heard there will be a dedicated scissoring room in Toyota Center for these games.

Yay local Beaverball!

maroon barchetta said:

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What makes you think there is a huge NHL following in Houston?

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The annual Hockey Day in Houston last weekend drew 6,000 people. That's pretty good for an event with no game and no team.

Having said that, I don't think there is a "huge" NHL following. Do we have enough fans/corporations to support a team? Definitely.

STS probably already has season tickets

HoustonAggie11 said:

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STS probably already has season tickets

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Hope they are not scratch and sniff.

SW-14 said:

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Imagine paying $300 million for a WNBA team.

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Must have the need for a huge tax write off

I agree, but fortunately for the owners Clark came to the league at the perfect time for tv contract negotiations. The league is getting $200 Million annually for the next 10 years. SEC is getting $300 Million for comparison. It seems like as long as you have a favorable arena lease, you should be able to make money as a WNBA owner. Fertitta's issue will be what value will the franchise hold when he's ready to move on and sell it.

cajunaggie08 said:

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I agree, but fortunately for the owners Clark came to the league at the perfect time for tv contract negotiations. The league is getting $200 Million annually for the next 10 years. SEC is getting $300 Million for comparison. It seems like as long as you have a favorable arena lease, you should be able to make money as a WNBA owner. Fertitta's issue will be what value will the franchise hold when he's ready to move on and sell it.

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no value in a stand-alone WNBA franchise it will be part of a deal when sells the Rockets.

Scientific said:

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NoahAg said:

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Tillman has to be getting some kind of huge tax break and subsidies from the NBA right now? There's no way any wnba team is turning a profit on its own.

I wish he was buying a minor league hockey team.

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"Negotiatating to buy the Rockets, might buy the Comets" -Lil Flip

Tillman must've taken the advice.

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Name it, I done it

$300M. Is that a typo?

WNBA is a political arm of the LGBTQ and BLM. Someone or some organization will continue funding it.

BQ_90 said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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What makes you think there is a huge NHL following in Houston?

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I bet it's bigger than the following for the wnba

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Worked at Toyota Center for 20 years. Attendance for Houston Aeros was much better than Houston Comets. The Aeros had solid attendance (for a minor league hockey team) on weekends. The only time Comets had people in the seats was for "Comets Kids Day" (weekday afternoon game).

I bet women's professional volleyball will have better attendance than WNBA in a few years.

Caitlyn Clark will only endure being physically battered in games for so long before she hangs up the sneakers. And Angel Reese can't carry the league.

local news stations going bonkers over the return of the Comets

Ryan the Temp said:

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HoustonAggie11 said:

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gays will be happy

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Why?

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Maybe not all gays will be happy, but one in particular will be VERY happy

I won't pretend to think that the WNBA will ever be as popular as the other sports, but it is growing quickly, probably largely due to the Caitlin Clark boom.



Top team attendance numbers are around 16,000-18,000 per game. (Three teams - NY Liberty, Indiana Fever, GS Valkryies) while the total league average is 11,000 with all teams included.

For those of you wondering, the Rockets average around 16,000 per game. The Comets will probably be at least average in the WNBA at around 11,000. The big question for the league in the long-term is if they can take the Caitlin Clark boom and build up other stars around her and keep the interest going? It's reminiscent of the PGA explosion when Tiger blew up.... just on a smaller scale.

Tickets are about 1/3 - 1/2 of the price in the NBA, so it's a cheap night out compared to other sports, and more kid-friendly. I don't think it will ever be the other sports.... but I think that it can have it's own place.

Quote:

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For those of you wondering, the Rockets average around 16,000 per game. The Comets will probably be at least average in the WNBA at around 11,000. The big question for the league in the long-term is if they can take the Caitlin Clark boom and build up other stars around her and keep the interest going? It's reminiscent of the PGA explosion when Tiger blew up.... just on a smaller scale.

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The Comets could not fill 1/4 of the lower bowl at Toyota Center when they were in Houston. The upper level was closed with a curtain.

lil99chris said:

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Quote:

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For those of you wondering, the Rockets average around 16,000 per game. The Comets will probably be at least average in the WNBA at around 11,000. The big question for the league in the long-term is if they can take the Caitlin Clark boom and build up other stars around her and keep the interest going? It's reminiscent of the PGA explosion when Tiger blew up.... just on a smaller scale.

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The Comets could not fill 1/4 of the lower bowl at Toyota Center when they were in Houston. The upper level was closed with a curtain.

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Per ChatGPT, I don't know if this is right. Maybe on one-off nights.

Average attendance for the Comets by year :

1997 : 9,100
1998 : 9,500
1999 : 9,600
2000 : 10,100
2001 : 9,800
2002-2005 : 8,500-9,000
2006-2008 : 7,500-8,000

1997-2005 they were above average
2006-2008 they were just below average.

The Toyota Center's capacity for basketball games is about 18,000. So the average Comets game was about half full, or just more than that.

Agador Spartacus said:

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lil99chris said:

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Quote:

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For those of you wondering, the Rockets average around 16,000 per game. The Comets will probably be at least average in the WNBA at around 11,000. The big question for the league in the long-term is if they can take the Caitlin Clark boom and build up other stars around her and keep the interest going? It's reminiscent of the PGA explosion when Tiger blew up.... just on a smaller scale.

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The Comets could not fill 1/4 of the lower bowl at Toyota Center when they were in Houston. The upper level was closed with a curtain.

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Per ChatGPT, I don't know if this is right. Maybe on one-off nights.

Average attendance for the Comets by year :

1997 : 9,100
1998 : 9,500
1999 : 9,600
2000 : 10,100
2001 : 9,800
2002-2005 : 8,500-9,000
2006-2008 : 7,500-8,000

1997-2005 they were above average
2006-2008 they were just below average.

The Toyota Center's capacity for basketball games is about 18,000. So the average Comets game was about half full, or just more than that.

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In 2008 they had to play in NRG Arena which seats somewhere under 8,000 for basketball since Koch couldnt afford Toyota Center's rent after Les Alexander sold the team to him.

Those attendance numbers aren't far off from the Houston Aeros attendance numbers when they were at Toyota Center. I'm sure Fertitta is thinking they will hopefully fill up half of the upper deck to make it worth blocking out all those nights for basketball rather than more concert dates. Perhaps they don't need to make it as full as a concert since they get ticket revenue on top of concessions.

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Agador Spartacus

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When did my cat join TexAgs?

Well, say what you want about Tilman...he's not stupid in business and doesn't make major acquisitions to lose money. He has a year to build hype - I bet there is a lot of support when they start.

I think there will be an influx of players like Caitlin Clark starting in the next 5-10 years. There must be a ton of pre-teen girls, a lot of them <cough> white, who are getting into the game because of her. Elite athletes perhaps choosing basketball over volleyball or soccer or whatever. With new labor agreements - it is like the one team sport women can potentially make some really good money. For now, the WNBA needs Clark to survive and excel. The league should take any and all measures to protect her...fair or not.

I think 2 things..
1) it'll be a tax write off for losing money
2) he knows soon he'll be facing racism or bigot charges and he'll use this to say "no, I own/support blacks and or lesbians so I can't be against them".

I worked almost every Comets game at Toyota Center. Those attendance numbers are not butts in the seats (likely tickets + large number of comp tickets)

The lower bowl is around 11,000 seats at Toyota Center. The venue opened in October 2003, so factor in the Compaq Center numbers a bit.

Good for the Comets coming back, but they are better suited for something like the Berry Center in Cypress.

lil99chris said:

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I worked almost every Comets game at Toyota Center. Those attendance numbers are not butts in the seats (likely tickets + large number of comp tickets)

The lower bowl is around 11,000 seats at Toyota Center. The venue opened in October 2003, so factor in the Compaq Center numbers a bit.

Good for the Comets coming back, but they are better suited for something like the Berry Center in Cypress.

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Or have the comets play where Rice plays basketball. Its close enough to Montrose and all those liberal fruit cakes.

BringJackieBack89 said:

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I had no idea they ever left.

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Dead serious, I saw the ceremony on the TV last night in a restaurant where we were eating. It had no sound on and I genuinely thought, until reading this thread, they won the WBNA title last season.