The opinions have been said, positions been made. There will be no change in the outcome after Monday. Albany's loyal few thousand are right to mourn, they have earned their place and have been a steady force in keeping the AHL in that community. Do I feel they have some legitimate gripes, absolutely. I have expressed what some of the fans up in Albany have as well but at this point its a dead horse. The Devils returned under some very contentious sentiment and a fan base full of apathy after a very long playoff absence (13 years???).
The dynamics in Albany has changed greatly since the 1990s when Albany averaged anywhere from 4000 to 6000 for much that decade. Internet smartphones, UAlbany basketball going DI, rise of Union College in DI hockey, and the Albany area's obsession with competitive high school football and basketball. Class A Tri-City Valley Cats do very well but that's because its cheap to go, free to park, and probably because its NYPL short season baseball during the more warmer months of June through Sept. The Valley Cats advertise and promote heavy, there are always other things going on besides baseball. Houston Provides the players and coaching but the team is managed locally and it shows. The notion Albany is a sports ghost town just isn't true. Minor league baseball survives (none in Utica and the B-Mets have been on life support for how long?), Siena Basketball a mid major DI program pulls in 6000, UAlbany basketball fills their on campus gym, and nearby Union College is a tough hockey ticket to get in their little 2000 seat arena. Up the road from Albany just under an hour lies the ECHL Glens Fall's Adirondack Thunder.
We celebrate fans in Binghamton, they like Albany are getting yet another chance at retaining pro hockey. Albany benefited at the expense of Lowell yet Albany just as Lowell did will march on without the Devils AHL club. Binghamton maintains its AHL run, although the UHL fit in nicely when the AHL Rangers departed for Hartford. If I was an Albany fan I would take a pause, hit reset for next season. Continue to support your AHL hockey as strong as you can. If there was ever a time where it counted and shouldn't have been taken for granted over the last ten years it is now, finish strong as you can. Next season when all that the arena is hosting is a Siena Basketball season and a few concerts per month it will be up to the powers that be to replace the missing event dates. Thirty million dollars of public money is being put into Albany's arena and corporate suite holders will demand a certain number of events. Be interesting to see what "they" do to fill the void, meanwhile though greater Albany should try their best under difficult circumstances to end the season stronger and end the Devils era in Albany with some dignity. Maybe we will be entertaining talks of the NY Rangers landing in Albany or quite possibly Utica after next season, maybe not at all. Maybe we will see the ECHL eventually in Albany, or perhaps the Adirondack Thunder might extend an olive branch to Albany and play a game or two in Albany, who knows.......Best of luck to the Binghamton Devils and their fans, paint the town red.