As a new member of Columbus, the BJ’s really have brought a ton to Columbus and there is a strong following here.  Attendance isn’t that bad and the team could be marketed better, there is no question.  But the fans are here and the city is a large city that needs a pro sports team.

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 11/05/09 at 09:12 AM ET

Wait. I thought only sunbelt teams were struggling financially.

Posted by Bluto on 11/05/09 at 09:36 AM ET

Here’s what I always wonder about this debate (not just as it relates to hockey, but baseball and basketball as well).

How much has high-definition television hurt attendance in the major sports leagues, especially the NHL and NBA? True, there’s nothing like seeing an NHL game live, but with most of us in the middle-class having fairly large HDTVs, and being able to see many (or all) of our team’s games in HD, it really removes a lot of the luster of going to the arena.

As a Red Wings fan, I will tell you that this HUGELY impacted my decision to go or not to go to games when I was still living in Michigan. The last few years, I pretty much saved my ticket money for playoff games, where the atmosphere is better, because going to the Joe, while fun in many ways, has A LOT of drawbacks.
- You have to drive at least 20 miles to get there if you live in the suburbs
- You have to find parking, that will cost you at least $10
- Once you’re there, the facility is not a particularly fun place to be… the bathrooms are few and far between (and disgusting), the concessions are incredibly expensive, the banners and statues honoring the Wings’ history are great, but are not laid out well… the concourse is essentially a stale concrete room with depressing lighting and out-of-date fixtures…
- When the game is over, you might as well plan on staying until the ushers kick you out so they can sweep up, because you’re not going anywhere fast with the poor design of the parking structures and the fact that Detroit has no (real) public transport means for every two people in the arena there’s one car that needs to leave downtown…

Compare that to my home experience:
- Totally “free” in that I’m going to pay for the cable TV and HD package anyways, so I’m not incurring additional costs to watch the games
- Totally “free” in that I have all the snacks/food/drink I want in the house that is purchased regardless of hockey games being on or not
- My couch is infinitely more comfortable than arena seats
- My HDTV’s picture is basically just as good of any view if you were sitting live in the upper bowl
- The commute at the end of the night is from couch, to bathroom, to bed
- There’s no fight to make it to the bathroom and back before intermission is over…
- And I don’t have to dangle dangle with every other dude standing at “the trough”

And the Wings’ experience, outside of playoff games, is pretty stale. Just consider that they play the SAME music to the point where you can predict what song or what sound clip they will play at what times.

Now, if the Wings had a newer arena (or a nicer one with a better “experience") it might change my tune. For example, even when the Tigers were just awful, it was a lot of fun to go to Comerica because it’s a very nice park, you get out there on a nice sunny day, can walk around the concourse, it’s got plenty of space, you never feel crowded. There are lots more food and drink options, there’s a ferris wheel for kids, lots of nice things that make it a really fun day even if you only watch half the game.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 11/05/09 at 09:48 AM ET

Valid points about hockey (and sports) in general, and as a relatively new HDTV owner, I agree with much of what you’re saying.

Although this issue in Columbus is supposedly not attendance related. When this issue first came up last spring, Priest was quoted in the paper saying that the Jackets could sell out the entire season, make it to the finals, and still lose money because of the terms of the lease. I’m not entirely sure I believe that, but that’s the public message from the team’s ownership, at least.

Posted by Sarah from The 'View on 11/05/09 at 09:56 AM ET

Nathan, I don’t know if you’ve been there, but Nationwide Arena (and the whole Arena District) in Columbus is new and nice, so it doesn’t have some of the problems you’re describing at the Joe (I’ve been both places). Yes, any sporting event will have travel time and exiting congestion problems, but I think the overall arena experience at Nationwide Arena is quite good, so Columbus doesn’t really have a problem with that (although your point about HDTV vs. live still holds).

Posted by Muero on 11/05/09 at 10:14 AM ET

I really think that you are right Sarah, it is mostly the lease.  I am meeting with the BJ’s legal counsel next week and I’ll bring it up to him and see what he says.

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 11/05/09 at 10:20 AM ET

Sarah, I understand, I was just throwing a thought out there since it’s a somewhat related topic, and these type of topics often go back to attendance as well.

Muero, I have heard that Nationwide is great and would love to check it out. There are also great reviews of the arenas in Dallas, Montreal, and Toronto. I guess I was thinking that while the Joe is one of the older arenas, it can’t possibly be the only one that suffers from some of these drawbacks.

And frankly, even with nice, new arenas like Nationwide or American Airlines (is it still called that?), HDTV still takes away significant luster from being at the game.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 11/05/09 at 10:53 AM ET

Couldn’t some of the team’s deficit be credited to increased payroll through investment in higher caliber players like Volchenkov and Commodore?

Posted by drimo on 11/05/09 at 11:08 AM ET

Couldn’t some of the team’s deficit be credited to increased payroll through investment in higher caliber players like Volchenkov and Commodore?

Posted by drimo on 11/05/09 at 11:08 AM ET

What have you been smoking? Columbus’s payroll is the 26th highest in the league, and no one named Volchenkov plays for them. If they’ve lost $30-43 million over three years, that would still put them on track to operate on a deficit even they reduced player salaries to the league minimum cap number. High salaries are not the problem.

Posted by Muero on 11/05/09 at 01:14 PM ET

Sorry, meant Vermette, not Volchenkov.

Posted by drimo on 11/05/09 at 01:17 PM ET

i didn’t know that Columbus was in Dixie? i thought only teams in the sun belt have woes.

Posted by Predneck from Hicktown on 11/05/09 at 01:21 PM ET