Niagara Icedogs 2024-25 Season Thread, Part III

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This could decrease the IceDogs attendance even more. I could see some Niagara Falls ON fans heading across the border to watch OHL hockey instead of travelling to St Catharines.
I really don’t think this will decrease at all. If anything it will increase as a true local rival would establish and there would be a big increase in American fans coming to the Niagara vs Niagara games.
 

This could decrease the IceDogs attendance even more. I could see some Niagara Falls ON fans heading across the border to watch OHL hockey instead of travelling to St Catharines.
I think for the vast majority of fans/if not all - the extra cost (border tolls) and time traveled wouldn't be worth it for junior games. I would probably go to a couple games there when Niagara is the road team however
 
I really don’t think this will decrease at all. If anything it will increase as a true local rival would establish and there would be a big increase in American fans coming to the Niagara vs Niagara games.
This idea has floated around for decades. An arena attached to the casino; an entertainment complex on the former Summit Park Mall property; or something adjacent to the Sabres. The trouble with NFNY is it does not have a big population and people from Buffalo generally won't leave The Queen's City. Relying on tourists to take in an OHL game is a very risky business plan. Will Canadians cross the border to take in a game? Sure they will, but the fees at the bridge plus the USD costing $1.44 CAN, means it won't be every game.

The strongest proposal was for Terry Pegula (Bills, Sabres, American, Bandits, etc) to locate a team in or around Buffalo. This would be the next logical step to compliment his NHL and AHL teams, since the USHL teams are geographically distant. That's the reason Youngstown, OH and Muskegon, MI are petitioning to join the OHL.
 
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Then why give a March 21 deadline?

I do agree, it got at least a month earlier in the last 5 years. Which seems desperate.
Many have speculated that DD secured a loan to purchase the IceDogs. With attendance at the Meridian Centre at an all-time low, the conjecture is that he is having difficulty meeting expenses while paying back the loan. Throw in a few lower attended games and an extra pay-week in January, and it is easy for a business to get into a cash crunch, especially if the margins are tight.

So the business office is doing what it can to bring in more revenue: cold-calling former STHs; offering incentives to renew earlier; and yes - raising the ticket prices (and any other price they have control over). Giving away playoff tickets is risky. Usually these are more money than regular tickets, and if you can give them away free, you are signalling your belief that there will be empty seats.
 

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