Mississauga Steelheads Future Uncertain

[H0CKEY17]

Contract them and another team - there are enough to chose from.

Cull the weak and make the rest of the league stronger.

It seems that at this point, there just is no way for a team to be successful in the GTA so why keep trying to fit that square peg into the round hole.

Come at me.

Oshawa is part of the GTA. Every Generals game I have attended had good attendance.

 

[OMG67]

Oshawa is part of the GTA. Every Generals game I have attended had good attendance.

Oshawa is not 'really' part of the GTA. Oshawa had 100k population when Ajax had 15k, Whitby had 15k and Pickering was almost entirely south of the 401.

Urban sprawl may have filled that gap but Oshawa was its own large city well before anyone would have even considered It part of the GTA.

 

[H0CKEY17]

Oshawa is not 'really' part of the GTA. Oshawa had 100k population when Ajax had 15k, Whitby had 15k and Pickering was almost entirely south of the 401.

Urban sprawl may have filled that gap but Oshawa was its own large city well before anyone would have even considered It part of the GTA.

Wikipedia tells everyone:
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. It consists of the central city of Toronto and the four regional municipalities which surround it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York.[6] As of the 2016 census, the Greater Toronto Area has a population of 6,417,516.[7]

 

[Tarantula]

In the spirit of this discussion I could not consider Oshawa part of the GTA, and I doubt many living in Mississauga would either dispite what may be officially the GTA. That map almost goes to Peterborough.

 

[OMG67]

Wikipedia tells everyone:
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. It consists of the central city of Toronto and the four regional municipalities which surround it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York.[6] As of the 2016 census, the Greater Toronto Area has a population of 6,417,516.[7]

Listen, 40-50 years ago when the Oshawa Generals were winning Memorial Cups and building a traition and a highly respected storied franchise, it was the hub of car production and easily.a top 5 populated city in Ontario. The rest of Durham Region was farmland. Oshawa has been that storied franchise and acted like a storied franchise since then.

So, if you are going to compare something to “NEW” teams in the GTA, then that is fine. But to suggest that Oshawa does well so the other GTA teams should do well is just plain silly. They are apples and oranges. They are two entirely different dychotemy’s. The demographics in their two locations are entirely different.

 

[Tarantula]

As a Orr fan and a at least casual follower of the OHL since the mid 70's Oshawa has been a historic team, but even years ago when I lived in the very east of Scarborough, Oshawa was a different city. Not a bad thing for them!

No news yet regarding the negotiations, but I am no insider at all, just combing the local news. They are here next season, and it seems rent is one issue on the table. The soon to be called Paramount Centre is owned by the city so not really surprising that things seem to drag along.

Does the city want to keep a tenet for the 40ish or so dates available? I would think over all they would but I am not privy to the cost of OHL games, see how the city negotiates this. Munipal politics could be a issue here as well, as it tends to be lately with any team looking for a rink or a lease.

 

[OSA]

Oshawa is as much a part of the GTA as Hamilton

Great breakdown OMG

 

[ScoresFromCentre]

Listen, 40-50 years ago when the Oshawa Generals were winning Memorial Cups and building a traition and a highly respected storied franchise, it was the hub of car production and easily.a top 5 populated city in Ontario. The rest of Durham Region was farmland. Oshawa has been that storied franchise and acted like a storied franchise since then.

So, if you are going to compare something to “NEW” teams in the GTA, then that is fine. But to suggest that Oshawa does well so the other GTA teams should do well is just plain silly. They are apples and oranges. They are two entirely different dychotemy’s. The demographics in their two locations are entirely different.

Just to add on to this (SFC and OMG agreement alert!), the independent report that the league had commissioned about the teams' finances found a strong correlation between the amount of time a team had been in the league and its financial success. So there's also empirical evidence to suggest that deep roots have value.

 

[Hammer9001]

In the spirit of this discussion I could not consider Oshawa part of the GTA, and I doubt many living in Mississauga would either dispite what may be officially the GTA. That map almost goes to Peterborough.

I have a brother who lives in Miss, and his opinion is basically Mississauga is a suburb of Toronto. The main reasons that the Steelheads suffer are first, it's Leafs country. The water cooler talk everywhere is the Leafs. He said he had to start following the Leafs because otherwise he'd go to work and have nothing to talk about. The second is that nature of the town, it's a commuter town. A lot of people who live there drive to and from work a decent distance and by the time they get home and struggle with traffic, no one is in the mood to get back onto the 403 and fight with it some more to get to the Hershey Centre for a 7:00 game. I can't disagree on that note, the 403 and QEW turn into nightmares around rush hour. The third (and this is more my opinion) is...well it's a weird venue. The concourse is completely walled off from the action, there is limited beer options there, the sections are split up in odd ways that seems to encourage people blocking your view and it strikes me as just a bit too family friendly.

Just my thoughts on the subject. I obviously don't want the team to do poorly, but I know as a Hamilton fan I'd love to move into their division and get more games vs Niagara, but I get you want to give Sudbury and North Bay every driving advantage you can as well. It's a pickle that is for sure.

 

[Team BoBo]

Its never an easy answer. For YEARS Kitchener drew horribly.. mid 90s until DeBoer. We had a major surge from 2001-2010.. since the renos.. place is "rarely" full.. 90% being ST or promo tickets. We have seen a dip in the playoffs.. not even 7000. Hockey is not a growing sport by any means in this country. Many teams are struggling to gain attendance growth. If i was the owner.. the way to get people interested. give away the tickets.. make the money on concession and merch. parents who bring kids spend money on candy, popcorn, pizza, tshirts, hats,. etc. We have an issue in KW with most people attending the game being 60+ bring their own food and dont drink beer.
The second part is that with our region being so diverse. the interest in hockey just might not be what it was. look at the raptors and TFC both have had HUGE surges in ratings and attendance even the blue jays.. baseball is up basketball is UP. soccer is UP. its cheaper alternative and just as cool as hockey. Just because we live in Canada and you have almost a million people doesnt mean you can make a hockey team work. move the team to Georgetown or Milton and you may see a surge in attendance.
Just my two cents.

 

[Tarantula]

Comping tickets never seems to work as people will never pay for something they once got free and it kills the season ticket base.

 

[Neill99]

What's latest info about the Steelheads relocating anyone have an update?.

 

[Tarantula]

They are working on terms for a lease with the city. No word on any progress as of yet that I am aware of. They will be here next year, so there is time to come to terms. I would imagine if anyome hears anything it would be posted fairly quickly, I know I am keeping a eye out for any news.

 

[hockieguy]

Is there a large ethnic culture like there is in Brampton? Not very many immigrants from India, Pakistan or the Mid- East have hockey in their blood. But, most would if they had an opportunity to see a game.

 

[Hammer9001]

Comping tickets never seems to work as people will never pay for something they once got free and it kills the season ticket base.

This is true, you can't go overboard on your freebies and you can't just lower the price and expect that to fix your problems, because the second your price goes up people leave. If you are going to give freebies, you have to make sure they are through some other thing people have to buy that also builds your reputation with the demographic you are trying to target. Things like minor league teams get X number of free tickets if your kid is in.

 

[Bjorn Le]

To me the problem is the places in the GTA where an OHL team might do well enough either already have a team (Oshawa) or don't have an arena. The inner cities in Toronto have been a failure (Brampton, Missisauga, and St. Mike's never had a big enough arena). But Oshawa does quite well, and depending on your definition of the GTA, Barrie is another success story.

I could see a few cities in the GTA succeed with the OHL, but none of them have appropriate arenas. Milton, Georgetown, Newmarket, Pickering/Ajax. Maybe even a place like Richmond Hill. Georgetown in particular I think could do quite well. It's got the right demographics, it produces a ton of hockey talent already, and it's an excellent location (20-30 minutes from Guelph, 40-45 minutes from Kitchener, 45 minutes from Barrie).

 

[Tarantula]

Looks like some good news, seems they have agreed to a 5 year lease, haven't had a chance to see the details as of yet

 

[Chico Maki]

Looks like some good news, seems they have agreed to a 5 year lease, haven't had a chance to see the details as of yet

Apparently beginning July 1st the Hersey Centre will be renamed the Paramount Fine Foods Centre

 

[Tarantula]

Going to be odd not seeing the huge Hersh sign but progress is progress I guess. Good to see a deal done nonetheless for fans of the Trout. Hopefully some development around the empty area there is also included, as I heard something about a proposal put to council, but we all know how slow these things can take with municipal gov't. Good news for the fans of the Trout.

 

[From Up Top]

Looks like some good news, seems they have agreed to a 5 year lease, haven't had a chance to see the details as of yet

Great news for Trout fans! Next season will be tough with the rebuild, but the length of the deal should give the team some time to work with and hopefully avoid the relocation talk.

 

[Captain Crash]

Going to be odd not seeing the huge Hersh sign but progress is progress I guess. Good to see a deal done nonetheless for fans of the Trout. Hopefully some development around the empty area there is also included, as I heard something about a proposal put to council, but we all know how slow these things can take with municipal gov't. Good news for the fans of the Trout.

I'm just wondering what will happen to my favorite feature of the venue: the Hershey Kiss-shaped lampposts!