Just call me Eklund...
by Hopfenkopf on Dec 8, 2009 12:28 AM MST
17 comments
Found this on the LEM site whilst cruising for prospect info [wherefore art thou Jori???] and found it intriguing to say the least. What would you denziens of Denver say to an AHL franchise in the Metro with an obvious relation to the Avs?
The ownership of the Eagles and CHL have done a bang up job with a really good minor league team (whose affiliation, I'll just come out and say, I'd rather see made to COL than shared with some other NHL franchise in F*&^ing North Carolina for Pete's sake!) and filling the arena etc.
Would this be too much hockey for too small a population base? Is this the only hope of those of us not wielding corporate expense account power to get to see pro hockey at less than Christmas+Birthday+Vacation prices?
Whaddya think folks? Any help confirming my E9++superdeluxewithcherriesontop is sincerely appreciated.
Fair Disclosure - my desire to see Brett Clark skate for a team that pays him in McDonald's gifts certificates is one of the primary motivators in my posting this.
Oh yeah, and I kinda like hockey.
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Colorado's Minor league team
I always thought it was better for a minor league team to be closer to the parent club, as I think having the Avs farm club in Cleveland makes no sense. (It makes a lot more sense to have Detroit or Columbus’ farm club there.)
The problem with having it in Broomfield is that it seems like it might be a little hockey saturation (for the market, not me. I’d love to go to those games) with DU, the Eagles, & the Avs all getting significant local press.
I’d love to see the farm club in the springs to be honest, but I’m not so sure Co. Springs is a good hockey market. When I lived there in college they had the Gold Kings, and they didn’t do so hot. Maybe an affiliation to the Avs would help.
I always thought the avs would do well to adopt the Utah Grizzlies as the farm club too. People here remember them fondly (in fact the Grizzlies success in Denver helped convince people to bring the Avs here), and I think they are doing well in Salt Lake. It would really help build the Avs fan base semi-locally as well.
The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
I went to a Gold Kings game once or twice when I lived in the Springs. I don’t think the issue is really a lack of hockey interest there, I certainly knew enough Avs fans in the area.
The problem is really where the local government decided to build the arena. Part of the location question was based on the decision by the Broadmoor Resort to close their ice rink to expand the hotel and conference grounds in 1993. The ice arena was used heavily by people training for figure skating, and they wanted to keep a facility in that general area to service that. So the new Colorado Springs World Arena was built on the south end of the city, probably with the expectation that it would drive growth in that part of town.
It failed pretty miserably in that goal. The area around the arena had some minimalls and hotels spring up around it, but everything else within a couple blocks is the same. By the time you see the arena driving down I-25 South, you feel like you’re leaving the city.
All the population growth in the Springs happened on the north end, and from there, you can get to Denver in about 45 minutes (the way I drive anyway). Getting to the CSprings arena from the north side might take you 25-30 minutes. Point being, if they had built it elsewhere in town, they might have managed a more built-in audience for the Gold Kings.
It’s a shame really, because the complex is a really nice facility generally, with 3 rinks total.
Colorado Avalanche: Preventing itchy playoff beards since '09
by FiveJeffFingerDiscount on Dec 8, 2009 7:47 PM MST up reply actions
I know it’s nice. I had my graduation there.
And I agree with everything you said. A team would have done a lot better had an arena been built up off of Powers (I think it’s powers) on the east end of the city.
The New Improved Avalanche. Now with Real Coaches!
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Dec 8, 2009 8:29 PM MST up reply actions
What did you get paid to make this up? No, then you’re no Ek.
With the Rage defunct (Note to self: I need to use that word more often) I’m not sure the metro area is big enough for two hockey teams. Winsor may be a far enough away. What do they draw normally compaired to the average AHL team?
Jesus Saves! Duchene gets the rebound and scores!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:31 AM MST reply actions
The Eagles are usually at 90%+ capacity in their +/-5,000-6,000 arena. AHL arena vary wildly in size. LEM plays in the same arena as the Cleveland Cavaliers, so capacity there is like 20,000. Adirondack (formerly Philly Phantoms) and CGY’s new flying Cumiskeys franchise have capacities of about 5K-6K.
Even if LEM doesn’t want to move from Cleveland (and I could truthfully see that), the affiliation agreement apparently is coming up soon and there are other opportunities, be it a new AHL franchise, or even resuscitating and relocating the Iowa Chops, for example, who are currently in the same state as the Rage (not operating, but not officially disbanded either).
2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche - Time to grow a pair, boys!
The Eagles really capitalized on the NHL lockout
For hockey games, the Bud Center holds 5,189, if memory serves.
Prior to this season, the Eagles signed an agreement to be a secondary affiliate of the Lightning. I don’t know how long the agreement is for. When they first started, I’m fairly certain that they were an affiliate of the Penguins, but that only lasted one year.
"I intend to kick your ass today." - Denver Broncos legend Tom Jackson
Thanks for the seating updates. Eagles’ website was decidedly unhelpful in that regard. Looking at the websites for both the Eagles and TBL, I see no indication that they have an affiliation (doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but I’d be pretty quick to promote that if I were the Eagles).
2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche - Time to grow a pair, boys!
FTR, their website sucks
Though they do have a nice video corner, though.
The Lightning’s website doesn’t have it either for some reason, but they are affiliated. The Lightning and Coyotes actually played a preseason game at the Bud Center in September after the affiliation became official this summer.
I lied. The Bud Center holds 5,289, not 5,189. Close enough, I guess.
Finally, if memory serves again, I’m fairly certain that the Avalanche had an affiliation with the Arizona Sundogs of the CHL for a year. In fact, I seem to remember a goaltender that the Avs acquired from the Ducks, I believe, named Michael Wall playing for the Sundogs. I think that was 2006-2007, the year the Eagles last one the championship. I’m pretty sure that the Sundogs became affiliated with the Coyotes the following year.
"I intend to kick your ass today." - Denver Broncos legend Tom Jackson
a lot of people talk about the avs affiliating with the very successful colorado eagles here in fort collins…i don’t see it. the eagles are successful because they win, and when you become an affiliate you lose that ability to play to win all the time.
i could see the eagles switching to the ECHL and becoming a 2nd tier affiliate, but i don’t see the market for a AHL farm club in Colorado.
Do you think fans would be more tolerant of having an affiliate team if it was near the parent team? I think it would drive me crazy to be a LEM fan, because some pro team half a country away steals your best players. On the flip side, if I were a Denver Monsters fan and Chris Durno got called up to the Avs, I wouldnt mind it at all.
Thats the same thing that happened here with the Chicago Wolves. When they were in the old IHL…they were constantly winning, they were two time Turner Cup champs, and were always a contender. Then they moved to the AHL, and while they were winning at first, they took on affiliation with the Thrashers, and started to drop. They missed the playoffs for the first time in their history..and although Atlanta let them stack things up for a Calder Cup in 2008…they missed the playoffs again the following year, and aren’t so hot this year either.
There were days where the Wolves were actually outselling the Blackhawks when it came to tickets…and now (outside of some weekend games where they could get 10-11 thousand into the AllState Arena)…weekday games usually have about 3-4 thousand, and that’s being generous (tickets sold).
The attendance for the Wolves/Monsters game I was just at in Chicago had an announced attendance of 4420…but I doubt that even 3 thousand were actually in the building.
I agree, I’d love to see some of the guys “make it big” and even to be able to more easily keep tabs on the guys developing in the minors by actually hitting a game now and then.
I’d agree that a secondary affiliation would be the best way to work with the Eagles. I’ll admit to not having seen much in the way of ECHL games, but is that league really of higher quality than the CHL? In my limited experience, I don’t think so. There are several (Albany, Hartford) AHL to CHL affiliations currently.
A couple of corrections to my post above – apparently, the Bud holds 7,200 people and has been sold out every game since it opened in 2003. I still think that there is opportunity to bring an AHL franchise to the Broomfield Events Center and make it work well with the Avs as the parent club.
2009-2010 Colorado Avalanche - Time to grow a pair, boys!
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