It doesn't have to be every game but it could be friday night like you said or nationally televised game. The thought came up with my coworker who went to KC to see the game and was impressed that almost every Royal fan in the park had on blue. It can be done.
Wouldn't Cleveland and Atlanta also qualify? Phoenix also only has one. (and Dallas/Arlington was also part of this group just till 2011... Actually nm, forgot about the stars).
Cleveland has served up utter dog crap to its residents too. I'd argue Atlanta did, but man the Braves were insanely good for a very long time.
Denver went nuts when their team won. Every bit as much euporhia as the Rockets in 94. Granted, the NHL has lost some luster since, but this is all about how a city ultimately supports its teams and why Houstonians are entitled to a little bit more "show me what you got" than other cities.
Well damn.... your blood pressure must've risen. The point is, Houston should outdraw those markets... Houston is larger. Atlanta has its disposable income divided from 2 major colleges as well, while Houston colleges overall have lacked in their attendance. The Hurricanes are also well supported and their city has an extra major sport to support than HOU. The Marlins are currently 16 games below .500.... so it's not saying much that the Astros outdraw them. Astros outdrawing the Rangers doesn't mean much when DFW has an entire other major team to support. As for Les, knowing how much he wants to profit (i.e. catering to China), I highly doubt he rejects an NHL team if he gets a cut. Why does the NHL hate him anyway? I do know his opinions on jerseys and logos suck.
Yep. And the Braves fans repaid them by starting to become apathetic, taking playoff berths for granted, and struggling to sell out postseason games. Guarantee you that if the Astros ever had a run of success like that, Houston would pack the house till it definitively ended... Much like they did for the Rockets from 1995-2000.
Put comparably good baseball teams in Houston and Miami...Houston will outdraw them 9 times out of 10. ESPN has a good MLB attendance page...you can go back as far as 2000 and take a look. Comparing support for the Miami Hurricanes and the Houston Cougars is sadly not comparing apples to oranges. As for Les and the NHL...check out the thread on it in Other Sports. Les' deal with the county related to the Toyota Center means he holds all the cards...he hasn't even entered a bid at this point. He has no interest in owning an NHL team...and he's essentially the only guy in town who can with that arena deal he has which provides him exclusivity in the city. As for whether they like him or not...I can't say...I can say I've read that in multiple different publications that it's fairly well known the owners in that league do not like him. I think it goes back to the days when Chuck Watson was assured an NHL expansion team and Les mucked it up.
That's cool, I'm sure to some it is awesome Some love soccer also That's just not my deal Glad they enjoyed it
That's a load of crap. Hockey season doesn't affect baseball attendance. The Majority of the MLB season is when the NHL is out of season. Les pissed off the NHL with the treatment of the Aeros and forcing them to move (Minnesota Wild minor league affiliate). The Atlanta Hawks attendance has always been dreadful...except for the last couple of years. The Braves have always drawn poorly for their success. Miami....The Heat attendance only improved when they won championships, The Marlins are been AWFUL in attendance....since the beginning. The Dolphins don't draw well for an NFL team. And as I said....Atlanta LOST its NHL franchise. Phoenix and Miami are in danger of losing both of theirs. You assume the lack of attendance has to do with money.......it does not. That is your first mistake. Houston had more fortune 500 companies than those cities combined. That is the key to major league franchises. College attendance is different. The Longhorns and Aggies have huge fan bases here.......they sell out every time they play here. Rice is a small school.......Houston has always been more of a commuter school......even with its large student population. Houston's attendance improved once they started winning again; and now the new stadium will help. However, if the Cougars were in the Big 12.....the attendance would never be an issue.
I'm doing this tonight. Got 2 free tickets from a friend's work and taking my friend who drives a Mazda so we can get into the Club level for free. Only paying for beer and $1 hot dogs tonight.
People have been talking s**t about the Astros, and how the fans will never forgive them for the AL and sucking, and this is their last chance to run their mouths about it before all the stuff they were talking is proven wrong. "But, but attendance still isn't great. Yeah, yeah see all that happened killed the franchise. Crane is a terrible owner" Attendance is already up, we have the 3rd biggest attendance jump in the league. Word is getting around that the Astros are good now, and attendance is going to keep going up. And all signs point to us being good for the foreseeable future.
Man, Les really seems like a crappy owner. If it weren't for Morey, the Rockets would be in shambles. Houston did have opportunity before Les. Dallas has had a team since the 60's. During the 70's, I thought we had an NHL franchise that was lost due to weak attendance. Could be wrong, but Les isn't the only blame because he wasn't a factor until the 90's. Houston should do better. We have more people and money than ATL, MIA, DEN and PHX. Even with the Thrashers relocating, MIA and PHX threatening relocation, that still puts them even with us pro-wise. We should not be equals. Not all people live week-to-week with their money... especially corporations. If you seriously don't believe someone's plan to purchase season tickets in October might effect their buying season tickets to following March, you're very naïve. So you're saying attendance doesn't have to do with money.... then say the key is corporate dollars. Think about that Decent point. I'm sure the Horns and Aggies get commuters from HOU, SA, DAL, and Austin. It would be nice to see a breakdown.
http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/ Okay, Dallas was given credit 1967-current for the Stars. They didn't arrive in DAL until '93. So one inaccuracy equals "so many". Wasn't sure about Houston's previous NHL squad, that's why I said "could be wrong". If you weren't so interested in being omniscient, you would've noticed that. Houston did have chances before Les though. The city just wasn't good enough.
It was a travesty that the Aeros didn't make the cut of WHA teams into the NHL. Two Avco Cups; Gordie, Mark & Marty Howe, largest city in Texas, NHL-capable arena (The Summit). The NHL's "Sunbelt Expansion" could have been accelerated by over 15 years if the Aeros would have been allowed into the NHL, instead of waiting for the North Stars to go to Dallas. More recently, I enjoyed going to Aeros games at the Toyota Center. Great presentation, great product and a first-class arena. A shame that Les is anti-hockey.
