I usually lurk on HF, mainly because you guys scare me sometimes (haha), but felt compelled to post. I'm also not sure how a Colorado oriented post turned into a Ohio/Indiana/Midwest post, but I digress...
First, Colorado hockey is successful, and there is plenty of interest in the sport, and it is NOT new to the state, no matter what some say (Leadville Maroons and Whites, 1901). I find it rather disingenuous to compare an NHL team and their attendance/on-ice product to interest in the sport around the state.
The Denver metro area alone (Not counting Boulder, Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs) has at least thirty indoor rinks, while there are also several outdoor roller rinks (and I believe a few outdoor ice ones as well during the winter). Colorado also has a thirty team high school hockey association, that is divided into two conferences, the Peak and Foothills, and both boys and girls can compete. The Colorado High School Hockey State Championship will be held this weekend at Magness Arena. There are also numerous indoor and outdoor rinks across the state, both on the front range outside of Denver, and in the mountains and Western Slope. For example, Gunnison has an NHL sized rink that is utilized quite often and used by an ACHA team. I've been to numerous tiny towns across the Colorado Rockies that have outdoor and indoor hockey rinks. Not only that, the state has numerous rec leagues, both youth and adult, men and women.
The majority of these are, yes, in the Front Range, but people seem to forget that while Colorado has five million people within the state boundaries, at least 3.5 million of that are in the Denver/Boulder area alone. At least 4 million are in the entire Colorado Front Range area, while that other million is spread east on the plains, and west into the Rockies and Western Slope. Just two weeks ago, the Pabst Colorado Pond Hockey Tournament was held in the mountains, in Silverthorne, Colorado, where non-professional teams came from across the state to play on frozen ponds. Every winter, "pond" hockey is also played on Evergreen and Georgetown lakes and has a pretty decent turnout, and that's just near the Front Range, I'm sure there are plenty more. And if anyone says it's impossible to keep an outdoor rink in Denver, I defer you to Adam Foote who kept one in his backyard for years (and probably still does) as his kids grew.
When it comes to college, not only do we have the nationally recognized DU Pioneers (established 1949) who have a huge following, and the Colorado College Tigers (established 1938, first playing in the Pikes Peak Hockey League), but there is also the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, Western State College, Metropolitan State College of Denver and Colorado Mesa University. The rest aren't as "big" as the Pioneers or Tigers, but they are followed closely by the communities they are in. Several of those colleges also have women's teams, like CU and WSC. So that's just rec leagues, youth leagues, high school hockey, and college. As for junior, there are the Jr. Denver Pioneers and the Boulder Bison (I'm pretty sure Co Springs has one as well, but I can't remember). We also have the ECHL Eagles who play to a sold out crowd up in Loveland.
Okay, so what about semi-pro/professional?
The Denver Falcons (1950-1951) of the USHL were the first professional ice hockey team in Colorado. A car crash not only took the life of one of the players, but also injured another. They played at DU. Then there was the 34 day team, the IHL Denver Mavericks in 1959. I won't go into that. Next up, the Denver Invaders (1963-1964) in the WHL. They were the farm club for the Toronto Maple Leafs, if you can believe it. They played at the Denver Coliseum. They ended up moving to Victoria. Up next, the team that stayed the longest in Denver up to that point - the Denver Spurs, who began in the Western Hockey League in 1968-1969, and who, in the 71-72 season, brought home the first "professional" championship to the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. In 1974, they transferred to the Central Hockey League after the WHL folded, and after the 74-75 season, they were moved to the WHA after their owner, who had been granted a NHL "conditional" team and that later fell through, decided to. December 30th, 1975, was the last game the Spurs ever played in Colorado. There were rumors abound that the NHL was finally going to put a NHL team in Denver, thanks in large part to the Spurs' owner going after such a team (the Golden Seals). After more than seven years in Denver, the Spurs moved to Ottawa in January of '76 and became the Civics (and ultimately folded later that January).
And so began the Colorado Rockies era, who moved to Denver the summer after the Spurs left. Honestly, I won't go into that, but I will say that a LOT of people now just look at the Rockies moving and going "Oh well obviously Denver couldn't handle a professional hockey team". Uh, no. There were so many issues with management, ownership, and the like that makes Atlanta Spirit Group look like ANGELS. People say ASG is horrible - the real story behind the Rockies moving is even worse. I still know old time Rockies fans who are still angry about them becoming the Devils.
And now the fun part - a lot of people believe that from 1982 to 1995 Colorado didn't have a professional hockey team. Er... not quite. There were three teams - the Colorado Flames (CHL, 1982-1984, set a CO record with attendance, 15,000+), the Colorado/Denver Rangers (1987-1989), and the Denver Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were in Denver one year (1994-1995) and won the Turner Cup. I remember going to those games at Big Mac (McNichols Arena), and it was always a blast. And of course, the next year, we got a loaded team in the Nordiques. But the next time someone tries to say Denver is a "hockey wasteland", and we didn't/don't "deserve" a team - uh, no. Has the city itself had issues with supporting minor league hockey teams? Yes, it has. But the city of Denver, and especially the state of Colorado, has an extensive history with the sport itself. To suggest otherwise is not only ignorant but laughable.
As to the issues with the Avs? First, the ownership will NOT reduce prices, and a few years ago lost a ton of season ticket holders because of how they treated the fanbase. The prices of Avalanche tickets are still at 2001-2004 levels, and MANY people in the city cannot afford them due to the economy, and also because... who wants to pay up to $50 for a nosebleed seat and up to $500-600 for a glass seat? I know that's "cheap" compared to Canada, but here it's just not doable. Many people who go to games now have wised up and have started buying cheaper tickets from other places, offered by season ticket holders, other than buying from Tickethorse, Kroenke's official ticket site. Secondly, the Avs have had serious on-ice issues since the lockout that quite frankly demolished the team. It is only since Sherman was brought on that the "buy free agents, trade all the picks" idea has finally gone out the window. Has Sherman made questionable trades? Absolutely. But in the end, now, most Avs fans are starting to see that he is creating a team that can actually win. Last season did not help, and yet, attendance IS getting better (plus have people forgotten that the Avs have the record for longest consecutive sellout streak at 487?).
Thirdly, Kroenke is CHEAP. There's a reason why the Avs are at the cap floor. He's one of the richest owners in the sport, but what most fail to realize is that he is waiting until the next CBA to spend. Why? Once again, look at the lockout and the dismantling of the team that happened. Sherman has said that he has Kroenke's greenlight to spend but is not doing so until they see how the next CBA works out. Do I like the team being at the cap floor? No. However, Sherman has made significant strides to not only compete now, but also in the future, so I'm happy... but that brings me to the fourth point - Denver fans are notoriously fickle. This city is THE smallest city in North America that has all five major sports PLUS two professional lacrosse teams, an extremely popular college hockey team, and a college football team. Denver is sports crazy, BUT when it comes to the professional teams - you better win, or nobody but the diehards will spend money to see you (excluding the Broncos, which has seven states that claim season ticket holders).
Anyway, I know this will be TL;DR for a lot of people, but the point is you absolutely CANNOT judge Colorado by the attendance of the Colorado Avalanche. You just can't. Hockey is loved here, all over the state. Is it big like Canada or the northeast? No, probably not. But it IS popular here. And honestly, for anyone to say it isn't, probably doesn't live here, hasn't ventured very far from Denver or hasn't even looked. I started playing a year before the Grizzlies came, I play women's rec league when I can, follow the high school and college hockey teams, and my kid starts mini-mites next year. Trust me, it's popular or I wouldn't be fighting a ton of other parents for my kid to get a spot next year.
