Flint Firebirds 2021-22 Season Thread (Part 2)

[Savard18]

Can somebody just start a “Crazy off topic, incoherent ramblings” thread so Margot Kidder has somewhere to go to?

 

[N Da No]

Can somebody just start a “Crazy off topic, incoherent ramblings” thread so Margot Kidder has somewhere to go to?

I've got news for you Savard18, Margot Kidder is dead, she ain't going nowhere.

 

[Agent 53]

Why isn't this happening in Flint? Over 8,000+ tickets sold for each game with less than 300 tickets remaining for each playoff game ...... Toledo Walleye

The entire leagues attendance is down in the playoffs. Flint drew a higher % than I think everyone for game 5. (It’s posted in here some where)



Your obsessions with Toledo is weird, and obsession for negativity towards Flint is even weirder.

 

[MJ5]

Man, the statement at the 17 second mark makes it sound like he reads a certain persons post.

 

[MJ5]

Othmann sure sounds like a guy who wanted to be traded and hates being here.

 

[N Da No]

The entire leagues attendance is down in the playoffs. Flint drew a higher % than I think everyone for game 5. (It’s posted in here some where)



Your obsessions with Toledo is weird, and obsession for negativity towards Flint is even weirder.

Perfect timing...first intermission. What obsessions? What negativity? Bolts up 1-0 in the series, and up 1-0 after the first period in game two. Get crazy Flint, could they possibly win two games here in Sunrise? Thus far this series has been a blast. Gotta go, the second period is about to start. The South Beach Slammers are calling me.

 

[aresknights]

The entire leagues attendance is down in the playoffs. Flint drew a higher % than I think everyone for game 5. (It’s posted in here some where)



Your obsessions with Toledo is weird, and obsession for negativity towards Flint is even weirder.

Do they work for Toledos team? Or have a vested interest in pimping the team? ( friend working there?)
Does seem odd, I dunno.

Good luck in the conf. finals. The orange Birds are in tough but nice to see the on ice product have some success this year. Hopefully there is another rd.

 

[TcNorth]

N Da No, Toledo and Flint is a horrible comparison. Here is why:

City Population:
Toledo. 275,000
Flint. 95,000. (and shrinking)

Metro Population:
Toledo. 650,000
Flint. 400,000 (and shrinking)

Arena Comparison’s:

Toledo (Newer 8,000 arena downtown near entertainment district and their new AAA baseball stadium, diversified economy although some GM still left, with many natural rivalries, Firt Wayne, Kalamazoo, Cincinnati, etc).
FLINT. (53 year old 4,000 seat stadium in not so good area of Flint with maybe “1” bar within a mile, a war zone parking lot, and no longer one huge employer in town, only Saginaw as a natural rivalry, but arena renovations have been nice).

When General Motors and Buick left Flint our GM employment dropped from 75,000 in the 70’s to about 4,000 today, a lot of the discretionary income left as well, as was already pointed out. Granted, there are still hockey fans in the area, but as was pointed out, they have lost a lot. We still should be getting better crowds with our hockey history. I would also like to add that before the Huntington Center was built, the Toledo Sports Arena was in a bad part of town and had been seeing years of dwindling attendance. Good luck to our Firebirds in the Conference Finals!

 

[MJ5]

We still should be getting better crowds

Dort Federal Event Center Capacity - 3,939 - Tonight - 3,342 - 84%
WFCU Centre Capacity - 6,450 - Tonight - 4470 - 69%
North Bay Memorial Gardens Capacity - 4,246 - Tonight - 2,806 - 66%
Per Savard
Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Capacity 5,000 - 2,906 - 58%
First Ontario Centre - Capacity 17,383 - 2986 - 17%

Flint is doing fine compared to the league. Gas prices aren't helping anyone either right now.

 

[Savard18]

Othmann sure sounds like a guy who wanted to be traded and hates being here.

Really dig both of those posts. Think about it. No deadline additions. Can you imagine if they make it to the Finals with a straight up “as is”, “run what ya brung” roster? How many teams in the last decade have been in a Conference Final with ONLY the boys that started the season? So happy for Keppen and Cav to be here after all they’ve been through over last 5 years. Everybody has earned and deserves it but those two especially.

 

[MJ5]

Really dig both of those posts. Think about it. No deadline additions. Can you imagine if they make it to the Finals with a straight up “as is”, “run what ya brung” roster? How many teams in the last decade have been in a Conference Final with ONLY the boys that started the season? So happy for Keppen and Cav to be here after all they’ve been through over last 5 years. Everybody has earned and deserves it but those two especially.

Biggest moves of the season, releasing Gretz and getting Keppen back. They would not be in this situation without those 2 moves, and you literally gave up nothing to make it happen.

 

[TcNorth]

Dort Federal Event Center Capacity - 3,939 - Tonight - 3,342 - 84%
WFCU Centre Capacity - 6,450 - Tonight - 4470 - 69%
North Bay Memorial Gardens Capacity - 4,246 - Tonight - 2,806 - 66%
Per Savard
Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Capacity 5,000 - 2,906 - 58%
First Ontario Centre - Capacity 17,383 - 2986 - 17%

Flint is doing fine compared to the league. Gas prices aren't helping anyone either right now.

Scewed because Flint has the 2nd smallest arena of 20 teams. You should know that. That blows your 84% out of the water.

 

[N Da No]

N Da No, Toledo and Flint is a horrible comparison. Here is why:

City Population:
Toledo. 275,000
Flint. 95,000. (and shrinking)

Metro Population:
Toledo. 650,000
Flint. 400,000 (and shrinking)

Arena Comparison’s:

Toledo (Newer 8,000 arena downtown near entertainment district and their new AAA baseball stadium, diversified economy although some GM still left, with many natural rivalries, Firt Wayne, Kalamazoo, Cincinnati, etc).
FLINT. (53 year old 4,000 seat stadium in not so good area of Flint with maybe “1” bar within a mile, a war zone parking lot, and no longer one huge employer in town, only Saginaw as a natural rivalry, but arena renovations have been nice).

When General Motors and Buick left Flint our GM employment dropped from 75,000 in the 70’s to about 4,000 today, a lot of the discretionary income left as well, as was already pointed out. Granted, there are still hockey fans in the area, but as was pointed out, they have lost a lot. We still should be getting better crowds with our hockey history. I would also like to add that before the Huntington Center was built, the Toledo Sports Arena was in a bad part of town and had been seeing years of dwindling attendance. Good luck to our Firebirds in the Conference Finals!

What a horrible comparison you present. I'm going to ask you the very same question that Toledo officials asked me a few weeks ago.

Why did one of the richest owners in sports who happens to be a billionaire, not build a new arena in downtown Flint to help revitalize Flint? Instead he pumped money into as you say a "53 year old building with maybe “1” bar within a mile and a war zone parking lot."

If Rolf Nilsen really cared about Flint he could have been the "spark" to make downtown Flint to have an entertainment district in which like Toledo currently has. That would have meant more thriving restaurants and bars with a much more active nightlife in Downtown Flint. His team with a brand new sparkling hockey arena could be the catalyst for this to happen. It would not only bring hockey to downtown Flint but also concerts that cities such as Toledo and Grand Rapids now have.

Flint has a very valuable asset with the University of Michigan-Flint in Downtown Flint. With Nilsen and the U of M working together it would be an asset that many communities would be envious of. Just look at the history of basketball talent that has come out of Flint. A successful NCAA U of M-Flint basketball program would offer an opportunity for Flint to be known as a basketball powerhouse all across the USA. Could you not see say 8,000+ attendance consistently with a national top 25 team ranking?

Flint has proven in the past to be able to brings folks into the downtown area, but just for one time only events each year. The Crim Festival of Races have brought thousands upon thousands of people since 1977 from all around the world.

Back to the Bricks which began back in 2005 and has gotten bigger and better each year, draws people from all across the country including Canada. Crowds most recently have surpassed the 500,000 mark for the downtown Flint event.

The good folks in Toledo told me that It's not about the number of people a community has, it's all about the number of people who care, who are able to contribute financially and are proactive in making the community the best for all of it's citizens. This has been sorely missing in Flint and is a major reason why it has fallen behind with cities such as Toledo and Grand Rapids.

How about them BOLTS? A 2-1 last second win giving them a 2-0 lead in the the 2nd round series. Never did I think that they would take the first two games from a team that had the best record overall in the NHL and best home record this season. We now go back to Tampa with with home ice advantage and now the best team during the regular season Florida having to win 4 out of the next 5 games.

 

[FireBird71]

Scewed because Flint has the 2nd smallest arena of 20 teams. You should know that. That blows your 84% out of the water.

Those bigger arenas still aren’t selling out..that’s the point of the whole post

What a horrible comparison you present. I'm going to ask you the very same question that Toledo officials asked me a few weeks ago.

Why did one of the richest owners in sports who happens to be a billionaire, not build a new arena in downtown Flint to help revitalize Flint? Instead he pumped money into as you say a "53 year old building with maybe “1” bar within a mile and a war zone parking lot."

If Rolf Nilsen really cared about Flint he could have been the "spark" to make downtown Flint to have an entertainment district in which like Toledo currently has. That would have meant more thriving restaurants and bars with a much more active nightlife in Downtown Flint. His team with a brand new sparkling hockey arena could be the catalyst for this to happen. It would not only bring hockey to downtown Flint but also concerts that cities such as Toledo and Grand Rapids now have.

Flint has a very valuable asset with the University of Michigan-Flint in Downtown Flint. With Nilsen and the U of M working together it would be an asset that many communities would be envious of. Just look at the history of basketball talent that has come out of Flint. A successful NCAA U of M-Flint basketball program would offer an opportunity for Flint to be known as a basketball powerhouse all across the USA. Could you not see say 8,000+ attendance consistently with a national top 25 team ranking?

Flint has proven in the past to be able to brings folks into the downtown area, but just for one time only events each year. The Crim Festival of Races have brought thousands upon thousands of people since 1977 from all around the world.

Back to the Bricks which began back in 2005 and has gotten bigger and better each year, draws people from all across the country including Canada. Crowds most recently have surpassed the 500,000 mark for the downtown Flint event.

The good folks in Toledo told me that It's not about the number of people a community has, it's all about the number of people who care, who are able to contribute financially and are proactive in making the community the best for all of it's citizens. This has been sorely missing in Flint and is a major reason why it has fallen behind with cities such as Toledo and Grand Rapids.

How about them BOLTS? A 2-1 last second win giving them a 2-0 lead in the the 2nd round series. Never did I think that they would take the first two games from a team that had the best record overall in the NHL and best home record this season. We now go back to Tampa with with home ice advantage and now the best team during the regular season Florida having to win 4 out of the next 5 games.

Um if I was a Billionaire and chose to build a new arena it sure as hell wouldn’t be downtown Flint…more like one of the suburbs.

 

[MJ5]

Scewed because Flint has the 2nd smallest arena of 20 teams. You should know that. That blows your 84% out of the water.

Skewed?

They still had more fans than 4 of the 5 on that list. Arena size doesn't matter on that list.

 

[N Da No]

Those bigger arenas still aren’t selling out..that’s the point of the whole post


Um if I was a Billionaire and chose to build a new arena it sure as hell wouldn’t be downtown Flint…more like one of the suburbs.

Sure, "one of the suburbs"......just like they DIDN'T do in Grand Rapids or Toledo.. You obviously have no knowledge of economic diversity

 

[TcNorth]

Your reasoning is still flawed, although I agree the University of Michigan-Flint is a tremendous asset and one of the few best things going on downtown besides some decent restaurants and pubs, and The City Market. The Bobby Crim is run once a year with great security. Back to the Bricks is a 5-6 day event with great security. That again isn’t a good comparison because the Firebirds need to cover 40-50 dates in the fall/winter depending how far they get in the playoffs. Toledo has numerous advantages over Flint. Rolf’s job pertains to Hockey and not city revitalization. Perani, Dr. Chardoul, and the Franke’s, Dr. Shukairy never built a downtown arena either. Do you suppose that in such a troubled city that a new arena downtown would not be the Mayor or City Council’s first, second, or third choice in our current cities make-up? Did the city or University of Michigan ever propose a new arena in downtown Flint? It takes two or three to tangle and cannot be blamed on Rolf solely. Really hard to justify a new arena in downtown Flint.

 

[FireBird71]

Sure, "one of the suburbs"......just like they DIDN'T do in Grand Rapids or Toledo.. You obviously have no knowledge of economic diversity

Neither do you since you constantly have to bring other cities teams into a Flint discussion….Flint will never be near what the Griffins are. And no owner in their right mind would build a new Arena in Flint…look around for Christs sake. Maybe you can give Rolf the Billionaire some economic advice LMAO take a lap

 

[TcNorth]

Skewed?

They still had more fans than 4 of the 5 on that list. Arena size doesn't matter on that list.

A sellout of 1,000 in a arena that seats 1,000 is 100% capacity, BUT IS STILL ONLY 1,000 people. That is why arena capacity doesn’t matter much! PS: for hockey, Hamilton’s arena seats 9,000. Also, I see you failed to mention three of Flint’s playoff crowd’s were barely 2,000 fans (less than 50% capacity, but still two very disappointing crowds for such a small arena. Hopefully, we will have good crowds and support on Wednesday and Friday. 3,342 was much better for the deciding game vs The Soo on a prime Saturday Night, but we can do better.

 

[FireBird71]

A sellout of 1,000 in a arena that seats 1,000 is 100% capacity, BUT IS STILL ONLY 1,000 people. That is why arena capacity doesn’t matter much! PS: for hockey, Hamilton’s arena seats 9,000. Also, I see you failed to mention two of Flint’s playoff crowd’s were barely 2,000 fans (less than 50% capacity, but still two very disappointing crowds for such a small arena. Hopefully, we will have good crowds and support on Wednesday and Friday.

Bottom line is you can’t force people to come if they choose not to…and to bellyache about the attendance isn’t going to make people show up. The on ice product has been fantastic and if people don’t show it’s on them

 

[TcNorth]

Thankful for those that live in the area and do go.

 

[Toldyaso]

It is just you.

Thanks for clearing that up neighbor... Oh wait...

 

[N Da No]

Bottom line is you can’t force people to come if they choose not to…and to bellyache about the attendance isn’t going to make people show up. The on ice product has been fantastic and if people don’t show it’s on them

Ask yourself what's going to happen when the on ice product is NOT fantastic and you see a pattern continue where the numbers become lower and lower? Maybe start giving away complimentary tickets with the results of people still not showing up? "You can't force people to come even if you give them free tickets".

 

[FireBird71]

Ask yourself what's going to happen when the on ice product is NOT fantastic and you see a pattern continue where the numbers become lower and lower? Maybe start giving away complimentary tickets with the results of people still not showing up? "You can't force people to come even if you give them free tickets".

Then you”ll have all the free time on the world to spend in Toledo

 

[Savard18]

Ask yourself what's going to happen when the on ice product is NOT fantastic and you see a pattern continue where the numbers become lower and lower? Maybe start giving away complimentary tickets with the results of people still not showing up? "You can't force people to come even if you give them free tickets".

....but the on-ice product IS fantastic now that it’s back under Rolf’s control. Thanks Rolf.