Roaming The Rinks

As I sit here completing this update to my site I am hit with the fact that 3 of the arenas I attended this year can now be classified as "former arenas" at least as far as minor league hockey is concerned.  When I read about the announcement of the MAHL's formation I was pretty excited.  Why wouldn't I be?  After all it meant 5 more cities would have the ability to have teams of their own in the coolest sport there is.  I also liked the fact that most of the 5 teams were small towns, figuring that the locals would rally around the teams as there are not a whole lot of other hockey options in these areas (Valley Forge excluded as it is close to both Reading and Philly).  Having attended the arena in Jamestown previously for a preseason Erie Otters game I also felt that was an ideal venue for a lower level team. 

After attending a Vikings game just before Christmas, and then a Mon Valley game a couple days later on the same road trip I immediatley had some doubts on the viability of the league.  Jamestown had an OK crowd, but Mon Valley had a crowd you could actually count by simply looking around the empty building.  I was impressed with the effort put forth by the players, as I was when I attended a game in Indiana last month.  (I made getting to as many MAHL rinks as I could a priority as honestly I didnt think I would get the chance next year at quite a few of these rinks.  Sadly I missed out on Wooster and Valley Forge).

So what went wrong?  The style of play was good.  It was about what you would expect from single A level hockey.   I think the answer lies in that lack of financial support the league had.  A league where all 5 teams are league owned seemed doomed from the start, although the majority of teams did find local owners.  On my visits to these games there seemed to be little to no marketing or advertising.  I realize that no team owned their arena, and many had unfavorable leases, but why was there not a single ad on the boards of any of the 3 rinks I attended?  I would think if a team sold advertising and sponsors came forward to put their names on the boards, or ice, or game programs, etc that everyone would benefit.  There was also little to no promotional give aways at the games.  There were barely any between period contests to get the casual fans interested.  I honestly do not know how much local advertising in print or on radio was done, but I can draw a conclusion that it was not enough.  I had a discussion with the fan who named the Ice Miners and was surprised to find out there were no radio broadcasts for the games.  Come on-  our local high schools have their games on the radio, how come a professional team would not figure that was important?     I also think the ticket prices were a bit high for the level of entertainment the games offered.  I am not referring to the games themselves, but rather the game day experience as there were no mascots, sometimes no music during the stoppages, and the games did not really have a professional feel to them.  The ticket prices were a catch 22 however as small arenas like Indiana would need to be standing room only to break even as the seating capacity was so low.    The teams did a lot right including having all players greet the fans after each game.  I think accessibility to the players in small townd like these is a good way to sell the sport.  

The next theory may ruffle some feathers, but I will mention it anyway.  How many people go to single A level hockey to see the skating and passing?  I'm gonna guess not very many.  I think the league could have found a niche by marketing the rough stuff.  The first ever game in the league had a bunch of fights, including a goalie fight.  Although attendance was never released by the league I am gonna guess that the second Vikings game had a bunch more fans after they heard about all the fighting.  These are small town teams, and I am guessing that the fans would enjoy old time hockey.  There were guys like Joe Pelle for Valley Forge who put up a bunch of fighting majors, but did anyone who did not get on the MAHL forums know about it?   Granted there was not much marketing to begin with, but marketing which even vaguely eluded to "old time hockey" could have brought in the fans.  Not having any Canadian players may have hurt the draw a little, but I dont think that would have mattered if the league was marketed correctly. 

I think that single A hockey could be a good draw, and although the MAHL has said they will reorganize and come back next year I have serious doubts.   Starting a league or franchise would clearly be a money losing proposition for the first couple years, and I am not sure the supporters have deep enough pockets to sustain the league through the rough times.  Also with the recent incident of the Jamestown players trashing a local landmark hotel, and the fact that this is the second league that went belly-up on Jamestown I dont think anyone will be too eager to try it again, so there goes the facility which was best suited for minor league hockey in this league.      

Overall I am bummed that it did not work out, and glad that I was able to attend games at 3 of the 5 arenas and document them on this site.  I feel bad for fans in the towns that had teams the most as they, along with the players who played without pay at the end of the season, are the real losers here.   This is not the first league to bite the dust however, and will surely not be the last.