WNBA in Winnipeg?? (Just a thought...)

[Boreal]

As far as U Dub altering the Wesmen Classic, I'm a bit surprised U Man hasn't stepped in to essentially take over and run their rendition of it with basketball every year. Or something along those lines.

Thanks for chiming in, all.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Danny D Oh

WNBA runs from mid-May to mid-August.

My timing was out but mid-May through mid-June is hockey play off time so you could still have three home teams trying to fit in games.

[Danny D Oh]

Originally Posted by Boreal

As far as U Dub altering the Wesmen Classic, I'm a bit surprised U Man hasn't stepped in to essentially take over and run their rendition of it with basketball every year. Or something along those lines.

Thanks for chiming in, all.

As sad as it is, the athletic department doesn't have the capital to take a risk like that. Risk being if they can't recover their costs. Maybe if they branded it the "Winnipeg, Manitoba Classic" or something and had one venue run the basketball tourney and one run the volleyball tourney.

It's been a longstanding issue at the U of W since at least I attended there, the men's basketball team has been brutal while pretty much every other team has been a national title contender yet they get the Wesmen Classic as their own. Took a long time to change that.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ The sad thing is that it wouldn't take much. Honestly if the universities could do a few promos, add a few amenities and drum up some atmosphere, the games could become a bit more of an event. It would probably earn the athletics programs some money and generate some good PR for the universities. Considering how many team alumni there must be I find it amazing that the Wesmen and Bisons can't manage to draw 2,000 people a game, which would be more than enough to generate a modicum of excitement.

The Wesmen and Bisons cannot even draw close to that figure in hockey, a sport that is far more popular in Winnipeg.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

The Wesmen and Bisons cannot even draw close to that figure in hockey, a sport that is far more popular in Winnipeg.

To be fair, hockey is a bit of an oddball in the collegiate sports world as it's the junior leagues that matter. It's starting to change now (in the US at least), but up til now college hockey was mostly for people who weren't good enough to play junior or NHL. It's just unfortunate for universities that it's by far the biggest sport in Canada.

With the rapid growth and acceptance of NCAA hockey as a real development option, and the looming potential lawsuits/payouts in junior hockey (for barely paying players), it'd be foolish if U-Sports hockey wasn't working on a serious push to grow uni hockey in Canada. I have little faith however, considering how much time and money they just devoted to rebranding CIS as U-Sports. Ugh.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

The Wesmen and Bisons cannot even draw close to that figure in hockey, a sport that is far more popular in Winnipeg.

It's funny that they're in that situation, the quality of hockey is pretty good. I never once went to a Bisons game during my time at the U of M. But at the U of A, Golden Bears hockey had a bit of a following so I came out to a few games. I was impressed, the games were a good time. I remember Edmonton hosted the then-CIS championships in the 2000s and the Bears won it all in front of a huge crowd at Rexall Place, something almost unthinkable in Winnipeg.

The problem with Bison hockey is basically everything but the hockey itself... the Bisons play in an ugly barn of an arena that is devoid of atmosphere (I saw an MJHL game in there once and I thought it was a terrible venue as a spectator). And as with all university sports in Winnipeg, they do nothing to market the team and generate any interest. It's telling that there are probably far more Manitobans at the Ralph on any given night watching UND hockey than there are at Max Bell watching the Bisons.

[buzzg]

Yup, both unis keep saying they have no money for them, ignoring the fact that sports are one of the rare opportunities they have for profit generation – especially to non-students. What's worse is that the games are being played anyway, so it's not like this is creating any new events to run. At worst you have your ALREADY EXISTING marketing departments do some work here, and maybe you hire a few extra ushers and concession workers – I'm sure you could find many students to volunteer for free.

[CoryB]

In terms of Bisons hockey the two things they could be doing is put a focus on getting the women's team to be a serious national contender for player development and move all their home games from Max Bell to the Ice Plex.

Once people associate Bisons with true top tier hockey, on the women's side, they could further develop the men's side but need other changes to happen, ie the shake out in juniors not paying.

[buzzg]

It's just too bad the IcePlex is a road trip away from campus.

[esquire]

^ The IcePlex is no better than Max Bell, though. Neither is really designed with spectators in mind, or at least nothing beyond a smattering of parents in attendance. Both are basically community centre calibre venues.

It really is surprising that in a city like Winnipeg that there is nothing between Max Bell and the MTS Centre when it comes to venues.

By contrast, here's what U Sask is building on campus for the Huskies:

[buzzg]

^That would be fantastic at U of M. Could design it to be able to host curling, basketball, volleyball games and concerts/events as well.

I'd put it to the top of my infrastructure list if I were U of M (we know the gov's love funding new buildings) because it's something that could actually generate revenue for the university, not just new or expanded classrooms.

[esquire]

^ That's what I mean, a secondary venue like that would be perfect for Winnipeg. That rink in Saskatoon will initially hold 2,500 but there is a phase 2 planned to bump it up to about 3,500.

A number like that would be ideal for hosting a range of events that are too small for the MTS Centre but not really appropriate in community-calibre facilities. I would think that a 3,500 seat venue would be rented out pretty heavily, although the U of M doesn't tend to be that interested in actually making money with facility rentals. But with a changed mindset a rink like that could be a big community asset with value to people outside of the university itself.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by buzzg

To be fair, hockey is a bit of an oddball in the collegiate sports world as it's the junior leagues that matter. It's starting to change now (in the US at least), but up til now college hockey was mostly for people who weren't good enough to play junior or NHL. It's just unfortunate for universities that it's by far the biggest sport in Canada.

If you are talking about the United States, there have been NHL Hall of Famers who started their careers in the NCAA for the last 40 years. In Canada, it is rare, but it has happened.

[Bdog]

If Winnipeg ever got a WHL team, we could use an arena similar to Scheel's in Fargo. Great rink to watch games, and just the right size.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ That's what I mean, a secondary venue like that would be perfect for Winnipeg. That rink in Saskatoon will initially hold 2,500 but there is a phase 2 planned to bump it up to about 3,500.

A number like that would be ideal for hosting a range of events that are too small for the MTS Centre but not really appropriate in community-calibre facilities. I would think that a 3,500 seat venue would be rented out pretty heavily, although the U of M doesn't tend to be that interested in actually making money with facility rentals. But with a changed mindset a rink like that could be a big community asset with value to people outside of the university itself.

Well then they don't get extra public money. Simple.

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

If you are talking about the United States, there have been NHL Hall of Famers who started their careers in the NCAA for the last 40 years. In Canada, it is rare, but it has happened.

Of course it as happened, but it's VERY rare. It was more common in the 70s/80s, but drastically fell off when the rise of TV revenues and player salaries came, and parents realized their kids stood a far better chance making the NHL if they played junior hockey in Canada or the PNW.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Of course it as happened, but it's VERY rare. It was more common in the 70s/80s, but drastically fell off when the rise of TV revenues and player salaries came, and parents realized their kids stood a far better chance making the NHL if they played junior hockey in Canada or the PNW.

That is incorrect. Even Sidney Crosby spent time during high school playing in a private American school.

NHL players with backgrounds from US Colleges runs about parallel to the number of Americans in the NHL, and both have risen drastically in the last 25 years. About 32% of NHL players have an NCAA background, the highest number ever. Americans now represent about 28% of all NHL players, also the highest number ever before.

source: http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles...caa-alumni.php

NHL players having a background in the NCAA is not rare by any means. Look no further than our beloved NHL Jets if you do not believe me:

Jacob Trouba (Michigan)
Andrew Copp (Michigan)
Kyle Connor (Michigan)
Connor Hellebuyck (UMass-Lowell)
Blake Wheeler (Minnesota)
Jack Roslovic (Ohio)
Brandon Tanev (Providence)
Matt Hendricks (St.Cloud)
Paul Stastny (Denver)
Tucker Poolman (North Dakota)