5,000 people at Phoenix game

[tom webster]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=291015024

 

 

If nobody shows up, is there really a game going on?

 

This is the end, beautiful end, my friend.

 

Sorry, I'm bored waiting for my apppointment to show up....

[LabattBlue]

I flipped the game on(free CI preview :thumbsup: ) and the crowd during the first period looked equivalent to a crowd in the last minute of play of a 10-0 game where the home team is losing.

 

Bettman needs to get over his sun belt obsession and allow that team to be moved.

[nfreeman]

I'm going to take the contrarian view and predict the following:

 

1. the city & state provide major economic concessions, resulting in Reinsdorf or another buyer coming in and keeping the team in Glendale for at least a 5-year commitment.

 

2. the team putting together a pretty solid season in which they stay in the hunt for the 7th or 8th playoff spot.

 

3. once #1 happens, attendance rebounding to respectable levels.

 

So there.

[BetweenThePipes00]

I would tend to agree with nfreeman ... not because I think the non-traditional markets are working great or deserve to keep their teams in general, but Phoenix is just a huge TV market and the NHL can't afford to lose it. It's significantly bigger than Nashville or Raleigh-Durham and a little bigger than Miami ... Obviously Carolina isn't going anywhere but I think the NHL would rather lose Nashville or Miami than Phoenix.

 

Personally, I never had a problem with the NHL being a regional league ... but if we ever want the league to get something resembling a real TV deal and not have to deal with crap like the VS.-DirecTV thing, they need Phoenix.