New arena for Cuda proposed. City approves unanimously. Construction start 4/2020; completion 4/2022

[LadyStanley]

Rather than playing in cavernous SAP Center, Sharks (who operate San Jose city facility) have proposed nearly doubling size of facilities to 6 rinks, including 4200 seat arena for Cuda.

(Guessing college, HS, and other leagues and tournaments would also use arena.)

Click to read more...

 

[SemireliableSource]

This makes way more sense.

Also, cue the SJSU hockey to D1 rumors.

 

[LadyStanley]

Stsnford might be enticed as well. Maybe UC Berkeley.

 

[PCSPounder]

Also, cue the SJSU hockey to D1 rumors.

As I posted on the BoH forum... have you SEEN that athletic department?

Usually, when a school is no good at sports, a conference keeps them around so everyone can have a bite. Which is what's happening here, but basically every other fan base in the Mountain West is done with their level of incompetence.

You get that school to drop football, maybe we can talk... and I'm trying hard to refrain from laughing at my comment as I type it.

Meanwhile, that area is just a streetcar line away from being a relatively easy one-transfer train ride from Stanford. Berkeley... no. Dear, no. The distance/traffic quotient alone is numbing.

 

[210]

So pretty much exactly what they said they were going to do in 2015...

 

[SemireliableSource]

As I posted on the BoH forum... have you SEEN that athletic department?

Usually, when a school is no good at sports, a conference keeps them around so everyone can have a bite. Which is what's happening here, but basically every other fan base in the Mountain West is done with their level of incompetence.

You get that school to drop football, maybe we can talk... and I'm trying hard to refrain from laughing at my comment as I type it.

Meanwhile, that area is just a streetcar line away from being a relatively easy one-transfer train ride from Stanford. Berkeley... no. Dear, no. The distance/traffic quotient alone is numbing.

 

[LadyStanley]

Approval received from city. Now just a matter of getting bids, etc.

 

[Ralph Slate]

What does this signal for the AHL in general? A 4,200 seat rink designed for an AHL team seems to lower the attendance bar. In Springfield, the acknowledged break-even attendance point is around 5,000 fans. When teams dip below 4,000, there is talk about the team moving.

Are the days of the AHL being a league looking to attract 7,000 fans per game over, in lieu of the teams being more of an appendage of the NHL team, meaning that it's OK for Belleville to draw 2,700 fans, as long as they are situated near Ottawa?

 

[Growlers]

What does this signal for the AHL in general? A 4,200 seat rink designed for an AHL team seems to lower the attendance bar. In Springfield, the acknowledged break-even attendance point is around 5,000 fans. When teams dip below 4,000, there is talk about the team moving.

Are the days of the AHL being a league looking to attract 7,000 fans per game over, in lieu of the teams being more of an appendage of the NHL team, meaning that it's OK for Belleville to draw 2,700 fans, as long as they are situated near Ottawa?

I was wondering that also. 4,200 seems VERY small to me for AHL

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

What does this signal for the AHL in general? A 4,200 seat rink designed for an AHL team seems to lower the attendance bar. In Springfield, the acknowledged break-even attendance point is around 5,000 fans. When teams dip below 4,000, there is talk about the team moving.

Are the days of the AHL being a league looking to attract 7,000 fans per game over, in lieu of the teams being more of an appendage of the NHL team, meaning that it's OK for Belleville to draw 2,700 fans, as long as they are situated near Ottawa?

For some teams, the AHL is about prospect development and fans are an afterthought. San José thinks this way more extremely than everyone else. For some, they just don't get fans because of managerial incompetence in the market, like Calgary in Stockton and New Jersey in Binghamton.

Some teams don't care about the AHL fans and only prospect development, but leave ownership and operation to the whoever owns the AHL team as long as the prospects are still developed. This has seen some success with Washington/Hershey, Boston/Providence, Columbus/Cleveland, Detroit/Grand Rapids, Colorado/Colorado, Nashville/Milwaukee, among others.

However, most teams still care a lot. They would prefer their team operate in the black as well develop prospects, which requires a lot of investment. The AHL team for many organizations holds both prospect development value and marketing value for the NHL team. Dallas, LA, Anaheim, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, and Buffalo all follow this style.

San José has never really cared much about running their AHL team in any way other than prospect development. It is just that this is getting a lot of publicity. There are many more teams that run their AHL teams in less fan-frustrating ways.

 

[mk80]

Looks like a similar concept to the new Blues practice facility the Centene Community Ice Center that opened in the fall with a 2500 seat arena used by high school, youth, and the Lindenwood University programs. Only difference here is that the Sharks are expanding an existing facility. For how they operate the Barracuda and the organizational philosophy this will work perfect for them.

 

[cjerina]

Is the low seat number some convoluted way to draw more fans to the Sharks games rather than Cuda games?

 

[LadyStanley]

Nope.

Sharks sell out when they are a good team (and the region isn't in a recession).

Barracuda don't detract from Sharks