OT: Canucks Sports & Entertainment Buy Vancouver Stealth NLL will be at Rogers Arena This Winter!!!

[canuckfan75]

Official Vancouver Canucks Website


New Branding of the Team on the way !!!! Johnny Canucks as the Logo will be very cool

Click to read more...

 

[Jabba The Hutton]

Ice is going to be worse for some Canucks games now

 

[Shareefruck]

Ice is going to be worse for some Canucks games now

That was my reaction to this as well, and the only thing I cared about it.

 

[famicommander]

Congrats.

The NLL is really moving up. Five years ago the only big time ownership groups were in Colorado and Buffalo, and it was a 9 team league.

Now they have 11 teams, 7 of which have legitimate big league ownership and 3 more of which are relatively successful. Vancouver had been a problem franchise, moving up the west coast from San Jose to Everett to Langley and drawing tiny crowds all the way. If the Canucks implement the same model that the Mammoth, Bandits, and Roughnecks have they'll no doubt draw 10-15K per game. San Diego and Philadelphia are expansion franchises, but with Joe Tsai and Comcast at the helm respectively there's little worry.

Now the only problem franchise is Georgia and Halifax is set to join for 2019-2020, possibly with other teams like NY or Dallas or Edmonton.

In 10 years we could be talking about the NLL the same way that MLS is talked about now. Except the NLL has the advantage of being the top lacrosse league in the world, whereas MLS will probably never enjoy that privilege.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

The NLL is actually and extremely fun league! My Saskatchewan Rush have literally turned SaskTel Centre into a booming sports facility. Sold out every game and draw thousands of fans from all over.

With a new arena in the plans for downtown I hope this can eventually sway the NHL into bringing Saskatoon an NHL team!

 

[Paulinvancouver]

So that teams going to start sucking now too?

#shittyownership

 

[Nucker101]

The NLL is actually and extremely fun league! My Saskatchewan Rush have literally turned SaskTel Centre into a booming sports facility. Sold out every game and draw thousands of fans from all over.

With a new arena in the plans for downtown I hope this can eventually sway the NHL into bringing Saskatoon an NHL team!

Saskatchewan sports fans > Vancouver sports fans

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Weird spot though. Who is their market @ Rogers arena?

 

[famicommander]

So that teams going to start sucking now too?

#****tyownership

They went 2-16 last year and drew a probably inflated 3,507 fans per game. There no way they could do any worse.

 

[Ryp37]

Weird spot though. Who is their market @ Rogers arena?

No kidding, 950 people in Rogers for a lacrosse game sounds like a weird atmosphere

 

[Jyrki21]

I played lacrosse a bit in high school and it's a pretty fun game, but its core area of support in the Lower Mainland has always been in the suburbs... I wish them luck, but I'm not sure a full-size downtown area makes a ton of sense.

Actually, the Vancouver Ravens did pull in 10,000 a game their first year playing at GM Place which is, admittedly, higher than I expected. But I'll bet the price will be higher these days, and I doubt the lacrosse community in BC has grown at the same rate at the region has.

 

[nickp91]

Aquilini's just wanted to save lacrosse in Vancouver Langley where they were playing before had dreadful turnouts so we're now hoping turnouts will be better at Roger's Arena

 

[famicommander]

No kidding, 950 people in Rogers for a lacrosse game sounds like a weird atmosphere

Colorado, Buffalo, and Saskatchewan average over 14,000 fans per game, Calgaty over 11,000, and Toronto almost 10,000.

Vancouver will easily be in that range.

EDIT:

NLL average attendances in 2018
Saskatchewan: 14,639
Buffalo: 14,181
Colorado: 14,070
Calgary: 11,847
Toronto: 9,700
Rochester: 6,760
New England: 5,557
Georgia: 4,437
Vancouver: 3,507

Colorado and Buffalo actually took a decent hit at the gate this year from the previous one due to the season starting over a month earlier and causing more arena date clashes.

Of those franchises:
Colorado shares ownership with the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids, LA Rams, and FC Arsenal
Buffalo shares ownership with the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres
Calgary shares ownership with the Calgary Flames and Stampeders
Vancouver is going from the poorest owner in the league and a bullcrap arena to the Canucks group
San Diego is getting an expansion team with Joe Tsai of Ali Baba and the Brooklyn Nets as owner
Philadelphia is getting the Wings back with Flyers ownership
New England shares ownership with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and the Mohegan casinos

Those seven franchises have major financial stability, and all of them but San Diego have control over their arenas which means they get to keep parking/concessions revenue and not pay to rent the building.

Of the others
Toronto's owner is independently wealthy and they play at the same arena as the big league teams, but no official affiliation with MLSE. Team is probably borderline profitable; it was said a few years back that 7,500 fans was about the break even point league wide but you have to figure Toronto is more expensive than suburban Atlanta or Saskatoon.

Rochester has been in its market since the mid 90s. Their owner is about to get a team in Halifax. Rochester is keeping a team no matter what, but there is still debate about whether the Rochester team moves the whole operation to Halifax with Rochester getting an expansion team or if Rochester is sold to a new owner and the old owner gets the expansion team in Halifax. Either way, Rochester is a small but reliable market. Halifax doesn't go down until next offseason in all likelihood.

Saskatchewan's owner is a small time joker who was barely treading water in Edmonton. Rather than selling to the Oilers, who were interested, he moved them to Saskatchewan and hit the lottery. They've led the league in attendance both seasons in the new market, and his costs are probably minuscule compared to Edmonton.

Georgia is now the biggest problem franchise in the league. Like Vancouver's previous situation, they actually play in a crappy arena in a suburb with small time owners. Speculation they could be sold to the ownership groups of either the Nashville Predators or Dallas Stars, but they're staying put next season.

I was legitimately worried this league would fold a few years back. In the last decade they've lost markets like New York, Portland, Boston, Minnesota, Edmonton, Philadelphia, San Jose, Washington state, Chicago, etc. And many of the owners they did have were just local dreamers who wanted to say they owned a pro sports team.

Now they're getting back into major markets with major league ownership in major league arenas.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Aquilini's just wanted to save lacrosse in Vancouver Langley where they were playing before had dreadful turnouts so we're now hoping turnouts will be better at Roger's Arena

... Colour me skeptical. Lacrosse is generally seen as a blue-collar type sport. Vancouver is almost impossible to live in now unless you are ultra-wealthy. Canucks games are mainly corporate affairs.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Colorado, Buffalo, and Saskatchewan average over 14,000 fans per game, Calgaty over 11,000, and Toronto almost 10,000.

Vancouver will easily be in that range.

EDIT:

NLL average attendances in 2018
Saskatchewan: 14,639
Buffalo: 14,181
Colorado: 14,070
Calgary: 11,847
Toronto: 9,700
Rochester: 6,760
New England: 5,557
Georgia: 4,437
Vancouver: 3,507

I'd be surprised if Vancouver was higher than New England.

Demographics, demographics, demographics.

Abbottsford, Chilliwack or Nanaimo make more sense, IMO.

 

[Pip]

So that teams going to start sucking now too?

#****tyownership

Start?

 

[Pip]

Aquilini's just wanted to save lacrosse in Vancouver Langley where they were playing before had dreadful turnouts so we're now hoping turnouts will be better at Roger's Arena

I remember some pretty embarrassing turnouts for the Ravens back in the day. I’m not convinced the attendence will be great, especially if the team doesn’t significantly improve.

 

[timbermen]

Great news.I played when i was a kid.Have brothers and cousins that played and my dad was a coach.I used to watch the Mann cup on the local channel.One year the Victoria Shamrocks played i think it was Brampton,anyways the best team from Ontario.What a war!!I remember one guy chopped one down with a vicious slash to the knee.The guy that got slashed got up and crosschecked him from behind so hard i swear there was a skid mark on the floor.He was floored for a while and a donnybrook broke out.Turned out the guy who got slashed got a broken leg.I saw my first Lacrosse brawl when i was about 5,6 or 7 years old.It carried outside to the parking lot, there were alot of injury's.The biggest player hit my uncle in the face with the wood part of his stick while he was driving out, they pulled him from the van and two guys were holding his arms behind his back while the 250 pounder punched him.My dad, who was around 270 at the time saw this and ran across the parking lot, twisted him around by the shoulder and landed a wicked uppercut that KO'd him on the spot.The guy went into convulsions, doing the fish on the sidewalk.My dad could fight.

 

[famicommander]

I'd be surprised if Vancouver was higher than New England.

Demographics, demographics, demographics.

Abbottsford, Chilliwack or Nanaimo make more sense, IMO.

I bet they'll clear 10,000 minimum.

You're underestimating just how minor league their previous ownership was. Basically zero in the way of marketing, sponsorships, fan outreach, sales staff, etc. The worst arena in the NLL, the lowest quality video feed for TV/streaming games. The same franchise failed in two markets before they got to Langley. It wasn't demographics, it was ownership. Now they have an entire Canucks fanbase, media network, and staff to utilize.

The NLL business model is currently to provide extra arena dates for NHL/NBA teams who control their arenas. It's not going to work in a big market unless it's at the big league arena. For NHL teams especially, all they have to do is put down a carpet. They can use the exact same arena configuration; same boards, same glass, same safety nets, etc. It's 9-15 extra dates per year depending on preseason/playoffs. Sure, it's scaled down in price but they're still selling tickets, merch, concessions, and parking spots.

If they deploy the same model that Colorado, Buffalo, and Calgary have they will succeed. Calgary's franchise was about to fold before the Flames bought them and now they're successful. The old Philadelphia Wings franchise failed and sold majority control to the WNBA's Sun, then became the Black Wolves and are now successful. They don't draw great, but neither do their WNBA team. Their goal is to get people into their arena/casino. And the Wings are coming back with the Flyers' ownership, and they'll be successful too.

Nobody in Colorado knew anything about lacrosse when the Mammoth got here. But they marketed the team directly to Avs fans and for a few years there the Mammoth even outdrew the Nuggets, Avs, and AFL's Crush in terms of per game attendance.

 

[Hansen]

@Pip get f***ed lol

Im totally down to go to NLL games in Vancouver, last time I went was when my uncle played for the Roughnecks against the Ravens and they healthy scratched him for the game lmao

 

[Cogburn]

I hope it pans out. I played Lacrosse as a youngster, and really enjoyed it, even played on behalf of BC in a few tournaments.

I can't ever remember Vancouver having a consistent presence in my age group though. There was a team (sometimes) in Kilarney, but it was typically Abbotsford/Mission, Coquitlam, Poco, New West, Langley, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows, some cobbling of Richmond/White Rock/Tsawwassen and usually a Surrey and Burnaby team (as others have said, suburbs). I am surprised that they are moving to Rogers arena, hoping or expecting a better turn out. Langley was great for the central/Eastern valley in terms of location, but I would hope that Canucks ownership means more exposure.

As an alternative to a terrible Canucks team, a good Lacrosse team could be a salve on our wounds. This could help build a loyal fan base, as fickle as we Vancouverites are. There are similarities in the physicality of the game, but a lot of the strategy more closely resembles basketball. There could be some cross over if the game gets some exposure to those that aren't familiar with it.

My thoughts are with the franchise, I hope this is a keystone moment, but I haven't been able to afford a night out like this in some time, mostly due to all the peripherals. This hurts my chances of checking out games, being further down the valley as I am. Canucks included. So I hope they can find some traction with the new ownership group, as well as the bigger arena.

 

[Royal Canuck]

Other NLL teams in large markets have done well when the fans get behind them.

The Rush and Mammoth are two great examples.

I just worry that if the team isn't competitive off the bat, Vancouver fans will stop coming.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

I bet they'll clear 10,000 minimum.

You're underestimating just how minor league their previous ownership was. Basically zero in the way of marketing, sponsorships, fan outreach, sales staff, etc. The worst arena in the NLL, the lowest quality video feed for TV/streaming games. The same franchise failed in two markets before they got to Langley. It wasn't demographics, it was ownership. Now they have an entire Canucks fanbase, media network, and staff to utilize.

The NLL business model is currently to provide extra arena dates for NHL/NBA teams who control their arenas. It's not going to work in a big market unless it's at the big league arena. For NHL teams especially, all they have to do is put down a carpet. They can use the exact same arena configuration; same boards, same glass, same safety nets, etc. It's 9-15 extra dates per year depending on preseason/playoffs. Sure, it's scaled down in price but they're still selling tickets, merch, concessions, and parking spots.

If they deploy the same model that Colorado, Buffalo, and Calgary have they will succeed. Calgary's franchise was about to fold before the Flames bought them and now they're successful. The old Philadelphia Wings franchise failed and sold majority control to the WNBA's Sun, then became the Black Wolves and are now successful. They don't draw great, but neither do their WNBA team. Their goal is to get people into their arena/casino. And the Wings are coming back with the Flyers' ownership, and they'll be successful too.

Nobody in Colorado knew anything about lacrosse when the Mammoth got here. But they marketed the team directly to Avs fans and for a few years there the Mammoth even outdrew the Nuggets, Avs, and AFL's Crush in terms of per game attendance.

I could care less about what they were it's about coming into a market that now will only be catering to the top top top events and putting in a sport seen as D-Level and putting it right in the center of the most expensive place they could.

None of those places listed are comparable.

 

[famicommander]

Wanna bet?

I promise you this team will average at least 10,000 fans per game next season.

 

[famicommander]

National Lacrosse League Announcement FAQ
Overall:

When will the Vancouver team begin playing?

* A. The Vancouver team will begin play in the 2018.19 season

Where will the team play?

* A. The team will play all home games at Rogers Arena

Team Identity:

Will you rename the team and redesign the logo?

* A. The team will be rebranded and unveiled in the coming months.

How and what will you name the team?

* A. We are going through the process now of planning how we will rebrand and rename the team.

Staff and Players:

Will you make any changes to the staff?

* A. The new ownership group is looking at all options. They look forward to connecting again with GM Doug Locker and his staff in the near future.

Will the roster remain the same?

* A. The new ownership group in conjunction with existing Stealth staff will look at all options in procuring the best talent available for the 2018.19 season.

Ticketing:

What happens to current season ticket holders for the Stealth?

* All current season ticket holders for the Stealth will be refunded their initial deposits for the 2018.19 season. They will be contacted in priority order for memberships for games at Rogers Arena when information becomes available.

Who should ticket holders call if they have questions?

* A. Ticket holders interested in priority access to future NLL games at Rogers Arena can contact 604-899-GOAL

Will you change ticket prices?

* A. More information about ticket memberships, packages and single game pricing will be available in the near future. Fans can sign up for more information and email updates above or call 604-899-GOAL.

Other:

What happens to the Junior Stealth program?

* A. The Junior Stealth program will continue to operate this summer at the Langley Events Centre. The new ownership group will look to build upon this and other Stealth community programs leading to the start of the 2018.19 season.

National Lacrosse League Team

Y'all also got Chris Gill as head coach. He's been on my Mammoth's staff for years and played here before that; he's a very solid hire.