Red Wings at Michgan Stadium?
December 1st, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
This I desire.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^
I would much rather have the Red Wings play at Michigan Stadium since people who would have tickets would actually be able to watch the game...unlike in Comerica where a majority of the seats will be nowhere near the rink to actually watch the game.
However, I will not be that picky, I will take any winter classic in the Metro Detroit area for a Red Wings home game.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^
This gets talked about annually. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Wings will play in one of those January 1st outdoor hockey games at Michigan Stadium eventually so the NhL can get the publicity of setting a world record. Comerica gets floated because the Illitches own both the Wings and Tigers and they'd be able to collect 100% of the concessions at Comerica without splitting with UM.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
I actually think it would work better than Comerica. But I wonder if Dave Brandon wants to keep the Hockey attendance record for a Michigan event rather than have an NHL team in there
December 1st, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^
I'm not so sure. Brandon talks about growing the Michigan brand and if you could put the words "Michigan Stadium" on a bunch of Maple Leaf gear he would be interested. Plus he could showcase the stadium to a whole new audience in Canada who does like football and if they tune in to a few Michigan games and maybe buy a shirt to two its good for Michigan. UofM could be Canada's college team! Ha ha!
December 1st, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
This may not be that far-fetched. I've sold extra tickets on game day several times to dudes from Windsor. I guess there's some interest there?
December 1st, 2011 at 2:54 PM ^
I actually run into Canadians in A2 tailgating. Definitely not a far fetched idea.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
I think Toronto and the Wings would be perfect for this game
And for my MGoWIngs pick: Although the NHL would never allow for such a "low-profile" matchup, but, Columbus and Detroit in the Big House would be pretty cool.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm not a fan of the Wings playing at Michigan Stadium. I went to the Big Chill game and thought it was great. But an event like that can only be held once every several years if you want to keep attendance up. Having the Red Wings play at Michigan Stadium would reduce the uniqness of Michigan Hockey playing in the big house.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^
The wings are not Michigan men , so no.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
if UofM is in a Jan 1st bowl game would they want 100k+ people in their stadium?
Wouldn't that be 1 more thing for DB to worry about?
December 1st, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^
Problem Solved.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:34 PM ^
during the 'down time' of the football season Dec. 11
December 1st, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^
For the record, I wasn't really making a serious suggestion here. A Wings-Leafs game at Michigan Stadium will sell out even if Michigan is playing a bowl game at the same time. Why? Because the game will attract Wings and Leafs fans, of whom there is a very large number, most of which are not Michigan fans. The Winter Classic has never had attendence problems with smaller fanbases, so two of the biggest fanbases in the NHL should have no problem filling the stadium, espcially when neither team is particularly far away.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
I'd love to see it, but I hope that it's not New Year's Day, since The Big Ten will be playing in four bowl games at that time.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:03 PM ^
Actually, since NYD 2013 falls on a Sunday, those bowl games will be played January 2nd. So NYD would actually be a great day to have it.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:12 PM ^
NYD 2012 is on a Sunday with the major bowl games being played January 2. NYD 2013 is a Tuesday, so bowl games would be played as normal on January 1.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
The Wings don't even sell out Joe Louis these days, so they should play in a 100K+ stadium? Maybe Comerica makes some sense (common ownership helps), but not in A2. If any non-Michigan team were to play (a sporting event) in Michigan Stadium, it should only be Slippery Rock U.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:57 PM ^
I guess all those empty seats are filled by ghosts...or corporate purchasers who can't even give their tickets away. Your link certainly looks convincing, but it doesn't match the reality in the arena.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^
don't want to get into a ticket sold discussion
but the demand is there...JLA is ancient and kind of a dump
December 1st, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^
Maybe I'm wrong, but the demand looks really soft to me. Here's the stubhub link for tonight's game with tickets starting at only $12.50.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^
Interesting, considering there isn't a Wing's game tonight. Do you actually go to games? The arena is plenty full on most nights.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^
My bad. It's for next thursday. Of course, you probably saw that if you clicked the link. Weird to see folks so up in arms over this...the Wings just aren't as popular as they used to be. Maybe it's all the games against Columbus and Nashville? Maybe it's the economy? Maybe it's a shifting of interest/money to other teams who haven't had so much past success?
In any event, here's a story about empty seats (3-4K/game) at playoff games from a few years back:
http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/2007/10/empty-seats-hard-not-to-noti…
December 1st, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^
not your strong suit. The 3-4,000 empty seats were for the first 4 games of the 2007 season, not the playoffs. You are out of your mind if you don't think a Wings game @ the Big House wouldn't be a huge draw.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:34 PM ^
Given my goof on noticing (or not noticing) the non-playoff angle of that article, one would think I was a giant Wings fan. Alas, I have teeth and the ability to quickly post another link proving the point.
But, don't take my word for it...here's a Yahoo sports article discussing a WSJ piece about the Red Wing's playoff attendance woes. If you don't feel like clicking, here's the main point:
Yet the bottom line is that the best team in the NHL is struggling to sell out conference championship home games. That's embarrassing...
December 1st, 2011 at 5:39 PM ^
in two posts. Clearly, getting the facts straight are not that important to you. Despite the economy, the Wings are still popular. Attendance has been fine this season. And as for this:" Alas, I have teeth and the ability to quickly post another link proving the point", you sure are a swell guy, a true asset to this board.
December 1st, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^
Thanks for the 2 year old article.
From the same article:
The tepid turnout is a reflection of both Michigan's sagging economy and the tough battle the NHL faces for fans. The Detroit area has been hit hard in the past few years as the Big Three auto makers and their suppliers slashed tens of thousands of jobs. The region ranks near the top in home foreclosures, too. Detroit's entertainment dollar is "severely stretched," says Comerica Bank chief economist Dana Johnson.
The article goes on to indentify the "too much of a good thing" factor, in which so much success creates fan "malaise" that deadens the arena and keeps fans away. (As a Devils fan, I've always felt there's some truth to this.) A touchier subject is the fact that his collection of Red Wings has a much more pronounced international flavor than previous championship teams:
December 1st, 2011 at 2:32 PM ^
It's almost as if they play 41 home games a year and therefore tickets are less valuable and there's less incentive for corporate ticket holders in the lower bowl to drive all the way downtown from their Oakland County homes to attend meaningless games in the middle of November. Surely you don't judge the popularity of baseball by the fact that there's a trillion empty seats at every regular season game in June?
Sorry for breaking character, but this is so fucktarded
December 1st, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^
Yes. "Fucktarded". Read the link above about 3-4K empty seats at playoff (no, not meaningless mid-November) games.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:17 PM ^
LOL this is really funny. Also, the Red Wings are a pretty national brand. Gotta imagine people would come in from elsewhere for an event like this.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^
Yeah, it was pretty darn full last night when we played the Lightning.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
Too late, Grand Valley and Michigan Tech played in the "Bash at the Big House" in 2004.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
As for opponents for the Wings it's easy. Toronto. Maple Leafs fans travel like Nebraska to play Detroit and would make for a great atmosphere. For Michigan I would say it has to be sparty. There really isn't anyone else that would fill a 110,000 seat stadium and spartys like the Wings too. Wisconsin or OSU fans don't really care about the Wings so you couldn't sell tickets packages to both games.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^
jerry lundegaard thinks that the golden gophers are a good team to watch...not that anyone would want to watch the wings play the wild...but maybe when the Wild get their outdoor game this could happen
December 1st, 2011 at 12:37 PM ^
I would love this. Tailgate for the Wings!
December 1st, 2011 at 12:38 PM ^
Maybe if Vs Blackhawks. Won't sellout on jan 1. Make it NY Eve with a 10 pm start.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
wings were sold out of the toronto game last year a good three months before the game and that was at the joe. if they did this they would easily sell out but they would have to do it after college football season for it to get the recognition it deserves.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^
I would definitely be down with seeing the Wings play in Michigan Stadium. I feel like football stadiums are much better venues to hold outdoor hockey games in than are baseball stadiums. Plus who knows, maybe Datsyuk will leave some of his magic behind at Michigan Stadium.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:19 PM ^
but I want Michigan to keep the world record. No thanks NHL
December 1st, 2011 at 1:41 PM ^
Agreed with this. I'd like to keep Michigan Stadium to Michigan athletics. I mean, in the modern era that is. Yes, I know high school teams used to play in there to generate interest/revenue.
December 1st, 2011 at 3:14 PM ^
I'm going to disagree. Better to have DB get revenue for an NHL game than piling more ads onto a Michigan event.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:01 PM ^
He did that once. For a hockey game. Unless you're going into the concourse issue, which still isn't really piling ads.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^
No, I'm talking about what he might do to get moar revenue.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:10 PM ^
I can't see the stadium filling to capacity for a Red Wings game, as much as I love them. Without the power of the Michigan fan base, I just don't see 115,000 fans showing up for an outdoor hockey game. Or am I being naive?
December 1st, 2011 at 6:48 PM ^
Penguins vs. Sabres filled up Ralph Wilson Stadium (71, 217).
Capitals vs. Penguins filled up Heinz Field (68, 111).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_Winter_Classic#Other_NHL_outdoor_games
Now imagine fans of real teams. ;-)
December 1st, 2011 at 2:00 PM ^
I would be pleased with either venue, but would prefer Michigan Stadium. I can see DB agreeing as well. Any idea of who the opponent may be? Here's a short list of teams that I think would be a good fit.
Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens,
Can anyone think of any other good match ups?
December 1st, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
Chicago would be a solid choice I think, especially since there's a large student and alumni population from Chicago.
December 1st, 2011 at 6:17 PM ^
Leafs would be great for location and old time rivalry's sake. Here's hoping they are a quality opponent by then.
December 1st, 2011 at 2:34 PM ^
Michigan Stadium has played host to:
High school football
The Detroit Lions
Multiple Slippery Rock games
and GLIAC football games
absolutely yes to this