Late last week NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly appeared on a Winnipeg radio show (Illegal Curve) and in the course of the discussion the status of Atlanta as an NHL market came up. The story gained some momentum when Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy blog recapped the interview.
Last night during the second intermission of the Thrashers/Penguins game Thrashers TV analyst Darren Eliot spoke to Thrashers President Don Waddell about Billy Daly’s comments. Here is what Waddell had to say:
“I can tell you, we’re not moving. We are committed to trying to make it work in Atlanta. We need the support of the fans obviously and if we continue with the product we have now, there’s been a lot of reasons over the years not to come watch the Thrashers. Now there’s no reasons any more.
We’ve got a lot of people we turned off over the years. We haven’t won enough for people’s liking. This team is not only winning now but it’s exciting to watch. We need support from the fans- there’s no doubt about it. That’s where our revenue streams come from. We have some great loyal fans that come to the arena and make a lot of noise. We know the market size of Atlanta with 4.5 million people and we need to have the opportunity with this hockey club to draw more people.
I can’t emphasize enough, our goal is to make it a strong hockey market in Atlanta. People have asked for a competitive team- we’re very competitive right now. We’re out beating the drum. We need to get more people out there.”
Still don’t care much for his verbiage when he says “…committed to trying to make it work in Atlanta…” It doesn’t smack of confidence in the task at hand. That said, the team really has to do a better job of finding more effective ways to get their message out. Having commercials waaaaaay down the dial on sportsouth isn’t all together effective because people that watch SS already know about the Thrashers. In any case, winning is the best marketing tool, keep winning and people will come.
The sign he was carrying around, to be frank, made me facepalm. Waddell needs to lean on the marketing department with enough force to actually spur them into action.
Atlanta metro has over five million people. Along area roadways and interstates, there are countless billboards. Southside, Northside, east and west, the team needs signage, marketing, advertisement. Where is it?
I want people to buy tickets, yes. Without a doubt. Appearing on the only television channel to feature Thrashers advertisements with a hand-made sign asking for fans to buy tickets is not a way to go about it. Local channels like WSB2, Fox5, WXIA11, etc should have television advertisements on it. I don’t hear any radio advertisements on stations like 97.1 and 106.7 this year. Last year, ads featuring Colby Armstrong appeared on those stations.
I understand money may be an issue, but there’s a business philosophy here: You have to spend money to make money. If you want people to buy tickets, get your name out there. Not just to N Fulton, N. DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb. All over metro Atlanta.
Yes winning is the best marketing tool! I love the game, I have half season tix that I have had since 03.
Now lets go back to the start. you named the team after a nesting bird (How bad-arse is that) sure Thrashers sound fierce but I picture the nesting bird player saying “honey, can I go play hockey with the guys?…Please?”. Then a couple of years into it you come out with a jersey that is darn close to baby blue and start the Blueland ad campaign. Can’t say that was working for me.
But, I love the team, I am a big fan & was a big supporter of the Knights too.
Personally, as a long time resident of Atlanta, I was very angry at the Daly’s comments. Sorry, but to cut down the sports fans in one of the top ten cities in the world to a Winnipeg radio station (Winnipeg? Really? Winnipeg?) was just disgusting.
So, putting my money where my mouth is, I made a statement yesterday. For the first time, I’m now a proud season ticket holder to all Thrasher games. And this decision was made as a direct result of Daly’s insults. Sorry Bill, its not us, its you. How many other sports teams are whining about this city. None. I have not heard one peep from Thrasher management about moving. Not one. And yet, you throw a stone at us. And the Braves, too?. Really. A team that draws over 2 million a year and has the cities only world championship, and you come up some statement knocking the fans because the Brave 5 years ago did not sell out a few divisional playoff games after 13 straight playoff appearances. Really Bill. Really? Sorry you are so off base its unreal.
I agree that people need to come out and support the team. But what a market Atlanta presents. This town is full of corporate money, and its full of northern transplants who love hockey. And its also has a few southern boys like me and my son who learned to love and appreciate the NHL by going to Thrashers games. Hang in there Spirit. One day this will pay off in a big way. Just ask the Falcons. Just ask the Braves.
That’s great Tony. Thanks for your support. You and other season ticket holders are the lifeblood of the franchise.
I’m happy to hear you sprung for season tickets. It’s a great time to be a fan of hockey. I certainly would do so myself; alas, financial constraints prevent me from putting forth that kind of money.
That said, I still purchase individual tickets for games, and I do my damnedest to get all my friends in to see games., including buying a ticket for them.
I just think there are better ways to go about marketing this team to the Atlanta population. Ways which have since been abandoned.
Daly’s comments were offensive, maddening, and hurtful. As one of those “northern transplants,” I would hate to see hockey here. I may be a supporter of the Red Wings, but I bleed Thrashers Blue — even when the Wings come to town. The Thrashers live here, and I hope they never leave here.
Given the lack of an edit feature, I said “I would hate to see hockey here” but left out the word “leave.”
Mind in a thousand places, with no coffee, equals a very bad error!
I’m fired up after reading that. I hate it when national pundits crap on the city and they do so on a weekly basis. (Green Bay publications had some less than flattering things to say last weekend about the ATL fanbase, prolly because the Falcons won). Fans like you (and me, not to toot my own horn) are really what comprises this city’s real sports fans, I only wish that more attention were paid to what’s real and not taking the easy way out and talking about perception.
Thanks Tony ….. The team responds to this kind of support
There are only a handful of true “hockey markets” where attendance is high and the team well supported even when it sucks (mostly Canadian, go figure). Pittsburgh just sold out its 180th straight game yet was DEAD LAST in attendance in 2003-04 (with a paltry average of just 11,877). Chicago’s attendance woes before the Kane/Toews/Cup renaissance are well documented, as are Washington’s before that team took off in 2008.
Those hockey markets aren’t “good” or “bad” and the whole notion is a false, distracting dichotomy. Hockey is a product just like any other, no matter what people say about the uniqueness of sports and their connections to communities. Fans are economic actors, too, and their preferences are shown by discretionary spending. People support good products, they don’t support lousy ones. Simple, really.
Our model should be the Anaheim Ducks. They struggled with attendance (26th in the league/13,988 per game) until their Cup final run in 2003. Ducks attendance climbed steadily for the next several years. A playoff run and consistently good product fills seats. It might take time but the Thrashers need playoff wins and a run of sustained excellence to put to rest all the “Atlanta is teh suck as a hockey town and the Thrashers should move LOLZ!1!11!!!1″ idiocy.
I wish I had the funds to buy season tickets, but I too am doing what I can by purchasing game tickets when I can. I’ve been a diehard Thrashers fan since picking up on the team when I worked for some of those northern transplants back in 2007. I’ve got a group of my friends from work (not hockey fans-yet…) coming out to the Canes game in Dec, and I bought 10 tix for my entire family for x-mas gifts to go see the Bolts right after x-mas! I want to make all these people eat crow about our attendance woes just like they are right now for criticizing Buff going to D!
I cannot wait for the day to be a part of a sold out playoff game in Philips! Go Thrashers!!
I too am a season ticket holder with a couple friends. Not the $21.00 seats either, right on the glass and they are worth every penny. In fact our little consortium expanded this year to pick up 2 extra seats all year long. It’s paying off for us true hockey fans becuase we do have the basis of a great team right now. I cannot tell you how many people I have exposed to the sport who are now hooked for life, in fact I am bringing two clients to the game on Monday the 6th who have never been to a game. Everyday for a week they have been calling me after each televised game saying they cannot wait to see it live.
Stay mad at the comments guys, keep coming to the games and bring as many friends as you possibly can to the game. I plan on buying a ton of the aforementioned $21.00 seats to give away to other friends and friends of friends to get them interested. In becoming die-hard fans.
One more thing: There were several posts above talikng about the ” transplants ” you know the 7,000 fans each game cheering for the other team (did anyone see how many Red Wings fans there were?) I have been saying this for years, if the franchise ever built a quality team, and we have, this place would sell out every night and many would pledge their loyalty to the Thrashers. Remind yourself about the state of Hockey in Pittsburgh just 6 or 7 years ago. It was on life support and now boasts 180 consecutive sellouts. Atlanta I believe is truly on the cusp of some of the same success.
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Bill Daly (along with any other moron that loves to draw attention to themselves about this)
really has been talking out of his ass. The bottom four teams in attendance (average) are separated by 1740 butts in the seats. Again, thats the average. BUT, Atlanta has more TOTAL butts by 20,907. The thing is that Atlanta has played more games, BUT, they are putting a better product on the ice to draw more folks in. So, both numbers should rise as the season progresses. The last time the Thrashers put a good product on the ice, the attendance was 21st in the league. Not stellar but but it was on the rise.
Now, I have nothing against the Coyotes. Great run last season. —- Tied with Atlanta with 29 pts this year. DEAD LAST IN ATTENDANCE SO FAR!
So should the Thrashers continue bringing home the wins (and they should) the bottom of the attendance list will not see these birds for a while.
Bill Daly, keep talking out of your ass. Your voice keeps changing, but you breath still stinks!
If the Thrashers want to take things up a few notches, they need to be way more aggressive, both in their marketing department and on the ice. Yes, I want them to score goals, but they should also make their presence known on the ice. Hockey attracts fans because of its aggressiveness, and the Thrashers can at times be one of the wimpiest teams around.
Also, if Sports South is going to broadcast these games, they need to upgrade the broadcast quality. I don’t know if they’re just using crappy cameras, but every game they broadcast looks like it’s from the 70′s or 80′s. Can we get some high-def over here?
Craig- every Thrashers broadcast is available in HD. Are you checking the HD channels?
its a tired line to pick on atlanta fans. they cant help that they r just smarter w/ their money. i came down from boston and have been here long enough to have watched the braves, hawks and falcons all under-sell when they stink, and have tremendous crowds when they win.
hockey fans r here, i was in the crowd for that 1st playoff game… and that was as loud and energetic as any. wont happen over night, but if the 1st 1/4 of this season is any indication, u will see some wild nights at the phil soon enough