the rest of the season

[mjw22]

The arena being to far out of the way and having to wait to long to be able to exit are pretty lame excuses not to attend. Saskatoon is not a big city and no matter where you live the CUC is not far away from your house and if you wait 5-10 minutes after the game and then give your vehicle proper time to warm up, as you should, you will be able to leave with no problems all ready...

i dont think it's the arena or location . teams have a core fan base that supports them win or lose and increases if they're winning consistently and spikes if they make a serious play off run . now if stoon had a 6000 seat rink instead of cuc you'd have about 75-80 capacity and everyone would be happy . regina base around 3500 ? MJ about 2500 so after the buzz of our new rink wears off and if we're winning we'll have MAYBE 3000 in a 4500 seat rink . stoon problem to big of a rink for hockey base. unfortunately not everyones a whl fan

[hotdog-pocket]

I don't see why people say it's a "problem" to have a big rink.

Sure, it does look empty when only 3500 people show up. But it provides more opportunities for revenue in the playoffs and for big events like mem cup and wjhc.

I mean, in places like PA and MJ, even if the crowds do show up more often, they are still under 5000 TOPS.

[sbtatter]

I think that dzuirzynski will step up and play with schenn and hamilton...he can keep up and has been putting the puck in the net this year...also if theres any liberties taken on schenn or hamilton darian is there to protect them....maybe nicholls moves into darians spot for powerplays??...just my opinion...

Schenn doesn't need anyone to ride shotgun, he's proven to be tough enough himself over 3 years with us.

[mjw22]

I don't see why people say it's a "problem" to have a big rink.

Sure, it does look empty when only 3500 people show up. But it provides more opportunities for revenue in the playoffs and for big events like mem cup and wjhc.

I mean, in places like PA and MJ, even if the crowds do show up more often, they are still under 5000 TOPS.

hard to create loud atmosphere in 1\3 to 1\2 empty rink anywhere .playoff revenue only if fans show up and how often do you host mem cup and wjhc . cuc was built when they thought they were getting NHL team wasnt it ? not a good fit for junior . cant expect MJ PA SC BRND to draw 5000 or more fans no matter if they have a big rink it would look like cuc now. attendance has more to do with population and interest than rink size. SC increased they're seating didnt translate into more fans game in game out . i believe MJ will find out same thing .

[reims]

Schenn doesn't need anyone to ride shotgun, he's proven to be tough enough himself over 3 years with us.

after what we gave up to get hime i dont think we want him fighting!!!!

[sbtatter]

after what we gave up to get hime i dont think we want him fighting!!!!

I understand, but not too many people are going to fight him, they'll hit him for sure, but he's at his best when it's a physical challenge, he loves laying people out along the boards

[Shootmaster_44]

hard to create loud atmosphere in 1\3 to 1\2 empty rink anywhere .playoff revenue only if fans show up and how often do you host mem cup and wjhc . cuc was built when they thought they were getting NHL team wasnt it ? not a good fit for junior . cant expect MJ PA SC BRND to draw 5000 or more fans no matter if they have a big rink it would look like cuc now. attendance has more to do with population and interest than rink size. SC increased they're seating didnt translate into more fans game in game out . i believe MJ will find out same thing .

Very true that for Blades games even a "large" crowd of 6,000 looks sparse in a 14,500 seat arena. However, it does give Saskatoon the chance to hold major events. If they had simply replaced the Saskatoon Arena with another 3,500 seat arena, the World Juniors, University Cup, Memorial Cup and the like would never be held in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon is the only city to have hosted the World Juniors twice (Edmonton and Calgary will host games a second time, but the '95 WJC was technically hosted by Red Deer) and set major attendance records for the University Cup (seems to me they set both the largest crowd for one game and largest attended tournament). Neither of which would have been possible without CUC.

Technically, CUC was not built with the expectation of a NHL team. The plans were part of the 1983 St. Louis Blues bid, but construction didn't start until well after the NHL said no to Wild Bill. As well, the arena was a scaled down version of Wild Bill's plans. Initially, he wanted a 17,500 seat arena similar to Rexall Place. When it finally opened in 1988, they had a 7,500 seat arena. It was expanded to 11,300 in 1990 for the World Juniors and then expanded to 14,500 last year for the second World Juniors.

[mjw22]

Very true that for Blades games even a "large" crowd of 6,000 looks sparse in a 14,500 seat arena. However, it does give Saskatoon the chance to hold major events. If they had simply replaced the Saskatoon Arena with another 3,500 seat arena, the World Juniors, University Cup, Memorial Cup and the like would never be held in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon is the only city to have hosted the World Juniors twice (Edmonton and Calgary will host games a second time, but the '95 WJC was technically hosted by Red Deer) and set major attendance records for the University Cup (seems to me they set both the largest crowd for one game and largest attended tournament). Neither of which would have been possible without CUC.

Technically, CUC was not built with the expectation of a NHL team. The plans were part of the 1983 St. Louis Blues bid, but construction didn't start until well after the NHL said no to Wild Bill. As well, the arena was a scaled down version of Wild Bill's plans. Initially, he wanted a 17,500 seat arena similar to Rexall Place. When it finally opened in 1988, they had a 7,500 seat arena. It was expanded to 11,300 in 1990 for the World Juniors and then expanded to 14,500 last year for the second World Juniors.

Do they just use the lower bowl for blades games ?

[Shootmaster_44]

Do they just use the lower bowl for blades games ?

Last game I was at I'm pretty sure they used the upper level. Why you'd want to since they aren't cheaper is beyond me. But you can if you so choose. I think it's mostly scouts and scratches who are sitting up there. I imagine the scouts like being slightly higher to see how the plays develop and whatnot.

[BladesFan_2010]

They use the upper bowl as well, but it seems they use the upper deck seats on the south side of the rink.

Plus, for those who ***** about having to wait for hours to leave the parking lot at a CUC Blades game, here's a hint:

CHECK OUT THE BLADES POST-GAME SHOW FROM THE BACKSTAGE LOUNGE UPSTAIRS WHERE THEY INTERVIEW PLAYERS AND COACHES AFTER THE GAME. ONCE THAT IS ALL DONE THEN IT'S MUCH EASIER TO LEAVE THE PARKING LOT. YOU COULD ALWAYS START THE CAR TO WARM IT UP AT THE END OF THE GAME, THEN YOUR CAR WILL BE NICE AND WARM ONCE THE POST-GAME SHOW CONCLUDES!

DUH!