I would like to comment regarding the Cougars' sad home attendance figures. I was a season ticket holder from day one at the Multiplex.
After 13 seasons of weekend double headers (which I never liked because I didn't want to watch the same team on two consecutive nights), I stopped being a season ticket holder. However, I still attend 18 to 20 games a season.
During the attendance heydays of 5,600 fans per game, I would say there were up to 2,500 freeloaders who never paid a cent of their own money to go to a game due to the proliferation of free corporate season tickets. It was the place to be and to be seen as long as someone else was paying the tab.
With two junior hockey teams in town playing on the same nights, many times during the season there are not enough fans to support both teams. The Spruce Kings should have received the WHL franchise.
Instead, the Spruce Kings have gone from one of the richest junior hockey franchises in Western Canada to near bankruptcy because of the Cougars.
The economy of Prince George cannot support the Cougars as thousands of well-paying union jobs have been lost, resulting in Prince George becoming a minimum wage oasis and going to a hockey game is the last thing on most people's agenda.
I don't believe all the blame for the Cougars' woes can be directed on Mr. Brodsky. It started with a poor decision by the WHL on who should get the franchise.
Geography will always be a hindrance to any sports teams in Prince George. I think Mr. Brodsky is flogging a dead horse, and most teams would be very happy not to have to travel north of Kamloops.
I will continue to attend my 18 to 20 games a season, but it is getting very difficult for me to go to games where there is zero atmosphere and little chance that the depressing situation will ever change.
Richard Ryan
Prince George
