be considered in this case though, and from a business standpoint the AHL Flames are going to sell more seats and will have more stability in Abbotsford than in Quad Cities. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen.

True, I think it all depends upon potential. If they believe the operation can pick it up in the next few years then would the losses between then and now be less than the relocation costs and costs of trying to establish a new base of operations?

I'm thinking it would be negligent of the Flames not to explore opportunities, but kicking the tired is not the same as buying the car.

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by simmer2

Bottom-line dollars need to be considered in this case though, and from a business standpoint the AHL Flames are going to sell more seats and will have more stability in Abbotsford than in Quad Cities. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen.

the local qc ownership eats all the losses here, so really what does the business side matter? we could have 5 people show up, and you guys wouldn't lose a dime.



my opinion is this - we have lots of problems down here. i wish we had more solutions. with how quick omaha was abandoned, i wouldn't take anything past this year for granted. with that said, abbotsford is that last place any ahl team will end up next year. do you really think they are going to eat not only their huge travel costs, but the costs to fly teams there like they have promised?

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by flamingpole

The thing that bugs me about this is that the AHL affiliate would now be in the canucks region and who is to say that the canucks fans would come out to see the future of the Calgary Flames. I believe that the people in the city of abbotsford or vancouver will not be bothered to come out and watch our up and coming stars perform on a nightly basis, but thats just my feelings on this

The greater Vancouver area is a pretty big and populous area. There are many a transplanted Calgarian living in that region. I think you'd get some Calgary fans, some hockey fans and even a few Canucks fans who want cheaper local hockey.

[TheDragon]

Figured it was worth bumping this thread for this: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...483/story.html

Saw this article in the Calgary Herald this morning regarding the QC Flames possibly relocating to Abbotsford, the new arena there, and the 'controversy' about moving the Flames' AHL affiliate into enemy territory. Figured it was worth sharing, and I did a search and scanned through the threads to see if it had been posted by someone else, but didn't see anything. Apologies if it's fata.

In a similar vein, a group of five local business people in this farming community of 130,000, about 75 kilometres east of Vancouver, stands on the verge of landing the top minor-league affiliate of the Calgary Flames.

All the signs point to such an outcome. The ownership group in Quad Cities, Ill., said last week there's no point in absorbing $1.3 million in annual losses beyond this season-- unless some unknown corporate sponsor steps in to help out.

In a recession, that seems unlikely.

With average attendance of 2,810, the Quad City Flames rank 28th in the 29-team AHL.

Ownership seems pretty happy with the new facility, and most of the locals would welcome it with open arms. Probably safe to say it's a done deal should the QC Flames be forced to move, even though they're not really speculating on it.

Edit: Of course after posting this, I noticed dobbles thread here:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=69965
I guess it could have applied to either.

[QuadCityImages]

Except the AHL would still have to sign off on having a team so far away from every other team, and there's no guarantee that they would.

[JerzeeGirl]

From all I've seen, this would have to be initiated by QCSV....the penalties are quite stiff for the Flames to just walk away - and to absorb that expense a 2nd time (think they had to pay to leave Omaha - altho I could be wrong.....) in 3yrs would make little, if any sense.

It wouldn't surprise me if, in this economy, the folks running the business down in the QC chose to end the agreement with losses so large - but it also wouldn't surprise me to see the team stay for another year or 2.

Hate to see so many people just consider it a fait accompli when really it isn't yet.

[604flames]

A guy at our station had Ken King on the phone the other day, he said that it would be unfair to the people of Abbotsford to comment at all on the move rumours.

[pioneer98]

Originally Posted by JerzeeGirl

From all I've seen, this would have to be initiated by QCSV....the penalties are quite stiff for the Flames to just walk away - and to absorb that expense a 2nd time (think they had to pay to leave Omaha - altho I could be wrong.....) in 3yrs would make little, if any sense.

It wouldn't surprise me if, in this economy, the folks running the business down in the QC chose to end the agreement with losses so large - but it also wouldn't surprise me to see the team stay for another year or 2.

Hate to see so many people just consider it a fait accompli when really it isn't yet.

QCSV will get hit with a $700K penalty if they fail to put a team in the i wireless Center, which is half the costs of upgrading the building for the AHL. I don't think it has to be an AHL team, just a pro team. It may be an option for Calgary or Abbottsford to pay this penalty if they really want to move the team that bad.

In the meantime, QCSV is scrambling to find an investor to keep the Flames here, and are actually looking nationwide. It is a stiff proposition in this economy. No matter if the Flames return or if some other league comes in, they are going to have to do a better job of marketing to have a chance. They only need to look across the river to the River Bandits to get an idea of how minor league sports can work in this community if things are done right.

[QCPuckFan]

Just walked to lunch in downtown Moline, glanced over at the old John Deere Collector Center parking lot, and saw a camera crew pulling their equipment out of a vehicle with Ontario plates. Hmmm....hopefully they're doing a story on Deere, right?

[Bingo]

I wonder ...

http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_va.../40749593.html

[PIMking]

They are not going to abbotsford but if they do leave its going to be another city closer to other teams.

[dobbles]

for what its worth, there is a canadian documentary crew in town shooting something. it was a low level story a few days ago. maybe thats what the van was about.

[QuadCityImages]

Film crew explores closing of Deere plant in Canada -QCTimes

Lammert and his classmates have been interviewing Welland Works employees and their own city officials before hitting the road for a broader perspective. The Moline stop is part of a two-country road trip in which the crew is visiting various cities that have faced factory closings but managed to survive.

Before arriving late Tuesday in Moline for two days of shooting, the crew made stops in St. Thomas, Ontario, and Flint, Mich. — both of which have persevered despite plant closings.