NHL Winter Classic

[BoulderGrad]

Originally Posted by koolio

Damn ... if this game will truly have a capacity of 115,000 and involve the Red Wings and the Leafs, it can probably make as much gate revenue as the Superbowl. The biggest hockey franchise in the US vs. the biggest hockey franchise in Canada. Shrewd move by the NHL.

Depends how you mean 'biggest'. The most valuable US team is the Rangers. Detroit is 2nd among US teams, 4th overall.

Also, gate revenue is a very tiny portion of the pot that is TV contracts and advertising revenue. Its more the spectical of over 100,000 watching the game that makes the Big House part of the equation

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by koolio

Damn ... if this game will truly have a capacity of 115,000 and involve the Red Wings and the Leafs, it can probably make as much gate revenue as the Superbowl. The biggest hockey franchise in the US vs. the biggest hockey franchise in Canada. Shrewd move by the NHL.

Doubt it. It would take someone to look up the prices of recent years but I would be shocked if Super Bowl tickes are no less then four times the price of winter classic tickets on average and I think that is conservative.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by BoulderGrad

Depends how you mean 'biggest'. The most valuable US team is the Rangers. Detroit is 2nd among US teams, 4th overall.

Also, gate revenue is a very tiny portion of the pot that is TV contracts and advertising revenue. Its more the spectical of over 100,000 watching the game that makes the Big House part of the equation

well, thats according to Forbes and we know how reliable they are with all their bullshit lists.

[koolio]

Originally Posted by BoulderGrad

Depends how you mean 'biggest'. The most valuable US team is the Rangers. Detroit is 2nd among US teams, 4th overall.

Also, gate revenue is a very tiny portion of the pot that is TV contracts and advertising revenue. Its more the spectical of over 100,000 watching the game that makes the Big House part of the equation

Well I did specify gate revenue didn't I? Obviously the SuperBowl has an incomparable TV and advertising revenue stream.

In addition, I don't doubt that the Rangers are worth more financially, simply because they are based in Manhattan. But the Red Wings have the biggest fanbase in the country and they usually have support everywhere they play. The Rangers fanbase is probably only around the tri-state region.

[JYDA]

Originally Posted by koolio

But the Red Wings have the biggest fanbase in the country and they usually have support everywhere they play. The Rangers fanbase is probably only around the tri-state region.

They've also been unable to sell out a lot of their playoff games.

[scolls]

Originally Posted by JYDA

They've also been unable to sell out a lot of their playoff games.

Who? The Red Wings are currently 4th in the NHL in attendance and have been at 100.9% capacity.

In terms of overall attendance (home and road) the Red Wings are second in the NHL.

[Darloeye]

Think he is talking about the Rangers

[massp88]

Just because a team has a high value, doesn't mean they have a massive, nationwide fan base.

[JYDA]

Originally Posted by scolls

Who? The Red Wings are currently 4th in the NHL in attendance and have been at 100.9% capacity.

In terms of overall attendance (home and road) the Red Wings are second in the NHL.

It's good to see it's rebounded. A couple of years ago it was starting to slilp and playoff games had "swaths of empty seats".

WHAT HAPPENED TO HOCKEYTOWN?

By JOHN D. STOLL
DETROIT -- After a dozen years of serving as the signature of the Motor City's sports fever, Hockeytown appears to have caught a cold.

First conceived in 1996 as a marketing slogan aimed at revving up Detroit Red Wings fans starving for a Stanley Cup, Hockeytown evolved into part of the hardscrabble city's identity. Along the way, the team collected three championships. But after a generation of sellouts, the franchise is struggling to re-establish itself.


Getty Images
Red Wings stars like Pavel Datsyuk have shined despite plenty of empty seats close to the ice.
.Even though their team posted the National Hockey League's best regular-season record in 2007-08 and needs one win to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, die-hard fans like Curt Catallo are staying away. Mr. Catallo has been taking in Detroit Red Wings hockey games for most of his life from third-row seats at Joe Louis Arena, and his presence there during past playoff runs was a given. But this year, although his team is on a tear, Red Wings tickets have gotten too expensive for him.

For the second round of the playoffs, Mr. Catallo's family's six seats were priced at $215 apiece, up from the regular season price of $85. The total cost for one second-round game: $1,290, not including parking, beer or hot dogs.

"For that price, I could buy a big, flat-screen TV, some popcorn and watch the game at home," the 40-year old restaurateur and advertising executive said. "By the middle of the third period, the TV would pay for itself."

For the cost of just two playoff games, he adds, "I could take my wife and kids to Disney World."

So far the Wings have played nine home games in the post season, and Mr. Catallo hasn't bought tickets to a single one. He's not alone, either. With conference finals tickets starting at $75, the Wings have struggled to sell out Joe Louis Arena. At their last home game – a riveting 2-1 win Saturday over the Dallas Stars – swaths of red seats remained empty throughout the arena. Blocks of four tickets could be purchased online three hours before Game 2; blocks of 10 could be had before Game 1. Outside the arena, scalpers peddled tickets below face value.

When Hockeytown was founded, this was all unthinkable. And, given the team's chances for winning another Cup, it's a bit enigmatic. Nicklas Lidstrom, the team's captain, says this is the best team he's seen since the Red Wings won consecutive Cups a decade ago.

But there are many differences between now and then.

The tepid turnout is a reflection of both Michigan's sagging economy and the tough battle the NHL faces for fans. The Detroit area has been hit hard in the past few years as the Big Three auto makers and their suppliers slashed tens of thousands of jobs. The region ranks near the top in home foreclosures, too. Detroit's entertainment dollar is "severely stretched," says Comerica Bank chief economist Dana Johnson.


Associated Press
Even friends of veteran goalie Chris Osgood take in fewer games in person than they used to.
."With the way things are around here in the economy, people – even my friends – don't go to as many games as they used to," Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood said following the team's win Thursday night. "But the bars are packed."

Fans looking to tighten their belts also have plenty of sports alternatives. The Pistons of the National Basketball Association are deep in the playoffs and fans are flocking to see the Detroit Tigers after the baseball team picked up several stars this off-season.

In Joe Louis, meanwhile, a degree of malaise is on display.

As local singer Karen Newman began performing the national anthem, she noticed those vacant seats. Ms. Newman, in her 18th year performing the song at the arena, said of the recent ennui, "It never bothered me, per se, but it kind of bothered me for the organization, because I was like, 'What's with all the empty seats?'" The Red Wings also saw regular-season attendance drop nearly 6%, to an average of 18,912 fans, according to ESPN.com. That ranked them seventh in the NHL; they ranked second in 2006-07.

During Ms. Newman's Thursday performance, someone threw a dead octopus on the ice as she sang the words "land of the free." The eight-legged octopus serves as Hockeytown's mascot, dating to the 1950s, when it took eight playoff games to win the Stanley Cup. There was only one other octopus thrown that night, a paltry total compared to Hockeytown's heyday, when several such animals would land on the ice.

The organization is not sitting still. Unlike some other sports leagues, where enormous television and licensing contracts line owners' pockets, ticket sales remain the lifeblood for NHL organizations.

In November, the team hired Steve Violetta away from the Nashville Predators as a marketing executive. Mr. Violetta helped accelerate an initiative that included slashing some ticket prices, marketing more aggressively to families via group sales and other promotions – such as free lunch boxes – and hosting "dollar days," where a particular concession item costs only $1.

Late in the season, general manager Ken Holland signed Darren McCarty, a blue-collar player most popular for his willingness to fight during an earlier stint with the team. Mr. McCarty had been away from hockey prior to last fall and has battled substance abuse. Mr. Holland told Mr. McCarty's agent the forward would have to come back "clean-cut" and avoid becoming a "circus situation." The executive hoped Mr. McCarty would inspire enthusiasm.

Mr. Violetta said the moves are working, leading to sellouts late in the season and an uptick in playoff sales compared to last year.

Still, after years of success, it's hard to impress fans.

"I've seen them win a Cup, so I won't be totally disappointed if they don't win one this year," Bruce Anderson, a season-ticket holder for nearly 40 years, said.

Others suggest that Detroit hockey fans need to form bonds with the new players, often Europeans, who dominate the roster. Steve Yzerman, the team's longtime face, retired in 2006. Other well-known names like Brendan Shanahan now play in other cities. The stands are still flooded with fans wearing jerseys with the names of Mr. Yzerman and Mr. Shanahan on their backs.

Fans do appear to be warming to the new generation of Red Wings. Center Johan Franzen, for instance, is on a record-setting scoring pace in the playoffs. Veteran Kris Draper insists that Mr. Franzen, nicknamed "The Mule" for his gritty play, is custom-made for Detroit's blue-collar ethic. Others, including center Henrik Zetterberg, are slowly gaining recognition after spending years playing in Mr. Yzerman's shadow.

Mr. Osgood, the goalie, is on his second tour in Detroit and said that the team's problems pale in comparison to those faced by most towns.

Mr. Osgood is popular now, but he has not always been a hero here. The team cast him aside in 2001 for a more experienced goaltender. He signed with the New York Islanders and then St. Louis, returning to the Red Wings as a backup in 2005. As the current starter he knows that life at the top can be fleeting.

He hopes Red Wings fans understand that: "It might not last forever."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121071414894789575.html

[scolls]

The Red Wings have been to the playoffs for 20 straight years that people don't care anymore about the early rounds. It's just an extension of the regular season. In 2008 the Tigers set their all time attendance record and the Pistons were enjoying their 6th consecutive eastern conference finals. In the mid to late 90's, the Red Wings were the only competitive team in town. Then you had the emergence of the Pistons, then the Tigers, and now the Lions. There isn't an excitement about the Red Wings. Making the playoffs for the Lions was a huge feat. The Red Wings making the playoffs is just the last third of the regular season.

[scolls]

Well it's official. Detroit vs Toronto at Ann Arbor

A source has confirmed to the Free Press that the Red Wings will host Original Six rival Toronto Jan. 1, 2013, at Michigan Stadium.

The Red Wings won't get to announce that they're hosting the Winter Classic until next month, but that's only because logistics won't allow it.

The Wings asked to host the game right after participating in the '09 game against the Blackhawks at Wrigley Field. Detroit was an easy selection for the NHL and NBC, which broadcasts the game, because of the rich history of the Wings and Detroit's wintry location, but it remained to be negotiated whether it would be held at Michigan Stadium, which will guarantee a record-setting crowd topping 110,000, or at Comerica Park, property of Wings owner Mike Ilitch.

The appeal of setting an attendance record - along with the fact players prefer the rectangular set-up of a football field versus that of a baseball stadium -- made Ann Arbor a logical choice.

That the Wings would host the game, whom they would host and where they would host, has been parsed at length for the past few weeks, and there was speculation the event would be announced before next week's All-Star Game. However, the Wings aren't able to commit to an on-site announcement until the second week of February. They are at Phoenix Thursday, travel Friday, play Saturday and Monday, travel to Montreal next Tuesday and play the Canadiens next Wednesday. Immediately after the All-Star break they're in Western Canada and Phoenix through Feb. 6, so look for an announcement right after that.

http://www.freep.com/article/2012011...text|FRONTPAGE

[54fighting]

NHL officially announces 2013 Winter Classic Matchup
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=387317

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will began 2013 by renewing their rivalry at one of North America's most iconic stadiums.

The two Original Six foes will play in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium, part of an outdoor showcase that will also include minor league and college hockey games at Detroit's Comerica Park.

Toronto will become the first Canadian team to play in the Winter Classic when the Maple Leafs and Red Wings face off in Ann Arbor, about 75 kilometres west of Detroit.

"It's Hockeytown versus the centre of the hockey universe," Toronto general manager Brian Burke said.

The NHL announced its plan at a news conference Thursday at Comerica, the home of the Detroit Tigers. Later, there was an additional event for media on the field at Michigan Stadium, the football venue that also hosted a college hockey game in 2010 between Michigan and Michigan State. That game set a Guinness World Record for most fans at a hockey game with 104,173.

The league is already talking about setting a new mark when the pros take the ice.

"Even with 115,000 or more tickets available, we still won't have enough to satisfy the demand," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

[isaidso]

Apart from the Olympics, this is the only time I might tune into watching hockey. It's quite a spectacle and refreshing to see the game played the way it was intended: outside.