You may laugh and troll now, but one day I will be in charge, just watch
I have been single handedly eliminating clutching and grabbing from English junior hockey, expect great things from me in the future
The level then was higher than anything in the entire country now.
People will say that the London Knights failed, they did, but not because of the sport or quality of product, they played at one of the most inaccessible arenas around, from Wembley, almost an hour on the tube then on the DLR to the middle of nowhere. The London Racers out in Romford, the middle of nowhere again. Arena locations are key in London.
I live in Wembley, I’ve been to Bracknell for games, which can take up to an hour and a half driving, I’ve been to Ally pally for games for Haringey Racers and although which is 10 miles give or take as the crow flies, lovely and local. It takes about 1 hour 15 minutes by trains.
Arena location and peoples knowledge of events are the 2 key nails in the coffin. I know people who want to go but its a pain in the rear.
I only had more knowledge about Haringey Racers as they appeared on some Wowcher deals, it was cheap tickets, but its still hard to get to on a Saturday night and they got about 600 or 700 people.
I went to the 2 kings Ducks games at the O2 which were sell outs, I underestimated how many Eastern European rooted Londoners would attend, that market exists but they don’t have a clue where it is on or when. The potential popularity is here.
As for a Wembley team in the Elite. Wembley is great for Central and West Londoners, brilliant tube connections, it would work a lot better than previous London teams. But people would have to generate a buzz, get the word out. You never know if it became a success, using some of the old Olympic park, like a copperbox could serve the other side of London who wouldn’t attend Wembley (huge long way off, huge long shot).
But back to previous comments from yesteryear, well Wembley Arena would be great, but it would not be a full time Ice rink, they are not in abundance around here. Perhaps a temporary rink in parts of the area that need developing would have to be part of the overall plan. And there are huge sways around the Arena and Stadium ready for development or in development, it’s just an old industrial area in reality in need of the continued development. For a team to be a benefit to us, well it needs to improve the grass roots level.
Or more outdoor rinks for longer in the year, not just for the xmas shopping brigade. Get kids teams to play on them during the day, shoppers would stop and have a pint and get more interest. Just a thought.
And the streaming cost is bs, someone surely has to get tv interested, not just premier sports, but BBC or ITV or Channel 5. Even just for GB games and the younger GB teams, generate some interest. Someone has to don the suit and get it sorted, if someone can sell these tv talent shows and rubbish then someone can sell Ice hockey.
Is footy the problem, no, I wouldn't think so, they are a huge market in an unbelievably size London market. I went to Wembley 3 times in the autumn, England vs Montenegro – full of fans fed up they can’t have a pint, NFL Minnesota Vikings, full of fans loving the fact they could have a pint and Rugby Saracens, again full of fans loving the fact they could have a pint. Don’t underestimate the powers of being able to have a pint, should be the marketing slogan. In reality, the laid back atmosphere, the pints, people aren’t scared (families) of the stereotypical footy fan, these are all selling points, I know more people who go to non football events than footy nowadays, expensive, hassle and yeah the stereotypes puts people off.