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(02-20-2017 06:50 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  Lauren Walsh‏ @LaurenWalshTV
...Fmr Bham Bulls owner hopes his new hockey team will play Fall '17. Pelham Council votes tonight on lease agreement.
...Former Birmingham Bulls owner sets sights on Pelham for professional hockey team abc3340.com
...Art Clarkson, who owned Birmingham Bulls in the 90s, tells me he hopes to have professional hockey playing in the Birmingham metro this Fall
...Tonight: Pelham City Council will vote on a lease agreement to bring professional hockey back to Birmingham metro. #LiveOn3340

That sucks

Not sure the PIC can handle it unless they do major expansion/upgrades to the main rink. SPHL avgs around 2-4k+ attendance. It's hard enough getting rink time w/ who's currently using it & to toss in a pro team as well playing same days of the week??? BJCC would be better choice, politics aside.

(02-20-2017 08:55 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  Not sure the PIC can handle it unless they do major expansion/upgrades to the main rink. SPHL avgs around 2-4k+ attendance. It's hard enough getting rink time w/ who's currently using it & to toss in a pro team as well playing same days of the week??? BJCC would be better choice, politics aside.

Can't imagine PIC being a long-term solution...

(02-20-2017 08:55 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  Not sure the PIC can handle it unless they do major expansion/upgrades to the main rink. SPHL avgs around 2-4k+ attendance. It's hard enough getting rink time w/ who's currently using it & to toss in a pro team as well playing same days of the week??? BJCC would be better choice, politics aside.

The Huntsville Havoc play in the VBC arena, which seats 6800 for hockey.

The Havoc will have 3-4 hard sellouts a season that will keep their average high. Add to that 5 to 8 nights where you can expect 5k+ . Not too bad for 30 ish home dates.

The BJCC will be too big, unless the draw for hockey fans can be widened .

A lot have seemed to forget that our last experiment with hockey didn't draw flies & left.

(02-20-2017 09:17 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  A lot have seemed to forget that our last experiment with hockey didn't draw flies & left.

Seem to recall it was blamed on very poor management after Clarkson sold off left for Huntsville(?).... Clarkson is the key. Seems to know when to get in and when to get out...

I suspect it will be harder & harder to get the surrounding areas to come downtown to watch any pro league.

Pro Hockey in Pelham would be a struggle due to the lack of seating.

Not sure how our club team can expect to advance without having some type of on campus option.

(02-20-2017 09:53 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  I suspect it will be harder & harder to get the surrounding areas to come downtown to watch any pro league.

Pro Hockey in Pelham would be a struggle due to the lack of seating.

Not sure how our club team can expect to advance without having some type of on campus option.

Especially starting in Pelham and possibly being "abandoned" for Bham ala the Barons. Can't expect that level of success, though...

(02-20-2017 10:04 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  

(02-20-2017 09:53 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  I suspect it will be harder & harder to get the surrounding areas to come downtown to watch any pro league.

Pro Hockey in Pelham would be a struggle due to the lack of seating.

Not sure how our club team can expect to advance without having some type of on campus option.

Especially starting in Pelham and possibly being "abandoned" for Bham ala the Barons. Can't expect that level of success, though...

That's why arenas & stadiums have to be centrally located. Casual fans need/have to be 25-30 minutes or less door to door from their seats, or else it becomes a journey.

(02-20-2017 09:53 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  I suspect it will be harder & harder to get the surrounding areas to come downtown to watch any pro league.

Pro Hockey in Pelham would be a struggle due to the lack of seating.

Not sure how our club team can expect to advance without having some type of on campus option.

I would wholeheartedly disagree there. Downtown is as strong as it's been in years with plenty of entertainment options before and after the games. People from the suburbs are MORE likely to come downtown for leisure activity now vs the last 2 decades at least. And that's a dynamic that will only continue as more new development comes online.

And name the last sport pro league or semi-pro league that played at the arena and drew something more than flies?

My guess would be the Steeldogs 1st year.

Agreement w/Pelham is 5 years with improvements to increase seating to 4000...

So hockeys not returning to bham???

Clarkson go Birmingham Bulls or Pelman Prowlers?

Just guessing at demographics -- south of B'ham might be where many upper middle class out of state folks move and buy homes and might more likely be targeted as hockey fans. If after the 5 year contract in Pelham is successful (beyond the 4,000 seats), perhaps like the Barons, the hockey team might move downtown to the (renovated?) Legacy Arena. By 2022, the shift to trendy downtown living (new apartments and lofts) may change a lot of things (like the new Publix store) about the way living in the city has been viewed in the past.