I do t know if you can compare Seattle's love for NBA basketball to Calgarians love for NHL hockey. And Seattle obviously has other major league sports to turn to.
As for how the Flames would relocate, of course they'd be sold to a new owner. I do t think anyone doubts that, nor does it change the debate at all.
There have been multiple posters who think “they” (the Flames group) will move the team, so I think it’s notable to point out that it would be unlikely. A sale could just as easily happen to a group that wants to keep them in Calgary as a group that wants to move them and the NHL would obviously prefer that.
I'm in San Diego this weekend and you would not believe the somber folks out here in their chargers gear. Everyone is just mopey. Feels like they lost a part of the coty. Totally dead. No one is spending many money. I bet this city is gone in a year or two.
I'm in San Diego this weekend and you would not believe the somber folks out here in their chargers gear. Everyone is just mopey. Feels like they lost a part of the coty. Totally dead. No one is spending many money. I bet this city is gone in a year or two.
I suspect you are right. Really nothing to do in San Diego now that Chargers are gone. I heard several of the airlines have stopped flying there.
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As a Seattle resident and former Sonics fan who lost him team and does not want to steal another city's team, I thought I would post a couple of thoughts.
1. Flames fans will be totally OK if the Flames leave.
When the Sonics left Seattle I switched my basketball purchases for ice hockey. I now have a season ticket package for the WHL Everett Silvertips with money left over. Other people in Seattle started going to Major League Soccer games, and Seattle now averages higher attendance than many of the big European teams.
I doubt the Flames will leave Calgary. But if they do you will find other things to do with your pocket money. A surplus of disposable income to spend on entertainment is never going to be a problem in a major city like Calgary.
2. Calgary will be totally OK if the Flames leave.
When the Sonics left Seattle, Key Arena went from making a loss to a profit because the team had to pay off the remaining debt on the arena. The arena now has no anchor tenant and hosts smaller events like our music festival (Bumbershoot), the WNBA, college basketball, exhibitions like Roger Federer vs John Isner, and concerts. But it does so at a profit, whereas it was forced to eat a loss when the Sonics were here and would have lost even more money with a publicly funded arena.
Again I doubt the Flames will leave your city. But if they do then Calgary should be able to operate the Saddledome at a profit. That's because NBA and NHL teams (including the Flames) usually have better deals that the smaller acts like concerts that they displace. Calgary ought to be able to get more tax revenue from non-NHL events at the Saddledome.
EDIT: I forgot to add a third issue . . .
3. The Flames are only likely to move if they get bought out. Seattle loved the Sonics and years after they left the team was still selling more merchandise than a handful of active teams in the NBA. Oklahoma has done a good job of supporting the relocated Thunder, but the team has still lost a lot of money from the move.
The Sonics/Thunder moved because they were purchased by an Oklahoma ownership group that wanted a team in their hometown more than they cared about making money.
I think the same thing is true for the Flames. Calgarians provide the Flames with more support than they would get in any American city. The team is only likely to relocate to Seattle if they are first purchased by a Seattle-based ownership group that cares more about owning a team in Seattle than in having a stable and profitable NHL franchise.
I would normally agree with most of this post but the situations are completely different. There is no fall back Team to choose. There is also only a small chance of "other events coming to Calgary" when there is a big shiny stadium a few hours north that is supported by the government and city as well as being surrounded by new and attractive establishments. To think that a major tennis, soccer, concert or trade show would choose Calgary over Edmonton is quite laughable......and I hate Edmonton. I am not saying Calgary would die without the Flames but I am saying it would be completely different than it was when Seattle lost the Sonics.
The city Calgary with its current roster of events of the Flames left and the city took the entertainment contract back probably makes more money than now without adding any new events.
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I would normally agree with most of this post but the situations are completely different. There is no fall back Team to choose.
From the perspective of providing family entertainment a minor league team is just as good as a major league team. And the truth is that concerts, Disney on Ice, etc are usually more profitable for arenas anyway.
Quebec's WHL team averages almost 14,000 attendance. Without the Flames the Hitmen should have similar numbers. And then Calgary could add a minor league basketball team if it wishes to.
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From the perspective of providing family entertainment a minor league team is just as good as a major league team. And the truth is that concerts, Disney on Ice, etc are usually more profitable for arenas anyway.
Quebec's WHL team averages almost 14,000 attendance. Without the Flames the Hitmen should have similar numbers. And then Calgary could add a minor league basketball team if it wishes to.
Are you referring to the QMJHL Quebec Ramparts? The same team that play in a state of the art arena built in 2015?
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There have been multiple posters who think “they” (the Flames group) will move the team, so I think it’s notable to point out that it would be unlikely. A sale could just as easily happen to a group that wants to keep them in Calgary as a group that wants to move them and the NHL would obviously prefer that.
People that say the Flames would move are just using shorthand for a sale, for the most part. I haven't heard anyone claim that relocation would occur with the same owners.
As for another group buying the team and keeping it here, there's pretty much no way that happens without an arena deal.
Last edited by GioforPM; 09-24-2017 at 11:34 AM.
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I'm in San Diego this weekend and you would not believe the somber folks out here in their chargers gear. Everyone is just mopey. Feels like they lost a part of the coty. Totally dead. No one is spending many money. I bet this city is gone in a year or two.
Why? The Raiders are 2-0. There's more Raiders fans in San Diego than Chargers fans anyway.
