Bruce Landon's plea to Springfield fans

[pelts35.com]

http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/what_more_can_we_do.html

Not sure if being antagonistic is the way to bring out fans

"When are people going to stop making excuses? I am tired of hearing, "Well things pick up in this area after the holidays" or "It is not hockey season yet," or "What do you expect? The team has been bad the last several years."

If winning won't bring out the fans, then nothing will. Perhaps it's time to consider moving/selling the franchise?

Click to read more...

 

[mmazz22]

Well I think its the same thing as here in Bingo. Team has been bad for so many years its going to take more than 20 games to get fans in both cities to come out. Going into the weekend Bingo had the 2nd best winning percentage in the league but like Spring the building has been empty. I really feel both markets have been so bad lately (yes we won the cup in 2011 but that was quickly forgotten being followed up by a league worst record last season) it will take awhile for fans to come back. I m not sure what Springs playoff drought is, 10 years? Bingo stretch is like missed playoffs 6 of 7 years and the one playoff year the team was still 5th place in the division and made the playoffs on the last week of the season. So a winning culture in both markets has nt been happening for a while. I'm not sure what else Bruce can do but wait it out and put together a couple good season so that the Falcons become relevant again in the market. And change the name back to Indians . In my mind they will always be the Springfield Indians! ha

 

[HansH]

I would have added at least one ticket this week -- if they were playing at home while I was here on business... instead, the Whale got my money tonight. That's another team that's looking to be on the chopping block, if tonight's "crowd" is indicative, especially if their lease is actually up at the end of this year as one of the fans I talked to thought.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Start doing what Providence does. Offer pee-wee clubs a chance to play a mini game between periods for a small fee. Offer local school choirs a chance to sing the anthem before a game. All those things get at least one parent, and often times a family to buy a ticket. I don't always like what the PBruins do, but it works, and even a small uptick for the Falcons can keep them going.

Landon does this rap every year though. I suspect until the team puts together a couple of good seasons, it won't change.

 

[Rumblick]

Landon does this rap every year though. I suspect until the team puts together a couple of good seasons, it won't change.

That's the thing. Landon's cried "Wolf" so often that people really don't hear him at this point. I know a number of long-time fans from that area that simply don't go to games anymore. He got businesses to invest one year, then put a lousy product on ice and burned a lot of his goodwill with them. I hate to see any city lose their team, but he should quit *****ing and sell.

 

[pelts35.com]

That's the thing. Landon's cried "Wolf" so often that people really don't hear him at this point. I know a number of long-time fans from that area that simply don't go to games anymore. He got businesses to invest one year, then put a lousy product on ice and burned a lot of his goodwill with them. I hate to see any city lose their team, but he should quit *****ing and sell.

Exactly. He's been doing this for the last 10 years. I'm not sure how he convinced Pompea to buy the team and keep it in Springfield, but I suspect that Pompea is getting ready to sell.

 

[tarheelhockey]

That really isn't the right tone for attracting business.

"The team is good. I'm sick of your excuses for not showing up. The other day I thought about beating up a "fan". I talked somebody into spending a lot of money on this team. We'll find out after the holidays whether he made a good decision.

Happy holidays!"


What? Really?

 

[IceCapsFanNL]

How much did he pay for the team?

 

[Jebiker852]

Does anyone at the falcons do research? Tickets are ok priced i guess but the food is outrageous and not to mention 7-20 bucks on top of that for parking hartford does dollar hotdogs and 2 dollar beer nights why cant springfield? The hat giveaway they dropped the ball on pissed off fans and season ticket holders alike and no one had answers

 

[Charbacca08]

I grew up in the Western Mass area and attended many Falcons games. My buddies and I would always take in a few games during winter break in college. That's when the knife in the back came. The Falcons used to have "student pricing" for every game. Show your ID, and get a ticket for 10-15 dollars. Not a bad deal for "broke college kids". However, they did away with it and put "student pricing" on select nights. The nights were typically during the semester when we were all away at school.

I understand there are plenty of colleges in the area, SC, AIC, WNEC, WSC, Baypath...the list goes on. They lost that revenue boost during that month and half period when college kids WERE HOME. Instead they marketed themselves to the kids who went to school out there and have no idea Springfield even has a team.

Not to mention they target most of their "giveaways" and "promotions" to season ticket holders. You can disagree with me on this, but this has just been my experience. I think they need to do more in order to get fans new and old back into the Civic Center. For example, two or three years ago their home opener was a retro jersey night. Instead of watching the Springfield Falcons and Providence Bruins.....it was the Indians vs the Reds. I remember actually having to sit in the seat that was on my ticket because the stadium was near capacity. It's stuff like this that blows my mind. I think their market needs to be reworked and rehashed.

That's just me.