Ottawa to file for bankruptcy
Wayne Carl of the Hockey business news was on WGR this morning...it appears the Sens will file for bankruptcy as early as this week...
Also, he reported there were almost no reporters from the United States at the latest World Junior Championships...a poor reflection of hockey interest in the United States.
He further stated that hockey will probably shut down in 2004 until there are "cost certainties" a.k.a. a salary cap put in place.
More:
1. Too many teams change too many owners too often.
2. After 2004 it will be impossible to get a new national TV deal.
3. If there is a salary cap it might be about $45 million dollars.
IMO, hockey is going to be in really tough straights after 2004...
Re: Ottawa to file for bankruptcy
Quote:
Originally posted by Ebenezer
Also, he reported there were almost no reporters from the United States at the latest World Junior Championships...a poor reflection of hockey interest in the United States.
No wonder. If they held it in a place like Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal, maybe even Quebec- they might attract some folks. Holding it in Halifax, or St John, or some barren unforsaken rock in Nova Scotia isn't going to attract anybody- especially over the holidays.
That's what teletype machines are for.
Re: Re: Ottawa to file for bankruptcy
Quote:
Originally posted by Dozerdog
No wonder. If they held it in a place like Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal, maybe even Quebec- they might attract some folks. Holding it in Halifax, or St John, or some barren unforsaken rock in Nova Scotia isn't going to attract anybody- especially over the holidays.
That's what teletype machines are for.
Actually Dozer, Halifax broke all records for attendance for the Junior Championship. They had well over 230,000 attend the games over the last week. Hell, tickets for the final were going for $500/pair. Not bad for a "barren, unforsken rock."
I think the point the writer is trying to make is that there is no serious attention paid to grass-roots/developmental hockey by sports journalists in the US. Why? Because there's nothing really to report on - yet.
In Canada, NHL teams are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of total attendance. The US is beginning to catch on with 7 US-based teams in the Canadian (WHL & OHL) major junior leagues, because those cities understand that if you want to compete with the big boys, you need to step up & play where the competition is. The reality is that most of the players, even on the US-based major junior teams are Canadian. The even bigger joke is NCAA hockey, which is just a free ride for Canadian hockey players to get scholarships. In the NCAA, there are probably 3-4 truly competitive teams that could contend at the major junior level in Canada. Don't get me wrong, US hockey is making strides and will probably be on a level with Canada within the next 10 years.