Milwaukee NHL Team

[trwi7]

Blackhawks fans are lifers is hilarious. Maybe if they're 10.

[nate82]

Blackhawks fans are lifers is hilarious. Maybe if they're 10.

 

But I have been a Blackhawks fan since I was about 9 when I started watching hockey.

[trwi7]

Blackhawks fans are lifers is hilarious. Maybe if they're 10.

 

But I have been a Blackhawks fan since I was about 9 when I started watching hockey.

 

That's fine but a ton of them came within the last 10 years. They were drawing flies until Kane, Toews, Keith.

[RockCoCougars]

If the Petits weren't able to get hockey here, it's not going to happen. The Hartford Whalers were on the cusp of coming here in the early 90's, but the Blackhawks put the kibosh on it.

[owbc]

If the Petits weren't able to get hockey here, it's not going to happen. The Hartford Whalers were on the cusp of coming here in the early 90's, but the Blackhawks put the kibosh on it.

 

Yep--and now the Hartford Whalers have a better chance of being reborn than Milwaukee does of getting an NHL team.

 

Having the existing fans and hockey interest in Wisconsin is a detriment, not a plus. Of course people would switch allegiances to the Milwaukee team but there isn't much room to grow the sport beyond the existing hockey fans.

 

Compare Milwaukee to Las Vegas where the NHL just picked up hundreds of thousands of new hockey fans. Of course the winning helps but as us hockey fans know, the product is excellent and can sell itself in any market with a half-decent ownership and arena situation.

[ZBTMP]

Having the existing fans and hockey interest in Wisconsin is a detriment, not a plus. Of course people would switch allegiances to the Milwaukee team but there isn't much room to grow the sport beyond the existing hockey fans.

I disagree that there isn’t room to grow the sport. There is a reason more hockey prospects come from St. Louis than Milwaukee and it isn’t just population. The presence of an NHL franchise would do a lot for youth participation, IMO. While watching Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne come through Milwaukee was great, I don’t think anyone picked up the game because of them. Having hockey icons in town would help. That’s one big loss of the Admirals no longer being independent. There are no longer players spending multiple seasons with the franchise or living in the area after their playing career is done to grow the game.

That being said, as a hockey fan, Im fine not spending $250+ to go to a game in much worse seats than I can get for 25% of that to go watch the Admirals. Wish we’d have a USHL team or D1 option in southeast Wisconsin though.

[paul253]

The NHL has too often made the mistake of putting teams in cities that don’t support hockey. Atlanta for instance. Who have thought that the Atlanta market couldn’t support an NHL franchise? The issue wasn’t market size. It was fan interest. Milwaukee HAS fan interest. There is no way a minor league team could survive here forty years without fan interest.

 

Like I said i think if someone steps up and bids for a team Milwaukee would be anperfect fit. They don’t need more hockey teams down south or out west. I can perhaps see Quebec City getting a team ahead of us or maybe Seattle since they appear to REALLY want one. But just watch. If someone makes an effort to get a team the people in this city will go nuts.

[trwi7]

Compare Milwaukee to Las Vegas where the NHL just picked up hundreds of thousands of new hockey fans. Of course the winning helps but as us hockey fans know, the product is excellent and can sell itself in any market with a half-decent ownership and arena situation.

 

Vegas had good ratings before they had a team and pretty much every game for them looks like a neutral site contest.

 

Fast forward to 35 seconds

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35rUApMpQDI

 

Fast forward to 2:15

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPGx7ApYXZw

 

Fast forward to 1:28

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz02ZN6XBoc

 

37 seconds

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3pBv4bgAPQ

 

They certainly didn't pick up anywhere near hundreds of thousands of fans.

[nate82]

Blackhawks fans are lifers is hilarious. Maybe if they're 10.

 

But I have been a Blackhawks fan since I was about 9 when I started watching hockey.

 

That's fine but a ton of them came within the last 10 years. They were drawing flies until Kane, Toews, Keith.

 

But that is Chicago sports in general. The most finicky fans I have ever seen.

[owbc]

 

Vegas had good ratings before they had a team and pretty much every game for them looks like a neutral site contest.

 

They certainly didn't pick up anywhere near hundreds of thousands of fans.

 

I suspect the good ratings had something to do with the inevitability of getting a team. That's certainly the case in Seattle...interest in our two local WHL teams has picked up quite a bit lately.

 

I had the same impression about Vegas fans based on TV, but I went to the Caps game in Vegas in December and it was a shock to see how popular the team is. They are the talk of the town. Yes, it's popular with visiting fans, myself included, but hockey is the #1 sport in Vegas right now by far and that is something that is only the case in a select few other US cities. Maybe it will change in the future with the Raiders and when the team has a losing season, but for now there are indeed hundreds of thousands of hockey fans in Vegas.

 

I don't think that local minor league hockey attendance means much (otherwise the San Diego Gulls will be an NHL team any day now) but hockey attendance doesn't help Milwaukee's case at all. Admirals attendance has been unimpressive for many years now and has slid to the middle of the AHL upon moving to Panther Arena. Wisconsin hockey has also been bleeding fans for the better part of a decade now.

 

If Milwaukee wants to raise their chance at an NHL team to greater than zero, they are going to need a concerted grass roots effort to raise awareness and draw attention to the demand...and/or a prominent public figure to champion the cause. Neither of these are currently occurring in Milwaukee, but they are occurring in other cities like Houston and the media has picked up on it. It doesn't even matter that the Aeros relocated.

[wallus]

I just got back from Vegas last night and the Golden Knights are incredibly popular there.

[trwi7]

I don't think that local minor league hockey attendance means much (otherwise the San Diego Gulls will be an NHL team any day now) but hockey attendance doesn't help Milwaukee's case at all.

 

You said yourself minor league attendance doesn't mean much but somehow it's not helping Milwaukee's case? It means nothing.

 

Admirals attendance has been unimpressive for many years now and has slid to the middle of the AHL upon moving to Panther Arena. Wisconsin hockey has also been bleeding fans for the better part of a decade now.

 

What is unimpressive? They've never been lower than 14th since new ownership took over (when snow pounded the area and kept fans away.) They haven't been setting records like they did in the IHL but it's been fine. Certainly nothing that would make anyone say they wouldn't even consider an NHL team.

 

And are you being serious right now with Badger hockey?

 

2008-09 - 13,785 - 1st in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament

2009-10 - 15,048 - 1st in NCAA - Lost in Championship Game

2010-11 - 13,226 - 1st in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament

2011-12 - 11,773 - 1st in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament

2012-13 - 9,521 - 3rd in NCAA (two games were played at Alliant Energy Center) - Blown out in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

2013-14 - 10,478 - 3rd in NCAA - Lost in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

2014-15 - 10,931 - 2nd in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament (Finished with 4-26-5 record)

2015-16 - 8,849 - 3rd in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament (Finished with 8-19-8 record)

2016-17 - 10,158 - 2nd in NCAA - No NCAA Tournament

2017-18 - 9,902 - 2nd in NCAA - Likely No NCAA Tournament

 

This team hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2010, hasn't played in one in likely the past four years and has only played in three the past 10 years. The fact that they've been around 10,000 despite all of this speaks to how strong the fan base is.

[owbc]

I think we have completely polar opposite views on this topic...therefore I nominate trwi7 to start up the Milwaukee NHL advocacy group.

[paul253]

I’ll help out. But I only have $12.16 to donate to the cause.

[trwi7]

I'm not even sure an NHL team would work here but I think a lot of the reasons being given are complete BS.

[nate82]

I'm not even sure an NHL team would work here but I think a lot of the reasons being given are complete BS.

 

I think the corporate sponsorship is legit. Between the Bucks and the Brewers I am not sure there is much left and that is not even taking into account the Packers, Badgers, or Marquette. I just don't believe their is much if any corporate sponsorship left for an NHL team. You can probably get a few local companies but the majority of the bigger companies it is going to be hard to get them to buy in.

 

The league fee is probably the biggest hindrance of a team coming to Milwaukee which is at $500 million. I don't see someone putting up that money to have a team in Milwaukee it would take you forever to just get that amount of money back. This is also not including any fee's that you would have to pay to the Bucks to play at their new arena or to even build a new arena. I just don't see it as likely that Milwaukee will ever get an NHL franchise unless one of the teams moves and I just don't see that happening any time soon or ever really.

[Jimbo]

I don't think Milwaukee will get/support an NHL franchise based on my observations moving from Madison to Milwaukee many years ago - youth hockey is extremely popular in the Madison area and the Milwaukee suburbs are just a fraction of it. They start 'em young. Attended an Ads game soon after moving here and noticed many people were there primarily to see the fights as opposed to watching the technical aspects of the game. Been to just one other game since. A Milwaukee NHL team isn't even on my radar.

[MrTPlush]

With our small market we should be blessed to have two pro teams and another in this state. The support is no where near there to support NHL.

[paul253]

That’s just not true. If a minor league hockey team can draw 5,000 fans a night at a decades old arena I don’t see how you can there’s nowhere near the support. It’s tough to see because NHL has never really been an option but I would bet a significant sum of money people here want the NHL.

[jerichoholicninja]

That’s just not true. If a minor league hockey team can draw 5,000 fans a night at a decades old arena I don’t see how you can there’s nowhere near the support. It’s tough to see because NHL has never really been an option but I would bet a significant sum of money people here want the NHL.

 

How do ticket prices compare between minor league hockey and the NHL? A bunch of families with 0 interest in hockey will go to an Admirals game for $10 a ticket for something to do but how many of them will go to an NHL game where ticket prices are 5 times as much. I've gone to a bunch of Green Bay Gamblers game because it's something to do and pretty cheap and I have little interest in hockey nor do I really understand what's going on. I wouldn't pay to go to an NHL game.

[trwi7]

That’s just not true. If a minor league hockey team can draw 5,000 fans a night at a decades old arena I don’t see how you can there’s nowhere near the support. It’s tough to see because NHL has never really been an option but I would bet a significant sum of money people here want the NHL.

 

How do ticket prices compare between minor league hockey and the NHL? A bunch of families with 0 interest in hockey will go to an Admirals game for $10 a ticket for something to do but how many of them will go to an NHL game where ticket prices are 5 times as much. I've gone to a bunch of Green Bay Gamblers game because it's something to do and pretty cheap and I have little interest in hockey nor do I really understand what's going on. I wouldn't pay to go to an NHL game.

 

If I did the math right, the Admirals average ticket price (not counting the 75 premium seats) is $21.69. So first of all, nice.

 

Now I'm going to use what are probably the 3 most comparable markets for Milwaukee in Nashville, Tampa and St. Louis.

 

Tampa's upper bowl season tickets are either $25 or $32.

 

St. Louis' upper bowl season tickets are $29, $36, $44 and $54.

 

Nashville's upper bowl season tickets are $21, $32, $41, $55 and $60.

 

Bucks season tickets in the upper bowl are $13, $21, $25, $29, $33 and $45.

 

Tampa's lower bowl season tickets are $53, $57, $64, $68, $88, $98 and $175-285 on the glass. They also have a second level where tickets are either $66 or $83. Behind one net on the second level is a club section where tickets cost $143 and behind the other net is a loge section where ticket prices aren't listed but it looks similar in size and design to the Bucks theater boxes.

 

St. Louis' lower bowl season tickets are $56, $66, $70, $90, $138, $172-233 and $320 for seats on the glass. They also have a club section that stretches the length of the rink and costs $140 and $197 depending on where your seat is.

 

Nashville's lower bowl season tickets are $70, $91, $103 and $107. They also have the Lexus Lounge which circles the entire rink along the glass with no price listed. There's also an all-inclusive zone behind the net that costs $156 and their club level costs $68 for the end zone and $95 for the sideline.

 

There are a ton of price points for the Bucks arena lower bowl so I'll just say they range from $47 to $425.

 

Average ticket prices are in the low 70s according to the Vegas owner.

 

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/18/15989694/vegas-golden-knights-ticket-sales-nhl-2017-18-season

[pacopete4]

I'm not sure if we've factored in that I like to think Wisconsin people have a pretty good brain and will realize that the NBA product sucks compared to the NHL. Before building that new Bucks arena, they should have shipped that team out and an NHL team in.

[TheEndless7]

I'd love to see a NHL team in Milwaukee. I also think the only way it ever happens is if I somehow wind up with a couple billion dollars and nothing better to do.

 

On all the expansion and moving things that you see from the NHL, Milwaukee is rarely, if ever, even mentioned. They're going to try Seattle, Houston, and KC before they try Milwaukee.

 

I think Milwaukee could support a competitive NHL team. I know I'd go. I don't know that it would support a mediocre to bad NHL team, especially with the Bucks and Brewers on the rise. There's only so much money to go around in the city. I'd love to see it, but I just don't see it happening unless there was an incredibly wealthy person who also would love to see it.

 

I don't buy any of the 'Chicago would never let it happen' things. More Minnesota Wild games are shown Locally than Blackhawks games. I'm sure some of that is the whole Fox Sports vs NBC Sports things. But the Wild are on in Milwaukee pretty much every time there isn't a conflict with the Bucks. The Blackhawks are on only when they're a national game on NBC or NBCSN.

 

Maybe Kenosha/Racine get some of the local WGN games, but I know I do not in Waukesha.

[kestrel79]

Really surprised by the amount of fair weather Blackhawks fans we have in WI now since they've been good these past 8 years or so. Friends of mine seriously root for Packers, Bucks, Badgers, Brewers, and the Blackhawks. I just can't support a Chicago team it's burned in my DNA.

[craigharmann]

Tough question. Technically Riverside/ San Bernardino CA. But I count that as LA, so throwing that out. (Even though LA would never consider them part of LA.)

 

As of today Vegas. But not counting them either since Raiders arte moving there.

 

So next up would be Austin, TX.

 

Vegas already has an NHL team as of this year...so yeah, Austin

 

Houston needs a hockey team before Austin.