The problem is that they've been dicking around for years now and not getting anything done. The fanbase was small to begin with, and I have no doubt it dwindles somewhat every month the ownership crisis continues. Add the lockout-related fan loss to that, and assuming Gramps does pull a rabbit out of his ass and saves the team, there's not going to be much of a crowd to play in front of.
So what's the point? Why go through all this rigamarole for so long if the end result is going to be a team that has an owner, but an empty arena? What does that prove? Does Bettman get to pat himself on the back about how the sunbelt travesty "worked" just because some chump buys the Yotes?
It doesn't solve any of the problems. Sure, the team'll be out of the NHL's hands directly, but you have to be crazy to think a new owner is going to suddenly turn the ship around for this team. It's still going to hemmorhage money. It's still going to pull up the rear in attendance numbers. It's still going to have the cheapest prices in the league if there's any hope of attracting a crowd.
I've said it before, but the problem is cultural, and as such, it's unsolvable.
Look at it this way: I'm a Winnipegger. We have a pro baseball team here (I guess it's minor pro, but whatever, it's a high level). I have no interest in baseball whatsoever. It bores the living **** out of me. I'm not going to a baseball game. You could give me free season tickets and I may not even show up. The team won the pennant or championship or whatever they call it, last season. Don't care. It wasn't that I was ill-informed -- I saw ads for the team's games throughout the season. I read about them all year long in the sports section of the daily paper. There was tons of hype around the playoffs. I could probably name a number of players on the team off the top of my head. But I'm not going.
Because it's *baseball*. And I don't care.
I've seen so many people in this ongoing Phoenix debate suggest that all the Yotes need is better advertising, making people more aware that games are happening. Maybe that will attract a few people on the fence, but I get the impression most people down there feel about hockey the way I feel about baseball. They don't give a mother****.
How do you solve that problem? You can't. At least with the Goldeyes, the stadium is small enough that if they get a few thousand patrons out per game, they probably make decent money and the place looks relatively full.
The Yotes, on the other hand, need to sell a hell of a lot more tickets to make any $, and the place always looks empty on TV. There's no way around it. You really think Gramps Jamison is gonna make a difference? Get the **** outta here.
It's not going to matter. It's a bunch of people wasting money for no reason, and *at the expense of real hockey fans*. Move this team to Quebec, instant sellouts *tomorrow*. Immediately. Jets-style. Keep it in AZ, and it'll just get worse every year, new owner or otherwise, and pictures of half-empty arenas will continue to make the NHL a laughingstock.
I see where you are coming from; however, I still have to disagree in the end. If bunch of people decide that they want to purchase the Yotes and keep them in Arizona I have no problem with that. If they lose their money that is not my concern or problem.
I know I said this already but the attendance is not the issue you think it is. The NHL is not the laughing stock you think it is because the yotes have low attendance because the only people who notice the actual attendance are diehard fans who happen to post in this thread.
Lets pretend that the yotes are moved and the attendance at the new location goes up. Does that mean the NYI are the new laughing stock? The NYI new area is not likely going to help since it has a capacity of 14,500 for hockey. We better move them to another city. Based on the ESPN attendance records we continue to move up the list to Dallas, Columbus, and Anaheim As they fall to the bottom of the attendance list they will be the next laughing stock so we better move them next. Then who do we have? Winnipeg? Well if we are on the bottom of the list now, guess what, based on everyone complaint about lowest attendance team making the NHL a laughing stock well Winnipeg with it's small arena will be it.
Other than the top 2% of the hockey fan base, no one cares if the Yotes have 1,000 people at the game or if it is sold out.
Other than the top 2% of the hockey fan base, no one cares if the yotes are giving away tickets for cheap since they do not even know how much they are being sold for.
The price of the tickets only matters to the owner to determine how much money they will make or lose. Once you start the argument that the yotes should move because the tickets are cheaper you start this argument. The yotes ticket is the cheapest in the league so they should be moved, but you can get a any NHL team ticket less than a Leaf's ticket; therefore should every team be forced to charge the same price as the leafs or face relocation?
Personally, the fans in Arizona that purchased tickets to the game would be real hockey fans. One could say that Quebec could have built a new arena years ago and purchased a AHL team like what happened in Winnipeg, built a relationship with the NHL to see if they could get a team. If they had done that, it would have been likely that Atlanta would have gone to Quebec first since they lost their team first. It is also very likely the yotes would have moved back to Winnipeg as well if there were two arenas ready to take a team 1.5 years ago. Does the fact that they did not try to build an arena earlier mean they are not real hockey fans? Whose fault is it that Quebec is still waiting for a team?
From a strictly business point of view, attendance needs to go up, ticket prices need to go up, advertising dollars need to go up, beer and snack prices and sales need to go up to give this team a chance to break even. These are facts, and if a group of business men and women feel that they have a plan to accomplish the above they they have every right to. That being said, I do not think this deal will ever go through once I consider the business factors. (Sorry yotes fans, I am not trying to be a jerk, just looking at the facts and drawing a conclusion. unfortunately, my conclusion is that this deal is dead)
BTW, the Yotes are not making the NHL a laughing stock many of you want to believe. They are Pacific Division Champions and that is hardly making the NHL a laughing stock. If any team is making the NHL a laughing stock I would say it is Columbus with their record last year (29 wins). To the average fan, they really do not care that Columbus is last since they only care that their team was not the worst team.