Wenatchee, edited 05/15/08

05-13-08
About the coach...
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/SPORTS/970179898/1001

Last edited by WFHockeyFan on Thu May 15, 2008 4:12 pm; edited 5 times in total

Do the people who are going to run the Wenatchee franchise serious about icing a team for the '08-'09 season? 5 months before the season starts and they have nothing. Sure, they can go out and scout players, but they have nothing to sign them to.

Off the ice, how can they promote the team, sell advertising, tickets or anything if they don't have a franchise? Or if they do find a way to sell those things, how much good will and trust do they lose if the team does not take the ice after all?

At this point in time, if Wenatchee is going to have a hockey team at any level in any league, they need to realize they'd be much better off to wait for the '09-'10 season. They're asking for trouble and lots of it to push for an '08-'09 start.

hows wenathee , is it some kind of winnabego or something , i need to buy oneforthe starsparty next time next staton

Star-stud wrote:

hows wenathee , is it some kind of winnabego or something , i need to buy oneforthe starsparty next time next staton

Do I smell a job opportunity out there Heis?

pulling the plug...
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080423/NEWS04/613929564/0/NEWS90

The Bandits hit the ice with just a few months warning when they entered the league. It CAN be done.

Yup, it can... just ask the folks in Tupelo...

Stephen Heisler wrote:

The Bandits hit the ice with just a few months warning when they entered the league. It CAN be done.

The only way they made this happen was the St. Louis connection in their Ownership Group. Chase and Hull are St. Louis icons and can get Corporate support just by asking, lots of it.

mctopeka wrote:

Stephen Heisler wrote: The Bandits hit the ice with just a few months warning when they entered the league. It CAN be done. The only way they made this happen was the St. Louis connection in their Ownership Group. Chase and Hull are St. Louis icons and can get Corporate support just by asking, lots of it.

Actually, I think he was referring to the Texarkana Bandits.....

You know, the ones that could not survive without him....

bp

My bad. I stand corrected.

I thought this was interesting:

Quote:

"In order for his group to break even Flynn said, the team would have to average more than 2,000 fans per game. He said only one team in the 17-team league, of which the franchise would be a part, averages that many fans per game."

First, 2 teams averaged over 2,000 - and WF was close with 1,890.

Hell, the league required them to have 1,000 season tickets. If they were so sure they could get 1,000 season tickets, they should have anticipated total attendance getting close to 2,000 a game.

Also, did these guys really expect to put a new team out in the middle of nowhere (in terms of the NAHL footprint) and break even with less than 2,000 fans a game?

Quote:

"When we ran the numbers for what Global came back with for a lease, factoring in the average attendance for the league, we would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year," Flynn said.

Lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with the average NAHL attendance of about 1,000 a game? Yep, welcome to junior hockey.

Something tells me these guys did not think this out very well. Ok, I have thought that all along, but their quotes in the paper about breaking even in this venture kind of solidify that thinking.

5-3-08
The saga continues...
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080503/NEWS04/292982749

Nice...

does nobody remember the Rustlers' inaugural season? Played all away games until Jan because we had no place to play. And once they came home, the place was sold out on most occasions. It can be done. Best of luck to all involved.

WFhockeyfan07 wrote:

does nobody remember the Rustlers' inaugural season? Played all away games until Jan because we had no place to play. And once they came home, the place was sold out on most occasions. It can be done. Best of luck to all involved.

Sold out on most occasions? Uh........NOOOOOOOO. A few occasions maybe. Most? No.

Jrhockeyfan wrote:

WFhockeyfan07 wrote: does nobody remember the Rustlers' inaugural season? Played all away games until Jan because we had no place to play. And once they came home, the place was sold out on most occasions. It can be done. Best of luck to all involved. Sold out on most occasions? Uh........NOOOOOOOO. A few occasions maybe. Most? No.

Oh it was definitely MOST, the wife had to make trips to the coliseum early in the week or you couldn't get tickets. (Those days are long gone...lol)

WFHockeyFan wrote:

Oh it was definitely MOST, the wife had to make trips to the coliseum early in the week or you couldn't get tickets. (Those days are long gone...lol)

Attendance was very good that first year, there's no doubt. People that year made sure they got their tickets early to ensure the best seats. But most games sold out? No. Not by a long shot.

Jrhockeyfan wrote:

WFHockeyFan wrote: Oh it was definitely MOST, the wife had to make trips to the coliseum early in the week or you couldn't get tickets. (Those days are long gone...lol) Attendance was very good that first year, there's no doubt. People that year made sure they got their tickets early to ensure the best seats. But most games sold out? No. Not by a long shot.

I'll stand by what I said. We live here.

Of course I'll add a quailifier, as we both know, Sunday and weekday games wouldn't sell out. I'm talking weekend games. "Most" would imply over half. If it wasn't over half it was real close. And that's no long shot.

2004-05 WF Attd #'s Wichita Falls 54,552 28 1,948