NFL

Sorry Hamilton, you’re out of luck…again, but it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to you.

Frankly, I don’t see why everybody around Ontario and Canada for that matter thinks it’s their God-given right to have another NHL team.  If Hamilton ever did get burdened with an NHL franchise, I’d give it two years tops before the roof caves in. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who may just be the league’s most popular and top money-making team, don’t even sell out these days so what makes these fans think Hamilton has a hope in hell of making it.

In fact, ask the average hockey fan around Ontario when the last time they actually paid to go see the Leafs play and the majority of people will have to think long and hard about it and some people have never paid a cent for a ticket in their life. Yes, there are a few thousand diehards who shell out their hard-earned cash to cheer on their favourite team on a regular basis, but they’re few and far between.

The ACC is generally filled to capacity, (on the nights it’s sold out) with corporate tickets. There are thousands of these floating around and the majority of seats are freebies which are given out by the corporations to its employees and clients. Believe me, if the big businesses pulled out, the ACC would be half empty most nights. The Leafs still don’t always sell out these days even with the corporate backing.

If Hamilton ever did get a team, it would basically have to fill the out-of-date rink with true hockey fans as most corporations are headquartered in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and an argument could be made that those cities already have NHL teams. With little-to-no corporate backing, there’s no way an NHL team can survive in Hamilton in today’s economy and with the price of NHL games.

A better option would be Las Vegas. In fact, with thousands of Canadians heading to the desert every weekend, it wouldn’t be hard to fill a rink out there by adding an NHL game to the traveller’s package. What true Canadian would turn down a chance to see their favourite sport while taking a trip down to Sin City?

Hamilton doesn’t support the AHL Bulldogs team it has now, and that’s definitely not the best way to attract an NHL franchise. If the area is hockey mad, where is the support? High school football games in America wipe the floor with the numbers the Bulldogs bring in. The population around the area is also exaggerated as most fans around Hamilton are already Leafs fans and games in Hamilton would be treated as an exhibition game by most of them, unless of course, the Leafs were involved. And let’s not forget Buffalo is just up the road. However, I do believe local fans who travel across the border would support the team, only if the prices were as low as in Buffalo though.

Anyway, they can cry all they like. I don’t see it happening and don’t see the city as a viable spot to place a team. You can also blame the inept Jim Balsillie as the number two reason that NHL hockey in Hamilton is nothing more than a pipe dream. Sorry Hamilton, you’re out of luck…again, but it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to you.

Frankly, I don’t see why everybody around Ontario and Canada for that matter thinks it’s their God-given right to have another NHL team.  If Hamilton ever did get burdened with an NHL franchise, I’d give it two years tops before the roof caves in. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who may just be the league’s most popular and top money-making team, don’t even sell out these days so what makes these fans think Hamilton has a hope in hell of making it.

In fact, ask the average hockey fan around Ontario when the last time they actually paid to go see the Leafs play and the majority of people will have to think long and hard about it and some people have never paid a cent for a ticket in their life. Yes, there are a few thousand diehards who shell out their hard-earned cash to cheer on their favourite team on a regular basis, but they’re few and far between.

The ACC is generally filled to capacity, (on the nights it’s sold out) with corporate tickets. There are thousands of these floating around and the majority of seats are freebies which are given out by the corporations to its employees and clients. Believe me, if the big businesses pulled out, the ACC would be half empty most nights. The Leafs still don’t always sell out these days even with the corporate backing.

If Hamilton ever did get a team, it would basically have to fill the out-of-date rink with true hockey fans as most corporations are headquartered in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and an argument could be made that those cities already have NHL teams. With little-to-no corporate backing, there’s no way an NHL team can survive in Hamilton in today’s economy and with the price of NHL games.

A better option would be Las Vegas. In fact, with thousands of Canadians heading to the desert every weekend, it wouldn’t be hard to fill a rink out there by adding an NHL game to the traveller’s package. What true Canadian would turn down a chance to see their favourite sport while taking a trip down to Sin City?

Hamilton doesn’t support the AHL Bulldogs team it has now, and that’s definitely not the best way to attract an NHL franchise. If the area is hockey mad, where is the support? High school football games in America wipe the floor with the numbers the Bulldogs bring in. The population around the area is also exaggerated as most fans around Hamilton are already Leafs fans and games in Hamilton would be treated as an exhibition game by most of them, unless of course, the Leafs were involved. And let’s not forget Buffalo is just up the road. However, I do believe local fans who travel across the border would support the team, only if the prices were as low as in Buffalo though.

Anyway, they can cry all they like. I don’t see it happening and don’t see the city as a viable spot to place a team. You can also blame the inept Jim Balsillie as the number two reason that NHL hockey in Hamilton is nothing more than a pipe dream.