It's so easy to say something based on assumption rather than fact, isn't it? Have you ever been to Nashville? Clearly not, or you wouldn't have made such an asinine statement.
The Nashville Predators have been here for nine years and have only truly been competitive for three. The franchise was only six years old when the lockout occurred and effectively killed our corporate support. The corporations that supported the team before the lockout didn't return. The fanbase has had to try to fill the void left by businesses-not an easy task in a "non-traditional" market with a population of only 600,000 and virtually no media coverage.
Nashville's season ticket holder base is, I believe, 65% fans to 35% corporations. There
are a lot of Predators fans in Nashville, diehard fans who have done so much to try to support the Predators and still are. Predators fans are taking their hard-earned money and buying extra tickets to give to family and friends, or to donate to charity. The fans have stepped up in a big way, and the corporations and city government have dropped the ball.
Nine years is not long enough to gage the success of a "non-traditional" market. Hockey is growing here. Before another disappointing first round exit in the playoffs, corporate support was coming back. People who might not have given hockey a chance in the past were starting to pay attention to the Predators and were excited about the team we had. Every playoff game sold out quickly-something that didn't happen in some "traditional" NHL markets.
If we do the lose the team, the saddest part to me will be knowing what could have been. Nashville is a prosperous, fast-growing city. Many people are moving here from other NHL markets and would likely support the Predators. Youth hockey is huge here and could provide a very large, home-grown season ticket base in the future. It's unfortunate that Leipold is more concerned with covering up his own mistakes-like his marketing department-than seeing the potential that exists here.
I hate to disappoint you, but I wouldn't get too excited about the possibility of Basillie moving the team to Canada just yet. Nashville fans still have something to say about that. We're not going to let anyone steal
our team without a fight.