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World Juniors - Buffalo 2018

PrezdeJohnson09 said:
You honestly think the USA was going to have that much of a home ice advantage vs Canada if it was in the Sabres’ Arena? It would have been 50 percent Canadian at best for the US.
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Not even that. The last time Buffalo hosted, the USA-Canada games were 75% Canadian fans. Easily. It was probably worse than that.

And this year, once the Canadians finally showed up due to the truck fire near the border crossing, there were more Canadian fans in the stadium.
 
joecct said:
The problem is the Golden Horseshoe has been asked to support the WJC for 3 out of the last 4 years. That's a big investment and it looks like they decided to watch TSN instead of braving the Border.
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I think this is the major factor. Attendance this year compared to 2011 has been brutal. And the Canadian fans are the key to the success of this tournament. There’s a reason Canada hosts it virtually every other year.

Also, the ticket prices are way too high.
 
Re: World Juniors - Buffalo 2018

Russell Jaslow said:
I think this is the major factor. Attendance this year compared to 2011 has been brutal. And the Canadian fans are the key to the success of this tournament. There’s a reason Canada hosts it virtually every other year.

Also, the ticket prices are way too high.
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Ding ding ding...It's pretty obvious there needs to be a major look at this tournament next time it comes around to the US and Eastern Canada.

Ticket prices either need to drop or it needs to be played in smaller arenas. First thing that comes to my mind is Maruicci/Ridder in Minneapolis if the US gets to host again but the Gophers might not like that... Sadly, I feel that a lot of the attendance woes will get overshadowed by the 45K that were at the US/Canada outdoor game. The tournament organizers surely made their money on that game and put all the eggs in that basket.
 
PrezdeJohnson09 said:
Negative. Outdoor game is on. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if finances was part of the decision. It’s the only game that’s bringing any money in for the tourney and it would have been a logistical nightmare to try and move it inside on 27 hours notice. How would you do tickets? Refund everyone and go general admission first come first served.
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Not that this response means anything now, but they did have a detailed process to handle tickets if the game were moved indoors.

Basically there was a pecking order depending on how you bought your ticket. The more expensive package you bought, the higher on the pecking order. If you just bought a ticket to the outdoor game, you probably would have been out of luck. If you didn’t get in if the game moved, you would get a refund.
 
PrezdeJohnson09 said:
Ding ding ding...It's pretty obvious there needs to be a major look at this tournament next time it comes around to the US and Eastern Canada.

Ticket prices either need to drop or it needs to be played in smaller arenas. First thing that comes to my mind is Maruicci/Ridder in Minneapolis if the US gets to host again but the Gophers might not like that... Sadly, I feel that a lot of the attendance woes will get overshadowed by the 45K that were at the US/Canada outdoor game. The tournament organizers surely made their money on that game and put all the eggs in that basket.
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I don't think it would do well in Minneapolis without a massive reduction in prices.
HS tourneys going on over break and college games that are not that expensive would draw people over that.
 
First Time said:
I don't think it would do well in Minneapolis without a massive reduction in prices.
HS tourneys going on over break and college games that are not that expensive would draw people over that.
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Can’t recall but how was the attendance when they had it in Grand Forks back in 05’?
 
Re: World Juniors - Buffalo 2018

PrezdeJohnson09 said:
I almost didn’t mind Canada’s telus sponsorship in regards to having the sleeves like the US had. The US used to have Gillette on the sleeves which blended in a lot better. I feel like Canada’s telus blends in similiar to how the helmet manufacturers logos blend in since it’s in same place.

The refs wearing their obnoxious large print square box logos have been the most glaring to me....
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I'm actually surprised that the IIHF didn't plaster team uniforms with even more ads than they did. Check out the Canada unis from the Spengler Cup to see how obnoxious it could have been. And using the refs as moving billboards is beyond obnoxious.
 
Split-N said:
I'm actually surprised that the IIHF didn't plaster team uniforms with even more ads than they did. Check out the Canada unis from the Spengler Cup to see how obnoxious it could have been. And using the refs as moving billboards is beyond obnoxious.
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Oh dear lord....
 
joecct said:
Hockey Related Revenue. If somebody wants to sponsor the ref sweaters and pays you €1 million, are you telling them no?

BTW, when's the big day?
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I find it hilarious people get worked up about it. It’s a jersey, who gives a ****?
 
Re: World Juniors - Buffalo 2018

joecct said:
Hockey Related Revenue. If somebody wants to sponsor the ref sweaters and pays you €1 million, are you telling them no?

BTW, when's the big day?
Click to expand...

The ref jerseys have been sponsored in IIHF for years....
 
Re: World Juniors - Buffalo 2018

PrezdeJohnson09 said:
Ding ding ding...It's pretty obvious there needs to be a major look at this tournament next time it comes around to the US and Eastern Canada.

Ticket prices either need to drop or it needs to be played in smaller arenas. First thing that comes to my mind is Maruicci/Ridder in Minneapolis if the US gets to host again but the Gophers might not like that... Sadly, I feel that a lot of the attendance woes will get overshadowed by the 45K that were at the US/Canada outdoor game. The tournament organizers surely made their money on that game and put all the eggs in that basket.
Click to expand...

The last time it was in Minneapolis, it bombed. It bombed in Boston, too. Both hockey cities.

We have to remember something. Outside of diehard hockey fans, the WJC doesn't mean much in the U.S. It's the Canadians who support this tournament.

The only time it's been successful in the U.S. is when it's held in a border city. Grand Forks did great. The whole city of Winnipeg went there... Buffalo did great the first time. Canadian preliminary games were nearly sold out, and the USA-Canada game was sold out. The Canadian playoff games were sold out. The U.S. games did very well, but that was the result of a combination of package sales to Canadians who bought them to ensure getting Canadian game tickets and prices being a bit more reasonable for American fans to stomach.

I think the reason it hasn't done as well this time in Buffalo is because of what Joe said -- the Golden Horseshoe area had to support this tournament three out of four years. That was simply asking too much of them and their personal household budgets (not to mention the exchange rate from the Canadian perspective sucks right now, especially compared to the last time).

If Canada makes the gold medal game, I'm sure that will sell out. That and the outdoor game will be the only saving grace this year.
 
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