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I have been thinking about sports in greater Hartford.

What are our teams? are we where we belong?

what has changed? what should change?

As fo right now, and correct me if I am wrong, this is the sports landscape in Hartford.

Football:

UFL: Colonials

NCAA:UConn Husky's

Baseball:

AA:New Britain Rock Cats

Basketball:

NCAA:UConn Husky's

Hockey:

AHL:Hartford Wolf Pack

Soccer:

PDL: Western Mass Pioneers

Rugby:

NERFU:Hartford Wanderers RFC

Cricket:

Connecticut Cricket League:WESC among others

Lacrosse:

NCAA: UHart

outside of these team sports that might call the area their home, we have some fixed asset individual sporting events.

Golf:

PGA: Travelers Championship

uhh is there anything else?

so are you happy with these offerings?

I know most people usually want more, but really, how much more?, what is actually possible?

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I have been thinking about sports in greater Hartford.

What are our teams? are we where we belong?

what has changed? what should change?

As fo right now, and correct me if I am wrong, this is the sports landscape in Hartford.

Football:

UFL: Colonials

NCAA:UConn Husky's

Baseball:

AA:New Britain Rock Cats

Basketball:

NCAA:UConn Husky's

Hockey:

AHL:Hartford Wolf Pack

Soccer:

PDL: Western Mass Pioneers

Rugby:

NERFU:Hartford Wanderers RFC

Cricket:

Connecticut Cricket League:WESC among others

Lacrosse:

NCAA: UHart

outside of these team sports that might call the area their home, we have some fixed asset individual sporting events.

Golf:

PGA: Travelers Championship

uhh is there anything else?

so are you happy with these offerings?

I know most people usually want more, but really, how much more?, what is actually possible?

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i look at places like rochester and question why we are so different.

they have many of the same leagues, but they also have pro lacrosse semi pro soccer and a baseball team thats more part of the city.

i wonder if our whalers void is really all we have? but then I ask why we dont have AAA baseball or lacrosse or even an NBA D-league team.

heck, we dont even have a soccer team at the lowest level

as much as I want to see the NHL, we need downtown baseball(AAA) some kind of soccer or lacrosse, basically some summer sports!

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I dont see any reason why Lacrosse or Soccer wouldnt work in this state. Soccer has always been a major high school sport and has done quite well at UConn as well. Lacrosse has grown tremendously in CT over the last 15 years. The reason Lacrosse has made it further in Upstate NY is because of Syracuse Univ. They have always had one the nations best teams so kids Upstate have played growing up. CT is just beginning to get Lacrosse to the younger kids. Now would be a good time to bring in a semi-pro team.

As far as baseball, it is unfortunate for Hartford that the RockCats are in NB, but they arent going anywhere. They have made a great place for themselves there. But competition is good for everybody, right?

I believe it has been said on this site, but last weekend Howard Baldwin was on WFSB talking about the Whale. He talked about a new arena as well as remodeling the new as a short term fix. He also talked about brining the Whalers back as an AHL team first before moving up. THis man knows what he's talking about and he needs to be given a go with his ideas for hockey in Hartford.

i look at places like rochester and question why we are so different.

they have many of the same leagues, but they also have pro lacrosse semi pro soccer and a baseball team thats more part of the city.

i wonder if our whalers void is really all we have? but then I ask why we dont have AAA baseball or lacrosse or even an NBA D-league team.

heck, we dont even have a soccer team at the lowest level

as much as I want to see the NHL, we need downtown baseball(AAA) some kind of soccer or lacrosse, basically some summer sports!

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I think the indoor pro lacrosse would be a huge boost to our chances at a new arena.

add in a Whalers branded AHL team...

no one wants to pay for a new arena when no one uses it, but if we have a successful AHL team (we do not currently) and a major university..... AND a lacrosse team too, it makes much more sense. there is also indoor soccer, but I thinks thats a beotchization so its hard for me to support it.

anyhoo check it out. www.nll.com

I think some teams draw 9000 per game.

hell even if it got 5000, how cool would it be to have that many more people roaming around downtown a dozen or so nights a year?

I think the ahl Whalers concept would be awesome!

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Uconn hockey isnt bad...not great...but lots of potential. Especially with football and basketball doing so well.

As far as an indoor lacrosse team to accompany an AHL Whalers team...that's an excellent idea. Not sure if the NLL has ever been considered for Hartford, but I think the time is now to bring one in. I believe the Arena Football League is still in play...and I know they've been here before, but football was never as big in CT as it is now.

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I just got my UFL season tickets today... I have to say, I'm kinda pissed. They've been saying 5 home games all along, and when they go on sale today... 4 home games instead of 5, but the SAME price! They also tack on $28 per ticket for BS stuff, raising the ticket by about 25% what it's listed at....

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Well, I think the UFL will absorb any left over demand for now on the football front.

I know as a non UConn guy I will at the opening game. my buddy just got tickets today.

if we dont support out local sports, not only will they fizzle, but others will not come here either.

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I think I am in the same boat as you with the whalers tickets.

Not sure if I will get to more than half the games, but I will have 2 season tix and someone will be in my seats every game.

as the cost goes up with an NHL team I will need to think it over, but thats a decision I hope to have to make some day. :)

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It's funny, I'm the exact opposite of you, VoR. I won't get season tix to the AHL Whalers (I had season tickets to the Wolf Pack for the first 3 years, the product level in the AHL if far inferior than the NHL, in my opinion), though I will go to more than my one yearly game that I've been doing the last few years. My daughter really likes watching hockey, so as she (and my son, almost 1yr old) grow I'll hit more games. now, if the NHL were to come back to town, I'd get two season tickets, and gather every soul I know and see how many want tickets, and get a group going.

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It's funny, I'm the exact opposite of you, VoR. I won't get season tix to the AHL Whalers (I had season tickets to the Wolf Pack for the first 3 years, the product level in the AHL if far inferior than the NHL, in my opinion), though I will go to more than my one yearly game that I've been doing the last few years. My daughter really likes watching hockey, so as she (and my son, almost 1yr old) grow I'll hit more games. now, if the NHL were to come back to town, I'd get two season tickets, and gather every soul I know and see how many want tickets, and get a group going.

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It's funny, I'm the exact opposite of you, VoR. I won't get season tix to the AHL Whalers (I had season tickets to the Wolf Pack for the first 3 years, the product level in the AHL if far inferior than the NHL, in my opinion), though I will go to more than my one yearly game that I've been doing the last few years. My daughter really likes watching hockey, so as she (and my son, almost 1yr old) grow I'll hit more games. now, if the NHL were to come back to town, I'd get two season tickets, and gather every soul I know and see how many want tickets, and get a group going.

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well, I only recently changed my view on that point.

with the UFL, I made the choice to support the team no matter the quality. I will be dead before there is NFL here, and I will never really "care" about UConn football or any of their sports teams, especially since my loyalty lies at URI for basketball no matter how sad that mgiht be.

mind you I support Uconn Sports for the important role they play in livening up hartford and entertainment value etc, but whatever, I am gonna support UFL, because its SOMETHING.

and even though I grew up a Rangers fan I never could support the wolfpack, for a million reasons, but now that we MAY get our own team here in Hartford, I will support it because I support Hartford, and I have accepted that I am not really a rangers fan any more (its been a long while since they traded Beezer. I honestly know almost no one on that team any more, so I am more into supporting my new home.

also since I bought the house a couple months ago i am more into paying for AGL prices and UFL prices than NFL and NHL.

mind you I will find a way to get season tix to an NHL Whalers, i just have to work it out with the wife and maybe even share with some friends.

incidently there is a lacrosse game at the rent some day soon. heard it on the radio 2 days ago.

that marketing thing is interesting news.

very good stuff right there my friends. its all about marketing and building the excitement. people follow the media these days

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The difference between NHL to AHL and NFL to UFL is this: we HAD an NHL team, we never had an NFL team. I'm used to getting excited to see the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the Wilkes-Barre Penguins. Even if the Whalers stunk, which they often did, I could still get a a chance to see Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Joe Sakic, Steve, Yzerman, etc. To me, this is a bonafide NHL market that is being underutilized. The Hurricanes got a gift when they got a team, went to the playoffs almost immediately, went to a few Stanley Cups finals, won it once, and resigned Ron Francis. Think of it this way, we threw the Whalers a parade for winning one round of the playoffs. Imagine going to the playoffs for 5 of 7 years, getting to the Cup finals twice, winning once, and resigning the most popular sports figure in our city's history. We'd have 20k people there every single night. If the Whalers had moved to Raleigh 5 years earlier, they'd currently be playing in Houston, Kansas City, Portland, or Oklahoma City because they would have drawn 5 people...

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We had an NFL in the 1930's I believe, the Hartford Blues. In the 90's there were discussions to bring the Rams, the Buccaneers and the Patriots here. I think Hartford could support an NFL team. But I think we'd have to build them a giant luxury stadium that gets filled 7 times a year and it would be a huge waste. So I think the NFL would be a bad fit. NHL or NBA would be the best fit for Hartford, along with a soccer team or minor league baseball. Can't believe we have nothing now.

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We had an NFL in the 1930's I believe, the Hartford Blues. In the 90's there were discussions to bring the Rams, the Buccaneers and the Patriots here. I think Hartford could support an NFL team. But I think we'd have to build them a giant luxury stadium that gets filled 7 times a year and it would be a huge waste. So I think the NFL would be a bad fit. NHL or NBA would be the best fit for Hartford, along with a soccer team or minor league baseball. Can't believe we have nothing now.

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Actually, i think MLB would work, but it would have to be a perfect situation. When the Expos were moving, hartford was on the list, and I think that could have worked, and here's why: they are a national League team. CT is basically Red Sox and Yankees, both AL teams (a few Mets fans here and there, but nowhere near as many as RS and Yanks). If the Expos could have moved here, I believe many State residents could have been swung into favoring the local team, unless they were going against the Sox or Yanks.

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Surprisingly, the NFL doesn't work everywhere. The Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills are all having major problems filling up their stadiums. Jacksonville rarely fills more than half of their seats for home games and Buffalo has decided to play multiple games in Toronto to sell tickets. St. Louis is likely headed for L.A.

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well, maybe if the NFL were a league that demanded butts in seats in order to brake even, or even survive (like NHL, MLS, MLB for most teams)

The NHL is a TV contract juggernaught the league makes a profit on TV alone. the butts in the seats is just gravy.

the NBA is in the same position. teams like the clippers are extremely profitable due to these rich league contracts.

the NHL has a crap TV contract as does MLS, so getting people to games matters quite a bit more.

MLB does well on TV, but the sheer number of games and butts in seats over the season makes attendance a real factor for most teams. the exception have huge local TV contracts or networks, and well they also happen to be the same teams with the best attendances.. (I think if somehow MLB lost its TV deals everyone would be fine because people would just start going to games again....

but yes, the NFL would work even in Green bay.......

Hartford could easily support an NFL team, but the Pats would have to be in BOSTON proper. I think if we got the pats back in the day, Kraft would have been smart to sell the team and split the region to create an expansion Boston team.

I would like to see Hartford with a UFL team(NFL is extremely unlikely), an NHL team, AAA baseball downtown, An indoor Lacrosse team, and outdoor lacrosse team and an A-League Soccer team.

the Lacrosse might be overkill, but since they play opposite seasons, the outdoor team would really just be a way to keep the players employeed year round.

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