I am not under any illusion of the difficulty in getting a team back, but consider it very possible.and although it may be an uphill challenge, throwing out a figure of 1 million population for a successful franchise is ridiculous. All markets are different and it really comes down to a number specific to hockey fans, not urban population. Sheer number of paying hockey fans means more than total population, and a do admit Canadian cities are better for comparison, these US cities with large pops. have far less interest, its been shown time and time again.
And yes I realize corporate support, dollar, arena etc. all play their part. But their are many positives for Winnipeg having an NHL franchise. I suspect the 1 million fits nicely because Calgary/ Edmonton/Ottawa have these populations, but I suspect the number would have been 850,000 if Calgary's population was at that level. Hardly any way of measuring the possibility.
I am not saying it is a legitimate case for us to have a team, I will leave that for the business leaders with the money to put up. But I certainly don't discount it. We have and will continue to do great things in this city, unfortunately most people fixate on what can't be done.
Last edited by Keng; Nov 21, 2008 at 3:22 PM.
Reason: spelling
|