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Post by cmo on Dec 31, 2017 21:55:09 GMT -5
What would make a family go to the Railers over an HC hoops game?
- The sport? (Hockey being great live)
- The marketing? (If so, what are they doing right?)
- looked more as "worcester's team" ?
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Post by rf1 on Jan 8, 2018 10:28:23 GMT -5
Railers average home attendance through 14 games is 4,587. They have drawn a total of 64,211 to date. Average thus far for the ECHL is 4,182. www.echl.com/stats/attendance
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Post by bfoley82 on Jan 8, 2018 11:59:27 GMT -5
Serious question - why would literally double the amount of people attend yesterday as opposed to last friday? Were there really 7k humans in the building last night? Isn’t the team not winning? Likely because it was Friday of school vacation week when everyone is dying for a reason to get out of the house, compared to Friday of Christmas weekend. 8 years old Tommy from Worcester doesn’t care if the Railers are in first place or last place, but will enjoy going to the games if it’s an entertaining environment and he likes hockey. It’s the same reason unaffiliated minor and amateur baseball has worked pretty well in Worcester. And Tommy could go see affiliated baseball by driving an hour to Lowell, Pawtucket or Hartford based on where in Central Mass he is!
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Post by bfoley82 on Jan 8, 2018 12:01:00 GMT -5
Railers average home attendance through 14 games is 4,587. They have drawn a total of 64,211 to date. Average thus far for the ECHL is 4,182. www.echl.com/stats/attendance4005 if you take out the opening game from the average.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Jan 8, 2018 12:06:22 GMT -5
Likely because it was Friday of school vacation week when everyone is dying for a reason to get out of the house, compared to Friday of Christmas weekend. 8 years old Tommy from Worcester doesn’t care if the Railers are in first place or last place, but will enjoy going to the games if it’s an entertaining environment and he likes hockey. It’s the same reason unaffiliated minor and amateur baseball has worked pretty well in Worcester. And Tommy could go see affiliated baseball by driving an hour to Lowell, Pawtucket or Hartford based on where in Central Mass he is! Tommy is 8 years old and can't drive.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 8, 2018 12:43:53 GMT -5
Not legally, anyway.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 2, 2018 23:45:23 GMT -5
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Post by rf1 on Mar 27, 2018 18:39:41 GMT -5
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Mar 27, 2018 20:24:19 GMT -5
Actually 4310. About 13th out of 28 teams.
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Post by purplehaze on Mar 27, 2018 21:13:50 GMT -5
Matt Ginn seems to be treading water in pro hockey - in looking at the echl site and the atlanta team, he seems to be the 3rd option at goal and has only played in 6 games this season. Time to move on ?
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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2018 8:49:08 GMT -5
With just four home games remaining and average YTD attendance at 4,310, is this inaugural season of the Railers considered a success? Attendance looks like it will come in near the league wide average. Is that considered good for a new team in a city that went two years without professional hockey? I ask as I would think the novelty of having a team again would initially help bump the numbers. If that is the case, will next year see a decline or will the franchise gain traction and attract new fans and keep those that came out this past season? The Manchester Monarch numbers are not encouraging if they are used as a model. The Monarchs had an average of 4,622 their first year which looks to be slightly higher than what Worcester is likely to achieve. They however have fallen to 2,664 in their third season, despite leading their division, which should raise concerns about their long time viability.
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Mar 28, 2018 10:07:55 GMT -5
With just four home games remaining and average YTD attendance at 4,310, is this inaugural season of the Railers considered a success? Attendance looks like it will come in near the league wide average. Is that considered good for a new team in a city that went two years without professional hockey? I ask as I would think the novelty of having a team again would initially help bump the numbers. If that is the case, will next year see a decline or will the franchise gain traction and attract new fans and keep those that came out this past season? The Manchester Monarch numbers are not encouraging if they are used as a model. The Monarchs had an average of 4,622 their first year which looks to be slightly higher than what Worcester is likely to achieve. They however have fallen to 2,664 in their third season, despite leading their division, which should raise concerns about their long time viability. I went to a few games this year. They do a good job of keeping the event kid friendly. The quality of play was much better than I thought it would be. They also seem to have inroads with youth hockey sports, through their rink in Harding Street. I think the owner is invested not only in the team, but also in real estate across Worcester. I see no reason why this cannot be successful going forward. That being said, I would also like to see Holy Cross in the Hockey East. I think if Holy Cross wants it to happen it will happen with or without the Railers blessing. Both can the Railers and HC can survive and thrive at the DCU.
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Post by Tom on Mar 28, 2018 14:43:44 GMT -5
In terms of viability, a lot would depend on what kind of attendance they need to break even. If they need 5000 they're in trouble. If they break even at 2000 they're looking good. The Railers owner has bought up a lot of local parking and opened a sports bar right near the Centrum, so he gaining additional revenues from these games
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Apr 2, 2018 13:31:17 GMT -5
In terms of viability, a lot would depend on what kind of attendance they need to break even. If they need 5000 they're in trouble. If they break even at 2000 they're looking good. The Railers owner has bought up a lot of local parking and opened a sports bar right near the Centrum, so he gaining additional revenues from these games What's the name of the new bar? Will definitely check it out next time I'm in town and especially for any HC game at the DCU.
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Post by Tom on Apr 2, 2018 15:11:25 GMT -5
In terms of viability, a lot would depend on what kind of attendance they need to break even. If they need 5000 they're in trouble. If they break even at 2000 they're looking good. The Railers owner has bought up a lot of local parking and opened a sports bar right near the Centrum, so he gaining additional revenues from these games What's the name of the new bar? Will definitely check it out next time I'm in town and especially for any HC game at the DCU. Something like Railers Tavern. On the corner of Commercial St and MLK Blvd (formerly Central St) It used to be a club called the Loft, but I think that name was long gone by the year 2010
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Post by rf1 on Apr 26, 2018 8:55:56 GMT -5
The Worcester Railers HC (2-4) inaugural season came to an end after a 3-1 loss in Game 6 in the best of seven North Division Semifinals to the visiting Adirondack Thunder (4-2) in front of 2,523 fans at the DCU Center on Monday (4/23/18) evening. Their first two playoff home games drew crowds of 4,108 (SAT) and 4,216 (SUN). The Railers drew 158,132 and averaged 4,393 for the 36 game regular season. This was just slightly below the ECHL team average of 4,424.
For reference: The closest nearby ECHL team - Manchester Monarchs - drew 100,543 to 36 regular season games for an average of 2,793.
The closest AHL teams to Worcester Providence Bruins drew 317,563 to 38 regular season games for an average of 8,357. The AHL average was 5,904 Springfield Thunderbirds drew 189,435 to 38 regular season games for an average of 4,985.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Apr 26, 2018 10:02:54 GMT -5
Zzzzzzzz...
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Post by crusader12 on Apr 26, 2018 12:07:33 GMT -5
The Worcester Railers HC (2-4) inaugural season came to an end after a 3-1 loss in Game 6 in the best of seven North Division Semifinals to the visiting Adirondack Thunder (4-2) in front of 2,523 fans at the DCU Center on Monday (4/23/18) evening. Their first two playoff home games drew crowds of 4,108 (SAT) and 4,216 (SUN). The Railers drew 158,132 and averaged 4,393 for the 36 game regular season. This was just slightly below the ECHL team average of 4,424. For reference: The closest nearby ECHL team - Manchester Monarchs - drew 100,543 to 36 regular season games for an average of 2,793. The closest AHL teams to Worcester Providence Bruins drew 317,563 to 38 regular season games for an average of 8,357. The AHL average was 5,904 Springfield Thunderbirds drew 189,435 to 38 regular season games for an average of 4,985. They'll be gone in a couple years.... the slow decline is already taking place. Welcome to Worcester!
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Post by Tom on Apr 26, 2018 13:11:00 GMT -5
The Worcester Railers HC (2-4) inaugural season came to an end after a 3-1 loss in Game 6 in the best of seven North Division Semifinals to the visiting Adirondack Thunder (4-2) in front of 2,523 fans at the DCU Center on Monday (4/23/18) evening. Their first two playoff home games drew crowds of 4,108 (SAT) and 4,216 (SUN). The Railers drew 158,132 and averaged 4,393 for the 36 game regular season. This was just slightly below the ECHL team average of 4,424. For reference: The closest nearby ECHL team - Manchester Monarchs - drew 100,543 to 36 regular season games for an average of 2,793. The closest AHL teams to Worcester Providence Bruins drew 317,563 to 38 regular season games for an average of 8,357. The AHL average was 5,904 Springfield Thunderbirds drew 189,435 to 38 regular season games for an average of 4,985. They'll be gone in a couple years.... the slow decline is already taking place. Welcome to Worcester! Maybe yes, maybe no. The first question is what is the break even point for an ECHL team, Rucker has invested other money in auxiliary ventures. He has bought up the nearby above ground parking lots. He opened a sports bar across the street. He is bringing in revenue to other sectors of his business every time the Railers take the ice. I don't know where the Monarchs, Baby Bruins, or T-Birds practice, Even if not in the civic center, I imagine they're paying for ice time wherever it is. The Railers pay rent for practice time but it's just going from one Rucker pocket to another. If Rucker is happy as a local guy feeling like a big shot owning a team - and profits aren't necessary as long as the team doesn't lose much and he can brag about owning a team, things might be just fine. The Icecats' owner got tired and sold to some guy from Illinois - who wanted the team in his back yard so he could brag to his buddies and not a bunch of New Englanders. The NHL Sharks wanted their AHL team closer to home. I'm not sure we can call these failed organizations
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 30, 2018 8:50:07 GMT -5
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