WOODBRIDGE, Ca – It’s official, the United States is in a recession. These words have been plastered across the television, as well as printed media, for the last couple of months. The failure in the financial sector of the economy has led to a domino effect of failures in every aspect of the U.S. economy. No business or 
household has escaped unscathed. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost. Families are being forced out of their homes by foreclosure, and individuals’ retirement funds have lost 25% to 50% or more of their value. Restaurants, hardware stores and auto dealerships are closing their doors on a daily basis. With all of the bad news, it was only a matter of time before the economic downturn would reach its cold hand into the entertainment industry. The recent demise of the ECHL’s Augusta Lynx points to the unfortunate reality that no one is safe from facing financial hardship. From Portland, Maine to San Diego, California; people are finding it harder to justify the outlay of scarce disposable income on a couple of hours of entertainment. Not even Las Vegas is immune from the downturn. In an email interview with Deric Voelker, V.P. of Operations for the Las Vegas Wranglers, Deric responded to a request to help analyze the impact of the recent economic conditions on the greater Las Vegas area. “The Las Vegas economy has been hit pretty hard with the downturn of the housing and real estate markets, layoffs, and a general decline in tourism.” Fortunately for Las Vegas, at least to this point, the economy hasn’t 
affected the Wranglers. “We didn’t break any trends in season ticket sales this past off-season and it’s still too early to tell as far as walk up ticket sales go, but the corporate sales are slightly up.” While the Las Vegas Wranglers have not yet been adversely affected, the same can’t be said of the Fresno Falcons. Though efforts to reach the Falcons organization were unsuccessful, observations of the attendance statistics show that the Falcons’ attendance is down by more than 20% from last season. Several reasons could be cited for the decrease, at least thus far in the season. The popularity of high school and Fresno State University football being two of them, along with a schedule that hasn’t been conducive to large crowds. But the excitement expected by the Falcons’ return to the smaller, more intimate, Selland Arena this season has been quickly squelched. The savings in the cost of building usage from the Save Mart Center to the Selland Arena is more than offset by the drop in attendance. Recent rumblings in the community indicate that it may be a matter of time before the team is sold or taken over by the City of Fresno. The Fresno Falcons seem to be a bit of an anomaly in California hockey. The NHL’s Sharks, Ducks and Kings as well as the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder, Bakersfield Condors, and Ontario Reign are seeing steady attendance compared to seasons past. Though the Ontario market is new to the ECHL, a fair comparison for them at this point is probably unjust. So what makes Fresno unique in California hockey? As reported by Billy Byler of the Augusta Chronicle, former owner of the Augusta Lynx Robert Burch intimated the following at the announcement of the Lynx’s demise. “We didn’t get the support from Augusta as far as people in the coliseum that we needed to come. We did very poorly with getting people to come out and see the game.” Lack of support, apathy, and an ineffective marketing of the team are two indicators of an organization on the verge of failure. Though speculation 
about the intention or business practices of the Fresno ownership, or any other team owner, would be unfair. The apathy shown by the community is very similar to the Augusta situation and should be addressed. Unfortunately, the economy is proving to be a factor in the lack of support. A demographic unaccustomed to winter sports, or in other words, a populace more accustomed to liquid water sports than frozen water sports, and the “burn out” factor all come into play. Over a period of time, casual fans will lose interest despite the quality of the product if an aggressive and innovative marketing campaign isn’t utilized consistently on a yearly basis. Lou Lafrado’s December 10, 2008-article in PHN addresses these issues as well as others beautifully. Fresno is situated in the middle of the central valley of California. Its population is made up of people mostly unfamiliar with really cold temperatures, let alone ice for long periods of time. The nearest outdoor ice rink would be in Yosemite National Park which is two plus hours away. The Falcons have been in existence for nearly 50 years in one form or another, longer than most teams in any league. The Fresno economy rely’s heavily on agriculture and the workers necessary to “bring in the crop” 
who are more accustomed to “futbol” than hockey. These issues place Fresno in a precarious position particularly at this time. Hockey teams in the southern part of the country have historically had a difficult time with attracting and keeping a solid “casual” fan base because of the reasons outlined above. The Long Beach (Ca.) Ice Dogs, San Diego (Ca.) Gulls, Pensacola (Fl.) Ice Pilots and Columbia (S.C.) Inferno are all teams that have recently folded. Even the Texas Wildcatter’s closed up shop last year to be reborn as the Ontario Reign. Still, despite these failures, some victories remain. The Florida Everblades and the Stockton Thunder have led the ECHL in attendance for the last eight years. These are two teams far removed from the “build a rink on your backyard pond every winter” geographical area. Both have a solid marketing strategy, which from the outside, seems to be working very well. Fans are motivated and excited for October to arrive and they aren’t burdened like some teams in the north by having an AHL or NHL franchise within two hours in any direction.
Ultimately, hockey is like any other business. The teams need to adapt with their local populations and the economy to build a strong fan base, be involved in the community, listen to the needs of their customers, field a competitive team and promote, promote, promote. Particularly in these tough economic times. Contact the author at Craig.Cawelti@prohockeynews.com Contact the author at Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com
household has escaped unscathed. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost. Families are being forced out of their homes by foreclosure, and individuals’ retirement funds have lost 25% to 50% or more of their value. Restaurants, hardware stores and auto dealerships are closing their doors on a daily basis. With all of the bad news, it was only a matter of time before the economic downturn would reach its cold hand into the entertainment industry. The recent demise of the ECHL’s Augusta Lynx points to the unfortunate reality that no one is safe from facing financial hardship. From Portland, Maine to San Diego, California; people are finding it harder to justify the outlay of scarce disposable income on a couple of hours of entertainment. Not even Las Vegas is immune from the downturn. In an email interview with Deric Voelker, V.P. of Operations for the Las Vegas Wranglers, Deric responded to a request to help analyze the impact of the recent economic conditions on the greater Las Vegas area. “The Las Vegas economy has been hit pretty hard with the downturn of the housing and real estate markets, layoffs, and a general decline in tourism.” Fortunately for Las Vegas, at least to this point, the economy hasn’t affected the Wranglers. “We didn’t break any trends in season ticket sales this past off-season and it’s still too early to tell as far as walk up ticket sales go, but the corporate sales are slightly up.” While the Las Vegas Wranglers have not yet been adversely affected, the same can’t be said of the Fresno Falcons. Though efforts to reach the Falcons organization were unsuccessful, observations of the attendance statistics show that the Falcons’ attendance is down by more than 20% from last season. Several reasons could be cited for the decrease, at least thus far in the season. The popularity of high school and Fresno State University football being two of them, along with a schedule that hasn’t been conducive to large crowds. But the excitement expected by the Falcons’ return to the smaller, more intimate, Selland Arena this season has been quickly squelched. The savings in the cost of building usage from the Save Mart Center to the Selland Arena is more than offset by the drop in attendance. Recent rumblings in the community indicate that it may be a matter of time before the team is sold or taken over by the City of Fresno. The Fresno Falcons seem to be a bit of an anomaly in California hockey. The NHL’s Sharks, Ducks and Kings as well as the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder, Bakersfield Condors, and Ontario Reign are seeing steady attendance compared to seasons past. Though the Ontario market is new to the ECHL, a fair comparison for them at this point is probably unjust. So what makes Fresno unique in California hockey? As reported by Billy Byler of the Augusta Chronicle, former owner of the Augusta Lynx Robert Burch intimated the following at the announcement of the Lynx’s demise. “We didn’t get the support from Augusta as far as people in the coliseum that we needed to come. We did very poorly with getting people to come out and see the game.” Lack of support, apathy, and an ineffective marketing of the team are two indicators of an organization on the verge of failure. Though speculation about the intention or business practices of the Fresno ownership, or any other team owner, would be unfair. The apathy shown by the community is very similar to the Augusta situation and should be addressed. Unfortunately, the economy is proving to be a factor in the lack of support. A demographic unaccustomed to winter sports, or in other words, a populace more accustomed to liquid water sports than frozen water sports, and the “burn out” factor all come into play. Over a period of time, casual fans will lose interest despite the quality of the product if an aggressive and innovative marketing campaign isn’t utilized consistently on a yearly basis. Lou Lafrado’s December 10, 2008-article in PHN addresses these issues as well as others beautifully. Fresno is situated in the middle of the central valley of California. Its population is made up of people mostly unfamiliar with really cold temperatures, let alone ice for long periods of time. The nearest outdoor ice rink would be in Yosemite National Park which is two plus hours away. The Falcons have been in existence for nearly 50 years in one form or another, longer than most teams in any league. The Fresno economy rely’s heavily on agriculture and the workers necessary to “bring in the crop” who are more accustomed to “futbol” than hockey. These issues place Fresno in a precarious position particularly at this time. Hockey teams in the southern part of the country have historically had a difficult time with attracting and keeping a solid “casual” fan base because of the reasons outlined above. The Long Beach (Ca.) Ice Dogs, San Diego (Ca.) Gulls, Pensacola (Fl.) Ice Pilots and Columbia (S.C.) Inferno are all teams that have recently folded. Even the Texas Wildcatter’s closed up shop last year to be reborn as the Ontario Reign. Still, despite these failures, some victories remain. The Florida Everblades and the Stockton Thunder have led the ECHL in attendance for the last eight years. These are two teams far removed from the “build a rink on your backyard pond every winter” geographical area. Both have a solid marketing strategy, which from the outside, seems to be working very well. Fans are motivated and excited for October to arrive and they aren’t burdened like some teams in the north by having an AHL or NHL franchise within two hours in any direction. Ultimately, hockey is like any other business. The teams need to adapt with their local populations and the economy to build a strong fan base, be involved in the community, listen to the needs of their customers, field a competitive team and promote, promote, promote. Particularly in these tough economic times. Contact the author at Craig.Cawelti@prohockeynews.com Contact the author at Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com 
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