June 26, 2007
Preds need boost, not obit
Local pessimist and Tennessean columnist Larry Woody has emerged from the shadows of Nashville’s sports scene today to declare the Predators a lost cause for the city. Woody makes several valid points to the effect that this is not a situation that any franchise or local community would like to find itself in, and I make no argument with him there.
On the other hand, Woody was equally cynical and pessimistic in the mid-1990s as the city arrived on the major league scene. Had Nashville taken Woody’s words as fact, there would likely be no Sommet Center, no LP Field, no Tennessee Titans, no Nashville Kats and no Nashville Predators today. Good thing we didn’t listen.
Woody is right that the Predators’ future in Nashville is facing an uphill climb, but I disagree that the cause is lost. He cites “not enough” fan support and “not enough” business support as the reasons that the Preds should close up shop and head north, but we’re not talking about a team that is drawing 6,000 fans here.
While attracting the largest individual season-ticket base in the league, Nashville outpaced seven other teams in NHL attendance this past season and had rising ticket numbers as the season went on. That’s a sign of progress for a sport only two years removed from a complete meltdown in its player lockout. What hockey in Nashville needs, I think, is a booster shot, not life support.
Give up if you like, Larry, but I believe hockey still has hope here. I guess we’ll see.
![Rob Robinson](http://thinktrain.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/Rob.jpg")
Paul Nicholson said,
June 26, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
Amen brother.
The team has already sold 30% more new season ticket packages (new subscribers - not renewals) than we did last year. This team has been on nothing but a steady climb.
The team is not in anyway whatsoever lacking in “fan support”. It is lacking in business support and business savvy. The team’s profitability has almost nothing to do with ticket sales at all (see this post) and much more to do with a management team that has been unable to acquire the needed sponsorships and licensing deals. (When was the last time you heard “The official xxxxx of the Nashville Predators”?) That is what will make the team profitable and viable long term.
The good news is that the ticket sales have already happened. Unless individual game purchases take a dive over last year, we have already sold enough extra season ticket packages to make-up the 186 seats per game needed to keep the team here.