nobody said Charlotte is being sold, nor does it appear now that Atlanta is being sold or is no longer in danger of being evicted after 2022/2023...... it depends on if Athens is a go but there'll be a year in between this announcement once Carter bought into the Gladiators, that ended any relocation talks whether it's Athens or elsewhere, now if Kahn is indeed selling the Checkers, that has no bearing on the Checkers doing something like Norfolk did..... something involving the existing Checkers franchise likely has to be made public, as of now it doesn't appear the ECHL is interested or has discussions about returning the league to Charlotte..... remember, Savannah was just added there this season...
Atlanta to the AHL?
- Thread starter Atlantian
- Start date
Checkers Hockey
Veni, vidi, vici
And nobody said they weren't. So far, everything discussed here has been speculation. Although I haven't read through all 8 pages, I'm pretty sure you don't either, unless you have insider knowledge.
you're mis construing it....
since when are the Charlotte Checkers an ECHL franchise, Checkers, that WENT away the minute Kahn bought the AHL Franchise/license that is why the Checkers were promoted and Kahn per ECHL BYLAW had to surrender the Checkers ECHL Franchise.... the AHL LICENSE/Franchise was owned by Capital District Sports in Albany who were awarded the franchise/license in 1988 as the Capital District Islanders that transformed into the Albany River Rats by 1991.
this thread was the Atlanta aka Gwinnett Gladiators, which has already been settled when new ownership bought and were approved not long prior to the beginning of the current season....
Checkers Hockey
Veni, vidi, vici
What could possibly be misconstrued? Charlotte has been mentioned several times in this thread, and you can't really predict the future. Yes, you like to act like you know everything, but you don't.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Charlotte looks ripe for an FPHL team.
show me proof, Checkers..... where does it state the Checkers franchise is relocating to Gwinnett County, GA..... LAST I checked the Atlanta Gladiators are based there, and with the recent transfer of ownership there ENDED any relocation discussion of the Gladiators leaving Gas South Arena after 20 years.... 2) where does it also state Athens, GA is the location where an expansion franchise and arena, similiar to what just began at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, with the Savannah Ghost Pirates..... nothing has come out of that since that angle was broken other than Athens was also looking at D1, which if you had read that thread went nowhere..... Athens nor Gwinnett are AHL Markets...... the ECHL has control in all three Georgia markets.....
you're an AHL Market until Kahn publically acknowledges the Checkers are on the market, so that's where you need to tell us that....
that's like saying Metro Kansas City has pro hockey, which is false..... knowing the history of Kansas City hockey, that's almost insulting to the Kansas City (Independence, MO) Mavericks.
Stop it Stop trying to make hockey in Atlanta work It's been tried It's failed multiple times
Atlanta Metro Population
2000: 3.522 million
2010 4.544 million
2022 6.013 million
a surefire way to change if "hockey works in X" is to inject a truckload of new fans and money into said market.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
You need to study Metro Atlanta social history & habits & behaviors, before you rely on population growth for future predictions of sports product success.
nhlfan79
Registered User
And what would that tell you? That Atlanta is a top 4 MLB attendance market, revolutionized the entire MLS with the 2017 entry of Atlanta United, and more than holds its own in the NFL with the Falcons, and is even middle-third of the pack in the NBA with the Hawks. But all that pro sports stuff still pales in comparison to the religion of college football around here.
If you are talking about hockey success specifically, the only proper assessment is "who really knows?" One owner, almost 50 years ago now, lost his shirt in his primary business of commercial real estate in a late 1970's downturn and had no choice but to sell the Flames. The second owner(s) intentionally and deliberately murdered a franchise that they never wanted and that they stupidly viewed as competition for their precious basketball team.
If those population numbers are accurate, and my own eyes tell me they're true, Atlanta's grown by 25% merely since the Thrashers left. Where do you think all of those people are coming from? Other hockey markets. The potential here is off the charts, if someone somewhere has the financial wherewithal and genuine desire to operate a legitimate NHL franchise.
If there was an NHL arena in the same development where the Braves play in Cobb County, it'd be a license to print money.
Last edited:
Checkers Hockey
Veni, vidi, vici
If you could show me proof to back up everything you're saying, I would appreciate it, but I know you can't. All of my words have been my own opinions, and I never claimed they were facts.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
So you're taking the emotional: "How can 6M people be wrong?" side of the argument vs. the logical: "Have you seen a line of ownership groups queuing up to bring an NHL franchise to Atlanta?" point of view? I applaud your local passion.
nhlfan79
Registered User
No, I'm not taking an emotional side of anything. I very clearly gave two gigantic "ifs" in the text you quoted that speak directly to your point: (1) IF someone with the finances and motivation was interested, and (2) IF the arena was located at The Battery.
You originally said that mere population growth alone is not a predictor of sports franchise success, and to that extent, you're right. However, there's enough real-world data available--which I sketched out very briefly above--that counters your unspoken implication that Atlanta would not support hockey if a competent and motivated ownership wanted to give it a go here. Again, that was my primary point: no one can know that for sure. It's never been tried here.
THE DAYS OF Anson Carter being a principal owner ended the day the ECHL approved the sale of the Gladiators to current ownership..... no other league but the ECHL is in firm control of that market.....
until there's further news, it's now a foregone conclusion and has been since the transfer of the Gladiators to the current ownership, it's status quo with the Gladiators in Gwinnett...... and no further relocation chatter.
the Gladiators were confirmed to remain in Gwinnett indefinitely, and likely will not be subject to relocation chatter
until there's further news, it's now a foregone conclusion and has been since the transfer of the Gladiators to the current ownership, it's status quo with the Gladiators in Gwinnett...... and no further relocation chatter.
the Gladiators were confirmed to remain in Gwinnett indefinitely, and likely will not be subject to relocation chatter
So sayeth THE HUTCH....So sayeth the flock
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
agree, and NHLFAN.... if that were the case, why was the misleading headline about Anson Carter by himself, not others, stating the NHL and/or any other league was looking at Gas South Arena or Gwinnett, which is where the Gladiators have been since the transfer of the Thrashers to TSNE TO become the Jets 2.0 which is also why Manitoba was briefly flipped to Newfoundland.... even though TSNE still owns/operates the Moose FROM their days as an almost bankrupt franchise in Minnesota, after the split between the Stars and the State and before the current MSE aka the Wild were being established.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Just put a question mark at the end, then move on.
Easy...I don't have an AHL team where I live but I know all there is to know about the AHL since it's conception and I'm never wrong about what i say so just believe everything I post and leave it there....The AHL even calls me when they have a question.
Checkers Hockey
Veni, vidi, vici
It seems telling him he doesn't know anything is one of the easiest ways to get under his skin. It worked for me.
GindyDraws
I will not disable my Adblock, HF
To play devil's advocate, we need to stop and think why hockey in Atlanta failed multiple times.
The Flames flopped due to their inability to win (they never got past the first round of the playoffs), which caused them to struggle to endear themselves to people who were otherwise unfamiliar with the sport. The Thrashers not only faced the same problems the Flames did (inability to win) but later ran into hostile ownership that just didn't want them in the Phillips Arena, forcing the team to play in awkward dates and times that minimized potential revenue.
Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, the Atlanta Knights, an IHL team back when the IHL got bold and decided to take on the NHL, was outdrawing several NHL teams and even won the 1994 Turner Cup. And the present-day Atlanta Gladiators, despite being in Gwinnett County, are one of the higher-up ECHL teams in terms of attendance annually.
I'm not saying it can't be done, but things have to go right. And as things have to go right (you need to get a winner in almost immediately, plus have a venue that allows the team favorable dates), that's a nearly perfect storm of details that are almost too great to attempt.
It failed because Atlanta doesn't care about hockey you can bring up the ECHL all you want but the ONLY league that truly matters is the NHL and failed twice because nobody gave a shit.
nhlfan79
Registered User
Not even remotely true.
nhlfan79
Registered User
This isn't really accurate. The Flames drew at the league average (or above) for most of their duration, but their owner (Tom Cousins) was hemorrhaging money in his primary commercial real estate business towards the end. He received market value offers from local buyers, but Nelson Skalbania offered to pay double (a league record at the time) to be able to move the team. Not only that, but the NHL had turned on Cousins because the league was afraid he'd go public with news that it was skimming money out of the players' pension fund. This is all easily found information.
The Knights were one of the IHL's top attendance draws for their three years and won a title, but literally had no place to play after The Omni arena was torn down after the 1996 Olympics for Philips Arena to be built on the very same spot.
The Thrashers were simply murdered by a fractious ownership group that never wanted them from Day One. It's just that simple.
Last edited:
Ad
Latest posts
-
-
-
OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: New Quarter Backs for the Handball team!- Latest: DanielPlainview
