Confirmed with Link: New York Rangers Hire John Davidson as President

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Watched some old videos of JD today. Very happy he's back in the fold. He's always been a fan favorite because of his play and his work in the booth with Sam but he's a very very bright guy. Only positives will come of this

 

[Ola]

The Rangers practice facility is in Tarrytown. I don’t think they’ve practiced in Rye in 15 years. Tarrytown is about 35 miles from the Meadowlands.

There really isn’t a viable and available AHL rink nearby, except perhaps Nassau Coliseum or as mentioned the Meadowlands. You really need something that holds at least 7000 people. The Yale arena only holds 3500. The one at West Point 2500. The one in Danbury about 3000. I don’t think the 5000 seat Westchester County Center in White Plains has an ice plant.

I think if the Islanders moved their AHL operation to Nassau, the Rangers would be interested in shifting to Bridgeport. That’s only about 45 miles from Tarrytown.

Hehe, for some reason I thought it was still in Rye.

Still, HFD averaged 3.9k last season. Money-wise its not an issue, those tickets were real cheap. And its not that expensive to rebuild an arena if you aren't worried about merch sales etc.

I would get one of those rinks at Chelsea Piers. Just rebuild it a little so that you can get in 2-3k standing, it doesn't take much space at all. Give the farm team a cool name (no @Amazing Kreiderman, Big Apple Worms isn't a cool name) and have the players practice in Tarry town. Would be -- much -- easier to attract players. Give the farm team a cool name. Moneywise it can't be an issue, you could easily double the ticket price and still fill the place. The atmosphere would be awesome.

Turn us into a real NYC franchise.

HFD sucks, 15k arena with 3-4k in attendance, can't get worse than that. The idea to have a team there was a mistake to start with, the Whalers fans never bought into it. They couldn't get the name to start with.

 

[JohnC]

JD was a funny character. He wore 00 for the Rangers besides #30.

I too find the number 0 funny

 

[bobbop]

Not sure how much they are up top anymore. My cousin still has the seats. I think they are sec 118 or 114 and around $160 per seat.

It's an expensive night for sure so days of hitting 30 to 40 games a year are long gone!

My $23 seats from 1994 now cost $119.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I too find the number 0 funny

I think 0 means more than people realize

cos 0=1

 

[East Coast Bias]

And its not that expensive to rebuild an arena if you aren't worried about merch sales etc.

I would get one of those rinks at Chelsea Piers. Just rebuild it a little so that you can get in 2-3k standing, it doesn't take much space at all.

This is very not true.

You can't build anything cheaply in NYC. It'd cost you a few hundred million to build an arena like that on the west side.

 

[Ola]

This is very not true.

You can't build anything cheaply in NYC. It'd cost you a few hundred million to build an arena like that on the west side.

Why does it have to be a solid AHL level arena?

We have had them in HFD in extremely horrible conditions for the last years. 15k arena with 3-4k -- at the most -- in it. It can't get worse than that. If you get 2k standing in the sky rink at Chelsea piers, how could that be worse? The atmosphere would be 50x as good. I bet you can charge double of the 10 usd or whatever a ticket was in HFD...

 

[Greg02]

Do AHL players even want to have the team be in NYC? It's not a cheap city on an AHL salary.

 

[Tawnos]

Why does it have to be a solid AHL level arena?

We have had them in HFD in extremely horrible conditions for the last years. 15k arena with 3-4k -- at the most -- in it. It can't get worse than that. If you get 2k standing in the sky rink at Chelsea piers, how could that be worse? The atmosphere would be 50x as good. I bet you can charge double of the 10 usd or whatever a ticket was in HFD...

If you want to improve the AHL organization by moving the team, yes... it has to be a solid AHL level arena.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I would get one of those rinks at Chelsea Piers. Just rebuild it a little so that you can get in 2-3k standing, it doesn't take much space at all.

Chelsea Piers is not built for professional hockey. And I'm not sure adding 2-3k captivity is feasible.

Give the farm team a cool name

Why does a cool name matter?

Would be -- much -- easier to attract players.

What does this mean?

Moneywise it can't be an issue, you could easily double the ticket price and still fill the place. The atmosphere would be awesome.

The competition for disposable income in NYC is aleady out of control. Not sure minor league hockey keeps up with major league sports, concerts, theater, movies, dining, etc.

Greg02 makes an excellent point. An AHL salary won't go far in NYC.

I guess the biggest question I have is: why is all this neccesary?

 

[Ola]

Sing- I know that HFD is a total miserable place. Big arena and no supporters. Not the best city. The people in it is still sour about the Whalers. It can’t get much worse.

Players that go to HFD leave a few weeks or months into their contract. The Marlies attract the best talent and many kids want to stay there. They develop really well too.

What is living expenses? Child-care? Come on.

There should be an atmosphere around an AHL team. You should feel that you are apart of something. Be proud of it. The — only — good thing about Hartford is that players hate it so much that they want to get out of there as soon as possible. The result speaks for itself.

An improvement must be made.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Sing- I know that HFD is a total miserable place. Big arena and no supporters. Not the best city. The people in it is still sour about the Whalers. It can’t get much worse.

Players that go to HFD leave a few weeks or months into their contract. The Marlies attract the best talent and many kids want to stay there. They develop really well too.

What is living expenses? Child-care? Come on.

There should be an atmosphere around an AHL team. You should feel that you are apart of something. Be proud of it. The — only — good thing about Hartford is that players hate it so much that they want to get out of there as soon as possible. The result speaks for itself.

An improvement must be made.

Rent, Utilities, Groceries, etc. All of which are exorbitant in NYC. I read a study a few years back, that to live comfortably in NYC - and by comfortably they meant a studio apartment, groceries and one night out per week - you would need an annual salary, before taxes, of $120K. It is not realistic to have an AHL team in NYC and what is more, there is no need.

I also don't think you really understand the difference between the way the United States operates and the way Sweden (or other European countries) do. We don't have social safety nets. Basic necessities like cell phone bills are insanely overprice. And on and on......

It is significantly easier to survive in most, if not all, European countries when compared to the USA. And New York is one of the more difficult cities in all of the US.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Sing- I know that HFD is a total miserable place. Big arena and no supporters. Not the best city. The people in it is still sour about the Whalers. It can’t get much worse.

Players that go to HFD leave a few weeks or months into their contract. The Marlies attract the best talent and many kids want to stay there. They develop really well too.

What is living expenses? Child-care? Come on.

There should be an atmosphere around an AHL team. You should feel that you are apart of something. Be proud of it. The — only — good thing about Hartford is that players hate it so much that they want to get out of there as soon as possible. The result speaks for itself.

An improvement must be made.

If this is satire it's some of the best around.

 

[Ola]

We had really high flying plans when we moved the Binghamton franchise to Hartford. It was meant to be a first class AHL franchise that would draw big numbers, ex Whalers would get a NHL team in the Rangers and an opportunity to follow its farm team close by.

It’s been a total disaster. There is only 3-4 teams with lower attendance than the Wolf Packs. The community don’t like the team. It’s just beyond repair. Something must be done about it. Slats was too tired to deal with it.

What is the solution? Someone tell me one. Moving to a place nobody else want won’t help it one bit. Heck, the Florida suggestion is the best I’ve heard. Problem is a NYR affiliate in Florida would draw more than the Panthers — would Bettman allow it?

 

[Ola]

Rent, Utilities, Groceries, etc. All of which are exorbitant in NYC. I read a study a few years back, that to live comfortably in NYC - and by comfortably they meant a studio apartment, groceries and one night out per week - you would need an annual salary, before taxes, of $120K. It is not realistic to have an AHL team in NYC and what is more, there is no need.

I also don't think you really understand the difference between the way the United States operates and the way Sweden (or other European countries) do. We don't have social safety nets. Basic necessities like cell phone bills are insanely overprice. And on and on......

It is significantly easier to survive in most, if not all, European countries when compared to the USA. And New York is one of the more difficult cities in all of the US.

So you mean you can’t live within commuting distance of Tarrytown the way AHL players live (3-4 players sharing an apartment)? Lol if this is satire it’s the best I’ve ever seen...

It wasn’t long ago not even the Ranger players lived on Manhattan.

HFD is a disaster. The only reason the franchise is still there is because nobody have had the energy to fix it.

 

[Ola]

If you want to improve the AHL organization by moving the team, yes... it has to be a solid AHL level arena.

Why?

A full arena gives you an extremely much better atmosphere than a half-full one. There isn’t a location on earth Hartford could locate to and draw 10k.

I much rather see us run a small and tidy shop over the disaster we currently have when there sometimes are like 1,000 spectators in an 15k arena.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

So you mean you can’t live within commuting distance of Tarrytown the way AHL players live (3-4 players sharing an apartment)? Lol if this is satire it’s the best I’ve ever seen...

"Here's your 2-way contract. If you are sent down you have to sleep on the couch at Ville's apartment which he shares with Ty and Ryan"

 

[Ola]

"Here's your 2-way contract. If you are sent down you have to sleep on the couch at Ville's apartment which he shares with Ty and Ryan"

That is actually how it is now. Most players share a few bigger apartments. Of course not all, but you get what I mean. The younger guys that constitute the majority of the team.

 

[Ola]

I think that the younger guys here has no idea how bad things are in HFD because they don’t know anything else. It’s attendance is at the bottom of the AHL.

If this was known, they would never even remotely have even considered to relocate there. The visions when the move was made was something totally different.. There have also been plans to abort it, but then that new attempt was done with Baldwin which was a disaster and Slats just obviously gave up trying to make it work.

Something should be done. It really can’t be much worse. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard many reports of their being tops 1000-1500 spectators there on some nights. And then when you see tv pictures from the arena, its hard to find people that on average looks more lost/wanting to be somewhere else.

 

[Tawnos]

Why?

A full arena gives you an extremely much better atmosphere than a half-full one. There isn’t a location on earth Hartford could locate to and draw 10k.

I much rather see us run a small and tidy shop over the disaster we currently have when there sometimes are like 1,000 spectators in an 15k arena.

You’re overemphasizing the importance of attendance in this conversation. The reason you’d want the team closer to the training center is so the young players in the AHL would have access to the higher end facility. That doesn’t do you much good if you then put them in a second rate place to play the actual games.

 

[MrEctions]

It's too bad that they didn't take a shot on Utica. Since the Canucks moved the farm in, the place has been completely revitalized. Tons of development, awesome sold out crowds, cleaning up the community a lot. It's really been all positive. Would've been awesome to have the baby Rangers in Utica considering there are a shitton of Rangers fans in Central NY as well.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

This is very not true.

You can't build anything cheaply in NYC. It'd cost you a few hundred million to build an arena like that on the west side.

$100 million?

HA! $100 million would just cover the graft to get the construction permit.

 

[East Coast Bias]

$100 million?

HA! $100 million would just cover the graft to get the construction permit.

and then you got the kickbacks to the carpenters. and if you plan on using any concrete in this building, well then the teamsters will like to have a little chat with ya, and that'll cost ya

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

and then you got the kickbacks to the carpenters. and if you plan on using any concrete in this building, well then the teamsters will like to have a little chat with ya, and that'll cost ya

 

[Kocur Dill]

LMAO. First i though it, scrolled down, there it was.

Kudos.