Wow! That would be a treat. Be great to have NHL back in Cleveland. I think Gilbert already has his next projects. Money talks. Lets see how adventurous he really is
I don't think there is any way Gilbert will bring the Jackets to Cleveland. Cleveland, I don't think could support an NHL team at the moment. Cleveland's economy has really been hit hard, unfortunatley. Besides, the Monsters have been doing well here, and we have a contract with still 2 years to go on it. He will probably renew the contract because otherwise he would have to sell the team to bring in the Jackets. He would also have to redo alot of the arena as it has now been decorated to suit the Monsters. I personally don't think this will happen. I don't want the NHL anyways, I think that we could support it. We need to show that we can sell out an AHL game before we can even think about an NHL team. I would LOVE to be wrong, and I'm not trying to be negative, I just don't think this will happen.
____________________________________________________________ Monsters for the Calder Cup!
I think it would be unfortunate to see the Blue Jackets leave Columbus. They are starting to come around, they made playoffs last year (even though that lasted 4 games).
____________________________________________________________ Windsor Spitfires-2009 Memorial Cup Champions!
i think it's not just the blue jackets that are in trouble there are more teams like the preds, isles, panthers, lightning, well we all know about the coyotes. some of these teams might eventually have to be moved, would i like to see columbus move up here, yes but i would also like to see them stay where they are. the other teams well besides the isles can go wherever they want, i really could care less. move the cav's hmmm.....
Posts: 1289 | Location: east side of cleveland | Registered: March 06, 2007
I dont get why hockey isnt more popular in cleveland. Its an exciting sport and there is always action to watch. I think people should come watch the monsters rather than the Browns. I just hope more fans start comming to monsters games. Its hard to say if more people will come out for an NHL game rather than an AHL game. Either way I think hockey is a great sport for cleveland AHL or NHL. I wish it was more popular then it is right now.
watching the browns, i would rather watch paint dry than watch that team so yeah i agree, plus the monsters are more affordable than the browns and the monsters have a better chance of winning than the browns do.
Posts: 1289 | Location: east side of cleveland | Registered: March 06, 2007
Did anyone watch that CBJ game in Atlanta last night, what a pathetic crowd. I mean there was no way they had more than 5,000 in the place, the upper bowl was empty and pockets of like 30+ empty seats all over. NHL.com has it at 10,878 in their dreams, not even close. I heard something where Atlanta has to average 10K in attendance this year or else??
Atlanta had a shot at this before with the flames and struck out big time, now they are doing the same thing again. In Cleveland we had NHL for like 1.5 years, it was a lame duck team playing out in Richfield during the blizzards of 1978. That in no way was a fair chance. Too many people in this town are afraid to talk about getting NHL here. With Gilberts success $$ from the Cavs and the new casino, never say never. I agree some other things need to come in place like the economy but in the overall picture it can be done. Does anyone think with Dan Gilbert owning The Cavs and an NHL team here that we would draw any worse than Atlanta, Florida, Phoenix???
Originally posted by tha hansons!: watching the browns, i would rather watch paint dry than watch that team so yeah i agree, plus the monsters are more affordable than the browns and the monsters have a better chance of winning than the browns do.
Agreed all around, hansons. But there are a couple of things that work in the Browns' and Indians' favor no matter how terrible they play:
(a) There's an emotional connection. People grew up with the Browns and Indians and have some very fond memories of them from the glory years.
(b) The majority of Clevelanders simply know more about football and baseball than they do about hockey. Youth hockey is pretty active around here, but it's still the same niche sport (some people might say a "clique" sport) it has always been, at least when compared with football and baseball.
I'm not saying NHL hockey wouldn't work around here -- I've been having that conversation with people for 20 years now -- I'm just saying that you're dealing with tough competition from other, more well-established sports teams in a town where the discretionary dollar is already stretched pretty tight.
Originally posted by KIMonsterfan: Did anyone watch that CBJ game in Atlanta last night, what a pathetic crowd. I mean there was no way they had more than 5,000 in the place, the upper bowl was empty and pockets of like 30+ empty seats all over. NHL.com has it at 10,878 in their dreams, not even close. I heard something where Atlanta has to average 10K in attendance this year or else??
Atlanta had a shot at this before with the flames and struck out big time, now they are doing the same thing again. In Cleveland we had NHL for like 1.5 years, it was a lame duck team playing out in Richfield during the blizzards of 1978. That in no way was a fair chance. Too many people in this town are afraid to talk about getting NHL here. With Gilberts success $$ from the Cavs and the new casino, never say never. I agree some other things need to come in place like the economy but in the overall picture it can be done. Does anyone think with Dan Gilbert owning The Cavs and an NHL team here that we would draw any worse than Atlanta, Florida, Phoenix???
The rivalries are already established in other sports and would no doubt carry over
Yeah I saw the CBJ game, that was a pretty lousy crowd. I don't think we would draw any worse than those teams. I'm still waiting for a preseason game, before any of this NHL team talk starts.
This is too bad. Its simply a bad lease agreement and tax situation for them. They get the crowd support. Its a great areana to watch a game. It would be a shame to see them have to pack up and leave, but I agree. There are more teams worse of than CBJ...
____________________________________________________________ Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass... Will somebody shoot the freakin' Puck!
that game is nothing new in atlanta last night, pretty soon they will lose their second nhl team, because they cannot have more than 5,000 in that building for hockey even during the weekend, i've heard the excuse of 7:00 starts but that is a lame duck excuse, its just that people in atlanta could care less about hockey.
Posts: 1289 | Location: east side of cleveland | Registered: March 06, 2007
I was just looking around at attendance numbers for Phoenix:
Nov. 2nd v. LA Kings 5855 Oct. 31 (a SATURDAY) vs. ANA 6495
There's more but we get higher attendance than that! The only reason that they have a 9k average is probably because of the first game where they sold out.
I don't think attendance would be that big of a problem, but long term success is what the league is looking for in my opinion. They don't want a team that dies out after a year or two.
____________________________________________________________ Windsor Spitfires-2009 Memorial Cup Champions!
I believe the Blue Jackets report was done by the city itself, so they are looking at ways to resolve the problem.
The thing about Columbus vs Cleveland and the economy is that while Columbus comes across as a larger city per capita, this is because of how the lines of incorporation are setup. Like most cities, Columbus includes its suburbs into its incorporation limits, which boosts taxes and population counts. Where Cleveland does not. This makes Cleveland look diminished when doing a numbers to numbers comparison. Given the population and economics of Cleveland based on Cleveland alone, we shouldn't be able to support an NFL, NBA, and MLB team, but we do. And we could easily support an NHL team, especially when compared to many other NHL leagues with shoddy attendance numbers.
You see this Casino get finished, and the Medical Mart get done, and the new high speed rail lines put in. And life is going to flow back into Cleveland.
____________________________________________________________ Kevin Host of Cleveland Sports Radio www.ClevelandSportsRadio.net
Posts: 297 | Location: North Royalton, OH | Registered: October 18, 2007
I like the idea of that division, but I'd hate to see Detroit move to the East, and there's no way Buffalo and Pittsburgh would move to the West.
Columbus draws regionally. Cleveland could as well. Columbus is a bigger city than Cleveland, but the metro area here is much larger. NHL fans tend to have higher education/income demographics, and Columbus makes more sense in that respect. But as much as I'd like to see the NHL in this market, our arena is big enough but still not good enough for an NHL game. They need to drop the floor a foot or so - the boards should be about knee level for the first row if you want visibility in an arena.
Posts: 898 | Location: Akron | Registered: November 26, 2007
