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Edmonton Sounding The Move/Fold Cry
Posted: Thu May 21, 2015 11:48 pm
by Pounder
Mind you, we've heard this one before.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/E ... story.html
Will Saskatoon get its chance? Should it?
Will Urban knuckle under to the Oilers' rumored offer of 20 cents on the dollar?
Will anyone respond?
Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 1:38 pm
by dmbishop
Reminds me of what I went through with the NY Saints. When they first moved from Jersey and for the next few years, they consistently averaged 10-13000 fans a game. They even occasionally outdrew the Islanders over the same weekend.
Then over time, the crowds drifted down until the last couple of years the attendance was in the 4-5000 range. Surprising given the popularity of outdoor Lacrosse on the Island (High School, College, and Pro).
Other than Newsday, there was no media coverage, which was key. Eventually, the team moved with almost nobody outside the remaining fanbase noticing.
Dave
Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 5:48 pm
by Pounder
I'm curious why you're surprised.
Even though there's a longer history with indoor lacrosse than, say, "arena soccer" (so as to differentiate that from Futsal, and why not!), lacrosse is one of those sports that's niche, therefore a family builds around it, and when faced with a hybrid of the game, they get persnickety. Everyone who's paid attention knows this holds true in Baltimore.
Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 9:01 pm
by dmbishop
Surprised because when something like you describe happens, it usually happens very early, if not right from the outset. That wasn't the case with the Saints. They had great attendance at the beginning and for a number of years after that followed by a long, slow slide.
In a "persnickety" market (great turn of phrase BTW) I always understood that either it was low attendance from the get-go with no increase or high attendance to begin because of the novelty factor followed by a fast crash down to the hardcore fans.
That being said, I have no idea what is happening in Edmonton. Seemed to be a natural fit with Calgary who always had good attendance, but as the article said, with no support, what can you expect. Maybe Saskatoon is an option. No idea about the market there for Lacrosse (other than it's Canada so it can't be too bad). If Urban's worn down and wants to bail, I'd take the low-ball offer from the Oilers and cut my losses. Something is better than nothing.
Dave
