Cannot say I am completely surprised

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NWsportsfan
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Cannot say I am completely surprised

Post by NWsportsfan » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:50 am

It has been made official that the Washington Stealth has been relocated to Langley, BC to become the Vancouver Stealth. The official statements cited a failure to grow a fan base and obtain more sponsors in the time they were here in Everett. Seeing the Stealth here the last few years, I can say that the move does not surprise me. As time has gone on, mentions of the Stealth both in the press and in sports discussions among people has gradually decreased despite the team's success. This is probably due to increased interest in the Seahawks and Sounders success, and the near obsession with trying to get an NBA team back in the Seattle area. Also, the location here in Everett was not all that conducive to building a fan base. The city may be only 20-some miles north of Seattle, but I am guessing not that many in the Seattle area wanted to make the trip. As for sponsors, they probably wanted to attach themselves to teams that they deemed more recognizable to the casual sports fan causing the sponsorship dollars to remain in a holding pattern. All this leading to that fateful decision to relocate and adding one more failure to Everett's sports team record. Well, there are always the Aquasox and Silvertips, for now at least.

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Post by Pounder » Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:40 am

Sponsors follow the crowds more than wins and losses. That's especially true in the Northwest, where the sponsors ARE watching who they're reaching.

Blaming the media is counterproductive... I'm talking as someone who watched our fan group find ways around media issues.

I do have a suspicion... people here won't think twice about paying out $100-200 for NFL, but asking for $25-35 for NLL is a stretch. They'd expect 10-20. With all the inherent expenses, that price doesn't work for the owner.

I have to wonder... what if Bellevue had an arena? It's not so much that Everett is distant from Seattle (traffic going anywhere out of town is painful), I think Bellevue would take to the game more easily... and probably think of paying a few bucks more.
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Post by NWsportsfan » Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:13 pm

I thoroughly understand. I wrote that as a reflection of my own personal disgust of the situation as trying to state what I saw and heard around here in Everett.
As for Bellevue, there has been talk off and on for years of putting in an arena, many times implying simply expanding the Meydenbauer center, or building a new one on the outskirts of town. Will it ever happen? I cannot honestly say.

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