Vegas A's (1 Viewer)

[fishfan77]

Thought on how the A's will do if/when they move to Vegas? I think the Knights succeeded for a myriad of reasons. Not sure the A's will enjoy that kind of success. Summer season, not sure if they will get the tourist walk ups like the Knights. 81 home games as opposed to 41. I think the locals will make or break it as far as attendance goes. Any thoughts from the locals? They were smart and built a smaller capacity stadium, which helps


Steve

 

[Highli99]

Will the stadium be indoors? That seems like a necessity.

 

[krafticus]

I mean, it's not an expansion team, and the current team still stinks. I don't think moving a bad team to a new city will do much until the owners improve the on-field product. They'll get some added revenue from the 1st year, but they're in Sacramento for a while, which will most likely do more harm than good.

 

[buzzmonkey]

Will the stadium be indoors? That seems like a necessity.

Yeah, fixed roof. It looks kinda like the Sydney Opera House.

Looks like they're going from top seating capacity in the league to last (if you don't count Tampa at the moment).

 

[DrStrange]

The current baseball team is terrible. The ownership has been historically cheap. The product on the field will be garbage unless the owner spends hundreds of millions of dollars.

The knights won very early on. The A's would be lucky to be marginally competitive, much less serious contenders for the World Series. Building a loyal fan base isn't so easy and certainly not cheap.

I can see going to Vegas to watch my teams play the A's, when I wouldn't ever consider going to Oakland. We will have to wait and see what the local fan base does. -=- DrStrange

 

[fishfan77]

The current baseball team is terrible. The ownership has been historically cheap. The product on the field will be garbage unless the owner spends hundreds of millions of dollars.

The knights won very early on. The A's would be lucky to be marginally competitive, much less serious contenders for the World Series. Building a loyal fan base isn't so easy and certainly not cheap.

I can see going to Vegas to watch my teams play the A's, when I wouldn't ever consider going to Oakland. We will have to wait and see what the local fan base does. -=- DrStrange

Agreed. I know several fans have said they would rather have an expansion team to start fresh, and build their own identity. Obviously a winning team will cure a lot if the issues, but I totally agree with you, the stop in Sacramento could lengthen the process.

Steve

 

[cpac54]

The modern NHL expansion draft is set up to give new teams with competent management a reasonable chance at being successful fairly quickly. In some ways, a GM taking over an expansion team has an easier job vs. taking over an existing team with bad contracts, players, existing (losing) culture, etc.

The Knights having an owner who made it clear he was willing to do whatever it takes to win a Cup inside of the first 5 years is also a giant, giant plus in terms of building fan enthusiasm and loyalty.

I've also heard that the in-game experience is one of the best in the NHL. And it's in Vegas, which is already a draw. It's one of the reasons my wife and I are travelling to Vegas in April to watch the Knights play my favourite team, the Oilers.

 

[buzzmonkey]

The current baseball team is terrible. The ownership has been historically cheap. The product on the field will be garbage unless the owner spends hundreds of millions of dollars.

The knights won very early on. The A's would be lucky to be marginally competitive, much less serious contenders for the World Series. Building a loyal fan base isn't so easy and certainly not cheap.

I can see going to Vegas to watch my teams play the A's, when I wouldn't ever consider going to Oakland. We will have to wait and see what the local fan base does. -=- DrStrange

Honestly, they should change the name. Might be the best way to wash their hands and interest new fans. Won't change the quality of the team, but they haven't spent anything on coloring and signage so now would be the best time. The Las Vegas 6:5 Blackjack Payouts has a nice ring to it.

 

[buzzmonkey]

The current baseball team is terrible. The ownership has been historically cheap. The product on the field will be garbage unless the owner spends hundreds of millions of dollars.

The knights won very early on. The A's would be lucky to be marginally competitive, much less serious contenders for the World Series. Building a loyal fan base isn't so easy and certainly not cheap.

I can see going to Vegas to watch my teams play the A's, when I wouldn't ever consider going to Oakland. We will have to wait and see what the local fan base does. -=- DrStrange

The Rays were notorious for having more visiting fans than their own at games. Especially when the Yankees and Red Sox were in town.

 

[fishfan77]

The modern NHL expansion draft is set up to give new teams with competent management a reasonable chance at being successful fairly quickly. In some ways, a GM taking over an expansion team has an easier job vs. taking over an existing team with bad contracts, players, existing (losing) culture, etc.

The Knights having an owner who made it clear he was willing to do whatever it takes to win a Cup inside of the first 5 years is also a giant, giant plus in terms of building fan enthusiasm and loyalty.

I've also heard that the in-game experience is one of the best in the NHL. And it's in Vegas, which is already a draw. It's one of the reasons my wife and I are travelling to Vegas in April to watch the Knights play my favourite team, the Oilers.

I believe the NHL changed expansion draft rules a bit after the Knights instant success. Many felt it was too easy to build a day. especially when compared to teams like Ottawa, San Jose et al

 

[fishfan77]

The Rays were notorious for having more visiting fans than their own at games. Especially when the Yankees and Red Sox were in town.

Dolphins and Jags too. Went to a Miami/NYG game and it was a Giants home crowd. Same with the Jags

 

[krafticus]

The Rays were notorious for having more visiting fans than their own at games. Especially when the Yankees and Red Sox were in town.

Same with the Orioles until recently. (albeit, it was cheaper for NY/BOS fans to travel to Baltimore and see a game than it was to get tickets in NY/BOS)

 

[buzzmonkey]

Same with the Orioles until recently. (albeit, it was cheaper for NY/BOS fans to travel to Baltimore and see a game than it was to get tickets in NY/BOS)

I did it around 20 years ago. Bought upper deck outfield tix for like $8 each. 1 hour rain delay later and we were 8 rows behind the visitor dugout.

 

[fishfan77]

I did it around 20 years ago. Bought upper deck outfield tix for like $8 each. 1 hour rain delay later and we were 8 rows behind the visitor dugout.

When I was a kid, we used to do that at Mets games. Back when they were putrid in the late 70s. My dad would slip the usher a few dollars and we would be sitting in box seats. Back in the day when Mets drew 7-10K a game lol

 

[buzzmonkey]

When I was a kid, we used to do that at Mets games. Back when they were putrid in the late 70s. My dad would slip the usher a few dollars and we would be sitting in box seats. Back in the day when Mets drew 7-10K a game lol

Yeah, the game I went to was 2 weeks before 9/11 so a) I got to at least see the WTC once our ride down, and b) security wasn't nearly as tight as it is now. Nobody cared and we were nice to the locals sitting near us so they didn't mind that we were there.

 

[cpac54]

I believe the NHL changed expansion draft rules a bit after the Knights instant success. Many felt it was too easy to build a day. especially when compared to teams like Ottawa, San Jose et al

Seattle had the same expansion draft rules as Vegas, with the exception that Vegas didn’t have to give up any players to Seattle, being a “new” franchise themselves (Vegas also didn’t receive any share of the expansion fee)

 

[fishfan77]

You are 100% correct. I guess it is just safe to say the days of the Islanders, Sharks, Senators etc drafts are over. I do remember having to argue with my buddy who hates hockey that the NHL was not a "joke" as he said because expansion team made the cup finals in year one.

 

[buzzmonkey]

Seattle had the same expansion draft rules as Vegas, with the exception that Vegas didn’t have to give up any players to Seattle, being a “new” franchise themselves (Vegas also didn’t receive any share of the expansion fee)

They didn't have to...release to Kraken?