Denver is the most overstretched sports market in the United States.
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjourn...11/08/denver-is-most-overextended-market.html
I've often wondered this re: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and to a much lesser extent Wisconsin.
I've often wondered this re: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and to a much lesser extent Wisconsin.
Not to mention there are five division one colleges in the area. In denver you have to win to get attendance, just the way it works.Denver is the most overstretched sports market in the United States.
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjourn...11/08/denver-is-most-overextended-market.html
Illinois does ok, we just haven't found a way to cement hockey into the culture. We are #4 or 5 in the nation for registered players. There are rinks all around Chicago. More youth programs have sprung up, so with a little maturity Chicago hockey will get better, and hopefully a little more legitimate. There are some programs/rinks in central Illinois, and virtually none in the southern part. There has always been a little bit of cultural divide between Chicago and the rest of the state. I think if we really wanted to grow it, there are a few larger cities we would need to really focus on. The many small towns around though would take a loooong time.
yeah hockey is pretty popular in chicagoland, playing and watching. rockford, peoria, and springfield to a lesser extent have some potential. the blues should market themselves in southern illinois. my friends at u of i and isu say there's a good amount of blues fans from the south. minnesota, michigan, massachusetts, and new york are lucky cause hockey is popular all over the state. i would imagine colorado is more like illinois, where hockey is only popular around denver and colorado springs
I've often wondered this re: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and to a much lesser extent Wisconsin.
Illinois does ok, we just haven't found a way to cement hockey into the culture. We are #4 or 5 in the nation for registered players. There are rinks all around Chicago. More youth programs have sprung up, so with a little maturity Chicago hockey will get better, and hopefully a little more legitimate. There are some programs/rinks in central Illinois, and virtually none in the southern part. There has always been a little bit of cultural divide between Chicago and the rest of the state. I think if we really wanted to grow it, there are a few larger cities we would need to really focus on. The many small towns around though would take a loooong time.
More legitimate? Brett Hull, Tony Granato, Mike Stapleton.... when I was growing up skating with the likes of these guys and others, things were pretty legit and they went on to prove it. What the hell have ya'll been doing?
Did you miss the part where No Fun said that the Wirtz sabotaged 10-15 years of potential talent?
That said, Chicagoland still has a few notables.
And Mike Stapleton is from Sarnia, Ontario
Didn't Colorado have a ridiculously packed house for a good 10 years, with some crazy string of sellouts?
When you've got a core of Roy/Forsberg/Sakic/Foote/Bourque/Hejduk/ for so long, its easy to pack the house.
Wirtz sabotaged NHL talent, not local youth talent in Illinois.
I am always fascinated by places in the US where it's really darn cold and there is little or no hockey culture. That doesn't exactly describe Denver with its long college hockey tradition, but it sure describes some of the places around it. Montana and Wyoming have never produced an NHL player, which I find amazing. Idaho has produced two, but one is Guyle Fielder, who was raised in Manitoba. Utah has produced three, including Steve Konowalchuk. Colorado has produced eight, which is not bad, but six of them are from Denver.
They are not highly populated areas, except for central Colorado, but I've always been fascinated by the disconnect between areas where it's cold and hockey culture. The Northeast, Michigan and Minnesota all have a very strong hockey culture but it seems to disappear around western ND.
Why is that? I'd be fascinated to know why hockey didn't catch on in the mountain states.
I know Illinois has been relatively successful in producing players and that the Wirtz thing was a factor but it still surprises me that it and Wisconsin aren't on the same level as other Great Lakes states. The total lack of interest in Ohio and Indiana (especially northern Indiana, think Fort Wayne and Gary instead of Indianapolis) also stuns me. Pennsylvania is another one where production has lagged behind what you might expect.
This is a total shot in the dark, but the population in Montana and Wyoming may not be large enough to sustain high-quality high school hockey divisions. They certainly don't have high-profile college hockey programs, which doesn't help either.
Kroenke is incredibly cheap for a guy worth billions
(coming from a frustrated Arsenal follower.)
He's not involved with them at all.
I know Illinois has been relatively successful in producing players and that the Wirtz thing was a factor but it still surprises me that it and Wisconsin aren't on the same level as other Great Lakes states. The total lack of interest in Ohio and Indiana (especially northern Indiana, think Fort Wayne and Gary instead of Indianapolis) also stuns me. Pennsylvania is another one where production has lagged behind what you might expect.
As for Indiana.... dude, it's hoops and that's it. Nothing else matters over there, except for the Indy 500 and the Colts.
Basketball is spelled I-N-D-I-A-N-A