One (or even several) early season games does not determine the success of moving a team. It was arguably either a foolish or a gutsy move by the Rebels' ownership to relocate into the middle of a very crowded sports market. But I'd wait until they get through their first season @ 1923 Arena before I'd pronounce a winner in that argument.... The Philadelphia Rebels made their debut in the city tonight, but it doesn't seem to have fixed their attendance woes. Only 267 on hand to watch them hang another loss on Johnstown. Ouch.
One (or even several) early season games does not determine the success of moving a team. It was arguably either a foolish or a gutsy move by the Rebels' ownership to relocate into the middle of a very crowded sports market. But I'd wait until they get through their first season @ 1923 Arena before I'd pronounce a winner in that argument.
WB-Scranton Knights to EHL?
Does this mean Wilkes-Barre Scranton is leaving the NAHL? They have an ELITE team listed as well.
EHL Announces Teams in Each Division
BOSTON, MA -- The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is pleased to announce the 2017-18 divisional structure for the Premier Division and the Elite Division.
PREMIER DIVISION (16 TEAMS)
Boston Jr. Rangers (Tewksbury, MA)
Connecticut Oilers (Hamden, CT)
Connecticut RoughRiders (Norwalk, CT)
East Coast Wizards (Bedford, MA)
New England Wolves (Laconia, NH)
New Hampshire Avalanche (Hooksett, NH)
New York Applecore (Brewster, NY)
New York Bobcats (Kings Park, NY)
Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (West Chester, PA)
Philadelphia Little Flyers (Aston, PA)
Philadelphia Revolution (Warwick, PA)
Total Athletics Seahawks (Hyannis, MA)
Valley Jr. Warriors (Haverhill, MA)
Vermont Lumberjacks (Burlington, VT)
Walpole Express (Walpole, MA)
Wilkes/Barre Scranton Knights (Pittston, PA)
One (or even several) early season games does not determine the success of moving a team. It was arguably either a foolish or a gutsy move by the Rebels' ownership to relocate into the middle of a very crowded sports market. But I'd wait until they get through their first season @ 1923 Arena before I'd pronounce a winner in that argument.
There is no winning in that market. The east coast is full of people that just do not want to watch juniors and there is a ton of pro hockey. The Rebels would be best served moving away from the Philly area into more rural PA where the people do not have so many choices for entertainment. That is where the NAHL has succeeded in the past.
The guy that spent time in prison for all the fraud charges is at it again. These rankings are crazy, or someone is getting paid off.
https://thejuniorhockeynews.com/oct...rth-american-tier-ii-rankings-nahl-ncdc-cjhl/
I don't know; the Phantoms were able to find success there next door to the Flyers. Obviously the NAHL is quite a drop from the AHL, but there is sort of a precedent of Philly being a good overall hockey market.
Now that said, I agree with you that smaller markets are likely the best bet for the NAHL, particularly in Pennsylvania. If the Rebels give up on Philly, I'd like to see them (or an expansion team) give it a go in York. They have a rink that might be sufficient.
It's the same thing the plagues half the league, attendance and sponsors do not pay the bills. A quick look at the Titans attendance figures game by game I'll give them a rough estimate of 400 a game. 28 home games once you remove the showcase. At the high end they charge $10/person. So 400*28*10=$112,000. I cannot find any information on sponsors so I will not include them in this. Let's say they hold 3 try out camps with 120 players paying $300 to attend. After paying ice fees they have about $100,000. Now you have about $212,000 in known revenue.
Now the titans have to fly 2 round trips (Alaska and Minnesota). Going with just a skeleton crew so to speak it would cost $22,000 (expedia search) for the round trip flights bringing just 20 players and 2 coaches by the cheapest flights I see. Now looking at hotels let's say they get decent deals and every hotel is $90/room/night. They need a hotel for roughly 23 nights and at least 8 rooms for players and coaches and another for the bus driver. 90*23*8=$18,630. Now buses are a little harder as they go by day and mileage. For argument's sake just say $2,000/day. They need to have a bus for 32 days (not including the week in Alaska with no games on weekdays). 32*2,000=$64,000. League fees in the NAHL come out to approximately $30,000 a year. Just there you have $134,630 in expenses. Head coaches make at the low end $30,000-$40,000 a year. Assistants get $15,000 a year at the low end and most teams have at least 2 (sometimes a 3rd as a goalie coach). Each player gets 6 sticks a year I believe. 25 players, 6 sticks each, $200/stick. 25*6*200=$30,000. All told~$224,630 in known expenses not including other gear, gym time, trainers, ice time, scouts, and post game meals.
***Disclaimer***
Numbers are rough estimates learned from personal experience and trusted references.
York City Ice Arena has a capacity of 1,000 people. NAHL league mandates require seating for 1,500. Also to dredge this back up, it is the rough costs that teams incur throughout the year. The league has that minimum seating requirement because they realize that for teams to be sustainable they need that many paying fans per game. I do not know of any other arenas in PA with that much seating other than where Aston was, Penn state arena, Johnstown, and Connellsville where the NAHL has failed already.
Philly's done next to nothing in the marketing department to get the word out there. They also have the tough task of getting people to understand what junior hockey is. Die hard Flyers fans know the major junior leagues by following their prospects, but I would guess most of that group doesn't know about the NAHL.
And that's why I emphasized might. Don't need the business model quoted back. I said might be sufficient because often it is not very hard for rinks of that size to add a few hundred seats. The WBS Knights did exactly that to their respective venue just before joining the NAHL. If I recall, NJ did the same. Rostraver added a few hundred temporary seats into otherwise unused space to host the Penguins practice for Hockeyville. So yes, York Ice Arena might be sufficient.