Stadiums and Arenas of Canada

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I didn't mean it to be so condescending sounding, I meant it literally in the sense that most people don't follow it.

I don't know, it's hard for me to support the Giants when we already have an NHL team in the city. I don't care if they suck, I'll only cheer on my home team. If I lived somewhere like Brandon, then I'd probably follow it more closely, but here in Vancouver I have no reason to watch WHL. I've never noticed the intensity thing that people bring up, and seeing as they're both private corporations I have no connection to (unlike a university for example) I'm gonna pick what I consider better hockey.

And this right here is the difference between Oil/Flame fan and Canuck fan. Canuck fan is a casual hockey fan at best, Oiler fan and Flame fan are hockey fans. Oiler fan and Flame fan grew up playing hockey, or being exposed to it all through their childhood, while Canuck fan became a fane sometime around 13 years ago when the Canucks no longer we're consistently mediocre.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by elly63

Tim Hortons Field Construction Update - March 28/2014
Site Supervisor Garreth Barkey provides another update on construction progress at Tim Hortons Field

And the latest photos here: http://www.ticats.ca/photo_gallery/gallery/id/11713

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by SHOFEAR

And this right here is the difference between Oil/Flame fan and Canuck fan. Canuck fan is a casual hockey fan at best, Oiler fan and Flame fan are hockey fans. Oiler fan and Flame fan grew up playing hockey, or being exposed to it all through their childhood, while Canuck fan became a fane sometime around 13 years ago when the Canucks no longer we're consistently mediocre.

13 years ago I didn't even speak English.

I follow way too many sports and leagues already to spend my time watching hockey that I just don't like from a gameplay perspective as much as NHL. I don't mind watching lower level sports, like I still come out to my high school's basketball and rugby games, but I need to have a real connection to the team. When it came to hockey, both the Canucks and Giants are for-profit corporations, so if I'm gonna watch a sports team that doesn't care about me, I'm gonna watch the best available.

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

And the latest photos here: http://www.ticats.ca/photo_gallery/gallery/id/11713

There is so much going on that you can't see on the web cams. Good to see hand railings going up, looks like seats will follow shortly and the field area is being cleared off to start on the field. Hope the weather cooperates and the OT and 6 days a week can make up the for the potential 6-week delay

[Chadillaccc]

Jesus guys, I'm not saying Saskatoon should or will get an NHL team, I just said it would be cool, and probably better for the province than having two CFL teams.

[Migs]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

And the latest photos here: http://www.ticats.ca/photo_gallery/gallery/id/11713

Looks like it might be ready for the 2015 season.

[The S'toon Goon]

If I'm not mistaken, last year's Memorial cup was the 3rd or 4th best attended in history. For what its worth I am pretty sure one of the top ones was held in Vancouver.

This year's University Cup I believe was the best attended ever.

Saskatoon and Saskatchewan are full of hockey fans and hopefully one day we can have an NHL team to call our own. Maybe it's just a pipe dream and maybe there are larger cities that 'deserve' one ahead of us, but one can still hope!

[elly63]

Originally Posted by Migs

Looks like it might be ready for the 2015 season.

And your expertise is what again?

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by Fatty McButterpants

That's the most absurd thing I've ever read. An NHL team in Saskatoon? How many people live there? Are there even any businesses? SMH

Crawl back under your rock.

Where have you been for the last 20-30 years? Saskatoon has come up more than once in that time as a potential NHL city.

Small yes 300,000 and growing by leaps and bounds. Potential hell yeah more so than most other cities. Arena? Yep. Needs updating to NHL standards but good base to start from.

[osmo]

It's hard to argue the gameplay argument of WHL vs NHL because WHL is actually better hockey. They okay faster and score more and isn't the knuckle dragging game the NHL continues to box itself in as. Poor production quality hurts the WHL product but if you watch a national game Sportsnet or even just the Memorial Cup yearly you quickly notice the hockey is of high quality. Many hardcore hockey heads prefer the WHL for all those reasons.

[thebasketballgeek]

The Saskatoon arena can seat more people than Winnipeg's. I'm just wondering do they ever fill up the seats in the WHL games?
Also do you think Winnipeg could get a WHL team anytime soon? It would be great for the people who can't afford the jets game. Or is Winnipeg fine with just an NHL team

[GreatTallNorth2]

No offence to the Sask promoters, but there is a zero chance that you will ever get an NHL team. The population just isn't there. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

No offence to the Sask promoters, but there is a zero chance that you will ever get an NHL team. The population just isn't there. Sorry to burst your bubble.

How many people do you think Saskatoon needs as a population to fill that arena?

[Layton's Brylcreem]

Originally Posted by esquire

Edmonton has had more or less the same assortment of one-off special events that most other western cities have had in their stadiums. Universiade would have been fine in a 45,000 seat stadium. Maybe only the IAAF thing in 2001 was directly attributable to having a 60,000 seat stadium.

The rest of the events typically held there (Rolling Stones and U2 concerts, soccer matches, Grey Cups, etc.) have also been done at smaller venues like Mosaic, CanadInns and McMahon Stadiums.

Beyond the Grey Cup, the examples you cite, when happening in Alberta, have all been at Commonwealth and not McMahon, due to Commonwealth's greater capacity. You invalidated your own argument with your examples.

[osmo]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

How many people do you think Saskatoon needs as a population to fill that arena?

Its more then just selling out each game. In todays professional sports teams need to be able to shore up more money then just gate sales. Winnipeg shows what a real small market looks like as they rely heavily on gate to make their money, plus being in the leagues smallest rink means they have some of the highest ticket prices in the league.

American teams get way better TV money from regional packages. Its not a lot of money put to flip the script for perspective, the billions Canadian teams plug into the league from Rogers/CBC for instance has to get shared all around the league, versus the regional money teams get to keep that American teams are getting more of. Canadian teams don't make the same amount of cash from regional rights as American teams because the population numbers aren't there to justify it. Even if you team draws flies, if it its in a metro of 10 million people then you can convince people that eyeballs will watch your games, plus the networks need content, etc, etc, etc.


You need a Metro of at least 750,000 to even be on the radar for the NHL. Some Canadian cities are anomalies, but even "small" Quebec City and Hamilton are double and three times the size of Saskatoon.

I am a Sask kid myself but even I find it far fetched.

You could stick a NHL team in each city in the GTA before Saskatoon.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

If I'm not mistaken, last year's Memorial cup was the 3rd or 4th best attended in history. For what its worth I am pretty sure one of the top ones was held in Vancouver.

This year's University Cup I believe was the best attended ever.

Saskatoon and Saskatchewan are full of hockey fans and hopefully one day we can have an NHL team to call our own. Maybe it's just a pipe dream and maybe there are larger cities that 'deserve' one ahead of us, but one can still hope!

Yes, Vancouver's Memorial Cup broke all attendance records when it hosted it. Bested only once I think when it was in Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa??
Also the Vancouver Giants sold out their 16,500 seat Coliseum during this years playoffs according to Team1040.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

The Saskatoon arena can seat more people than Winnipeg's. I'm just wondering do they ever fill up the seats in the WHL games?
Also do you think Winnipeg could get a WHL team anytime soon? It would be great for the people who can't afford the jets game. Or is Winnipeg fine with just an NHL team

There has been quite a bit of talk In Winnipeg that True North is interested in purchasing a WHL team. NOthing 100% confirmed of course. IF it happens, look for it to be a relocation, not expansion. I think Kootenay or Prince George are rumoured for relocation as their attendance is rather poor.

Problem with Saskatoon is that the arena is nearly 30 years old and while it seats a few hundred more than MTS Centre it doesn't really compare. MTS Centre has three concourses - one for the lower level, one for the suites and one for the upper level. It also has a separate section and lounge overlooking the rink for club seat members. I believe the Credit Union Centre only has one or two concourses with the club seats and suites shoehorned in the same areas as the general seats. The roof on the building looks rather low as well so I doubt there would be room to build a second level for the pressbox like there was at MTS Centre - something that is mandatory from the NHL.

Bettman said awhile back that Edmonton couldn't continue playing at Rexall Place. They needed a new arena if they wanted to continue to exist in the city. Rexall seats nearly 2000 more people, has more club seats and suites than Saskatoon's and has an up-to-date pressbox but it still needs to be replaced. If Bettman and the NHL were interested in coming to Saskatoon, they wouldn't accept the Credit Union Centre, even a refurbished one, as a suitable arena for a team. Saskatoon would need a new 15,000-16,000 seat arena which would probably cost $250-$300 million in order to meet the arena prerequisite. Come to think of it, in the next 20 years or so that arena will probably have to be replaced anyways as it would be coming up on 50 years of age at that point which is the general maximum lifespan of arenas.

[thebasketballgeek]

blueandgold do you know if it's possible for the Mts centre to upgrade its current amount of seats to lets say 18k or more

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by osmo

Its more then just selling out each game. In todays professional sports teams need to be able to shore up more money then just gate sales. Winnipeg shows what a real small market looks like as they rely heavily on gate to make their money, plus being in the leagues smallest rink means they have some of the highest ticket prices in the league.

American teams get way better TV money from regional packages. Its not a lot of money put to flip the script for perspective, the billions Canadian teams plug into the league from Rogers/CBC for instance has to get shared all around the league, versus the regional money teams get to keep that American teams are getting more of. Canadian teams don't make the same amount of cash from regional rights as American teams because the population numbers aren't there to justify it. Even if you team draws flies, if it its in a metro of 10 million people then you can convince people that eyeballs will watch your games, plus the networks need content, etc, etc, etc.


You need a Metro of at least 750,000 to even be on the radar for the NHL. Some Canadian cities are anomalies, but even "small" Quebec City and Hamilton are double and three times the size of Saskatoon.

I am a Sask kid myself but even I find it far fetched.

You could stick a NHL team in each city in the GTA before Saskatoon.

Not true. Montreal, Toronto and now Ottawa (a relatively small city by NHL standards) receive the largest local or regional tv monies, even more than the New York teams. Ottawa, for example, signed a recent tv deal that will pay them over $30 million per year. Some of the regional tv deals in the US cities that don't care about hockey are pretty small as well. For example, Phoenix, a city of 4 million, gets a measly $5 million per season for regional rights.

The new Canadian TV package with Rogers will see the Canadian teams get a disproportionately larger amount than the American teams. 65% for the American teams and 35% for the Canadian teams.

While Winnipeg will continue to rely heavily on the gate, the larger national tv contract plus a new local tv contract in a few years should reduce that.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

blueandgold do you know if it's possible for the Mts centre to upgrade its current amount of seats to lets say 18k or more

Can't say for sure. I've heard rumours that the roof could be lifted to accomodate an additional level of seats, but I'm sure the ROI would make it unfeasible - those would be the cheapest seats in the arena after all as they would be the furthest away...unless the government paid for most or all of the expansion. Even then, I can't really see it.

One thing that might be feasible is a row of skyboxes opposite the pressbox and underneath the raftors - that would probably add a few hundred seats at most. BUt I'm no engineer so I'm not sure if that's feasible either. I'm not really sure of the load-bearing capacity of the roof and if it could handle the weight of this addition.

The arena is 10 years old and when the JEts came back they signed a 20 year deal with the government regarding subsidies from the casino next door. They also have the SHED thing going on downtown that True North is heavily invested in. Considering those two factors I'm sure it will be at least another 20-25 years before a new larger arena is even discussed.