Hey everybody. I’ve had a chance now to go through everything and find out what the situation is. Let me start with the rationale for the price increases. I thought Todd did a very good job in his interview explaining it but to further clarify, every single cost in running this team has increased dramatically over our 11 years. Energy costs of the arena, housing costs, equipment costs and maybe most of all, player costs. One thing that people are missing when they just simply state that “ Sheffield and Belfast will just increase it so it’s pointless” is that we operate in a global market for players. Our competition is not just our own league’s teams. It’s teams in Slovakia, Germany, Denmark etc. Looking back at the players we had pre-COVID, the salaries for those kind of players has gone up by more than 50% since that time. That’s not an EIHl thing. That’s a global thing.
So the decision that we faced was do we sit back and be happy with mid-table finishes or do we try and deliver championships. Very tough decision because we very much do value all of our long standing fans and realize that an increase could mean going to fewer games for many people. But we also committed to go after titles and field teams that will at least compete for them regularly. It is sport so there are no guarantees but I think in its entirety over our eleven years, we’ve delivered on that promise. I’m very sensitive to all of this as I’ve lived through it here in Calgary. My season ticket price is now over $200 per ticket. Too much to justify going to every game but I still want the Flames as part of my life so I now share my season tickets with four friends. But I’d rather do that than see my team move to another city or not be able to compete. With a waiting list for tickets and what we still feel is a compelling value proposition, we made the hard choice to make the increase.
The next topic is the actions of some people and the reaction from the club. What people on forums and social media often don’t understand is that there are real people on the other end of their statements. It’s all fine to say that people should have thicker skin but when you hear people constantly making claims of greed or less than stellar ethics, that’s very hurtful when those people have and continue to put their whole lives into the Devils. Several of you on here have clearly had biased agendas for some time and consistently try to bring others down with negativity and accusations. Nobody was banned from buying season tickets. A meeting was requested of Mark because of his comments (that have persisted for several years) and we can all argue if that was appropriate or not - but from Todd and Katrina’s standpoint, I can see why they would have come to that stage in their frustration.
For others that love to talk a big game and state that we’re doing this to make a return on our investment, I know that you know better. Not a penny has ever been taken out of the Devils over eleven years. We have no plans in our budget to ever take a penny out. This is a passion investment and always will be. I would have hoped that our track record during our time would have made those claims ridiculous to anybody.
So on to the playoffs where I know our team can beat any team on any night. We had a good, competitive team this year that I found entertaining in their physicality. We finally have a coach that I believe can bring us a title. We also have a core to build around in the off-season where a larger player budget will be needed to bring in more scoring. It’s a delicate puzzle but we are doing our best And will continue to put everything we have into it.
Thank you to the vast majority or our fans who have stood by us and I wish nothing but the best for those that for whatever reason have needed to move on. We hope that we bring you back into the fold in some form down the road.
The negative comments have not persisted for several years, I didn't agree with the rebrand, we were told that was necessary to keep up with the other teams. I don't necessarily disagree with the price rises, just in the way the percentages applied were higher for a specific group of fans, yes I am in that group but I also have purchased a full price ticket for someone to accompany me, but for 23 years I have paid full price and family prices.
You had a fans committee, for a short time, did public forums but these have been less and less. Videos don't give a right to reply and forums such as this do. It was the same with the rebrand, present it and Like it or Lump it.
I know that Todd doesnt really like talking about the history of the club but the logos were things that the fans fought over and even staged a season of standing outside protest and even protests outside that led to you eventually obtaining the club. I even spent time trying to persuade people from paying ST money to the previous owner in a wait and see campaign, whilst a certain person in your employ was working against that, I didnt really post too much about the rebrand, I just had my own rebrand from drummer to silent spectator so to insinuate it is persistent over a number of years just isn't true
The teams above have also increased their prices, so the gap still remains, but it is good that you have come on here to reply and maybe address the concerns of some, that is little comfort for the ones that cannot afford the rises and they have been long term investors whereas the single visit party crowd may not stick around and become long term fans and may only be short term customers.
I have enjoyed the ride met some great people, visited some parts of Europe I wouldn't have, and sort of enjoyed the struggle to get a new facility in Cardiff assisted by the rest of the SORAC committee.
In fact my postings on this forum have been few since you aquired the club until this thread
