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  #21  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2018, 1:32 AM
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Please do! The more people in the stands the better! I'd like to fill the stands for both of our teams. It'll take a while for sure and we'll need to grow more as a city, but one small step at a time. I'd like to see the attendance get to 2000 average per game, maybe 3000. It should be doable. Just like when the cats started out, they weren't doing good. But now I think we've turned the page. Besides we need great forumers there to give good feedback.
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  #22  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2018, 5:25 PM
lirette lirette is offline
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Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01 View Post
Please do! The more people in the stands the better! I'd like to fill the stands for both of our teams. It'll take a while for sure and we'll need to grow more as a city, but one small step at a time. I'd like to see the attendance get to 2000 average per game, maybe 3000. It should be doable. Just like when the cats started out, they weren't doing good. But now I think we've turned the page. Besides we need great forumers there to give good feedback.
As someone who goes to a few games a year I don't think we'll ever see an attendance average of 3000 as long as the season runs along side hockey. The league is so difficult to gain any traction to get die hard fans and theres only so much money to go around for families entertainment budget.

If you have one of the best players in the league you likely lose him to the G-League or a better paying league in Europe. You are mostly getting players who are really good but are on the tail end of their career or a younger player whos hoping to move up the pro ranks but almost zero chance of making the NBA. The roster turnover from one year to the next must be close to 80%.

I think its possible that they get to a 2000 fan average if they remain in 1st place as the season goes on and can get to the finals and they work hard to promote the team.

I don't think all hope is lost yet, but if they continue to get crowds under 1000 I don't see the team sticking around much longer getting payouts from the city. Their social media over the weekend put out a video showing the sold out crowd in St Johns essentially begging for fans to come out. For whatever reason the NBL has been a huge success in St Johns, and it definitely helped them that they had no other major tenant when the team came. They now will be competing with an ECHL team, but they likely got enough fans hooked to maintain a healthy franchise.

The product itself is very entertaining, high tempo high scoring basketball with quality players who have played D1 NCAA/G-League. Considering we don't even have a major university team here it makes the talent stand out even more. The issue is don't get attached to too many players, because they will likely be gone the following year. 2 of the best players on the team this year were big parts of Halifax & London last year, so I'm not surprised they are 5-0.

FWIW I do find that the fans that go to the games do a far better job at making noise than a typical regular season wildcats game. The team is also very active in the community which I'm sure grows interest in basketball for the young kids that they visit at school. That is worth something.
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  #23  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2018, 6:06 PM
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The roster turnover from one year to the next must be close to 80%.
This is a major issue.

I went to quite a few games during the first two years of the Miracles existence, but then I got out of the habit.

It's hard to get invested in a team when the turnover is so high. I had a few favourite players in the beginning that I would root for, but then they were gone the second season. When the same thing happened the following year, I lost interest.

It is really good quality basketball though, not too far below NBA caliber.
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  #24  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2018, 9:16 PM
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Turnover is the biggest issue. At least in the Q Hockey League, you have the same players for a few years at least before they move on.
I remember when the Miracles had Devin Sweetney and Isaac Butts, they were wildly popular with the fans... but then they were gone after one year.
If attendance could reach 2,000 and remain there, the owners would be happy.
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  #25  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 1:01 AM
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It is really good quality basketball though, not too far below NBA caliber.
That's my reason of attending these games. I am far from being familiar with the players, except this one dude with pink/orange sneakers who seems to be quite popular with the crowd. Plus this guy is pretty dam good.

I can't find any better entertainment in town worth my $20 other than the Wildcats games. I've always been a non NBA fan, but when I saw my first ever NBL Moncton Miracle game a couple of years ago, I became instant fan. Unfortunately that was my one and only game at the Coliseum.

Now that we have the Avenir Centre, walking distance from my house, I've been attending everything. The Magics game are top notch!

Too bad not more Monctonians can jump onboard. 900 in attendance at their last game is pretty sad. 1500 at home opener was disappointing.

I'm spreading the word to everyone I know. I say come see a game. You'll be pleasantly surprised and it's a great way to start an evening out.
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  #26  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2018, 10:55 AM
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It's a great product and at a bargain price.
I\m not sure why I don't get there more often. I guess there's just so many options in Moncton that the Magic aren't top of mind.
I wish them well and I agree with you = go see a game everyone, you won't regret it!
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  #27  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 2:52 AM
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Another big win for the Magics tonight at the Avenir Centre.

Cape Breton Highlanders 89, Moncton Magic 102. Attendance was not mentioned, but I'm guessing 900, similar crowd size as my last visit. Call me crazy, but the 900 in attendance tonight seemed more vocal than a 4200 attendance at a Wildcats game. Seriously! I'm really liking this basketball.

This guy below, Nick Evans had a 25 point game. Top points leader tonight. Another Magic player, Jahnii Carson, also had a strong game with 22 points.

Come on Moncton, best show in town. Magics are #1 in Canada with 6-0 record.

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  #28  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 8:07 PM
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Its going to be an uphill climb in terms of growing attendance thats for certain.

Important to note that this is a league that is only 3 years removed from a large brawl that occured between Halifax & Windsor resulting in a game 7 of a league final not being played. While some measures were taken in terms of fines and suspensons, there are several players that were involved that are still part of the league.

The legitimacy of the league took a big hit after that incident, not to mention theres already been a changeover in franchises here in Moncton since then, in addition to new franchises joining and some folding. All of these things happening doesn't scream stability to fans who may be looking to invest in something and being more careful with their entertainment dollar than ever before. They are certainly giving it their all on social media and in the paper to try and help remove some of those stigmas.

A successful season in the standings will likely help abit, but they may not see any sort of bump until later in the season. I do wonder how their attendance would be if the league ran opposite the QMJHL schedule when the only thing they'd be competing with is senior baseball.
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  #29  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 8:25 PM
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Originally Posted by lirette View Post
As someone who goes to a few games a year I don't think we'll ever see an attendance average of 3000 as long as the season runs along side hockey. The league is so difficult to gain any traction to get die hard fans and theres only so much money to go around for families entertainment budget.

If you have one of the best players in the league you likely lose him to the G-League or a better paying league in Europe. You are mostly getting players who are really good but are on the tail end of their career or a younger player whos hoping to move up the pro ranks but almost zero chance of making the NBA. The roster turnover from one year to the next must be close to 80%.

I think its possible that they get to a 2000 fan average if they remain in 1st place as the season goes on and can get to the finals and they work hard to promote the team.

I don't think all hope is lost yet, but if they continue to get crowds under 1000 I don't see the team sticking around much longer getting payouts from the city. Their social media over the weekend put out a video showing the sold out crowd in St Johns essentially begging for fans to come out. For whatever reason the NBL has been a huge success in St Johns, and it definitely helped them that they had no other major tenant when the team came. They now will be competing with an ECHL team, but they likely got enough fans hooked to maintain a healthy franchise.

The product itself is very entertaining, high tempo high scoring basketball with quality players who have played D1 NCAA/G-League. Considering we don't even have a major university team here it makes the talent stand out even more. The issue is don't get attached to too many players, because they will likely be gone the following year. 2 of the best players on the team this year were big parts of Halifax & London last year, so I'm not surprised they are 5-0.

FWIW I do find that the fans that go to the games do a far better job at making noise than a typical regular season wildcats game. The team is also very active in the community which I'm sure grows interest in basketball for the young kids that they visit at school. That is worth something.
If we can get the attendance up to 2000 in a few years I'm sure that by the time that the Moncton CMA hits 180,000 to 200,000 people I'm sure we can get to 3000 in the stands. It doesn't seems like that much of a stretch to me.
As for the money, even if we don't get the best players in the world, it doesn't change the fact that they are still good players. As for 80% (supposedly) of the players being moved around. Maybe for some people it is a bad thing but for me I go to support something that represents Moncton. That's the brand that I'm going to cheer for. I've been a Habs fan all of my life and could never even name half of the players on the team at any given time. Individual players aren't something that I follow I follow the team as a whole. It's the jersey that I root for not a specific player (like a biker patch) so for me it's not that big of a deal. I find that it makes the league interesting because there is always so much hustle and movement it makes it busy and every season it's always new, not to mention that if you team is terrible that every season they have a better chance of winning because of the amount of player shuffling that is going on. In this regard it can also be a good thing. Those are my thoughts on it.
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  #30  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 8:29 PM
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I'm spreading the word to everyone I know. I say come see a game. You'll be pleasantly surprised and it's a great way to start an evening out.
Same here and I started by doing the same thing here on these forums and spreading the word. It's like a kid taking a bath, they might not want to but when they are in the don't want to get out. If more people would go, they would be interested in seeing many more and they just need to get out to that first game.
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  #31  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 11:20 PM
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I wish that was true, that we only have to get them in for one game and then they'll come back but the evidence suggests otherwise.
I've been to many games, but only when I've gotten a free ticket. And I'm not poor I have money to spend on tickets I enjoyed myself immensely each time I went, yet I stilll have not been back to a game on my own dime.
There are thousands of potential fans like myself, too. Wasn't it last year that the team tried to set the record for largest crowd, or something like that, by giving away thousands of free tickets? I have memory problems but it was something like that. The old Coliseum was packed but few, if any, came back.
Why not? I have no idea. I can't even explain why I myself have not been back, except when someone offers me a freebie. It's a GREAT night out and it's cheap - with ample parking as well.
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  #32  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2018, 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by L'homard View Post
I wish that was true, that we only have to get them in for one game and then they'll come back but the evidence suggests otherwise.
I've been to many games, but only when I've gotten a free ticket. And I'm not poor I have money to spend on tickets I enjoyed myself immensely each time I went, yet I stilll have not been back to a game on my own dime.
There are thousands of potential fans like myself, too. Wasn't it last year that the team tried to set the record for largest crowd, or something like that, by giving away thousands of free tickets? I have memory problems but it was something like that. The old Coliseum was packed but few, if any, came back.
Why not? I have no idea. I can't even explain why I myself have not been back, except when someone offers me a freebie. It's a GREAT night out and it's cheap - with ample parking as well.
That was the miracles. The city had paid for a bunch of tickets, there was a tribute for Ian Fowler.

People in Moncton love free stuff. It seems almost part of the culture here. Giving freebies by no means will gaurentee people coming back again using their own money. In fact giving too many freebies likely leads to even more people expecting or relying on more freebies. i see it all the time when I hear people talking about "support the team/go check out a game" etc. but then are the same ones sharing a bunch of facebook contests to win free tickets.

To me freebies are a nice way to fill in the seats to help the atmosphere, and get people in the arena spending money. Not a way to build a long term fanbase. I found at the home opener I didnt notice a lot of groups, I would think there would be hundreds of young basketball players/teams that they could try and sell some group tickets to. Although the youth tickets are already $9 including fees. Hard to get any cheaper than that, the magic only see $5 of that.

I think they should really try and find a way to negotiate with SMG on having a cheap beer night and see how that goes. I'm sure SMG wants to see more people showing up..at this point I really hope there isn't major concerts not being booked due to scheduling conflicts with a team getting under 1000 people per game.
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  #33  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 1:42 AM
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The Magic are now 7-0. They won at home tonight against the Saint John's Edge 80-75. Attendance was 1059 and the atmosphere was incredible. By far the funnest game I've watched at the center, looking forward to the next one!
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  #34  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 1:44 AM
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Originally Posted by L'homard View Post
I wish that was true, that we only have to get them in for one game and then they'll come back but the evidence suggests otherwise.
No not everyone, obviously, if that were the case Moncton would have built a 15,000 to 20,000 seat stadium. But even if only a fraction were to become fans, every bit counts.
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  #35  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 1:49 AM
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The Magic are now 7-0. They won at home tonight against the Saint John's Edge 80-75. Attendance was 1059 and the atmosphere was incredible. By far the funnest game I've watched at the center, looking forward to the next one!
I drove by on Main Street as the game was letting out. That section of town certainly seems a lot more lively than it used to be. The Avenir Centre was all lit up, the plaza was busy with patrons leaving the arena and the Ian Fowler Oval had at least 15-20 people skating on the ice surface (with others gathered around watching) - fantastic!. Just wait until the Hyatt Place is open and operating with their new restaurant (? Baton Rouge) and coffee shop in the hotel lobby.

They really need to get off their asses and build that little skate rental building/information kiosk/cafe that was in the original plans for the plaza. If they were selling hot chocolate out of such a building, they would be making a killing!!!
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  #36  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 2:30 AM
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I drove by on Main Street as the game was letting out. That section of town certainly seems a lot more lively than it used to be. The Avenir Centre was all lit up, the plaza was busy with patrons leaving the arena and the Ian Fowler Oval had at least 15-20 people skating on the ice surface (with others gathered around watching) - fantastic!. Just wait until the Hyatt Place is open and operating with their new restaurant (? Baton Rouge) and coffee shop in the hotel lobby.

They really need to get off their asses and build that little skate rental building/information kiosk/cafe that was in the original plans for the plaza. If they were selling hot chocolate out of such a building, they would be making a killing!!!
Tons of people at my work have been asking me "do you know if there is skate rentals" since the oval opened.

I can see the Oval from my window and very rarely have I ever seen it empty. That end of town really needs a coffee shop/restaurant of some kind to fully activate it like you said but adding the oval is huge.

If I was an up & coming local brewer looking to put build a taproom I would be looking hard and trying to get something on that end of town. The new taprooms that have been added in Dieppe (flying boats & especally CAVOK) have been huge successes. Having some beer to go options as well as people looking to grab a drink before or after the game. I know the furnace room is nearby and lots of other pubs, but I think in the winter you'd catch a lot more people if you had something on the Avenir side of the subway

Something like that in a renovated ground level of the Crowne would be amazing.
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  #37  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 5:13 AM
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I can see the Oval from my window and very rarely have I ever seen it empty. That end of town really needs a coffee shop/restaurant of some kind to fully activate it like you said but adding the oval is huge.
I was at Jack White a couple weeks back and thought the same thing. For being ostensibly in the middle of downtown, there's nothing close by to grab a drink or even a coffee before the show. You could walk a few blocks but if there was a storm like there was that night, you probably wouldn't bother.
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  #38  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 1:21 PM
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Wasn't there talk of a cafe going into the 1111 Main building across the street?
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  #39  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 2:45 PM
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Wasn't there talk of a cafe going into the 1111 Main building across the street?
Yeah there was a sign up but it isn't there anymore. I seen it myself it was going to be a patio type cafe/restaurant at the bottom of the stairs and close onto the sidewalk if I remember the rendering on the sign correctly.
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  #40  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2018, 6:34 PM
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Originally Posted by MonctonianSentinel01 View Post
The Magic are now 7-0. They won at home tonight against the Saint John's Edge 80-75. Attendance was 1059 and the atmosphere was incredible. By far the funnest game I've watched at the center, looking forward to the next one!
Congrats to the Magic on their great record thus far. I live in St. John's and attended the game last weekend against my hometown Edge, which we sadly lost. The Magic certainly showed some good team work. As for attendance, the games here drew a little over 6000 (opening night of the season) and 3700 for a Sunday afternoon game. The on court product is entertaining and the ticket price reasonable ($18-$20). I hope Moncton can increase their gate and keep the league viable.
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