National Basketball League of Canada 2018-19

[Joe]

That Nov 28 number looks way off although I did see it in the weekly report. The figure from game box score shows 1105 which is more consistent with the rest of the figures. Must be a mistake somewhere.

http://www.nblcanada.ca/sports/mbkb/...?view=boxscore

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by Joe

That Nov 28 number looks way off although I did see it in the weekly report. The figure from game box score shows 1105 which is more consistent with the rest of the figures. Must be a mistake somewhere.

http://www.nblcanada.ca/sports/mbkb/...?view=boxscore

That might be actual tickets scanned, rather than tickets sold.

[lirette]

The 2000 number was in this article here

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...ncil-1.4792675

Given that the team is barely breaking 1000 (without freebies/promotion tickets) I wouldn't be shocked if the ownership decides to walk away after this season. While they have deep pockets at some point the city will need to stop giving them handouts and they won't want to start losing more of their own money. They have 2 weekday games this week and the sales don't look good.

They might need a championship run to save the franchise. Even then, I'm not sure an NBL title means enough to anyone beyond the current hardcore fanbase they have. Not exactly a coveted title given that only a few years ago the trophy was awarded without a game 7 played.

[MonctonRad]

CBC actually has a story on the Magic today (must be checking out our forum looking for story ideas

Moncton Magic attendance climbs after worries about move to Avenir Centre
Team set attendance record at new venue Sunday, drawing almost 2,000
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Feb 11, 2019 7:19 PM AT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...ntre-1.5013986

Attendance at Moncton Magic basketball games is almost 30 per cent higher for home games halfway through the team's first season at the Avenir Centre compared to last season at the Coliseum.

It bears remembering that the team was at a nadir last year after the old Miracles failed, and attendance and interest in the team was nearly non existent, but it is gratifying to see improvement this year. Jon Manship has deep pockets, and as long as there is improvement year to year in the product, I don't think he will jump ship. I would be more worried about the overall health of the league.

A deep playoff run this year, especially if the Wildcats tank could be critical to the team.......

[Sandbagger]

Maybe someone else is a little better at answering this but how involved in the community is the team? This is one thing I find the Wildcats do very well. The players are at the hospitals, playing street hockey and in the schools reading to kids etc. Heck even Mr Irving himself goes to my kid's school every week to read with the kids. This is hugely important because it's where kids get to meet their young heroes which goes a long way to developing a long term diehard fan base - cause you know after that kid gets to meet Corey Crawford or Brad Marchand or Jakob Pelletier they're going to hang on to that forever and drag their parents (and eventually their own kids) to the rink any chance they get.

I just never really see or hear much from the Magic like this. Maybe it's there and I just don't notice it, but outside of seeing the team mascot once in awhile downtown at some event, I never see any of the players out and about. The few times I have met some players it was always at adult specific functions like fundraisers for the Boys & Girls club etc - which to me is like "it's great that you're here supporting this, but why aren't you at the B&G club shooting hoops after school with the kids instead?"

Again maybe this is happening and I just don't hear about it. That's something the Cats are good at as well is self promotion, particularly when it comes to community events.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by Sandbagger

Maybe someone else is a little better at answering this but how involved in the community is the team? This is one thing I find the Wildcats do very well. The players are at the hospitals, playing street hockey and in the schools reading to kids etc. Heck even Mr Irving himself goes to my kid's school every week to read with the kids. This is hugely important because it's where kids get to meet their young heroes which goes a long way to developing a long term diehard fan base - cause you know after that kid gets to meet Corey Crawford or Brad Marchand or Jakob Pelletier they're going to hang on to that forever and drag their parents (and eventually their own kids) to the rink any chance they get.

I just never really see or hear much from the Magic like this. Maybe it's there and I just don't notice it, but outside of seeing the team mascot once in awhile downtown at some event, I never see any of the players out and about. The few times I have met some players it was always at adult specific functions like fundraisers for the Boys & Girls club etc - which to me is like "it's great that you're here supporting this, but why aren't you at the B&G club shooting hoops after school with the kids instead?"

Again maybe this is happening and I just don't hear about it. That's something the Cats are good at as well is self promotion, particularly when it comes to community events.

The Magic spend quite abit of time taking part of community events & visiting schools from what I've seen. The Miracles were known for this as well.

[CodiacCanuck]

The Moncton Magic secured home court advantage throughout the playoffs with their latest win.

[Marty_Mcfly]

St. John's Edge heading into playoffs with top attendance in the league

The St. John's Edge is heading into the National Basketball League of Canada playoffs Friday night, hosting the Sudbury Five at Mile One Centre, and they'll likely do it with a lot of support behind them.

Throughout their second season, the Edge consistently drew big crowds, leading the league in attendance with more than 75,000 fans coming to watch more than 20 home games, and breaking last year's attendance totals by about 10,000 tickets.

The next closest team, the London Lightning, had about 60,800 over their home season.

The Edge pulled in the fans despite finishing the regular season tied for fifth place in the 10-team league.

The numbers, and the losses, prompted Edge general manager and player Carl English — sidelined indefinitely partway through the season after surgery on his left hand — to address the crowd before the team's last home game.

"When we have our ups and downs, we can count on you guys, so on behalf of the organization, my teammates, myself, I just want to thank you guys," said the Patrick's Cove hometown hero.

"You're the sixth man."

'Everyone is happy'
As for the team finishing in the middle of the pack this year, Edge point guard Junior Cadougan says the playoffs are a fresh start.

"We're not even worried about the past. Right now we're worried about the present," the 28-year-old said.

"Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs and to compete for a championship."

Cadougan has had a good year with the Edge.

He was named NBL Canada's Most Improved Player for the 2018-2019 season.

Freshly appointed head coach Steve Marcus is feeding off of the energy of his squad, and returning it back to keep his players ready during a break before the post season.

He was named interim head coach with only two games remaining in the season in late March when former head coach Doug Plumb took a new job to be closer to home in British Columbia.

After having 12 days off between the last regular season game and Friday night's first playoff game, Marcus said it actually did some good for the team.

"[It] got guys healthy last week, and the energy has been great at practice. We're chomping at the bit, so we're ready to go," he said.

Marcus has been an assistant coach with the Edge for two seasons. After taking the reins of the team late in the season this year, he looks to lean on his veteran players to help carry some of the load.

"We've got veteran guys who have played all over the world. We've only got one true rookie in Jared Nickens," he said.

"It's been a team effort."

Fans keep the game alive

When the team was announced in 2017, then-mayor Dennis O'Keefe said nightly attendance needed to average around 1,500 people per night to break even, and keep the risk low for taxpayers.

But he also said the city needed to sell corporate sponsorships in order to keep the subsidy to St. John's Sports & Entertainment, which operates Mile One Centre, from increasing.

In November, city officials reached a rental deal with Irwin Simon and Dean MacDonald, the owners of the Edge and the Newfoundland Growlers ECHL team, to take over the arena for the season.

It costs the city about $2 million annually as expenditures exceed revenues, and the city is considering selling it.

In the meantime, a big season for the Edge kept fans coming.

Last summer, English, as acting general manager, signed himself to a second year with the team.

There were a pair of big signings, starting with seven-foot-two Satnam Singh, the first Indian player to be drafted to the NBA, who joined the team in November.

A month later, the Edge announced the team had signed NBA champion Glen (Big Baby) Davis.

Both have since become fan favourites.

The first round of NBL playoffs is a best-of-five series, and Game 1 for the Edge is happening at 7 p.m. April 5.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...son2-1.5085823

Glad to see the team succeeding. When the team was announced initially I was very skeptical that it would work out, but I've been amazed with the level of support they've received. Same with the ECHL hockey team.

[jenike]

I went to the game 5 between the Moncton Magic and Halifax Hurricanes, and first off there was a great crowd. Official attendance says 1754, but it felt like more.

As for the game, something needs to be done about the officiating. It was just foul call after foul call. The 2nd quarter took almost an hour to play. There were 22 fouls called in a 12 minute quarter! There were 83 foul shots taken in the game. That is ridiculous. It makes the game almost unwatchable when every possession results in a stoppage and a trip to the foul line. I did look at the boxscores from previous games and the amount of foul shots tends to be in the high 50s low 60s which is better.

[MonctonRad]

I haven't been following the Magic much this year, but I did go to a lot of Miracles games in their first two seasons, and I noticed a lot of fouls back then too. I agree. Too many fouls really disrupts the rhythm and pace of the game. This certainly seems to be a bigger problem in the NBL than the NBA.

[PEI highway guy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I haven't been following the Magic much this year, but I did go to a lot of Miracles games in their first two seasons, and I noticed a lot of fouls back then too. I agree. Too many fouls really disrupts the rhythm and pace of the game. This certainly seems to be a bigger problem in the NBL than the NBA.

I was at game 2 aND there were a few fouls but not a constant parade to the foul line. It was my 1st trip to the Centre and I loved it. Last night, following the game on line , it did not end until after 9:20 pm. For Game 2, I was walking on Main St. towards the lake at 9:05 and we sat on the far side of the building. There must have been many stoppages. I loved the building, the crowd, the atmosphere and the caliber of play.

A side note, At the St. Johns game in Ont. Tuesday there were less than 1200, and thE Magic have drawn on par with Halifax. Good to see.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by PEI highway guy

I was at game 2 aND there were a few fouls but not a constant parade to the foul line. It was my 1st trip to the Centre and I loved it. Last night, following the game on line , it did not end until after 9:20 pm. For Game 2, I was walking on Main St. towards the lake at 9:05 and we sat on the far side of the building. There must have been many stoppages. I loved the building, the crowd, the atmosphere and the caliber of play.

A side note, At the St. Johns game in Ont. Tuesday there were less than 1200, and thE Magic have drawn on par with Halifax. Good to see.

I think Halifax is likely going to see a decline in attendance. There's only so many dollars to go around and with CPL being an early success and Lacrosse on the way people will have choices to make.

Monctons deep playoff run may have saved the franchise. I don't pretend to know what their bank account looks like but when the owners are saying you need 2000 fans to break even and you've been getting half that most games it doesn't look promising. I'll be interested to see if they can get to 3000 people with some weekend dates in the finals if they make it.

If I were them I'd be making every effort to give discount tickets to local offices to see if they can grab some new fans, the atmosphere is good and you might hook a few more peple in.

[BlackYear]

Game 1 Thursday
Halifax 102 - Moncton 87
Avenir Centre Attendance 1817

Game 2 Saturday
Halifax 88 - Moncton 96
Avenir Centre Attendance 2150

Game 3 Satuday
Moncton 91 - Halifax 97
Scotiabank Centre Attendance 1999

Game 4 Monday
Moncton 94 - Halifax 89
Scotiabank Centre Attendance 1306

Game 5 Wednesday
Halifax 93 - Moncton 111
Avenir Centre Attendance 1794

Game 6 Friday
Moncton 70 - Halifax 86
Scotiabank Centre Attendance 1486

Game 1 & 2 & 5 at Avenir Centre total attendance 5761
Game 3 & 4 & 6 at Scotiabank Centre total attendance 4791

[JHikka]

The team in Halifax used to do far better crowd-wise, unless my memory is off.

[Lobster chucker]

Originally Posted by lirette

I think Halifax is likely going to see a decline in attendance. There's only so many dollars to go around and with CPL being an early success and Lacrosse on the way people will have choices to make.

Monctons deep playoff run may have saved the franchise. I don't pretend to know what their bank account looks like but when the owners are saying you need 2000 fans to break even and you've been getting half that most games it doesn't look promising. I'll be interested to see if they can get to 3000 people with some weekend dates in the finals if they make it.

If I were them I'd be making every effort to give discount tickets to local offices to see if they can grab some new fans, the atmosphere is good and you might hook a few more peple in.

One owner in Moncton. And money is not an issue. They are doing well and based on the agreement with the city about lost revenue Doesn’t look like it will kick in which is a good thing.

[PEI highway guy]

Originally Posted by Lobster chucker

One owner in Moncton. And money is not an issue. They are doing well and based on the agreement with the city about lost revenue Doesn’t look like it will kick in which is a good thing.

With Attendance up and the team playing at least two playoff rounds lost revenue should not be an issue. I did not realize the agreement was based on lost revenue, I thought it was for higher expenses in the new building.

[BlackYear]

I updated the stats above with game 5 & 6.

Interesting to see that Halifax's attendance is that low. I thought they were averaging over 2000+ every game.

Either way, I hope Moncton crushes it at game 7 Sunday. Halifax won it against our Wildcats, can we just have our win here and go to the finals.

[PEI highway guy]

Originally Posted by Budyser

I updated the stats above with game 5 & 6.

Interesting to see that Halifax's attendance is that low. I thought they were averaging over 2000+ every game.

Either way, I hope Moncton crushes it at game 7 Sunday. Halifax won it against our Wildcats, can we just have our win here and go to the finals.

growing up in Moncton I always thought Halifax was a bigger basketball city than Moncton. The Mooseheads still being in the playoffs must be hurting their draw.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by PEI highway guy

growing up in Moncton I always thought Halifax was a bigger basketball city than Moncton. The Mooseheads still being in the playoffs must be hurting their draw.

Good point. I imagine the Mooseheads deep run (and the Memorial Cup) is making a difference.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Looks like we'll be seeing one of you in the finals. Way to go, Edge!

https://twitter.com/Jeremy_Eaton/sta...65020203675648

Strong attendance for last nights game too, 4951. This years top attendance was 6080. Ownership must be pretty happy with how this is working out so far. I think everyone feared that no one would go to the games, but things are looking good.

I haven't been to a game yet, but it's real tempting now....