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KC_PENS_FAN wrote:I just want some kind of hockey here for gods sake.
K2 wrote:If you can't sell out on dollar beer night, you are in trouble
Nailers wrote:
On a side note, the Nailers used to put their players in an apartment complex in a nice part of town...the players trashed it and were evicted...
Bathgate wrote:Wheeling simply does not have enough population. There are only about 150,000 in the metro area. That is very tiny for any professional sports team. If Wheeling has a hockey future, it might be in the NAHL, a Tier II junior circuit.
As someone else opined, the Pens should move their AA operations to Youngstown. It has a very nice new 5,500 seat arena. The Youngstown metro population is five times that of Wheeling. The economy there is probably terrible, but the population is AAA size. They recently lost a CHL team, but all their opponents were so far away that there could be no rivalries. The ECHL could be a big hit there.
Keith wrote:Bathgate wrote:Wheeling simply does not have enough population. There are only about 150,000 in the metro area. That is very tiny for any professional sports team. If Wheeling has a hockey future, it might be in the NAHL, a Tier II junior circuit.
As someone else opined, the Pens should move their AA operations to Youngstown. It has a very nice new 5,500 seat arena. The Youngstown metro population is five times that of Wheeling. The economy there is probably terrible, but the population is AAA size. They recently lost a CHL team, but all their opponents were so far away that there could be no rivalries. The ECHL could be a big hit there.
Youngstown has a team in the NAHL, the Phantoms. They are currently in first place, play competitive teams including the US National team, have local kids on the team and the ticket prices are reasonable.
They play in the new arena that you mention and nobody shows up. If they won't support that team, why would they support an ECHL team?
K2 wrote:Keith wrote:Bathgate wrote:Wheeling simply does not have enough population. There are only about 150,000 in the metro area. That is very tiny for any professional sports team. If Wheeling has a hockey future, it might be in the NAHL, a Tier II junior circuit.
As someone else opined, the Pens should move their AA operations to Youngstown. It has a very nice new 5,500 seat arena. The Youngstown metro population is five times that of Wheeling. The economy there is probably terrible, but the population is AAA size. They recently lost a CHL team, but all their opponents were so far away that there could be no rivalries. The ECHL could be a big hit there.
Youngstown has a team in the NAHL, the Phantoms. They are currently in first place, play competitive teams including the US National team, have local kids on the team and the ticket prices are reasonable.
They play in the new arena that you mention and nobody shows up. If they won't support that team, why would they support an ECHL team?
I love hockey, but I'm not paying to go see a NAHL team on a regular basis. I'd pay the extra money and drive the extra distance to see the game played professionally. IIRC, they supported the Steelhounds fairly well and that's a step down from the ECHL, plus it's unaffiliated. Put a Pens AA team in Youngstown and I'm sure that would generate some excitement
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