On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Adam Wodon wrote:
 
> I agree with the sentiment -- it's great for hockey ... but it's not
> really a big surprise.  Omaha has been packing in 8,000 a game for their
> USHL team for years.
 
Truthfully, it's only been around 6,000 per game, but who's counting? :)
The Lancers have sold out 221 straight as of last Wednesday.  The last
non-sellout game was in 1989.
 
> It's amazing ... but the more I'm around minor pro hockey, the more it
> startles me about attendance.  We go head to head with a CBA team.  We
> are both the best teams in the league ... we've been in town a decade
> shorter ... we draw 8,400 per game ... they get about 3,000.  Baseball
> is worse.
>
> It's like this everywhere.  Despite the theory that basketball is much
> more popular in the US than hockey ... it's not true in places where the
> two sports go head-to-head.  Take a look at the minor pro attendance
> figures for hockey in Oklahoma City, Austin, New Orleans, Baton Rouge,
> Kentucky -- the list goes on.  The key, I suppose, is for hockey teams
> to go into more cities -- especially college.  But to college AD's ...
> look up and notice, that in towns where pro hockey goes up against pro
> hoops, pro hockey is winning.  The same might be able to be said for
> college.
 
You're right.  For all intents and purposes, the amateur Omaha Lancers
killed the professional Omaha Racers (a CBA franchise that folded earlier
this year).  The Racers were never able to draw the crowds the Lancers
did, and they won a championship recently.  My theory (for this area,
anyhow) is that people around here already get more basketball than they
can deal with.  With Division I programs at Creighton in Omaha and the
Huskers in Lincoln, along with UNO's hoops plus all the high-school, who
has time to shell out $8-$10 to see mostly has-beens and never-gonna-be's
in the CBA?  In Nebraska there are no individual high-school hockey teams.
We have two "compilation" (for lack of a better term) teams of high-school
age players that compete in the Iowa high school league, where they've
already won two (I believe) state championships.  Outside of that, the
Lancers and Mavericks (and Lincoln Stars (also a huge success story)) are
the only hockey in the area.
 
Hrmmm...that was kinda rambly.  Sorry about that.
 
Go Mavs!
Joel
 
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Joel Mack ([log in to unmask])                         Omaha, NE
Home Page: http://www.tconl.com/~jmack
The UNOfficial UNO Maverick Hockey Home Page:
   http://www.mavhockey.com
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