E.L. wrote:
So everybody's talking about the lousy crowds at the Montreal games. Plenty of reasons for this:
1. Montreal is a Habs town more than a hockey town
2. The tickets are overpriced
3. There was very little on-the-ground advertising done in the months leading up to the tournament. The assumption was the tickets will sell themselves
4. There's a lot of competition for one's entertainment dollar this time of year
5. RDS doesn't sell the myth as hard as TSN
6. I saw a World Cup hockey game at the Bell Centre. Packed, playoff atmosphere. But those were pros. These are juniors.
The other is obvious: you don't split an event like this between two very different markets. The IIHF did this with the Worlds in Quebec City and Halifax to some success but it stunk with Helsinki and Stockholm splitting the events. Calgary/Edmonton was a success but billed as an Alberta tournament.
And then they went and did this so they'd each get the tournament again in a couple years. Better bet would've been to have Toronto host it this time, then Montreal in two years. Put the 'B' games in secondary rinks like they usually do, even if they aren't that big in the Montreal area (did that Laval arena project ever get going?). Worked in Buffalo anyway.
Toronto could've had the secondary games in either Mississauga, Ricoh Centre, or even Hamilton if they went all out. Other OHL rinks nearby could've worked, even out in London. Why they're splitting it in the two biggest rinks in the country is beyond me, neither city feels like the host city.
_________________
Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.
- Ancient Chinese Proverb