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Boston Blazers (NLL) suspend operations
Topic Started: Thursday Sep 1 2011, 08:47 PM (419 Views)
famicommander
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Wipe that face off your head, bitch.
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BOSTON, MA (September 1, 2011) – The Boston Blazers professional indoor lacrosse team announced today it will temporarily suspend operations for the 2012 National Lacrosse League (NLL) season as the team begins the preliminary steps for franchise relocation to a new home facility for the 2013 season.

Under the direction of Team President and General Manager Doug Reffue, the team is initiating a six-month strategic plan to evaluate prospective home arena venues, both locally and nationally, where the Blazers can play the 2013 campaign and beyond.

The Blazers’ business operations will be maintained in an “offseason” capacity throughout the 2012 season. The club will continue to host its youth related community programs and philanthropic activities.

“This temporary suspension represents the first phase of a relocation process as we evaluate potential home venues for the 2013 NLL season and beyond,” said Reffue. “We are interested in partnering with an arena where we can build on the momentum created over the past three seasons and forge a long-term win-win relationship between the team, the local corporate community and a facility operator. At this early stage of the process, we are already in active discussions with several prospective venues. As General Manager, my goal is to win and build a Blazers team that competes for the NLL title every season. In order to reach this goal, we need an arena partner who shares our same vision and is strongly committed to growing professional indoor lacrosse in their market.”

Added Reffue, “We have enjoyed a strong base of support from Boston fans over the last three years – they have been the lifeblood of our organization. We will keep them informed as we march toward the 2013 season. We look forward to sharing information about the Blazers’ next chapter in the weeks and months ahead and will be posting updates on our website and Facebook page.”

All season tickets purchased for the 2012 season will be refunded in full. Questions regarding season tickets should be directed to the Blazers front office at 888-BLAZERS

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Basically, the people who manage the TD Garden are bleeding the Blazers dry on arena rent. If the Bruins were smart they'd buy the team and operate them at a hefty profit like the Avalanche, Sabres, and Bruins have done with the Mammoth, Bandits, and Roughnecks respectively. There is enough interest in the market and it's a very minimal risk, but obviously they're not interested. Such a shame.
Denver Broncos: defending champs, 8-6, next game 12/25 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Colorado Rockies: 75-87, missed playoffs
Colorado Avalanche: 11-18-1, next game 12/20 @ Minnesota Wild
Denver Nuggets: 12-16, next game 12/20 @ Los Angeles Clippers
Colorado Mammoth: first game 12/30 @ Buffalo Bandits
Denver Outlaws: defending champs, first game 4/22 @ Charlotte Hounds
Colorado State Rams football: 7-5, next game Idaho Bowl 12/22 vs Idaho Vandals
Colorado State Rams basketball: 8-4, next game 12/22 vs Long Beach State 49ers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 11-7, lost West Division Semifinal
Denver Pioneers Lacrosse: first game 1/24 vs Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
#2 Denver Pioneers Hockey: 12-3-3, next game 12/30 @ Providence College Friars
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famicommander
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Wipe that face off your head, bitch.
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So yeah.

It turns out that the owners of the TD Garden were charging the Blazers over 60,000 dollars per game in rent. Factor in preseason, postseason, and the regular season and you're looking at about 600,000 dollars in rent, roughly 1 million in total payroll costs, plus the cost of marketing.

For revenue the Blazers had about 9000 fans per game (probably around 7000 paid), which translates to roughly 1.4 million dollars in ticket revenue.

And the kicker? The arena owners didn't let the Blazers keep any percentage of parking or concession revenue for their own home games.

This is a case where a team with a healthy following could easily have turned a profit. But instead, the arena owners decided they spooge slurped to try and squeeze a struggling minor league team for a few hundred thousand dollars that they'd never miss anyway.
Denver Broncos: defending champs, 8-6, next game 12/25 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Colorado Rockies: 75-87, missed playoffs
Colorado Avalanche: 11-18-1, next game 12/20 @ Minnesota Wild
Denver Nuggets: 12-16, next game 12/20 @ Los Angeles Clippers
Colorado Mammoth: first game 12/30 @ Buffalo Bandits
Denver Outlaws: defending champs, first game 4/22 @ Charlotte Hounds
Colorado State Rams football: 7-5, next game Idaho Bowl 12/22 vs Idaho Vandals
Colorado State Rams basketball: 8-4, next game 12/22 vs Long Beach State 49ers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 11-7, lost West Division Semifinal
Denver Pioneers Lacrosse: first game 1/24 vs Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
#2 Denver Pioneers Hockey: 12-3-3, next game 12/30 @ Providence College Friars
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famicommander
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Wipe that face off your head, bitch.
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I hope the NBA season is missed so that the Garden misses out on those 50+ Celtics arena dates. That'll make them look pretty stupid.
Denver Broncos: defending champs, 8-6, next game 12/25 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Colorado Rockies: 75-87, missed playoffs
Colorado Avalanche: 11-18-1, next game 12/20 @ Minnesota Wild
Denver Nuggets: 12-16, next game 12/20 @ Los Angeles Clippers
Colorado Mammoth: first game 12/30 @ Buffalo Bandits
Denver Outlaws: defending champs, first game 4/22 @ Charlotte Hounds
Colorado State Rams football: 7-5, next game Idaho Bowl 12/22 vs Idaho Vandals
Colorado State Rams basketball: 8-4, next game 12/22 vs Long Beach State 49ers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 11-7, lost West Division Semifinal
Denver Pioneers Lacrosse: first game 1/24 vs Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
#2 Denver Pioneers Hockey: 12-3-3, next game 12/30 @ Providence College Friars
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