| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
mike
(Rookie)
USA
34 Posts |
 Posted - 12/12/2003 : 7:02:39 PM
|
I was wondering if anyone else has heard about the WHA coming to Cincinnati. You have to wonder if the ownership is just "getting by" this year, and then the WHA will be "REBORN" at the US Bank Arena. Could the Stingers return? If they do, would both teams stay in town? I wasnt sure which subject to post under, since it deals with the Cyclones, hockey, etc. Here is the press release if anyone hasnt seen it.
http://www.worldhockeyassociation.net/press_releases/press.asp_topstory=1&PressID=65.htm
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
138 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2003 : 9:52:34 PM
|
IF this was the scam going on the entire time, the US Bank Arena will not see another dime from me. i will refuse to support a management that was just driving the 'clones in the ground while telling us something completely opposite at the beginning of this year. Stingers come back... i go.  |
 |
|
|
4Clones
(The Next Level!)
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2003 : 10:36:21 PM
|
| Anyone else get the feeling since now this meeting Wednesday is just for season ticket holders and fan club memebers, we will be told first about the WHA coming to US Bank Arena???? |
Pain is temporary PRIDE is forever |
|
|
|
Susan
(Been Here Awhile)
USA
986 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2003 : 11:12:46 PM
|
| Who knows? This is the first I've heard about the WHA. Besides, if they do bring it back, I won't be back either. I'll go to Dayton (only live 45 minutes away). |
Hockey is life. All the rest is just small stuff.
|
|
|
|
cycfan
(The Next Level!)
243 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 12:02:17 AM
|
I'll reserve judgement for now.
I would have to see the strategy for the league surviving after the NHL comes back, and the ticket prices before I would support it.
AHL/IHL hockey at NHL prices won't fly. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
138 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 05:34:42 AM
|
| my point exactly. |
|
|
|
Gonzoid
(The Next Level!)
263 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 12:21:34 PM
|
| Oh come on! Four-on-four Hockey. No red line. Automatic icing. $10-million salary cap with an allowance for one super star. How can this league fail??? |
Carpe Puckem - Seize The Puck
|
|
|
|
Puckhead60
(The Next Level!)
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 1:52:33 PM
|
Nothing is going to work until there's one team in town. Period. This whole train wreck of two minor league hockey teams is absolutely ridiculous and it's doing nothing but choke both the teams to a slow death. And no red line, automatic icing, four on four hockey will be entertaining for all of twenty minutes. This sounds like bad beer league hockey on a Thursday night when both teams don't have enough guys to field a five on five game.
It's going to take a small miracle at this point for me to be interested in buying any hockey tickets in this city after the last few years. If there were one team in the city, playing downtown that actually promoted and tried to get asses in the seats, I might be interested again. There were what, maybe 500 people at our last game? Granted, I don't go because it's popular or because it's the cultural event of the city, but it's hard to be interested anymore with the lack of atmosphere in the building, hockey that up until recently was flat out bad (They played better most of Wedsnesday night for a change), and no effort by upper management to breathe some life into this dying franchise. It's swell that they're having a meeting Wednesday with us season ticket holders, but the season is also halfway over. They may be planning on spewing spin to a bunch of people that already have tickets and have spent the money on this season, or they may be seriously gathering ideas on how to make things better (don't they pay people in companies to do this? What's that called? Mar... mar something? Marketing? Yeah there it is.) but is the franchise so strapped for cash that they have to ask us what the hell to do? Does anyone else get an uneasy feeling when they start looking at each other saying 'well we don't know what the hell to do to fix things, what do you think?' Don't get me wrong, i'm appreciate of their time and usually think it's classy to take the time to thank your loyal customers, but i'm having trouble with the timing of this. Had it been before the season started or shortly thereafter (before they knew they were in trouble), it would have been different; it would then have been more a 'thanks and welcome' deal, not a 'what the hell do we do now' deal.
Call me cynical, i'm going to try to attend if time allows and be as positive as possible because I would like to see something flourish as far as hockey goes in this city and return to our heyday of the early '90s, but how can I not be a little skeptical after last year's town hall where the management was gone a few months later? |
|
|
|
Gonzoid
(The Next Level!)
263 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 5:10:00 PM
|
I dunno... I see the meeting in both terms. It's good that they realize they need help but at the same time, someone should've realized what a train wreck it was becoming long before mid-season.
To be fair to the organization, the strike took a lot of, shall we say, momentum from the burgeoning season. But something should've been done to compensate for it. Besides the signing of one guy (who is pretty much out for the rest of the season, mind you... anyone else thinking of Terry Ryan here?), there wasn't a buzz from the arena or the organization.
Plus, you can't really say that the organization hasn't tried to do things to improve on-ice play (which is what I pay for more than anything else). Non-existent players are outta here, we have a bit of offensive help (it helps that Prosoffsky's healthy again) and Masters & Petruk seem to be finding their grooves. I'd love for this team to stay above .500 instead of this win-lose-win-win-lose-lose stuff they seem to have a knack for. Beyond that, I'm okay with what we've got on the ice now.
The ambience is something I'd like to address. And that $1 one-sheet joke they consider game notes.
I really doubt that the owners went into this season trying to fold the team. That just isn't smart economics. Why would you put a Hockey team in the arena just to let it die. This stuff costs a lot of money, folks. If they wanted to wait around for the WHA, they could have easily folded the Cyclones and stayed dark for a year.
Puckhead's right. Hockey isn't going to work until there's only one team in town. Whether it's at the Gardens or the USBA, one team would probably clean up in this town.
Just my two-bits. |
Carpe Puckem - Seize The Puck
|
|
|
|
Bucky69
(Rookie)
USA
23 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 6:38:03 PM
|
Ok ... now that we're past the nit picking about disclaimers, I guess I'll chime in too. In reading all the posts in the last few days, I can't help but think that a lot of people are missing a major point. There are a very limited number of people in this city that give a sh!t about hockey. There's definitely not enough to support two teams. I even wonder if there are enough to support one. Anyone have the numbers on how many Bluejackets season ticket holders are from Cincinnati? If it's a significant number, are they likely to switch to a watered down product (WHA) just because it's local? Personally, I don't think so. If it weren't for financial considerations, I'd make the 90 minute trip. I can't imagine a WHA franchise having any success here.
As far as the current Cyclones are concerned, I wonder if there is any answer. The product on the ice has to come first. That seems to be improving, but I can't say that I really see any kind of commitment from ownership in that area. This whole season has been very haphazard. Apart from that, the big problem is the atmosphere (or lack of)at the games. We play in a large venue, and unfortunately, even with a decent crowd, it still seems empty. I agree that there are a lot of things that could be improved. Ushers, The Thunder chicks (or whatever they're called), concessions (my pet peeve), the sound system, and any number of other things are problem areas. But if you fix all these things, that will make the 500 or so that still come to games a little happier, but it won't put any more people in the seats. That brings us back to the marketing concept. This ownership group is doing worse than the last one when it comes to marketing. This I don't understand since that seemed to be Nederlander's major beef during the lease squabble. That kind of makes me wonder how long this WHA thing has been brewing, and if that wasn't the motivation behind their actions last year. All in all, I think it's a losing battle. I don't think the atmosphere is gonna get any better unless a LOT more people show up, and I think even the best marketing strategy would only bring a gradual increase in attendance. Without a major increase, the atmosphere isn't going to improve enough to keep new people coming to more games. I'm trying hard not to be negative here, but i gotta be realistic too.
Finally, I'd like to comment on ownership. It seems to me that we've gone from an owner that knew what he was doing and cared about the team, to owners that seemed to know how to run a franchise but didn't really care, to finally a group that neither has a clue nor cares. Until this week, I had never even heard of Matt Dunn. In contrast, even though, over the years, I don't think i ever met Doug K. (not even gonna try to spell) officially, he knew who I was and always spoke to me at games. I think that for a minor league franchise to be successful, that's the kind of interest and commitment needed from the top. With Nederlander, we're always gonna be a small fish in a VERY big pond.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Just had to vent. Very curious about what the upcoming meeting will be about. |
|
|
|
Puckhead60
(The Next Level!)
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2003 : 7:19:34 PM
|
I don't think the strike made one bit of difference other than affecting the win loss category and talent we gained or lost. John and Jane 20something aren't going to know who is on the Cyclones, and if you poll a hundred people in the city and have them name one that actually plays for the team right now, i'd like to see what the over under would be. Doug's regime knew what to do to get people, hey had these players in the community and the team out doing events. When I worked for them and helped run Concrete 'Clones and the festivals, we were out there in the summertime multiple times a week and had enough common sense to pay for the radio airtime to promote the Concrete 'Clones stops. That along with Wildman's WEBN sports segment giving location information for that week was enough to get people at those things.
I've already admitted that we aren't going to win the battle for the family crowd because of the sickening product at the sewer in Swifton Commons, but when kids are showing up and meeting the players at tour stops or festivals, even if it's just standing around near the hard shot booth and signing a puck, it's going to get them to come back to the rink because they will beg their parents to come. And those people out shopping who didn't have kids and just wanted to stop and watch a few minutes would get their hands shaken by one of us and the product would sell itself when they see what the team is trying to accomplish. This hasn't happened with these new organizations. Doug's vision and leadership set a precedent for this team that wasn't followed when he left. There isn't that big push to get out into the community. There isn't any advertising, and the giveaways and Sponge Bobs and all the other stuff at the game isn't successful unless people actually know it's going to happen. I remember back at USBA when they started doing kids t-shirt nights that there so many kids running around you had to watch each step so you didn't step on one of them. We had another one this year again (I think, that's what someone in my section told me, I was there) and I didn't notice it.
There were a whole lot of people with passion that went through that organization (myself included) that either kept the team alive or tried to get it back going and there may be a few still left. But if the ownership doesn't want to put up some capital and allow for these creative thinkers to get some ssses in the seats, it won't do any good. I was proud to work for the team the two summers that I did and would have considered a fulltime job there once I had graduated college, but by them Doug's regime was gone. I wouldn't consider them at this point from what i've seen and heard from the current employees. To see how far the team has fallen in the past few years is really saddening. |
|
|
|
bags
(Person With Nothing Better To Do!)
USA
2224 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2003 : 08:41:44 AM
|
The WHA is playing now and drawing crowds like our Wednesday night.
I wish we had never moved from the ECHL and that the Robinson's at
the Gardens would have worked with Doug K. and fixed the Gardens up.
If the meeting makes any mention of changing leagues, the only one
I might be interested in is the UHL.The move of adding the Western
league is a possible dollar nightmare to the Eastern teams of the
ECHL. They would have had a great fit with the midwest UHL. We got
off to a bad start with the players on the roster but the past month's
moves has given us a pretty good team. We all need to think of
ways to help management out on Wednesday and see if they are honest
about making the team work. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
233 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2003 : 08:49:53 AM
|
Uh, actually, the WHA2 has started. They are to be the feeder league for the WHA when it debuts next season.
The hierarchy is:
Majors - NHL & WHA
AAA - AHL
AA - ECHL, CHL, UHL, WHA2, SEHL
A - NEHL, IIHL
Then the Juniors are equivelant to the Rookie and Independent leagues in baseball.
The fan club site has links to the pro leagues & teams, plus the Junior B league the Cincinnati Cobras (SportsPlus) are in. |
Spend Some Time In The CinBin!
|
|
|
|
bags
(Person With Nothing Better To Do!)
USA
2224 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2003 : 10:08:56 AM
|
Thanks for the info. The WHL will fold just like the XFL
folded.If the XFL with a TV contract couldn't make it, why
would we want to stick our necks out on another pipe dream
league. Stick with the ECHL and get the crowds back by
cutting the ticket prices (how about $7.50 on the ends and
$12 in the center) and bring back "kids zones" and lively
music and physical hockey! |
|
|
|
Gonzoid
(The Next Level!)
263 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2003 : 11:58:35 AM
|
The XFL failed on several levels, one of them being that the NFL is still around. Keep in mind, the NHL might not play next season.
Still, if the WHA does come around I know some fool in this city will buy the gameworn of Hockey's equivalent of HeHateMe. |
Carpe Puckem - Seize The Puck
|
|
|
|
4Clones
(The Next Level!)
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2003 : 12:34:34 PM
|
Gonzo, you would be the first to have Lamplighter on your jersey and you know it. :)
Well again Apple or Cherry would be more for you....You TURNOVER the puck to much. |
Pain is temporary PRIDE is forever |
Edited by - 4Clones on 12/14/2003 12:36:09 PM |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
