Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Kansas City Hockey Fans MIA

The city of Kansas City seems to be a little confused right now. Maybe people play head games in relationships by trying to make it seem as though they aren't TOO interested even though they really like somebody, but that won't work when trying to attract a professional sports franchise.

Last night, hockey fans in Kansas City had a chance to show how badly they wanted an NHL team. The Islanders and Kings were staging an exhibition game and only 9,792 fans showed up in an 18,000 seat arena.

That's barely more than half of capacity. And guess what? Tickets were cheap. If you went to the ticket window and mentioned the name of a local sports talk radio station, you could get into the arena for $10 per ticket. There weren't too many takers. In fact, there were so few takers that the upper bowl was completely closed off.

If you want a franchise to come to Kansas City, barely more than half of capacity is not going to get it done. Heck, even the Phoenix Coyotes, now in bankruptcy court and losing money hand over fist, are doing better than that in the desert.

OK, the Royals were playing the Red Sox on the same night and it was a promotional date with free tee shirts going to fans at Kauffman Stadium. The Islanders also did not have this year's first overall draft pick, John Taveres in the lineup so there wasn't a lot of star power on the ice. Still, this was a one time opportunity to impress the NHL and potential teams looking to move and Kansas City fell way short.

It's not like the city hasn't had a shot at NHL hockey before. The Kansas City Scouts were born in 1974-75 and left town after two last place seasons on the ice. Attendance at the old Kemper Arena was spotty at best and the team left for Denver to become the Colorado Rockies in 1976. They are now the New Jersey Devils.

Islanders' owner Charles Wang is clearly using Kansas City as a not so veiled threat to pressure Long Island politicians to approve his "Lighthouse Project" which includes a renovated Nassau Coliseum. There was a hearing on the Lighthouse yesterday that kept Wang from attending the game in Kansas City. If Wang doesn't get the go-ahead for a new arena, he has said he will listen to any and all offers to move the team. But, after last night, is Kansas City even a viable option?

Last night, hockey fans in Kansas City blew a real opportunity to impress Wang and other NHL owners that they were serious about an NHL franchise. Will they get a second chance? Only time will tell. But right now, it doesn't look like they deserve a team.