Could Hockey Return To Hartford?

[KML0224]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> And I guess you can say the only reason FSN New England is
> around to air the Boston Celtics. The only local NBA team
> you can see in Connecticut. Other then that FSN New England
> is going to be very dry in the spring/summer as they can't
> show NY Mets anymore from FSN NY and MSG.
>

What about the Knicks via MSG Network or the Nets via YES?
<P ID="signature">______________
#13 Dan Marino...2005 Football Hall Of Fame Inductee </P>

 

[radiolives]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> > And I guess you can say the only reason FSN New England is
>
> > around to air the Boston Celtics. The only local NBA team
> > you can see in Connecticut. Other then that FSN New
> England
> > is going to be very dry in the spring/summer as they can't
>
> > show NY Mets anymore from FSN NY and MSG.
> >
>
> What about the Knicks via MSG Network or the Nets via YES?
>

I forgot to say that. But who gets MSG anymore in Connecticut as that was dropped in favor of YES Network. Not sure who gets MSG anymore in CT, maybe just the towns by the shoreline.

 

[edthedeal]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> > Way back when, in the mid to late 1980s and possibly
> > 1990, the Whalers were on WHCT-TV/18. Not sure if the
> > Whalers were still on WHCT when they went dark or not, but
>
> > sometime in the late 1980s, I remember receiving Channel
> 18
> > under DX conditions in Monmouth County, NJ and they were
> > airing the Whalers-Flyers game. I remember having my
> choice
> > as to which UHF station to watch the game on- WHCT (which
> > usually did not come in except under DX conditions) or
> > WGBS/57 in Philadelphia, which we got all the time, and
> was
> > my favorite TV station at the time. Being a diehard Flyers
>
> > fan, I think I went with Philly 57.
> >
> > -Mike
> >
> Hartford will never get any major pro sports team ( NBA NHL MLB NFL ) . Hartford is to close to Boston and New York . Bruins didnt support the Whalers . Bruins told Whalers to get rid of the New Endland title when the Whalers enter the NHL . I wonder does Tampa Bay Hockey team like the Florida Panthers name .
> WHCT-TV aired the Hartford vs Buffalo Sabres game, which my
> twin brother attended with the Hartford Whalers Booster
> Club, on February 18, 1990. So, yes, they were still on
> WHCT-TV until at least the spring of 1990.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
JACK FORMAT KILLED THE RADIO BIZ AS WE KNOW IT</P>

 

[Whale]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

So tell me then, how many people from Hartford drive to Boston to see the Bruins? I'd imagine a very small amount, if any regularly.

 

[KSdeadair]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> > > Who aired the Hartford Whalers games when they were
> around?
>
> Way back when, in the mid to late 1980s and possibly
> 1990, the Whalers were on WHCT-TV/18. Not sure if the
> Whalers were still on WHCT when they went dark or not, but
> sometime in the late 1980s, I remember receiving Channel 18
> under DX conditions in Monmouth County, NJ and they were
> airing the Whalers-Flyers game. I remember having my choice
> as to which UHF station to watch the game on- WHCT (which
> usually did not come in except under DX conditions) or
> WGBS/57 in Philadelphia, which we got all the time, and was
> my favorite TV station at the time. Being a diehard Flyers
> fan, I think I went with Philly 57.
>
> -Mike
>
From the early 80s-1987 the Whale was on WVIT30, On WHCT18 From 1986-1990, WTXX20 1990-??? WTNH8 Carried a few games in 1993-94. WFSB3 in the mid 90s and WBNE59(now WCTX)in the final season. Some of the years might be wrong but I'm sure of the TV coverage. CH59 also covered a few game during the inagural season of the Wolfpack.

The Tv Stations don't even show Highlight of the Pack games, but when theres talk of the whale returning. They all go nuts.

There has been talk about Howard Balwin(former Whaler Owner and Founder)owning a new NHL team in Hartford and starting a regional sports network with Uconn. I would like to see the NHL Return to Hartford, but the fan support isn't even there.. Look at the Wolfpack attendence! They can't even sell out and Only 7,000 tickets have been sold for Jan 6th game to honor Dineen. Samuelsson and Francis... I know that there are ton of sour Grapes between Whaler fans and the Pack/MSG.. But these people have to get over it. If you want the NHL back you have to supports whats here. When I covered the Pack during the 03/04 season, I spoke to an MSG rep and they said that MSG wanted to distance itself from the Whalers, but attendence is down and they need a boost. Having a night to honor these legends is going to help either.

 

[Whale]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

Yet every local hockey rink is bursting with activity. Your analogy never makes sense.

I don't support the Wolf Pack because I don't like the Rangers and I don't want to support a professional dead end. The more successful the Wolf Pack are, they will never ever move up to the NHL. I'd rather have the Rangers leave and someone else come in. Therefore, my money doesn't support the Wolf Pack.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> So tell me then, how many people from Hartford drive to
> Boston to see the Bruins? I'd imagine a very small amount,
> if any regularly.

I have no idea. But there might be some.

Another issue:

I should also point out that besides the Wolf Pack in Hartford, there are two other minor-league hockey teams not that far from Hartford: the Springfield Falcons (25 miles north of Hartford on I-91) and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (about 40 miles away, via I-91 and I-95).

Those two teams might siphon fans north and south of Hartford respectively who otherwise would go to Wolf Pack games.

Additionally, I don't even think any Wolf Pack games are being televised this year in the Hartford area. That hurts in trying to build a fan base.

 

[KML0224]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

I don't think Bridgeport is too much of a problem for the Hartford Wolfpack (48 straight-line miles to the southwest). If anything, Hartford, combined with Bridgeport, killed off AHL when NEW HAVEN had it. (Remember The Beast?) Combined with these two, the Chevrolet Theater (formerly The Oakdale) and the casinos to the east, the New Haven Coliseum never had a chance. As we speak, about half of the building is gone and will be brought down to a pile of rubble any day now.

Getting back to TV, I do remember channel 59 of New Haven carrying a few Wolfpack games that one season. They carried one or two games involving New Haven, but I can't remember anybody else.<P ID="signature">______________
#13 Dan Marino...2005 Football Hall Of Fame Inductee </P>

 

[BRNout]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> Yet every local hockey rink is bursting with activity.
> Your analogy never makes sense.
>
OK, and high school football fields draw thousands of fans on September Friday nights in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Does that mean that Oklahoma is getting an NFL team? NO. Both are midsized markets too small to support such a team. They need to make do with the Sooners and the Cowboys.

Same is true of Hartford and hockey - with one exception: you had an NHL team and it couldn't make it. And, at the end, it lacked fan support. They'll see an NHL franchise in Quebec City before Hartford gets one. At least QC was screwed over thanks to taxation and currency issues. Not fan support.

> I don't support the Wolf Pack because I don't like the
> Rangers and I don't want to support a professional dead end.
> The more successful the Wolf Pack are, they will never ever
> move up to the NHL. I'd rather have the Rangers leave and
> someone else come in. Therefore, my money doesn't support
> the Wolf Pack.
>
Then you will be traveling elsewhere to see pro hockey.

 

[GUMBA1225]

Re: Hockey never left Hartford

> > > And I guess you can say the only reason FSN New England
> is
> >
> > > around to air the Boston Celtics. The only local NBA
> team
> > > you can see in Connecticut. Other then that FSN New
> > England
> > > is going to be very dry in the spring/summer as they
> can't
> >
> > > show NY Mets anymore from FSN NY and MSG.
> > >
> >
> > What about the Knicks via MSG Network or the Nets via YES?
>
> >
>
> I forgot to say that. But who gets MSG anymore in
> Connecticut as that was dropped in favor of YES Network. Not
> sure who gets MSG anymore in CT, maybe just the towns by the
> shoreline.
>

Ummm.. MSG is offered in all of Fairfield County, shoreline and inland. It's offered in most of New Haven County, all the way north to Waterbury and Wolcott. And it's also offered in Litchfield County communities like Terryville, Plymouth, and Pequabuck/Litchfield. You can even catch MSG2 in these areas as well!