Let’s Build The Cougars Together
It's time now to get behind the Prince George Cougars given that the biggest complaint for the past decade has been the ownership. There are new owners now, so as as Andy Beesley told the hundreds of folks on hand to meet and greet the new owners, it is a new ice age!.
It has been many years since the team came close to putting a banner in the rafters. I still remember making the trip to Seattle to cheer on our team.
If we want a successful team, it will be built on a few things, the main one will be the fan support, because without it there is little chance that the club can succeed in this community.
We need to thank people such as Greg Pocock, Dan Hamhuis, Eric Brewer, and a number of other local folks who put their money up to try and bring back that kind of spirit that at one time was the envy of the whole league.
I wish Andy Beesley well, he gave up a pretty damn fine job to be a part of what he thinks will be a winning combination, that takes courage and conviction.
So there are many people who have shown they have the courage to step up and support their passion, their love for hockey and what it means to this community.
So let's hope the team returns to its former glory, when companies such as MasterCard came to town to use the crowd as a back drop to selling their cards, when visiting coaches dreaded having to take a time out because the roar was so loud there was no way the players could hear his instructions, when the hottest ticket in town was a ticket to a Cougars' game, ANY game.
Good luck Cougars, let's build together!
I'm Meisner and that's one man's opinion.
Comments
I’m in! Heck I was in while the old owners were around.
Agreed. Time for all those people in town staying away because of ownership to put their money where their mouths are. I will be.
2 Seasons tickets after a 10 year hiatus. My hope is that the full house helps the boys play to their potential. I know it’s not fun playing to empty seats. The main thing for me will be who they hire as a GM. If it’s someone with no experience, fans may not want to wait another 5 years. Scouting is critical too. How many players are left undrafted by the Cougars who then end up being studs on other teams.
One thing that hasn’t been said a lot is the fact that lots of players weren’t willing to come to Prince George to play based on the dwindling fan support and owners who weren’t ever there. If you look at Peter Toigo for instance, he takes very good care of the players on his Vancouver team. Players want to go there because of great fan support, big city excitement and an owner who makes sure that you’re taken care of.
“One thing that hasn’t been said a lot is the fact that lots of players weren’t willing to come to Prince George to play based on the dwindling fan support and owners who weren’t ever there. “
It’s been a running joke among the other WHL teams that it’s always “green shirt night” in PG due to all the empty green seats.
One of the first to sign up for seasons tickets 20 years ago. Haven’t been to a game for 8 years. Hated ownership. Glad to be back. Great times ahead for The Cougars. Just bought 6 seasons tickets. Look out all WHL teams….Were BAAAAACK.
I agree that fan support will be the deciding factor on whether or not this franchise stays in Prince George.
We do not need another 10 years of low attendance, with a money losing business.
The problem is that the demographics in Prince George has changed dramatically in the past 10/15 years. It would be interesting to see where the 5000 plus fans that attended the games in the first five years are to-day.
People have moved on, died, lost interest, taken up gambling, or other interests, got married and have a family, etc; etc; etc;.
Furthermore there has been major increases in the cost of living which means that a lot of pensioners, and lower income people can no longer afford any frills.
In any event, if they put a winning team on the ice, they may be able to get the 3500 fans per game, that they need to make a dollar.
As mentioned by JohnnyBelt its now time for those who stayed away because of the ownership issue, now attend the games in large numbers to turn this franchise around.
New ice age should mean new uniform and get rid of that ridiculous logo.
Booze and PG hockey fans should be an interesting mix! For that reason alone I will not attend.
Good luck though .
NoWay I think you’re living in an ice age! They have been serving alcohol at games for a few years now. In case you didn’t notice, there recently was an article on this website stating that there have been fewer alcohol related incidents at CN Center since they started serving there compared to before when people were sneaking it in or getting plastered before coming to the games.
Can you even get a buzz from that watered down swill they serve at the game? :)
“Can you even get a buzz from that watered down swill they serve at the game?”
Correction. *Expensive* watered down swill.
This team will not turn around overnight. It’s great that a bunch of new enthusiastic people will be in the building, but they should have patience.
95% of people know that a team can’t turn around overnight. As long as the ownership is able and willing to spend the money it takes, the fans will notice.
Having people in the building and winning are not mutually exclusive. They work with each other. Just as winning will bring people, people will bring winning. With a full building, I bet you last years cougars make the playoffs.
They have some great young talent coming up. Jansen Harkins is a big power forward who is on track to be a star in the WHL. A point every 2 games at 16 years of age is right on track. Great times ahead!
Would LOVE to see a sellout crowd opening night! I’ll be there for sure!!
I don’t buy the argument of the changing demographic being a cause of the attendance woes. The biggest reason is the outright nepotism displayed by Brodsky by continuing to employ his son-in-law regardless of his abilities. You can’t help but look at the other teams in the area that have 1 or 2 slow years, draft well then move up to the top again. PG never had a plan. They flew by the seat of their pants changing all the time with crappy results. It certainly made it easier for Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver to move through the up-cycle when they all could leap-frog over the perpetual losing Cougars. Hopefully with good management and a plan for success, the Cougars will make it a little harder for the other teams to rebuild as they will have a fight on their hands from a well run hockey organization in Prince George.
I agree 100% with Ben’s article. I absolutely hope the fan support returns to it’s glory days. If I were staying in PG I would be purchasing season tickets … however, I will be leaving the City for Kelowna before the end of 2014. I wish the Cougars and the new owners all the best and I’ll continue to cheer for them from Kelowna
…If I were staying in PG…. Hmmm? Where have I heard that before, eh? Maybe the number sign of the population at 16 & 97 should have interchangeable numbers on it and a parking space in front of it and then we would have a more accurate number of people here in PG.
When will people understand that the Cougars team is a BUSINESS.
Business gets my support when they:
a) provide the service or product that I want or need
b) are competitive with others who produce a similar product
c) run in an ethical manner
As a matter of principle I do not support businesses where I have to subsidize it at the expense of its own competitors.
Sports teams, like any other business, should either make it on their own or go where they can. Give a good product and entice people to come. But don’t ask for handouts when the product is subpar.
The dollars spent to build and maintain the CN centre could be used to support the infrastructure of the city which falls under the ‘Need’ column, not the ‘Want’ column.
jetstream. Im gonna pretend you didnt say that. Go to bed tonight, and then tomorrow with a fresh mind, Imagine what this city would look like without the CN Centre. I know you can do it.
You cannot ignore the demographics of Prince George.
Common sense tells you that the City has flat lined for the past 10 years. What that means is that a lot of people have moved, or died, or retired and no longer have the high income they had when they were working.
While the population has remained the same, the demographic has not. We now have more low income people that we had a number of years ago. Low income people may attend the odd game, however I doubt that they buy season tickets.
I disagree. Can you provide hard numbers showing that PG has turned into a town of the poor and destitute? It’s still a fairly cheap place to live. Restaurants are full, more being built everyday. Pubs and liquor stores all doing a pretty good business.
PGguy1234. Every retail outlet in Prince George pays not much more than minimum wage. This should be your first hint. A number of years ago some of these jobs paid over $20 per hour. Now your lucky if you get $12 per hour.
Furthermore we have lost jobs from major mills like The Pas Lumber, North Central Plywood, Clear Lake Sawmills, plus many more.
I agree that there are still a lot of high paying jobs in Prince George, ie; Government workers, Teachers, Pulp and Paper, and Forest Industry, etc; etc;. However there are also a hell of a lot of jobs that pay very little. Add to that the people on pensions, and other forms of income and it is not a pretty picture.
With incomes for a lot of people remaining static, while the cost of living increases, the end result is there is less money to be spent on entertainment.
Pal, why do you assume that everyone on a pension is poor? Some people actually plan for retirement and do quite well. drive around Pg and look at the houses being sold on the market, not exactly run down shacks. It used to be unheard of to see a house on the market for half a million in pg, they are pretty common now.
I worked in retail when I was paying my way through school – then I grew up and got a real job! And I am not a government worker, teacher, nor do I work in forestry – I am a professional – there are a few of us here in pg. This is not a town of poor people,
Pal, why do you assume that everyone on a pension is poor? Some people actually plan for retirement and do quite well. drive around Pg and look at the houses being sold on the market, not exactly run down shacks. It used to be unheard of to see a house on the market for half a million in pg, they are pretty common now.
I worked in retail when I was paying my way through school – then I grew up and got a real job! And I am not a government worker, teacher, nor do I work in forestry – I am a professional – there are a few of us here in pg. This is not a town of poor people,
“Pubs and liquor stores all doing a pretty good business.” .. now there’s an economic indicator if I ever saw one. I think the pubs and liquor stores do pretty well on skid rows too.
I agree with many of the posters above, people are not as bad off as Palopu would like everyone to believe.
In any case, it’s a red herring. There are more than enough people in this town with the financial means to support the team. They just have to do it.
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