Like the guy said, “buy an old turkey and all you have is an old turkey”.
Cheers

But we’ve got a ‘new turkey’, and a darn good one at that!

No question there have been some significant changes off ice, and those are great.

What will really bring the fans back is a committed management team, an improvement to the on ice product, an establishment of a winning culture, and a refusal to accept mediocrity. We need to shake off the stink of the last 20 years. This won’t happen overnight.

Agreed!

It is much easier to support a committed ownership group that walks the talk. These guys have gone above and beyond what I expected in a short time. Go Cougars Go

No question there have been some significant changes off ice, and those are great.
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What worries me is yes they have spent a ton of money for the publicity but will they get it back and Andy you will be out of a job if they don’t..

And the old turkey trick is that traditionaly most hockey teams come on strong and after a few loses they are the same old turkey. I hope that I am wrong.
Cheers

Greg has many irons in the fire and I hope he can watch them all.
Cheers

I’m sure the other WHL Teams are not shaking in their boots because the Cougars have a new management team. Nor are they concerned about all the attendant hype.

At the end of the day it comes down to what happens on the ice, and how well this team plays against the competition. Hopefully they will make a good showing, and generate some interest in the home games.

Having said that, we need to keep in mind that the deterioration of the fan base took place over a period of 10 years. A lot of these fans have lost interest in hockey, many more have moved on. Are there enough
**new** fans to fill the seats. One would certainly hope so, however it certainly isn’t a given.

At the end of the day the City signed a contract with the old management group that while good for the Cougars, didn’t generate any money for the City. As I understand it, the City was paid on a sliding scale, and the lower the attendance, the lower the revenue for the City.

Perhaps someone could let us know what kind of a contract the new management has with the City. We cannot continue to subsidize private business, the taxpayers should at least break even on this deal.

Palopu: “We cannot continue to subsidize private business, the taxpayers should at least break even on this deal.”

Interesting. Do you feel the same way about Pine Valley? What about the City getting into a business in competition with the private courses? How about the City’s involvement with the PG Golf and Country Club?

“At the end of the day it comes down to what happens on the ice, and how well this team plays against the competition”

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No doubt that success on the ice will make a huge difference. That said, there is much to be said about the need to make the entire event enjoyable. If they can do that and put a solid team on the ice, I think the fans will come back.

Not every fan is a die hard and many people just want to take their kids to a game and enjoy an evening out. It’s sometimes as much about the family having fun as it is about the team coming home with a 4-3 win. I think under the old regime, neither of those were happening with any degree of regularity. At least it wasn’t when I still had tickets in what seems like 20 years ago now. It went even more downhill after that.

Would love to see them turn it around!

If it is fun for the kids they will drag their parents to the game…

JohnnyBelt. Don’t want to p..s on your parade, however Pine Valley Golf Course has paid its way since its inception with the execption of the last couple of years when is was short some $5400.00. Had the City not sold off the driving range, it would still be making money for the City. Sooooo, don’t confuse a money making venture like Pine Valley , with a franchise that costs the City money.

Insofar as the Prince George Golf and Curling Club goes, this course is a
Semi Private course and is run as a registered society, and as such gets a $143,000.00 tax exemption every year. In addition their building will get an upgrade to the tune of $800,000.00 this year, under the guise of needing the upgrade for the Winter Games. Do I agree with City money and tax exemptions going to PG Golf and Curling Club. Certainly not when they sell their driving range to private business for millions of dollars and
still continue to receive money.

For your further information. The Pine Valley Golf course was built long before there were any private golf courses in this area. The only other course was PG Golf and Curling Club. Soooooo, one would assume that these private business’s went into the business fully aware of the situation and with their eyes wide open.

Have a nice day.

Retired 02…there you go again…worrying about Prince George. You say you lived here for a number of years and are glad you left. So stop worrying about our hockey team, worry about Abbotsford Heat. Oh right, it’s too late to worry about them.

We didn’t live in PG for a number of years we lived in PG for over 30,years and like many others we left for retirement reasons.

And I don’t worry about PG. My concerns where about the Cougars and for reasons that are no one’s concern other then my own.
Oh and who are Heat?
Cheers

Not to hijack the thread, but Pine Valley was once a nice course, but now isn’t worth the land it sits on, and is not used much. This is no longer the 1950’s or even the 1980’s for that matter. I was just curious to see how Palopu would justify its existence.

The PGGCC is another business that gets benefits that no other business gets courtesy of the taxpayer.

JohnnyBelt. Your right about PGGCC and wrong about Pine Valley. So 50% which is for all intents and purposes a failing grade.

I don’t need to justify the existence of this golf course. It is built on land that was given to the City by the Federal Government to be used for recreational purposes. It was the City would decided to locate a golf course on the land, because (guess what) golf is a recreation.

So other than the initial development costs (which may have been put up by the original operator) this course has cost the city next to nothing, and in fact made money for the City for many many years.

Only short sighted people would sell off this course to generate a few dollars in the short term.

Hopefully none of these people will get re-elected. One who was in favour of the sale ie; Mayor Green, is moving on the **greener pastures** . Certainly the Haldi Road issue, Pine Valley, Core Review etc; were mitigating factors in her early departure.

No negativity here. If the players are as committed as the new ownership we are in for much better hockey. The new ownership should be congratulated on their effort and honesty so far. People of PG have cried for years for new ownership and now we have it. Mr. Pocock was a regular at the games and is a true fan. I’m excited for the new attitude

Needless to say, I disagree with you regarding Pine Valley. Considering that not many people use it anymore, it will be sold at some point in the future.

Only short sighted people would see otherwise.

See what I did there?

The City is cash strapped, and unless they are willing to undergo some serious service or staff cuts (unlikely) or more tax increases (unpopular), they will be looking at easier things like getting out of the real estate and golf business to generate some dollars. It is just a matter of time.