Great on the Ice not so Great off it!

Now that the St Louis Bandits have won Back to Back Championships
And Coach Cooper moved to the USHL's Gamblers and the greatest franchise in NAHL history had such awesome seasons back to back they now look to take care of the shortfall in the stands......( You would think that a team that is that good people would pay to come to see!)

In a move to increase the 7th worst attendance of the year with a dismal 748 fans per game the Bandiits go to the extreame to draw in fans.

I know I am happy to have our team here and am willing to pay for the qualtity product the RoadRunners provide!

Tue, July 22, 2008 at 09:44:41 AM
Bandits Announce Season Ticket Packages

The St. Louis Bandits have announced their Summer Season Ticket Packages. Each month the organization will offer a different season ticket package leading up to the 2008-2009 home opener. To purchase your season tickets please contact Tom Brooks at (636) 536-4882.

July 1-July 31- BUY ONE GET THREE FREE AT $275!
August 1-August 31- BUY ONE GET TWO FREE AT $275!
September 1-September 30- BUY ONE GET ONE FREE AT $275!

"WOW" there is no way even with no rent that this team can make any money at $2.55 per ticket.

That would be $2.55/ticket times 22466 fans this year= $57,288.30
WOW what a loss for the group!

I wonder how much they lost in Texarkana?

Anyone have those numbers?

I am not sure why you would do that!

Promotional marketing at it's worst!

Provide a qaulity product for next to free and wonder why you made no money?

The Bandits on the Ice were awesome and that makes this even more strange!



Jason

WOW. What a deal. Why does a team that is back-to-back champs have to go to such extremes to get fans in the stands?

I'm willing to pay a reasonable price to continue to have a quality team and staff played at a true arena. The prices in Topeka are still reasonable enough that a family can still attend the games. I guess that is why we had attendance that kept on getting better and better over the season.

I think it's pretty obvious that most teams don't make a ton of money from ticket sales. A large portion of their income is from advertisements and sponsors. So it would stand to reason that the more people stands, the more money to be made in Ads because the market base is larger.

Also, once the team gets a solid fan base, people will be willing to pay more to see the games.

Very clever move if you asked me.

Awesome deal for the locals though. I hope they take advantage of it.

They wont

Quote:

and the greatest franchise in NAHL history had such awesome seasons back to back

I hope this is not a serious statement.

There are at least 3 teams with better NAHL credentials than the Bandits.

Compuware won 11 championships, Paddock Pools 7 championships and the Tornado 4 championships. In fact the Bandits are tied for 4th with 3 other teams that also won 2 championships.

Hell the Bandits are not even the greatest team in the league since 2003 when they were formed. In their 5 years in the league the Bandits made the playoffs 4 times and won the last 2 championships. In that same period the Tornado made the playoff all 5 years and won 3 championships.

The Bandits have been a good team over their 5 years, even finishing with a 0.828 winning percentage last season. Even that outstanding season does not touch the Tornado's best winning percentage of 0.875 over that same period.

Yeah the Bandits have been a good team, but far from the greatest.

Agreed they are a pretty good team...

So, why undersell them at such a wholesale price...

Is there something I'm not seeing here...

BRUINSFAN wrote:

Agreed they are a pretty good team... So, why undersell them at such a wholesale price... Is there something I'm not seeing here...

Duh??? Its not too hard to see NAHL sucks compared to others...

Give them Props

Hey be nice!

Give them props, they won back to back tittles with no fan support that has to be hard to do.

I guess they do have Lou...

I think he is still around just not very talkative these days.

Wildcat Cowbell Ringer wrote:

BRUINSFAN wrote: Agreed they are a pretty good team... So, why undersell them at such a wholesale price... Is there something I'm not seeing here... Duh??? Its not too hard to see NAHL sucks compared to others...

Fuck off, Cowshit, you're a fuckin' idiot...

BRUINSFAN wrote:

Wildcat Cowbell Ringer wrote: BRUINSFAN wrote: Agreed they are a pretty good team... So, why undersell them at such a wholesale price... Is there something I'm not seeing here... Duh??? Its not too hard to see NAHL sucks compared to others... Fuck off, Cowshit, you're a fuckin' idiot...

Bucketman says "Hey, be nice"

So...BE NICE!!!

There's a lot to do in St Louis and a large majority of hockey fans in the city seem to believe its the Blues or nothing apparently. I can't really speak because I don't live there but youth hockey is supported but only by those inside of it. Though its not that different in other places.

And hell, we had back to back championships too.

Smackles,
I do not buy that. Minor League baseball has thrived in MLB markets, all acros the USA. Marketing in a big city is a sales job that should be directed to a 10 mile radious of the facility. Heck, the Nado play in a very large market and have great fan support. The situation is not that much different. This club needs to get involved with the community. Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Jaycees, and by all means get your players into the schools.

Smackles wrote:

There's a lot to do in St Louis and a large majority of hockey fans in the city seem to believe its the Blues or nothing apparently. I can't really speak because I don't live there but youth hockey is supported but only by those inside of it. Though its not that different in other places. And hell, we had back to back championships too.

SO TAKE YOUR OWN FUCKING ADVICE AND DONT SPEAK YOU FUCK NUT!

YOU MUST BE A SOCK PUPPET THE WAY YOU CLAIM TO KNOW BUT REALLY DONT.

Stephen Heisler wrote:

Smackles, I do not buy that. Minor League baseball has thrived in MLB markets, all acros the USA. Marketing in a big city is a sales job that should be directed to a 10 mile radious of the facility. Heck, the Nado play in a very large market and have great fan support. The situation is not that much different. This club needs to get involved with the community. Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Jaycees, and by all means get your players into the schools.

Then you are blind if you don't buy that. It's not just Blues hockey. It's location of the rink and the demographic of the people that live in the area. The rink in is an affluent St. Louis suburb. So using your 10 mile radius application, this team will NEVER succeed at their current facility. The people that are interested in hockey are going to Blues games because they can afford to, for prestige, to be seen, etc. They are not going to be "seen" at a Bandits game. It is as much social as anything. Your comparison to minor league baseball is comparing apples to oranges. The minor league baseball teams are located outside the city limits that cater to young families, unlike the Cardinals or Blues or any other Major League team. A little research shows that from 2003-2007 the River City Rascals attendence has gone from 163,000 to 100,000 per season. They are located roughly in the same area as the MO River Otters were located, an area that is/was the quickest growing county in the metropolitan area. The Gateway Grizzlies went from 168,000 to 196,000 in the same time, while courting South St. Louis and Southern Illinois. So again, using your 10 mile rule, the Rascals will continue to drop (that 10 miles includes much of the same area as the Bandits rely on) and the Grizzlies will continue to flourish. Geographically, it is easier for people in the south side of St. Louis to get the the Grizzlies than it is for them to get to the Rascals games. So why are the Rascals dropping and the Grizzlies rising? My guess is that there is more money in the area where the Rascals draw from and they are using their money in other places. Not so for the Grizzlies. However, comparing them is impossible. You are talking about a city of 3.5 million people in the surrounding area that have 3 PRO baseball teams to choose from (including the 2006 World Champions and perennial contenders), 1 PRO football team, 1 PRO hockey team. The main word being PRO in all of these. They don't see the value in going to a YOUTH sport when they can go to the Blues game. Move them to South St. Louis and I think you automatically double the attendance. Of course, there is no facility in South St. Louis that meets the requirements. So what is the alternative? In St. Charles county, you have high school hockey which outdraws the Bandits. Why is that? Because the kids can go party, act like fools, pay $5 to see their buddies play hockey all out of the watchful eye of their school administrators. So whether you chose to agree or not, one of the biggest factors in the attendence figures is the location of the rink and the demographic of the neighborhood and their ability to attend Blues games. I will agree that they have faltered in not making their players more accessible to all youth programs. I think they focus on the Chesterfield and AAA organization that both play out of the same facility (the same people that live in houses from 500K to multi million dollar homes and whose kids play hockey and are frequently on the road with their own teams). Rarely do you see them outside at other rinks. The coaching staff has been known to visit Affton, the home of the Jr. Blues (CSHL), and alumni of the Jr. Blues have been back with their new teammates from the Bandits, but nothing organized that I have ever seen.

jr, have to say I agree with most of what you said. If I can get the Booster Club off the ground, I hope to have players doing more in the community. Seems like the only advertising is at the rink, but those people already know about the team and (as you said) are busy w. their own kids' teams. If you're at the rink all day anyway, what's another 3 hours sitting on a bench in the cold.

Places like Chicago, St Louis, Detroit, Columbus are just kind of hard places to sell. But important places to have this level of hockey at.

Really wish the Machine luck this year. Wonder if they'll do comparable attendance to the Bandits.

Have you been to Frisco? Bedroom community where, according to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $95,591. Not bad for a area with only 10,000 families (as of 2000 census).

Chesterfield median income for a household in the city was $83,802 with 18,000 familes.

Dallas-ft Worth has MANY more sports and entertainment options then St Louis. Between the Pros, Colleges, and HS sports, st Louis does not even come close.

These areas and numbers are very comparable, and for you to think that Chester has more snobs then Frisco is laughable. Face it, the Bandits have done a very poor job of marketing themselves in the community. Get into the schools, especailly in the emediate area, kids will want to see their player play. Mom and dad come along for the ride. That's the lure of this level of play, access to the players. These kids are real, they play for the love of the game, and they are proven winners. What more could a parent ask of a role model?

Stephen Heisler wrote:

Have you been to Frisco? Bedroom community where, according to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $95,591. Not bad for a area with only 10,000 families (as of 2000 census). Chesterfield median income for a household in the city was $83,802 with 18,000 familes. Dallas-ft Worth has MANY more sports and entertainment options then St Louis. Between the Pros, Colleges, and HS sports, st Louis does not even come close. These areas and numbers are very comparable, and for you to think that Chester has more snobs then Frisco is laughable. Face it, the Bandits have done a very poor job of marketing themselves in the community. Get into the schools, especailly in the emediate area, kids will want to see their player play. Mom and dad come along for the ride. That's the lure of this level of play, access to the players. These kids are real, they play for the love of the game, and they are proven winners. What more could a parent ask of a role model?

Can't read can you now Stevie? Read my last paragraph and you'll see that I agree with you on that point. Idiot

Believe what you want. St. Louis is not Dallas/Ft. Worth and will not have the same draw for the reasons I stated above. You can sit and say ALL DAY long that they could and should but they won't. The Tornado were willing to spend the money to get it done and the St. Louis ownership has never been willing to do that. Finally, I wasn't comparing ChesterFIELD snobs and Frisco snobs, you did. I was simply pointing out the facts about St. Louis. Things you have no clue about. I would not presume to make any assumptions about the city you live in. I grew up in St. Louis, but moved away and still have family there, so I think I am in a little better position to talk about the attitude towards hockey, especially youth hockey, than you are. Youth hockey in St. Louis has had dwindling numbers for years which has a direct impact.

By the way, I can find stats too. Compare these two sites and tell me Frisco is any more affluent than ChesterFIELD.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL4827684.html

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL2913600.html

According to those numbers ChesterFIELD has a median income of 19K more than Frisco with the average price house of 100K more. So, I'd say, yes, ChesterFIELD is more affluent than Frisco. Thank you and have a great day and learn how to spell (emediate??? )

Re: Great on the Ice not so Great off it!

BUCKETMAN wrote:

Now that the St Louis Bandits have won Back to Back Championships And Coach Cooper moved to the USHL's Gamblers and the greatest franchise in NAHL history had such awesome seasons back to back they now look to take care of the shortfall in the stands......( You would think that a team that is that good people would pay to come to see!) In a move to increase the 7th worst attendance of the year with a dismal 748 fans per game the Bandiits go to the extreame to draw in fans. I know I am happy to have our team here and am willing to pay for the qualtity product the RoadRunners provide! Tue, July 22, 2008 at 09:44:41 AM Bandits Announce Season Ticket Packages The St. Louis Bandits have announced their Summer Season Ticket Packages. Each month the organization will offer a different season ticket package leading up to the 2008-2009 home opener. To purchase your season tickets please contact Tom Brooks at (636) 536-4882. July 1-July 31- BUY ONE GET THREE FREE AT $275! August 1-August 31- BUY ONE GET TWO FREE AT $275! September 1-September 30- BUY ONE GET ONE FREE AT $275! "WOW" there is no way even with no rent that this team can make any money at $2.55 per ticket. That would be $2.55/ticket times 22466 fans this year= $57,288.30 WOW what a loss for the group! I wonder how much they lost in Texarkana? Anyone have those numbers? I am not sure why you would do that! Promotional marketing at it's worst! Provide a qaulity product for next to free and wonder why you made no money? The Bandits on the Ice were awesome and that makes this even more strange! Jason

I have said many times that the Bandits time here is short lived. That is something that they really don't have control over. No way for Junior Hockey to be a great attendance machine in Chesterfield. Simply won't happen. Also, they left Texarkana for reasons that don't include money. They openly admit that financially they would be taking a hit by moving here. But the moved because it gave their players a fair chance to compete. No going weeks at a time without local ice and the other nightmares of the Texarkana situation. But if you look at what this group has done off the ice and it is top notch. The sponsorships and advertising they have sold has allowed the team to come close to breaking even. That makes them an amazing franchise when you compare them to the two previous Junior Hockey attempts in Chesterfield.

But lets also look at what they can control. Yes, if they located in an area like Topeker where the fans don't know a hockey stick from a broom handle, they could "pack em in". But they don't. They are located in a very sophisticated hockey community. The locals know its just youth hockey being played. The Bandits also have made the commitment to their players. Look at the college advancements the last two years. Compare it to that attendance juggerknot Topeker. Did Topeker move 12 players to D-1 this year like the Bandits? No, they moved 3. They couldn't even move some of their top line guys to D-1, while the Bandits moved their 3rd and 4th liners on. So it wasn't the abilities of the players. It was the management. One is committed to moving players on to college, even if it costs them a few $, while the other is more interested in getting fans to attend their games. If you choose to ridicule the organization that is committed to its players, it only reinforces what an easy sell hockey is in Topeker. Yes, Topeker has better attendance. But who does that help? Does it help the players? No, it just lines the pockets of Ms. Botox and company. I am sure all Topeker is proud.

juniorhockeywatcher wrote:

Stephen Heisler wrote: Have you been to Frisco? Bedroom community where, according to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $95,591. Not bad for a area with only 10,000 families (as of 2000 census). Chesterfield median income for a household in the city was $83,802 with 18,000 familes. Dallas-ft Worth has MANY more sports and entertainment options then St Louis. Between the Pros, Colleges, and HS sports, st Louis does not even come close. These areas and numbers are very comparable, and for you to think that Chester has more snobs then Frisco is laughable. Face it, the Bandits have done a very poor job of marketing themselves in the community. Get into the schools, especailly in the emediate area, kids will want to see their player play. Mom and dad come along for the ride. That's the lure of this level of play, access to the players. These kids are real, they play for the love of the game, and they are proven winners. What more could a parent ask of a role model? Can't read can you now Stevie? Read my last paragraph and you'll see that I agree with you on that point. Idiot Believe what you want. St. Louis is not Dallas/Ft. Worth and will not have the same draw for the reasons I stated above. You can sit and say ALL DAY long that they could and should but they won't. The Tornado were willing to spend the money to get it done and the St. Louis ownership has never been willing to do that. Finally, I wasn't comparing ChesterFIELD snobs and Frisco snobs, you did. I was simply pointing out the facts about St. Louis. Things you have no clue about. I would not presume to make any assumptions about the city you live in. I grew up in St. Louis, but moved away and still have family there, so I think I am in a little better position to talk about the attitude towards hockey, especially youth hockey, than you are. Youth hockey in St. Louis has had dwindling numbers for years which has a direct impact. By the way, I can find stats too. Compare these two sites and tell me Frisco is any more affluent than ChesterFIELD. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL4827684.html http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL2913600.html According to those numbers ChesterFIELD has a median income of 19K more than Frisco with the average price house of 100K more. So, I'd say, yes, ChesterFIELD is more affluent than Frisco. Thank you and have a great day and learn how to spell (emediate??? )

If you really want a laugh, look up Topeker.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL2071000.html


Higher taxes, lost jobs, higher insurance.