GMC Event Schedule

The Marlies arecoming back to town.

4 More events to be announced July 7th

And hopefully one of the announcement on July 7th is KISS will
play
GMC

I'm with steamed. I took a pass on my marlies tickets.

how much are they? i might go depending on cost.... hopefully Mitchell will be there

$15:00 and $ 55:00 dollars for 4 tickets

$21 for premium.

They'd have decent crowds if that was always the price. What does the top ticket go for at Ricoh now, like $40 or something?

hockeybeats wrote:They'd have decent crowds if that was always the price. What does the top ticket go for at Ricoh now, like $40 or something?

They would have decent crowds if they were in another city. People pay up to $1000 and beyond to see the leafs. Why would $40 be an obstacle? They had no problem selling tickets in St. John's.

GENNY wrote: People pay up to $1000 and beyond to see the leafs. Why would $40 be an obstacle? They had no problem selling tickets in St. John's.

Because in Hamilton tickets are $25. Say what you want about Torontonians but they aren't stupid enough to pay $40 for a product they can see down the street for $25.

.................stupid would be spending an extra $20 in gas just to save $15.

Firstly, it isn't $20 in gas to get from Toronto to Hamilton unless perhaps you're driving a Hummer. Secondly, it's about market value. I wouldn't pay $40 to watch AHL hockey in the same way that I wouldn't pay $20 at one Cineplex knowing it costs $10 at another.

You guys are missing my point alltogether. The price of the ticket is not the issue. The issue is the location of the team.

The price is an issue. Would Oshawa support the Generals if it was $40/ticket when every other team charges around $18? While the Leafs and other big name pro teams can charge exorbitant ticket prices and fill the place, teams at lower levels cannot charge more than fair market value for the entertainment dollar. I'm not guaranteeing that Toronto would have supported AHL hockey with lower prices. However, the AHL product, partially because of its affiliation with the Leafs and being run by MLSE had an infinite advertising budget to work with. I live in Toronto - most people have never heard of the Majors, Ice Dogs or Battalion. Everybody has heard of the Marlies, way more press coverage. But very few, even diehard hockey fans attended Marlies games - even the few you would find watching junior hockey balked at the idea of paying $40 for AHL hockey.

I'm not guaranteeing that prices consistent with Hamilton would have meant sellouts - but that the massive price was a factor that does not allow a blanket statement like "Toronto won't support AHL hockey". Maybe they won't even at normal pricing - but that remains a hypothetical.

Toronto will not support any hockey team but the leafs regardless of what league they are in.
Teams no longer in Toronto include:
St. Micheal's Majors
Marlboros
Young Rangers
Native Sons
Knob Hill Farms
Neil Mcneil Maroons

I used to watch the Marlboros at Maple Leaf Gardens because Burger King would give tickets away for free.
There is a group currently planning on another NHL team in Toronto. They allready have jerseys made. It'll be interesting to see how much support they get.

wow why don't u just buy tickets for 10-18$ down at ricoh

why do u have to sit in the best seats


i agree its the location of the team

why they didn't refurbish and put them in the gardens is beyond me.... i know st mikes would have played there to.... could have made it a junior hockey rink of sorts... and tourists would pay $$$$ to go watch hockey at the gardens

but instead we can just let the rink rot lol

The St. Mike's Majors had crowds of 2500+ when they played at Maple Leaf Gardens which is a long forgotten fact. This was before they became contenders. In their final season at MLG, they averaged 2607 which was more than Brampton, Owen Sound, North Bay and Windsor. It was also only 200 fans less than Oshawa was getting at the Civic. In fact, in the previous year (1998-99), the Majors average attendance was actually higher than the Generals!

Toronto 2666
Oshawa 2591

What happened after 2000? The Majors became a contender just as they were kicked out of MLG which was being shut down. They played the following few seasons at St. Mike's Arena - you can't adequately say the Majors "couldn't draw" in that arena because it's not an OHL facility - it's a high school rink. Had a General Motors Centre type facility been built in Toronto as the Majors were becoming a contender in 2000-01 when they had their run of four straight conference final appearances, there's no telling how the attendance would have grown (or not grown). That is a hypothetical discussion. No arena was forthcoming and alas, junior hockey in Toronto died.

It is not a crazy leap in judgment to think that a sub. 500 recent expansion team that averaged 2600 could make an attendance leap to 3000 or even 4000+ when they became contenders.

I'm not denying the poor attendance of the Majors and Marlies. What I am saying is that it's oversimplistic to say "Toronto won't support" any particular product. What you can say is that Toronto has had poorly run junior and minor pro franchises that did not succeed. Poorly run for the Majors in not succeeding in getting a suitable arena and poorly run by the Marlies in overestimating the appetite for minor pro linked with the Leafs thinking that people would pay $40-$50 (the initial price). The $18 tickets came three years later after the team had cemented a reputation as an overpriced product that nobody wants to watch.

The "Toronto won't" argument was also made about soccer when TFC came in. What's required for any team to succeed is effective ownership, effective advertising, effective pricing and an attractive arena/stadium. Given the right conditions, junior hockey can certainly thrive in TO. Just because it didn't happen before, it doesn't mean that it never can. The Ottawa 67s were left for dead when the Sens came in but they became one of the marquee franchises in the CHL because of what Jeff Hunt did.

As for why MLG was not refurbished is because MLSE does not want competition for concerts and other events so they refuse to do that.

Source for attendance info: http://www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/att.cgi

Wow. 2500+ @ Maple Leaf Gardens. That's about 15,000 empty seats. The Manitoba Moose charge about the same prices as Toronto and their facility seats over 15,000. It's hard to find an empty seat at one of their games. I also forgot to mention the defunct Roadrunners.

Here's something cool. The Bulldogs and the Marlies are going to Scotland in September.
http://www.thespec.com/article/581319

Not a fair comparison. The Manitoba Moose are effectively a replacement team for the Jets and are the big league team in town. It's a pretty unique situation. The ticket prices are to cover the cost of what is a spectacular new arena. Even if successful, you couldn't expect the Majors to have filled Maple Leaf Gardens. A successful junior hockey team is 4000-5000 today and was 3000-4000 in the 90's.

Sorry beats. It wasn't my intention to compare the Majors with the Moose but I understand how you interpreted it that way. I need to be more careful with my punctuation.
I was trying to compare the Moose with the Marlies. Obviously the Moose replaced the Jets. I've seen many games at the old Winnipeg arena and I was sad (like I was the only one) to see them go.
Therefore; lets compare Toronto to Winnipeg. If the leafs ever leave Toronto (like that'll ever happen) then by all means Toronto will support another hockey team.

Anyways; you are very much appreciated at the GMC and I hope you keep up the good work for many years to come. I'm tiring of this dicussion . Reply if you wish but I'm putting this subject to bed. See you at the end of August .

Being June, I have a lot more time on my hands, lol ... and I did mean not a fair comparison with either the Majors or the Marlies. Winnipeg will always be arguably the best AHL market because of the unique situation with the Jets leaving.

I'm just always inclined to give the benefit of the doubt and find other reasons than "well, it's Toronto" for why it hasn't worked for both the Majors and the Marlies.

See you in August.