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The CJHL rights of players dictate where they can play, they don't really have an option. The MJHL has a draft and teams maintain lists of rights they own. The whole business model of both The Rink and 50 Below is really interesting. If they don't start producing results in terms of NCAA scholarships and NHLers it is going to fall apart rapidly. So far they aren't doing any better at getting guys to the NCAA than 'regular' provincial AAA models and junior teams in Dauphin, Swan River, Portage, OCN, Steinbach etc. |
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Agreed, although they use the Rink ice & training facilities, does their home playing arena need to be there or is close proximity fine (UofM?). MJHL doesnt have a huge draw, they don't need a large seating capacity rink. And although the Blues & Freeze will both charge big $ to play, whomever owns your rights still need to trade you there. So if little Johnny refuses to play for WayWay or Swan or OCN, they need to trade him to the Winnipeg teams. |
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There would also seem to possibly be synergy between having the Moose and Ice share an arena smaller than MTS Centre but larger than the spectator rink at the Ice Plex. The challenge there would be splitting the off-ice revenues from the building. If the sides were willing to work jointly it could be worked out though. That said if the Rink --> Ice --> NCAA/NHL funnel is a broken relationship the drive to keep the Ice here basically falls apart. That said might the Ice be able to start up a hockey development program to compete with The Rink? It always felt like the main revenue driver for the Ice program was interested for the top level of the youth hockey development programs and not the general public. |
The whole notion and move of the WHL Ice to Winnipeg was a dubious proposition at the get go having to compete against the NHL, AHL, MJHL etc.
Anyone thinking the govt. will pony up money for a mid sized WHL rink after the COVID expenditures is nuts!~ |
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Anyway, with a second MJHL team (the Freeze), it seems that 50 Below isn't giving up on their talent pipeline model yet. And to rrskylar's point, I would expect that a new rink would be a privately funded thing beyond maybe some token government contribution? |
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I'm tired of playing at Dutton, West K, and shit rinks like that. Our home rink for beer league was seven oaks last year and it was awesome. Definitely willing to pay a few extra bucks for a nice rink.
Some of the older City rinks provide some nostalgia and are in decent shape. Such as Pioneer. Others are complete shit holes. Valley Gardens is trying to build a 2 rink plex to replace Terry Sawchuk and potentially River East. |
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There's a world of difference between a MJHL rink like the Selkirk Rec Centre vs. a WHL building like Mosaic Place. |
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I find this whole situation so weird considering how joined at the hip the ICE and The Rink were. Without The Rink, the ICE have nothing besides a bunch of jerseys and extra sticks. All they have besides that is a lease for the U of M's arena and a lease for a dressing room and training facility at The Rink. Originally, the ICE was supposed to be the pinnacle of The Rink's programming but that is apparently out the window now. Unless the 50 Below guys buy The Rink outright, I would think there must be zero chance of a new WHL arena being built at that site. Considering how close 50 Below and The Rink were and how integral one was to the success of the other, I wonder what came between them? |
In case anyone missed it, the ICE are back at it in the WHL East bubble in Regina. They lost their first game to Brandon but beat Swift Current last night.
Anyway, it was interesting watching the "home" game vs. Swift Current. Unlike the Brandon game which had all kinds of advertisers, the ICE mostly just advertised their own products on the rinkboards and TV commercials. I find it truly baffling how this team keeps making a go of it in spite of the lack of sponsors. That said, the games are on the radio... Funny 1290 carries the games along with a pre/post game show hosted by Kevin O, although for ICE coverage they revert to using the station's more dignified call letters of CFRW rather than using the Funny 1290 name. Still haven't heard even the slightest bit of news about a new arena, although I do note that the Kapyong Barracks development plan includes a new arena on the southeast corner of the site near Taylor Avenue. The plan document even included an illustration of a WHL player. Now that 50 Below has broken things off with The Rink, is it possible that they may have landed a new dance partner? The site of Kenaston and Taylor would be 100% better for WHL hockey than way out near Oak Bluff. |
A hockey rink, or event centre, or both had been planned for some time now as part of the Kapyong thing. Pre-dating the split with the Rink. I thought it was just more of a local rink type place. But maybe they can partner with the ICE.
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The ICE are back in action and they whooped the Wheat Kings twice this weekend. I was at the game in Winnipeg on Saturday and it was a tour de force.
Despite the team's on ice success, there has been total radio silence on the arena front lately. I honestly don't get how they could hope to make the team work without a new rink, I love watching hockey at Wayne Fleming Arena as a fan but from a business standpoint it can't possibly work over the long haul. That said, with MJHL-calibre Wayne Fleming being so small, I wonder if there is any possibility of the ICE and the U of M tag-teaming on a new facility that meets both of their needs? U Sask has a gorgeous new barn that would be perfect for the Bisons and ICE. Basically take that blueprint and add in a few more private suites, etc. Could you imagine going to games in something like this on the Fort Garry Campus? https://smartcdn.prod.postmedia.digi...=564&type=webp https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqGrxd0VoAEuTvQ.jpg |
I’ve heard a proposal of building a WHL rink attached to a local Community Club who already has 2 rinks. Won’t mention the name as it was only a proposal. It would go where 3 ball diamonds are and new home for them would need to be found.
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Ice having Lambos & Savoie & Mcglennon all future NHl’rs should aid in attendance.
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That said, between all the various players in Winnipeg who would be interested in getting a rink built you would think there'd be someone that 50 Below S&E could partner up with to get it done. It's too bad that The Rink plan in the RM of Macdonald fell through as it could have been good provided that the traffic situation was worked out. Either way they have to get something done if the franchise is going to stay here... I don't know how the ICE can keep going over the long term when you have teams playing in front of thousands of people in big barns while our guys play in front of 800 people at the U of M. Quote:
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Clue #2 would be that it’s in southeast area with a English high school in same parking lot. I think it’s ridiculous too which is why I don’t think it’s happening.
It’s my son’s “WHL draft year”, he’s a long shot in my opinion, others tell me otherwise, but never know |
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You must be talking about Southdale Community Centre. That seems like a ridiculous location and I can't possibly see them building a large scale arena there. |
Free Press article this morning confirming what we already knew from this thread:
Plan to build arena for Ice on hold By: Mike Sawatzky Quote:
Interestingly, the ICE owners and management haven't commented on any of this since early on in the pandemic when they acknowledged that plans were being reconsidered. So it sounds like they're signing on for a bare minimum two more seasons at Wayne Fleming assuming that construction starts sometime next year, and I wouldn't necessarily bet on that happening. You would think the ICE must be bleeding money given that they have all the expenses that every WHL team has but they have a tiny arena that doesn't have luxury suites, etc. Even if a team like Calgary or Edmonton draws poorly on weeknights, they can have a weekend game with 10,000 fans that offsets that...Winnipeg doesn't have that luxury. But then again, one of my friends is a professional who works for a company associated with the owners and claims that the owners make more than enough money to easily absorb any losses. I guess if they're rich enough that it's no big deal to them personally, then this arrangement can go on indefinitely. |
Rich people generally don’t like losing money.
Ive heard Kapyong is a possibility. They will likely sniff around to find a public partner. There was no way they were going to make a $60 million investment in an arena for an unproven product in the market. My bet is they move on after exhausting options to find someone else to bear the risk of a new facility. |
If they need a public partner who are the realistic options? U of M? RREX? I'm hard pressed to think of anyone else that might benefit from a 3 to 5 thousand seat arena.
But that said, I think there is an argument to be made for having another decent arena in Winnipeg as a community asset. Most cities our size have a secondary arena capable of hosting larger events, but in Winnipeg it drops right off from NHL rink to barely junior A level barns (Wayne Fleming Arena, St. James Civic Centre, Bell MTS Iceplex). |
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