Now that we know all about the Coyotes, Thrashers, and the True North Corporation... how does it all fit?
We have a solid ownership group that wants a team, and two teams that aren't exactly looking to move, but are running out of options. Then the next question becomes... even if everything else fell into place, can Winnipeg support a professional team in the big leagues?
As much as folks from Winnipeg like to believe that they're "big time", the answer is NO! The idea of a NHL team is sexy, but it's just not sustainable. At $65-80 per ticket, and such a tiny pool of corporate sponsors to pull from, they might sell out the first season or two... but within five years they'd be floundering. The excuses would sound like: we might go to the games if we thought they had a chance to win, there's not enough Canadian content on the team, they've got to make the playoffs, they need to win more than one round, etc. The fact is, right now in the NHL there are a lot of excellent teams that either won't make the playoffs, or won't make it out of the first round. If you don't have 18,000 people that are willing to watch a "loser" game after game, season after season (like they do in Toronto), you're not going to survive. There's so many teams in the league, that you can't expect to win year after year (like they do in Detroit).
I love the idea, and if I thought that I'd ever go back to the area I'd like to imagine that I'd go to the games. That being said... it's a pipe dream. I wish that the media would let private business dealings remain private, and stop trying so desperately to get the hopes up of the poor average sap Winnipegger, that as much as he wants to, could never afford to take his family to more than two games per season anyway.
Just say NO - to bad financial decisions.
Stay tuned.
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