Both buildings sell out nightly, so that's a wash.laurenskye wrote:And you think the US population cares about hockey like Canada? Come on. Not to mention that the only hockey player half of the US has heard of is wayne. They had the greatest team ever assembled and you don't think they have the fan base that Detroit does? Sure you see Redwings jerseys in the stands now but what about during the "deadwings" era? There will always be banwagon jumpers but a canadien team that was as great as they were is legendary. Much greater than a team from Atlanta that moved there.
But Flames-Oilers' allegiance is a lot like Yankees or Mets. You CAN'T like both. You simply can't.
And last year aside, the Flames have had more success recently than Edmonton. Not that there are any bandwagon jumpers, though, as it's F*CKING HERESY to drop the Oilers to support the Flames in Alberta, and vice-versa.
I wouldn't piss on the Saddledome if it was on fire to save 17,000 Flames' fans from burning even if I hadn't urinated in a week.
To answer your question, yes, the Oilers probably have as large of a fan base in the Edmonton area as the Wings do in the Detroit area. But as I said in previous posts, if only fan base size was the determining factor in a market's economic viability. It's not.
The Wings have a bigger building, a richer owner (not as much of a factor now with the cap), more suites and are in a larger DMA (Demographic Market Area, the size standard by which ad rates are set), so they have more revenue, both potential and earned.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but the Oilers are owned by a large group of civic investors, EIG. There isn't one deep-pocketed guy like Illitch with the Wings, and I always credit Illitch for spending the money to keep the Wings strong. But the Oilers are a hell of a lot closer to the Green Bay Packers and its community ownership than the Wings are.
In 2004, before the new CBA and the cap, <i>Forbes</i> did a valuation study of NHL teams, based on a variety of factors. One of those factors was revenue.
The Wings were No. 5 on the list, valued at $248 million. The Oilers were No. 27 on the list, valued at $104 million. Wings' revenues were $97 million, with gate receipts of $48 million. Oilers' revenues were $55 million, with gate receipts of $29 million.
<i>Forbes'</i> report said Illitch makes a lot of dough because the Wings have among the highest ticket prices in the NHL and that Illitch's company controls all of the concessions at the Joe. I didn't know that -- CHA-CHING!
The same report said about the Oilers, and I quote: "The franchise's main problem: a small business community and low corporate sponsorship revenue."
Sure, the cap helps to balance that financial mismatch. But you can toss all the theories about fan base you want at me, and it's not going to erase the fact that the Wings make a HELL of a lot more money than the Oilers.
The entire <i>Forbes</i> report is very interesting even if all figures were assessed before this new CBA. Check it out here:
http://www.forbes.com/2004/11/10/04nhland.html
Take care,
PK
What a disaster of a sweater.
