Cincinnati Cyclones sell out first hockey game in US Bank Arena history

[Cyclones Rock]

Last night, the Cyclones drew a crowd of 16,529-the first hockey sell out in the history of US Bank Arena.

US Bank Arena, which opened in 1975 as Riverfront Coliseum, has hosted hockey teams for 23 of its 41 years. It was originally built to house an NHL franchise, but became home to the WHA Cincinnati Stingers with the hope of the Stingers ultimately becoming an NHL team. They came close to achieving NHL status on two occasions, but it never materialized.

The teams which have called the Arena home have been: Cincinnati Stingers WHA (4 years), CHL Cincinnati Stingers (1 year), CHL Cincinnati Tigers (1 year), and the Cincinnati Cyclones of various incarnations (17 years). The Arena has also hosted frozen four NCAA finals, various other NCAA hockey tournaments, and NHL exhibition games as well. I estimate that roughly 1000 hockey games have been played over the years at the facility.

Until last night, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Mark Messier, Mike Gartner, NCAA Championship games, ECHL Championship games and IHL All Star games couldn't sell out this arena. Last night was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Night. That was what finally turned the sell out trick. Four fake turtle-like characters who eat copious quantities of pizza. Go figure

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[HereComeTheSwords]

Yeah, I was in high school in 1978 and at the WHA game that was the previous largest crowd. My dad had Stingers season tickets and we went to EVERY game. This one caught my eye from afar--I was wondering how the hell an ECHL team managed to sell out a game in Cincinnati when no one else could in 41 years of that building being open. Mutant Ninja Turtles. Figures. Yup, that's my old home town. Only in Cincinnati. Worst sports town in America. What could have been when they built that building in 1975.

 

[nickp91]

It's actually the 2nd largest crowd in the 28-year history of ECHL Record is 20,911 at Greensboro 1/15/94

 

[Canucks21]

And thats why they didnt get an NHL team

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Yeah, I was in high school in 1978 and at the WHA game that was the previous largest crowd. My dad had Stingers season tickets and we went to EVERY game. This one caught my eye from afar--I was wondering how the hell an ECHL team managed to sell out a game in Cincinnati when no one else could in 41 years of that building being open. Mutant Ninja Turtles. Figures. Yup, that's my old home town. Only in Cincinnati. Worst sports town in America. What could have been when they built that building in 1975.

Love the name!!!! I remember the Swords well. Calder Cup finals and victory bumped from the Cincinnati Gardens to Buffalo for a circus. Still pissed about that

Is that Gary Bromley or Rocky Farr in your picture?

The Stingers came one vote away from being admitted to the NHL for the 1978-79 season. The NHL took a vote to take in certain WHA franchises-the Stingers were one of them-for the 1978-79 season and if one of the however many franchises had changed their vote, they would have been in the NHL. The following year, both the Stingers and the Birmingham Bulls opted not to go the NHL after the league approved the merger. Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec and Hartford joined the senior circuit.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Congrats?

 

[Cynicaps]

The Stingers came one vote away from being admitted to the NHL for the 1978-79 season. The NHL took a vote to take in certain WHA franchises-the Stingers were one of them-for the 1978-79 season and if one of the however many franchises had changed their vote, they would have been in the NHL.

This may be a teensy bit of retroactive speculation, but I wonder how much of that push was the doing of Jacobs. He had good reason, the arena was originally proposed in an attempt to keep the Royals in Cincinnati until he and his brother cashed out to interests in Kansas City and this could have been an attempt to save face given how Cincinnati built an arena for a team that bailed before groundbreaking.

The following year, both the Stingers and the Birmingham Bulls opted not to go the NHL after the league approved the merger. Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec and Hartford joined the senior circuit.

I seem to remember that there was a lot of hesitance in letting the Nordiques in. I wonder what would have happened if Quebec passed and Cincinnati came in.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

[QUOTE=Cynicaps;114658359]

This may be a teensy bit of retroactive speculation, but I wonder how much of that push was the doing of Jacobs. He had good reason, the arena was originally proposed in an attempt to keep the Royals in Cincinnati until he and his brother cashed out to interests in Kansas City and this could have been an attempt to save face given how Cincinnati built an arena for a team that bailed before groundbreaking.

Jacobs of Boston and Bill Wirtz of the Blackhawks changed their votes in the second vote. They voted against the merger the first time around. Had they voted aye instead of nay, there would have been NHL hockey in Cincinnati starting with the 1978-79 season. The Stingers were not drawing well, and, in fact, required a season ticket drive for 5000 full season ticket equivalents in order to play the final year (78-79) of the WHA. That goal was met on the final day of the drive when Macy's department store bought roughly 100-150 full season tickets.

The team averaged under 7,000 fans their last year of the WHA-even with the 5000 full season tickets-so ownership decided not to move to the NHL the following year even after Jacobs and Wirtz changed their votes which allowed the merger between the WHA and the NHL to occur. Stingers ownership obviously didn't feel the NHL would be viable in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Royals left Cincinnati after the 1971-72 NBA season, so they weren't a factor in the Stingers fate. I wasn't aware or can't remember of Jacobs pushing for a new Cincinnati arena, but it's entirely possible that he was. Jacobs also owned Sportservice, the concessionaire in the Cincinnati Gardens where the Royals played. Sportservice was a huge presence in the sports arena concession business nation wide for a long time. I don't know if they are anymore.

I seem to remember that there was a lot of hesitance in letting the Nordiques in. I wonder what would have happened if Quebec passed and Cincinnati came in.

I think the Stingers would have been a Hartford situation with a little less shelf time. Cincinnati couldn't have supported an NHL team in my opinion. The Stingers ownership, obviously, felt the same way. One of the Stingers owners, Bill DeWitt, has been the majority owner for MLBs St. Louis Cardinals for a long time. I trust his judgement about not pursuing the NHL with the Stingers and taking a $3 million payout for folding was the proper action at the time.

Interesting article on Cyclones sell out:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinna...ggest-hockey-crowd-in-cincinnati.html?ana=twt

 

[crimsonace]

[QUOTE=Cynicaps;114658359]

Jacobs of Boston and Bill Wirtz of the Blackhawks changed their votes in the second vote. They voted against the merger the first time around. Had they voted aye instead of nay, there would have been NHL hockey in Cincinnati starting with the 1978-79 season. The Stingers were not drawing well, and, in fact, required a season ticket drive for 5000 full season ticket equivalents in order to play the final year (78-79) of the WHA. That goal was met on the final day of the drive when Macy's department store bought roughly 100-150 full season tickets.

The team averaged under 7,000 fans their last year of the WHA-even with the 5000 full season tickets-so ownership decided not to move to the NHL the following year even after Jacobs and Wirtz changed their votes which allowed the merger between the WHA and the NHL to occur. Stingers ownership obviously didn't feel the NHL would be viable in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Royals left Cincinnati after the 1971-72 NBA season, so they weren't a factor in the Stingers fate. I wasn't aware or can't remember of Jacobs pushing for a new Cincinnati arena, but it's entirely possible that he was. Jacobs also owned Sportservice, the concessionaire in the Cincinnati Gardens where the Royals played. Sportservice was a huge presence in the sports arena concession business nation wide for a long time. I don't know if they are anymore.

Jacobs owns Delaware North, which Sportservice is a part of. His $$ is in concessions (although he also owns the Bruins & the TD Garden).

The Royals were long gone before the Riverfront Coliseum was built, but IMO, the Stingers likely wouldn't have lasted much past the early-1980s recession that really hit the Midwest hard. Cincinnati is a great sports city, but as prices for major league sports rose in the 1980s and 1990s, it would've been hard to compete with the Bengals & Reds for sponsor money. U.S. Bank Arena was a great NHL/NBA-caliber building in the 1970s/80s, obviously is pretty outdated now for that usage, but is a really nice building for concerts & the Cyclones.

 

[GindyDraws]

Of course, it must be noted that the Cyclones lost 2-1 that night to Indy.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

The Royals were long gone before the Riverfront Coliseum was built, but IMO, the Stingers likely wouldn't have lasted much past the early-1980s recession that really hit the Midwest hard. Cincinnati is a great sports city, but as prices for major league sports rose in the 1980s and 1990s, it would've been hard to compete with the Bengals & Reds for sponsor money. U.S. Bank Arena was a great NHL/NBA-caliber building in the 1970s/80s, obviously is pretty outdated now for that usage, but is a really nice building for concerts & the Cyclones.

I agree with your assessment. The Reds, Bengals, UC and Xavier basketball were and still are the primary use of sports dollar expenditures in the Cincinnati area-for both individuals and businesses. The owners of the Stingers were very bright guys, and they saw the weakness of the market and opted not to go forward with an NHL franchise. From what I understand, the $3 million payout essentially covered their cumulative losses from operating the Stingers.

As you stated, the Coliseum was a state-of-the-art facility when it was built, but isn't anywhere near suitable to house a major league sports franchise anymore. The single concourse in the facility is roughly 20 feet wide-you can imagine how clogged it was with a full house on Saturday night!

Interesting side note about the facility: Prior to the Who concert tragedy in 1979, where 11 people died, Riverfront Coliseum was one of the most prominent concert facilities in the US. Business went down precipitously after the Who concert and never recovered. The building been sold twice since the Who ordeal, the last time for a pittance-$22 million-in a bankruptcy proceeding. Presently, cities within 100 miles of Cincinnati-Indianapolis, Columbus and Louisville-all have new buildings with seating capacities far in excess of US Bank Arena. Lexington has an old, but mammoth facility in Rupp Arena, so most acts opt to play their midwestern gigs in those cities instead of Cincinnati.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Of course, it must be noted that the Cyclones lost 2-1 that night to Indy.

3-2 in a shoot out. Every dog has its day

Cyclones fans will welcome all Fuel fans to come watch the playoffs in Cincinnati this year. I'll buy you a beer if you come watch us play JDogindy

 

[GarbageGoal]

Hopefully the kids enjoyed the hockey is all I can say.

Sooooo, what exactly did the Turtles do?

 

[StatesideSensFan]

been to a Cyclones game at the Arena, it was fine with 5k fans, but as one poster said, i cant imagine how packed that concourse was with a sellout.

 

[crimsonace]

I agree with your assessment. The Reds, Bengals, UC and Xavier basketball were and still are the primary use of sports dollar expenditures in the Cincinnati area-for both individuals and businesses. The owners of the Stingers were very bright guys, and they saw the weakness of the market and opted not to go forward with an NHL franchise. From what I understand, the $3 million payout essentially covered their cumulative losses from operating the Stingers.

As you stated, the Coliseum was a state-of-the-art facility when it was built, but isn't anywhere near suitable to house a major league sports franchise anymore. The single concourse in the facility is roughly 20 feet wide-you can imagine how clogged it was with a full house on Saturday night!

That's the thing a lot of folks forget - not only do you have the Bengals & Reds, you've also got *two* major CBB programs (UC/Xavier) in town in a fairly small (for a major-league city) market. That's a lot of competition for sponsor & fan dollars. It's a pretty good city for a sports fan - major-league baseball & football, 2 pretty high-level college hoops programs and an ECHL team - and a lot of major buildings (Nippert & PBS for football, Shoemaker, Cintas, Gardens & US Bank as 10K+-seat indoor arenas).

I love U.S. Bank Arena, though. It's a throwback to the days when buildings were designed with the best sightlines in mind, not the best views for suiteholders. It reminds me a lot of Joe Louis Arena - which was built five years later and has a nearly-identical seating bowl layout (and is similarly seen as outdated). However, I've been in Market Square Arena when it was packed (and like US Bank, it had a single narrow concourse and was a couple thousand seats smaller), and it was hard to move there. Can't imagine what it was like there Saturday - and was considering making the 90-minute drive before I heard it was a likely sellout.

 

[Jackets Woodchuck]

Jacobs owns Delaware North, which Sportservice is a part of. His $$ is in concessions (although he also owns the Bruins & the TD Garden).

The Royals were long gone before the Riverfront Coliseum was built, but IMO, the Stingers likely wouldn't have lasted much past the early-1980s recession that really hit the Midwest hard. Cincinnati is a great sports city, but as prices for major league sports rose in the 1980s and 1990s, it would've been hard to compete with the Bengals & Reds for sponsor money. U.S. Bank Arena was a great NHL/NBA-caliber building in the 1970s/80s, obviously is pretty outdated now for that usage, but is a really nice building for concerts & the Cyclones.

I'm not so sure. Heck, Cleveland made it through the recession with three major league sports teams, and we were in default and trying to figure out how to keep water from catching fire.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I love U.S. Bank Arena, though. It's a throwback to the days when buildings were designed with the best sightlines in mind, not the best views for suiteholders. It reminds me a lot of Joe Louis Arena - which was built five years later and has a nearly-identical seating bowl layout (and is similarly seen as outdated). However, I've been in Market Square Arena when it was packed (and like US Bank, it had a single narrow concourse and was a couple thousand seats smaller), and it was hard to move there. Can't imagine what it was like there Saturday - and was considering making the 90-minute drive before I heard it was a likely sellout.

I'm glad you mentioned Joe Louis Arena. I've only been there once and time is running out to get there again. Hopefully I'll be able to make it.

US Bank Arena was one of the last arenas to put suites way upstairs-that in and of itself makes it not viable as a modern arena. But, you are right. There isn't a bad seat in the house except for the first few rows up the upper bowl when there is a big crowd. With the concourse, row A and B can have obstructed vision due to people on the concourse. I love the place. Grew up with it, played high school hockey on the ice.

The concourses were very crowded on Saturday, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most people seemed to be staying in their seats during intermission.

Love what they did to the Coliseum in Indy. Was up twice last year and may come up this Sunday. Too bad the team that plays there-can't recall their name off the top of my head-isn't playoff caliber

 

[toledo109]

Anybody know if any other promotion was happening that night besides the turtles? Props either way to Cincinnati fans.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

Lol I loved the ninja turtles when I was 5 but I can't imagine how they could be that big a traction.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Anybody know if any other promotion was happening that night besides the turtles? Props either way to Cincinnati fans.

$1 slices of Donatos Pizza was the only other major promo. Mutant Ninja Turtles enjoy their pizza I was told. LOL. There were a few larger groups which had been sold the game as well.

Management was hoping for 8,000-which is a very good Saturday night post January 1 crowd for Cincinnati hockey. This promo just took off beyond everyone's wildest imaginations.

Kristen Ropp, who runs US Bank Arena, says that she expects up to half of the teams in the ECHL to do a Ninja Turtle Night next season. It will be interesting to see how it does in other markets and in Cincinnati next season-I'm going out on a limb by saying that the Cyclones will do it again next season

I talked to a few people on the sales/marketing staff and the promotional angle that seems to work very well right now is recreating a Disney type theme environment for the kids. Star Wars Nights have worked well as did "Princess Night" earlier this season. Bobbleheads, Tshirts and other hard item giveaways have lost their luster with the Cyclones fan base, so the marketing team got creative and has definitely come up aces with their new approach.

It will be interesting to see how long this approach will work. Given the success of the promos this season, I'd think that the entertainment theme based on popular kids characters has a couple of years of usefulness left at least. $1/$2 beer nights will continue to move midweek attendance with the Cyclones.