New Western Teams, how are they doing so far?

[Hoodaha]

With a slew of new Western Teams this year, I thought it'd be interesting to see how things were going so far. It looks like several of the additions were slam dunks.

San Diego, 8,296 fans/game. 2nd in the league (Was Norfolk, 4,752).

Ontario, 7,631 fans/game. 5th in the league (Was Manchester, 5,621).

Manitoba, 7,089 fans/game. 7th in the league (Was St. John, 5,778).

Bakersfield, 5,472 fans/game. 12th in the league. (Was OKC, 3,262)

Stockton, 4,677 fans/game. 21st in the league (Was Adirondack, 3,642).

San Jose, 3,879 fans/game. 23rd in the league (Was Worcester, 3,847).


All in all, not bad moves in terms of attendance, though early on San Jose doesn't look spectacular.

Click to read more...

 

[Peter6625]

San Jose better be careful, the way they're playing is comparable to AHL. Having two teams works in Canada not in the US. I don't think Sharks fans will support a rebuild, when you have the option to go see AHL for next to nothing.

 

[Hoodaha]

San Jose better be careful, the way they're playing is comparable to AHL. Having two teams works in Canada not in the US. I don't think Sharks fans will support a rebuild, when you have the option to go see AHL for next to nothing.

Yeah. I always saw the AHL to San Jose as a temporary move though, to get the Western move going. If it'd been a rousing success, so be it, but you've got to think that there's a longer term plan.

 

[210]

Yeah. I always saw the AHL to San Jose as a temporary move though, to get the Western move going. If it'd been a rousing success, so be it, but you've got to think that there's a longer term plan.

San Jose thought they'd have one more season to make permanent arrangements and got caught a little off guard at how fast things went. Once they get into their own building it should work out as well as the Sharks want it to.

 

[Goldenshark]

I'm still hoping the Barracuda move eventually to Sacramento's new downtown arena, the Golden 1 Center, which will be ready by next season. It already looks 75% completed and I think it would be a better location for them. The outdoor hockey game in Sac between Stockton and Bakersfield is happening this Friday, looking forward to see the turnout.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, AHL to San Jose always felt like a temporary move as well. Expecting them to jump over to Sacramento when it becomes feasibly possible. Close proximity for player call ups and gives them an easy foot in on an nearby market that I'm sure that the Sharks would like to grow into.

 

[SeattleSharksFan]

San Jose Barracuda to Sacramento makes sense to me. Sadly the Barracuda games are a sea of empty seats, and putting the AHL in Sac would be a great growth opportunity for the sport and the Sharks brand.

The only hitch I see might be that the Sharks did invest in a new set of locker room facilities for the Barracuda adjacent to the big club's at Sharks Ice. Maybe that too is a temporary arrangement and the new facilities can be either folded into the Sharks, given over to the Jr. Sharks/SJSU or something.

 

[LadyStanley]

I think those #s for San Jose are padded with a lot of comps.

Most games ushers tell me they expect ~2000.


There are a lot of other activities that take potential fans away from the game, including junior hockey, NBA, NFL, NCAA football/basketball/etc. (2 D1 schools, a couple of D3 schools, and dozens of smaller colleges), HS sports, etc.

Promotions have brought in some fans.

 

[Quack Shot]

Yeah the Barracuda numbers are padded. The Sharks should almost do a deal where if you bring in 2 Sharks ticket stubs you get a free Barracuda ticket. Do something to just get people in the door and sell food and merchandise.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

There were about 4000 people at this last game.

Granted it was Cub Scout night with discounts, but it was doing good.

Having these double headers is killing the attendance though. I have to think the team is either in Sacramento or their new building next year.

 

[kducks]

San Diego has embraced the Gulls again. I know a lot of Ducks fans that drive down for games too. Driving down the day after Christmas for a game, can't wait to see them live.

 

[Jackets Woodchuck]

Any chance that the Sharks could sell the Barracuda to the (Sacramento) Kings (take some non-hockey expenses off the Sharks' hands) if they move to Sacramento and have an arrangement similar to the Monsters and Rampage (owned by NBA teams) or is the NHL ownership provision sacrosanct for California AHL teams?

 

[210]

Any chance that the Sharks could sell the Barracuda to the (Sacramento) Kings (take some non-hockey expenses off the Sharks' hands) if they move to Sacramento and have an arrangement similar to the Monsters and Rampage (owned by NBA teams) or is the NHL ownership provision sacrosanct for California AHL teams?

No.

You can set that in stone. San Jose wants to have full control of everything to do with their AHL affiliate. So no chance they sell it.

 

[Quack Shot]

I'm listening to the townhall that SD had for their season ticket holders and the speaker said that SD is actually number 1 in real attendance meaning the actual number of fans in the building in all of the AHL.

 

[kducks]

Good article from one of the local beat writers.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151222/ahl-migration-to-california-cities-is-a-hockey-bonanza

 

[PSGJ]

According to google Oracle Arena in Oakland is an hour and ten minutes away by car from SAP Center. Seems to me that's far enough away to draw people who wouldn't come to to SAP center and far enough away to expand the hockey foot print in the Bay Area. Oracle arena has a listed hockey capacity as well so presumably the arena could work. Any chance of this happening?

 

[LadyStanley]

According to google Oracle Arena in Oakland is an hour and ten minutes away by car from SAP Center. Seems to me that's far enough away to draw people who wouldn't come to to SAP center and far enough away to expand the hockey foot print in the Bay Area. Oracle arena has a listed hockey capacity as well so presumably the arena could work. Any chance of this happening?

It's maybe 35 miles apart, but with traffic, easily that hour+. (One of the most congested corridors in the state.)

Totally different pool of folks. You might get even more from North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Napa counties), East Bay (Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano) and Central Valley. And a lot less from Peninsula (San Francisco, San Mateo) and South Bay and beyond (Santa Clara, San Juan Batista, Monterrey, Santa Cruz).

 

[Hoodaha]

I'm still hoping the Barracuda move eventually to Sacramento's new downtown arena, the Golden 1 Center, which will be ready by next season. It already looks 75% completed and I think it would be a better location for them. The outdoor hockey game in Sac between Stockton and Bakersfield is happening this Friday, looking forward to see the turnout.

I don't believe the new building in Sacramento has ice, which is both silly and shocking. An ice plant isn't cheap....

 

[Goldenshark]

I don't believe the new building in Sacramento has ice, which is both silly and shocking. An ice plant isn't cheap....

It'll have ice, they have to be able to do ice capade shows, it's costing over a half a billion dollars to build. Arco Arena (now Sleeptrain Arena) had ice and did ice shows and preseason NHL games until its ice plant broke about 10 years ago.

Have you heard somewhere that it is not?

 

[MM658]

Good article from one of the local beat writers.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151222/ahl-migration-to-california-cities-is-a-hockey-bonanza

“The travel is a little difficult, for us at least,” Gulls right wing Tim Jackman said. “The closest bus trip is Ontario, but the other places we’ve played, Bakersfield and San Jose, we’ve had some long bus trips. But it’s good bonding. We’ve watched some movies and there’s been some laughs.”

Eek - the new-look, more-professional AHL is...gulp...a bus league?! TFF

 

[axecrew]

I know....OMG they have to bus to places...sounds just like the eastern conference of the AHL which is coincidently where they played last year I mean its not like Norfolk bussed anywhere.....TOOL!!!

 

[PCSPounder]

According to google Oracle Arena in Oakland is an hour and ten minutes away by car from SAP Center. Seems to me that's far enough away to draw people who wouldn't come to to SAP center and far enough away to expand the hockey foot print in the Bay Area. Oracle arena has a listed hockey capacity as well so presumably the arena could work. Any chance of this happening?

Oracle is ill-suited for hockey. A bit like Barclays. It's a basketball configuration that supposedly can clear space for a hockey rink, but a lot of obstructed view seating.

If you look at the archives of http://golden1center.com/live/ instead of the live panorama shot, the configuration, from what I can tell, looks VERY similar to Arco/Sleep Train. In other words, I'm sure they'll lay ice for Disney on Ice, but I'm not sure there's 200 feet for hockey... or otherwise very similar to Barclays and Oracle. On this I could be wrong; I'd love to be able to glean measurements from those pictures. The website references ice shows, but not hockey. Shrug.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Eek - the new-look, more-professional AHL is...gulp...a bus league?! TFF

Bakersfield does have an airport. It is really small and kind of a joke but it is techincally an airport

 

[Hoodaha]

Bakersfield does have an airport. It is really small and kind of a joke but it is techincally an airport

Goes mainly to LA, Denver, Phoenix, and San Francisco.

 

[MM658]

I know....OMG they have to bus to places...sounds just like the eastern conference of the AHL which is coincidently where they played last year I mean its not like Norfolk bussed anywhere.....TOOL!!!

Yeah, same as last year, and same as the Eastern Conference. But, golly, I thought this Gilded Age of the AHL was all about eschewing the past and embracing The Big Time in all respects, including taking flights everywhere.
Or, maybe being a bus league isn't so bush-league after all...