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Are the Jackets still relevant in Columbus

  • dave
    I realize they were never huge, but just wondering if casual people still go to games, wear jackets gear, etc. Do they get any coverage on talk radio or front page articles in the Dispatch?

    Living in Cincinnati I can tell you nobody at all cares, even though up until this year they had priority over the Cavs on FSN. I'd hate to see them leave Columbus but it seems inevitable. I used to make the trip up several times a year and go with friends in Cbus but they have all lost interest. Can't they end their lease at any time?
  • Prescott
    Interest is waning.
  • wildcats20
    Prescott;642141 wrote:Interest is waning.

    I would tend to agree with this.

    But all would take is a slight improvement and the seats would be full again IMO.
  • OQB
    Ohio is a football state.....not hockey, I'm sure if they left hardly anyone would notice. That is if they wouldn't announce it all over the news.
  • DaBrowns41
    Who?
  • End of Line
    The Arena district needs the Jackets to exist.

    It would help if the GM Howson would actually put a good team together and not over the hill vets.
  • sportchampps
    i was at roosters and there was aloud cheer when the cbj beat the redwings in a shootout friday
  • Y-Town Steelhound
    They are still relevant but after 10 years, you need to start producing some wins to stay relevant. The Jackets are important to Columbus as it fuels the economy of the arena district, and they have arguably the best arena in the NHL in Nationwide. It was the success of the Chill that sparked the interest of hockey in Columbus and ultimately led to the Blue Jackets arriving in the first place. A winning team will fill the seats and really it's necessary for the survival of the arena since pro basketball would never succeed in Cbus.
  • dwccrew
    Well it gets pretty cold in Columbus during the winter, so yes, jackets are still relevant.
  • bases_loaded
    Trade Cleveland for the Cavs
  • Little Danny
    The Jackets have a loyal fan base of approximately 15-20K. These people are ravenous fans and get all offended when you speak discouragingly about the CBJ. I always get a kick from the guy who writes a letter to editor all upset because the paper put the OSU football game at the top of the first page and put the Jackets on small space starting in the right hand corner.

    When the Jackets first stated out a lot of people who went to the games were not fans of hockey, but were white collar workers who worked downtown who went for the experience. A lot of those jobs have left the down town and have moved out to the suburbs. I think this has hurt the hockey attendance some what.
  • Nate
    I'd set the Over/Under on the franchise staying in Columbus at 5.
  • thedynasty1998
    They are highly relevant from an economic standpoint. They are the driving force of the Arena District, and without them that area would struggle. As far as a fan base, I can't really say.

    I went to a game last year and had good seats and it was obvious the people around us were die hard season ticket holders. I didn't know a lot of the rules and didn't have as much of an interest in the game as others, and they couldn't have been ruder to us. The thing I don't get is why a die hard fan would be opposed to the casual fan showing up. It's obviously not huge here and they need seats in the stands.
  • jordo212000
    It definitely seems like interest in waning a little. I had some friends who were obsessed with the Jackets when they first started out, and attended at least 5-10 games a year. Now I don't think they make the trip up there to Columbus at all. I currently only know one person who follows the Blue Jackets like a "real" fan would
  • Y-Town Steelhound
    bases_loaded;642349 wrote:Trade Cleveland for the Cavs

    Columbus isn't a basketball city...they can't even fill up the Schott for the #1 team in the country and the Buckeyes play in an NBA-style arena.
  • thedynasty1998
    Columbus would support a NBA franchise, IMO. I really don't know about corporate sponsors, but I would imagine that Columbus has more to offer, and then Columbus could get the Dayton and Cincinnati markets that are probably split amongst NBA fan bases.

    I don't think it's fair to compare Ohio State basketball to what a professional franchise would do. Plus, you put an NBA franchise in the Arena District and it would be much more appealing to head to a game. Imagine if OSU played their games at Nationwide.
  • wildcats20
    Y-Town Steelhound;643034 wrote:Columbus isn't a basketball city...they can't even fill up the Schott for the #1 team in the country and the Buckeyes play in an NBA-style arena.

    Indianapolis is a basketball city and the Pacers rarely sell out games. They have the 4th worst attendance figure in the NBA.

    Just because a city isn't a specific sport city doesn't mean something can/can't be successful. I would be willing to bet an NBA team would do fine here in Columbus.
  • Art Modell
    OrrvilleQB;642146 wrote:Ohio is a football state.....not hockey, I'm sure if they left hardly anyone would notice. That is if they wouldn't announce it all over the news.

    Yea, the Browns and Bengals do so good.hahahaaaaa
  • Y-Town Steelhound
    thedynasty1998;643038 wrote:Columbus would support a NBA franchise, IMO. I really don't know about corporate sponsors, but I would imagine that Columbus has more to offer, and then Columbus could get the Dayton and Cincinnati markets that are probably split amongst NBA fan bases.

    I don't think it's fair to compare Ohio State basketball to what a professional franchise would do. Plus, you put an NBA franchise in the Arena District and it would be much more appealing to head to a game. Imagine if OSU played their games at Nationwide.

    It's not like the Schott is in some ridiculous location, and it's more of an NBA atmosphere than a typical college basketball atmosphere at those games anyways. I suppose an NBA team might survive but there's no way it would happen unless the Cavs were gone from Cleveland, and I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon.
  • thedynasty1998
    Y-Town Steelhound;643046 wrote:It's not like the Schott is in some ridiculous location, and it's more of an NBA atmosphere than a typical college basketball atmosphere at those games anyways. I suppose an NBA team might survive but there's no way it would happen unless the Cavs were gone from Cleveland, and I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon.

    Yes, the Schott is an NBA atmosphere, but it's college basketball being played their. It's different watching NBA basketball in an NBA arena.

    College basketball is supposed to be more of a intimate feel, so the Schott isn't conducive and appealing to fans.

    And the location is awful. It's not on campus, so you don't get as much student support. There are not any bars really close (yes I know there are a couple on Lane, but they are not next door), and parking is horrendous. I've turned down tickets to OSU games before just because of parking.

    Don't be so confident that the Cavs won't be looking to relocate or sell in 5 years or so. Gilbert is going to start to see his bottom line shrink and continue to shrink unless he can better really fast.
  • Y-Town Steelhound
    thedynasty1998;643055 wrote:Don't be so confident that the Cavs won't be looking to relocate or sell in 5 years or so. Gilbert is going to start to see his bottom line shrink and continue to shrink unless he can better really fast.

    I would put every dollar I've ever made on the Cavs staying in Cleveland. First of all, it would be a cold day in hell before Cleveland would let another team leave the city. Obviously the Cavs don't have the history of the Tribe or Browns, but Cleveland needs the Cavs to fuel their downtown gateway district (much like the Jackets and the Arena District). Second of all, Dan Gilbert needs the Cavs to help fuel customers to his new Casino going right next door. He has way too much invested to move or sell the team in the foreseeable future.

    Believe or not the Cavs have been around for 40 years and have experienced a constant wave of up and down since their existence (started off slow, then a few years of "miracle of richfield" success, then down years in the Stepian era, then the Price-Daugherty contender years, then relocation and suffering, then the LeBron era, now back to being bad). History has shown that the Cavs will be contending again within the next 5-7 years, not to mention that the city of Cleveland will never allow LeBron to take credit for killing basketball in Cleveland.

    Lake Erie has a better chance of leaving Cleveland than the Cavaliers.
  • thedynasty1998
    Don't be so confident on the Cavs. I think the new CBA might help the owners, so it might be a moot point. But the Casino will thrive on it's own, or fail on it's own. The Cavs won't have that much influence on it. Gilbert has only experienced the ups of the franchise, so it's very unpredictable how he will respond to what is going to happen over the next few years.

    Also, Cleveland is really struggling economically, much more than Columbus. Hopefully Kasich and other business leaders can bring some jobs to Cleveland, and Ohio in general, but the industry that drove Cleveland for so many years isn't returning.
  • cbus4life
    I think they're relevant, and for the Arena District's sake, i hope they stick around.

    I've enjoyed the games i've attended, aside from the dbag die-hard fans who are more annoying than any Columbus sports fans i've ever encountered. I've turned down tickets from a season-ticket holder before because i didn't want to deal with sitting around the other season-ticket folks.

    They need to work on marketing their product to people who don't suck.
  • KR1245
    Y-Town Steelhound;643067 wrote:I would put every dollar I've ever made on the Cavs staying in Cleveland. First of all, it would be a cold day in hell before Cleveland would let another team leave the city. Obviously the Cavs don't have the history of the Tribe or Browns, but Cleveland needs the Cavs to fuel their downtown gateway district (much like the Jackets and the Arena District). Second of all, Dan Gilbert needs the Cavs to help fuel customers to his new Casino going right next door. He has way too much invested to move or sell the team in the foreseeable future.

    Believe or not the Cavs have been around for 40 years and have experienced a constant wave of up and down since their existence (started off slow, then a few years of "miracle of richfield" success, then down years in the Stepian era, then the Price-Daugherty contender years, then relocation and suffering, then the LeBron era, now back to being bad). History has shown that the Cavs will be contending again within the next 5-7 years, not to mention that the city of Cleveland will never allow LeBron to take credit for killing basketball in Cleveland.

    Lake Erie has a better chance of leaving Cleveland than the Cavaliers.

    I agree with this. The Cavs wont be going anywhere as long as Dan Gilbert owns that team.
  • dave
    I've never really bought the whole "arena district needs the jackets" political bs. The Jackets have probably 20 home weekend games when people really go out and spend cash.

    Successful businesses can survive, poorly managed ones won't. The Clippers are now there drawing decent crowd. They also gets concerts at the ballpark now. Nationwide still gets some concerts. Without the Jackets they will get more events, and most likely a minor league hockey and/or arena football team.