Re: Re: No Pride at WSMN

[hopfgapr@sprynet.com]

The new Civic Ctr is very easy to get to...

Take I-293 North to Exit 5 (Granite Street). Turn right at the lights at the end of the ramp, and go through 3 (or 4) sets of lights and your there (Granite at Elm Street)

-Paul Hopfgarten
Derry NH

Sptseditor@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated Thu, 19 Apr 2001  2:15:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Dave Faneuf  writes:

>

I would agree that the Monarchs seem in pretty good shape to get a media deal, possibly something even with ATT3? They seem to be in a relatively good market for hockey and since this is really New Hampshire's first major pro sports franchise in a while, I expect them to get some good crowds. (Where is the new Manchester arena?)

I agree with David about the Lock Monsters being in trouble. It looks like the AHL has over-expanded in New England; draw a 70-mile arc from Worcester, and with Manchester you'll now have six AHL franchises in the area (Worcester, Lowell, Manchester, Providence, Hartford, Springfield) and another team in Portland. I don't really think of Lowell as a hockey town to begin with -- yes, high school hockey is big in the 'burbs (Chelmsford, Billerica, Burlington if you want to go that far south), but not in Lowell proper or even southern New Hampshire really -- UMass Lowell has never really drawn great crowds (granted, they played at Tully Forum for years), and with all the competition added in... it's going to be a tough sell for them. Meanwhile, the Spinners have little competition for the sports dollar during the summer, save for the PawSox, on the other end of the Boston metro.

I am not even sure whether Lowell has an affiliation for next season, since the LA Kings (Manchester) and New York Islanders (Bridgeport) are switching to full-time affiliations with different teams in 2001-02.

-Sean