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rusthebuss

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Looks like it's Tampa Bay for Ads

Hope they won't suck.

Chicago is widely known to be the worst run NHL team in the league. Basically, the family that has owned the team for the last 25 years has sought to make as much a profit as possible off the team with as little investment as possible, so it'll be a good change for Norfolk. If the Blackhawks were in any other city, they would have long ago had to abandon this practice (kinda similar to what happened to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 90's if you're more familiar with that), but because Chicago is such a big market, they can run the team like poo and still make money. Farm systems always have their ups and downs. Hockey is somewhat like baseball in that the minors are especially useful for only one position. In baseball, it's the pitchers, in hockey it's goalies (not that other positions don't develop, but that those are the two positions that need the most work coming out of the US College/Canadian junior leagues). And given how bad Tampa Bay's goalies are, you could see them really focus their draft choices on getting top goalies in the short-term, so probably some potential there to see some NHL talent from that side over the next couple of seasons.

Tampa has two of the leagues top scorers with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, so maybe they'll come play a game against the Admirals in Norfolk to mark the occasion. It's just too bad we can't get them to come home to wear a Habs jersey, but a lot of French-Canadians don't want to play in Montreal, too much pressure.

Edited by Glassoul
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Orioles won the game. It was a beautiful day to watch baseball. I have never seen Harbor Park so packed. I was there 1.5 hours early and the place was packed. People were parking at the mall and in downtown Norfolk and riding the bus over because there were no places to park. I had never seen downtown's street so alive then on that day. And the naysayers say that MLB or major league sports don't help economically. Bull. Just ask all these restaurants/malls/and private establishments who had an influx of street traffic on Friday.

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Orioles won the game. It was a beautiful day to watch baseball. I have never seen Harbor Park so packed. I was there 1.5 hours early and the place was packed. People were parking at the mall and in downtown Norfolk and riding the bus over because there were no places to park. I had never seen downtown's street so alive then on that day. And the naysayers say that MLB or major league sports don't help economically. Bull. Just ask all these restaurants/malls/and private establishments who had an influx of street traffic on Friday.

That's a good point but not the "major" issue.

While I would be hopeful and showed my hope by reserving two season tickets on that last go round, I would and do doubt the ability of our area to gather double or triple that amount of crowd for 81 times each year, at prices about double what everyone paid last Friday.

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That's a good point but not the "major" issue.

While I would be hopeful and showed my hope by reserving two season tickets on that last go round, I would and do doubt the ability of our area to gather double or triple that amount of crowd for 81 times each year, at prices about double what everyone paid last Friday.

Not only that but we must remember that the added economic benefit that comes from the additional visitors and ticket sales is usually offset by the cost of maintaining a team and building/maintaining a major league stadium.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great Article!

ODU president lit a fire where interest and inertia met

From the Virginian Pilot

"Football was not one of the top things on her to-do list, but she heard from students and alumni that football was important to them. She listened because she remembered "wanting to do things" as a young professor and administrator, "and having people say, 'No, you can't.' " :shades:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Quote from the Pilot:

"The Old Dominion University men's basketball team will play North Carolina as part of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational Tournament next season.

The Monarchs will meet UNC on Nov. 23, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, then will play either Brigham Young or Louisville on Nov. 24.

All four teams participated in this past season's NCAA Tournament. "

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Quote from the Pilot:

"The Old Dominion University men's basketball team will play North Carolina as part of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational Tournament next season.

The Monarchs will meet UNC on Nov. 23, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, then will play either Brigham Young or Louisville on Nov. 24.

All four teams participated in this past season's NCAA Tournament. "

Also from that article was a little blurb about McClenny not playing next season... that's gonna hurt.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Not to pick an old scab, but I was wondering if there was anyone in HR willing, or able, to do what this McLendon guy is doing for OKC?

New owners intend to move Sonics if deal can't get done

An Oklahoma City energy tycoon says the group that purchased the Seattle SuperSonics hopes to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, but he acknowledges the team could make more money in the Pacific Northwest.

"But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here," Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, told The Journal Record for a story in Monday's edition. "We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even, we'd be thrilled."

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When does the NBA and NFL review for new team additions?

Do they have a set time frame or certain conditions? If every mid-size and major metro had a team, it would sky rocket to a entirely different level..

One other thing, it was mention that if baseball came to the area (norfolk) that they would expand Habour Park. When they say expand, do they mean extend seating or the entire field? If they meant field, how would that work? I do not follow Baseball, so I do not know if Habour Park is the standard Professional ball field size..

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Not to pick an old scab, but I was wondering if there was anyone in HR willing, or able, to do what this McLendon guy is doing for OKC?

New owners intend to move Sonics if deal can't get done

Only person I could think of off the top of my head is Frank Batten. It ain't going to happen anyways. As every year passes, the cost of building a start of the art arena keeps on going up and up. The Scope is an embarrassment for this region, most if not all higher Division I universities have nicer arenas. The only professional sport that would have a chance here is the NBA, and I am not counting the NFL because they are not ever expanding to Norfolk.

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If MLB came to Norfolk, Harbor Park would be temporarily expanded to 25,000 while a new 35,000 seat stadium was constructed. At least that was the proposal by Norfolk Baseball Company.

Norfolk isn't on any league's expansion radar. The NBA would rather expand into cities with existing arenas like KC, St. Louis, or Anaheim or large metro areas like Vegas or Baltimore. OKC is only being considered because 1) Bennett bailed out Shinn and his Hornets in the aftermath of Katrina and 2) OKC has an NBA-ready/upgradable arena (Ford Center). The only legitimate U.S. city for NFL expansion is L.A. and that is going nowhere. The NFL would rather remain as is in the U.S. than throw in any financial aid to an expansion city. The NHL is looking to contract not expand.

Norfolk could be a relocation option for the NBA or NHL if it had an NBA/NHL-ready arena. Norfolk won't build one without a commitment and neither league will consider Norfolk without an arena. Gotta love the Catch-22.

BTW scm, I read studies by noted sports economists Brad Humphreys and Dennis Coates (they reference Zimbalist among others), back when we had our debate about the economic impact of pro sports. Their preferred method, which they show as being more accurate in measuring the impacts, results in a break-even effect on the local economy. Any gains in local taxes and business impact are offset by money spent in stadium construction instead of on schools/infrastructure, team incentives, and losses in revenue from other local entertainment options. One of the more interesting remarks was if having a pro sports team helps regional self esteem and draws potential works then employers can pay less to attract workers since they'll be drawn by the team. So although I still don't believe that pro sports have a negative effect, I no longer believe they have a positive impact either.

Edited by hoobo
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One other thing, it was mention that if baseball came to the area (norfolk) that they would expand Habour Park. When they say expand, do they mean extend seating or the entire field? If they meant field, how would that work? I do not follow Baseball, so I do not know if Habour Park is the standard Professional ball field size..

No, the field size doesn't change, just seating. Baseball outfields stop "growing" at about the high school level. However, baseball outfields do not all have the same strict dimensions, unlike football fields. The infield (where the pitcher and bases are) dimensions and the foul ball lines are set by the rules, but the outfield design (including the length, shape, and elevation of the outfield, and the height of the wall) is largely up to the owners of the team within certain parameters. Some outfields are bigger than others and a variety of factors are considered when they are designed. Harbor Park is actually considered a bit of a "pitchers' park". The the dimensions of the field when combined with the prevailing winds and the humidity of the region render a lot of long fly balls easily catchable by outfielders, balls that would otherwise be easy home runs in many other parks.

As a MLB example, the classic pitchers' park is McAfee Coliseum in Oakland (Athletics home) due to the orientation of the stadium where the strong bay winds predominately blow towards the infield. The classic hitters' park is Coors Field in Denver. Ironically, Coors Field has the LARGEST outfield in the big leagues, but gives up tons of home runs because of the altitude and lack of humidity (they recently started placing the balls in cigar humidors prior the game to help alleviate this). Minute Maid park in Houston probably has the most unusual outfield design in Major League Baseball thanks to its hill and flagpole in center field, and unusual overall shape.

Edited by Glassoul
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I wish....i wish....i wish....

It'll be decades till professional sports come to HR....and it's a travesty that Nashville has a football team AND a hockey team, Columbus has a hockey team, Oklahoma City gets next dibs, and we're @$$ out.

Gator i disagree, the Scope is not an embarassment, even if we build an arena, given it's structural significance, the Scope will not be demolished, it's a first-off it's time architecture. NBA or NFL would work, NFL obviously, NBA would be a stretch, imo. Baseball plays too many home games to draw consistent crowds (an issue here even now) hockey is the same (an issue when they're not winning, and on weekdays) basketball is ridiculously expensive (as is football, but football is a once a week excursion, not two or three times a week)

Anyways, it's still a pipe dream....unfortunately

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I wish....i wish....i wish....

It'll be decades till professional sports come to HR....and it's a travesty that Nashville has a football team AND a hockey team, Columbus has a hockey team, Oklahoma City gets next dibs, and we're @$$ out.

Gator i disagree, the Scope is not an embarassment, even if we build an arena, given it's structural significance, the Scope will not be demolished, it's a first-off it's time architecture. NBA or NFL would work, NFL obviously, NBA would be a stretch, imo. Baseball plays too many home games to draw consistent crowds (an issue here even now) hockey is the same (an issue when they're not winning, and on weekdays) basketball is ridiculously expensive (as is football, but football is a once a week excursion, not two or three times a week)

Anyways, it's still a pipe dream....unfortunately

As someone who grew up during the 60's and 70's in close proximity to Shea Stadium and the Nassau Coliseum and was able to see a modest number of pro baseball, pro hockey, pro basketball and pro baseball games until I move to the Hampton Roads area, I can comfortably say that the price escalation of the tickets makes me glad that I have turned my focus to college athletics and to the Norfolk Tides and Norfolk Admirals. I just returned from a vacation in California and had a chance to attend a game at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. We got mid priced tickets which were $32. Parking was $15. Every concession item was $2 more than you would pay here. No big deal for a vacation experience, but if you would like to go to 10-12 games a year as I now do with the Tides, that would take a much bigger financial commitment. Several years ago we were in Anaheim and chose to pay $80 a ticket for two in the very first row by the Angels dugout that somehow were available two hours before the game. Again, not something many would do regularly. I think we have what we have for a reason, and I think we would be well served to support the Tides and the Admirals and ODU and Norfolk State and Virginia Wesleyan and Hampton and Christopher Newport (sorry if I left anyone out) and be glad for those opportunities.

Edited by Chesapeake Pirate
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I honestly thought Pro Hockey or the WNBA would make it here first. I would assume hockey would be the best choice, I do not think it is a enough following for WNBA to branch off into an area were there big brother isn't present (NBA). But we can't even sustain the AFL minor league. It is a reflection of the economy as you guys made some good points why it will not come to this area. Young professionals (like me) think that all the old heads have the goods and money, and the old heads think there isn't enough money. The military brings down the value of the dollar alone in our area and lord the taxesssss. If you think about it, had the regional tax structure and focus changed, we probably could afford a lot more and subsequently pump more money into the local economy. But if you

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