billsportsmaps.com

April 25, 2016

Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>OHL,Hockey — admin @ 12:01 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

ontario-hockey-league_ohl_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-ohl-titles_post_f_.gif
Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed




By Bill Turianski on 25 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc…Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…ontariohockeyleague.com.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

-2015-16 OHL attendances…Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Western Hockey LeagueWestern Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

(Note: QMJHL map-and-post to be posted on May 21 2016.)

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from Nov.2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….

….

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 3 paragraphs below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 20 OHL teams – 17 of which are in the Canadian province of Ontario, and 3 of which are USA-based: 2 from Michigan and 1 from Pennsylvania. The locations of all the NHL teams (from the region) are also shown on the map.

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendance {source: Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity.
3). Percent-capacity [average-attendance divided by arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city; or, as with the Owen Sound Attack, the team’s home-town)…the metro-area population of Owen Sound, Ontario is 32,000. {Sources: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures] (en.wikipedia.org) ; USA-based-teams: List of metropolitan areas of the United States (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the team began play in its home-city. [Note: see boxes under the chart (on the map-page), pertaining to the Oshawa and Mississauga franchises, on this subject.]
6). OHL titles (and the year of last title). {OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup (en.wikipedia.org).}
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title) [/ see notes below]. {Memorial Cup/CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).}

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May/ see next paragraph.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016.

List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

OHL teams that have won Memorial Cup/CHL titles (1972-2016)
1973: Toronto Marlboros
1975: Toronto Marlboros (note: franchise is now the Guelph Storm [since 1991-92])
1976: Hamilton Fincups (note: franchise is now the Erie Otters [since 1996-97])
1979: Peterborough Petes
1982: Kitchener Rangers
1984: Ottawa 67′s
1986: Guelph Platers (note: franchise moved to Owen Sound in 1989-90; are now the Owen Sound Attack [since 2000-01])
1990: Oshawa Generals
1993: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
1999: Ottawa 67′s
2003: Kitchener Rangers
2005: London Knights
2009: Windsor Spitfires
2010: Windsor Spitfires
2015: Oshawa Generals

    The 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16
    (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs)

Oshawa Generals: 2015 CHL/Memorial Cup champions & best at filling their arena in OHL in 2015-16 (103.3 percent-capacity/standing-room-only)
oshawa-generals_general-motors-centre_2015-chl-memorial-cup-champions_k_.gif
Photo credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Oshawa Generals. General Motors plant in Oshawa, photo by Dave Thomas/QMI Agency via thepeterboroughexaminer.com. Exterior of General motors Centre, photo by thesportsroadtrip.com/ontariohockeyleague. Oshawa Generals’ banners hung from rafters at General Motors Centre, photo by The Creamer, uploaded at boards.sportslogos.net/[topic: Arena rafters banners]. 2015 title banners raised, image from screenshot of video uploadedby DRL Productiona at youtube.com. Oshawa FW Andrew Cirelli scores against Kelowna Rockets in overtime to win the 2015 Memorial Cup trophy (Oshawa 2, Kelowna 1 OT) and Oshawa players celebrate their title-win, 3 photos by Francis Vachon Photographie at francisvachon.com/blog/gallerie-de-photos-final-de-la-coupe-memorial-cup-2015.

London Knights: Best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 2nd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16 at 99.6 percent-capacity
& London Knights, 2016 OHL (Robertson Cup) champions…

london-knights_budweiser-gardens_r_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above – Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/London Knights. Aerial view of London, ON in early autumn, photo by londontourism.ca via ctvnews.ca/canada. Aerial view of downtown London, ON, photo unattributed at ca.hotels.com. Rppftop view of Budweiser Gardens, photo by Craig Glover/London Free Press/QMI Agency via sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. Exterior shot of main entrance to Budweiser Gardens, photo unattributed at londonmoms.ca. Logos from sportslogos.net/London Knights. Team lined up on ice for national anthem in front of another full house at the JLC (aka Budweiser Gardens), photo by London Knights at londonknights.com/team-history.
Players…
Mitchell Marner, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/12/06/mitch-marners-second-consecutive-hat-trick. Christian Dvorak, photo by London Free Press via londonknights.com. Matthew Tkachuk, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Tyler Parsons, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via zimbio.com. Knights players celebrating after sweeping Niagara in finals, photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images via blackburnnews.com/knights-sweep-ice-dogs-claim-ohl-championship.

Kitchener Rangers: 2nd-best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 3rd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, with a 98.3 percent-capacity…
kitchener-rangers_kitchener-memorial-auditorium_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers. Winter scene in downtown Kitchener, photo by Colin Butler/CBC at cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo. Summer festival in downtown Kitchener, photo by City of Kitchener via placestogrow.ca. Exterior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Interior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Logos from sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers.

Barrie Colts: 4th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 91.2 percent-capacity…
/barrie-colts_barrie-molson-centre_h_.gif"
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net. Aerial shot of Barrie, photo unattributed at pratthomes.ca/barrie-ranks-3rd-ontario-best-place-invest/. View of downtown Barrie, photo unattributed at andrew-thompson.on.ca. Exterior shot of Barrie Molson Centre, photo by stadiumci.com/sci/projects. Interior shot of Barrie Molson Centre by Mark Wanzel at thebarrieexaminer.com/library-checked-out. Logos from sportslogos.net/Barrie Colts.

Guelph Storm: 5th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 89.7 percent-capacity…
guelph-storm_sleeman-centre_h_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Guelph Storm road jersey (dark jersey), photo from ebay.com. Guelph in the autumn with Church of Our lady in the distant background, photo unattributed at crbprogram.org/renting/guelph. Guelph in the winter, photo by Sir Scavenger at flickr.com. Exterior-street-view shot of Sleeman Centre front entrance, photo from rlproyalcity.com/guelph-real-estate. Interior shot of Sleeman Centre during a game [11 Dec.2015], photo by Jfvoll at Sleeman Centre (Guelph) (en.wikipedia.org). Logos from sportslogos.net/Guelph Storm.

Niagara IceDogs: 6th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 85.9 percent-capacity…
niagara-icedogs_meridian-centre_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs. Shot of downtown St. Catherines, photo by John Elmslie, St Paul Street, St Catharines, Ontario at flickr.com. Niagara IceDogs dog-bone-shoulder-patch logos: black-crossed-bones logo, image from sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs; red crossed-bones-with-St-Catherines/S-T-C-inset logo from a photo by Vaughn Ridley at gettyimages.com. Exterior shot of Meridian Centre, photo by Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network at stcatharinesstandard.ca. Interior/live-action-shot of Meridian Centre, photo from stcatharines.ca/Meridian-Centre-Community-Suite.

___
Thanks to all at the following links,
Sources for titles: OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup ; CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to USGS.gov for blank map of the Great Lakes – unfortunately, the map is no longer available online (well, I couldn’t find it, anyway).
-Thanks to the contributors at Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find OHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

April 13, 2016

Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>WHL,Hockey — admin @ 9:26 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

western-hockey-league_whl_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-whl-titles_post_d_.gif
Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed



By Bill Turianski on 13 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc…Western Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…whl.ca.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

50th Anniversary Official All-time Greatest WHL players (voted on by fans, at official WHL site)…WHL Top 50 Players of All-Time Countdown Concludes
#1, Joe Sakic (Swift Current Broncos, 1986-88). #2: Bobby Clarke (Flin Flon Bombers, 1967-69). #3, Carey Price (Tri-City Americans, 2003-07).

-2015-16 WHL attendances… Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Ontario Hockey League…Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League…Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) [English: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (the Quebec Remparts & the Halifax Mooseheads), and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & the Val-d’Or Foreurs).

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from November 2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….


Western Hockey League, established 1966-67
Below, a map of the first season of the WHL (1966-67 CMJHL [WHL]/ 7 teams), which features the 1967 champions, the Moose Jaw Canucks. The map below also features 6 present-day franchises (see small text above map for franchise-histories) – including 2 founding-members-of-the-WHL (the present-day-WHL-teams the Regina Pats and the Saskatoon Blades), as well as 4 charter-franchises-of-the-WHL (those 4 WHL franchises now located in the present-day WHL cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Kamloops, and Moose Jaw)…
1966-67_whl_map_western-hockey-league_1st-whl-season_7-teams_moose-jaw-canucks-champions_r_.gif"
Logos in map above from: en.wiipedia.org/Western Hockey League / 1966-67 CMJHL [WHL], hockeydb.com/Logos, sportslogos.net/WHL. logoserver.com/Western CHL. Photo of Moose Jaw Canucks 1966-67 champions banner raised to the rafters of Mosaic Place, photo unattributed at discovermoosejaw.com/lmoose-jaw-hockey-history-honoured. Image of Moose Jaw Warriors 2015-16 opening-night-jersey from WHL at whl.ca/warriors-unveil-opening-night-jersey.

The Western Hockey League (WHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 5 paragraphs futher below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 22 WHL teams – 6 of which are in the Canadian province of British Columbia, 5 of which are in the Canadian province of Alberta, 5 of which are in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, one of which is in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 5 of which are USA-based: 4 from the state of Washington and 1 from the state of Oregon. The locations of all the NHL teams from the Western Canada/USA region are also shown on the map (ie, the 4 Western Canadian NHL teams).

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart for the WHL which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendances of the 22 WHL teams, ranked {source: Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity of the 22 WHL teams.
3). Percent-capacity for each team in 2015-16 [Percent Capacity equals Average Attendance divided by Arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city; or, as with the Swift Current Broncos, the team’s home-town…the metro-area population of Swift Current, Saskatchewan is ~17,500. {Sources: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures]; USA-based-teams: List of metropolitan areas of the United States (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the WHL team began play in its home-city. (Note: for extra details about the first-WHL-seasons of the Regina and Swift Current teams, see boxes below chart.)
6).WHL titles (and the year of last title/ since 1966-67). {WHL titles: Ed Chynoweth Cup (en.wikipedia.org).}
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title/ since 1971-72) [/ see notes below]. {Memorial Cup/CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).}

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016. (Note: within the Red Deer Rebels illustration further below, you can read a short paragraph about the etymology and early history of Red Deer, Alberta, and its location with respect to Edmonton & Calgary.)


List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

WHL teams that have won Memorial Cup/CHL titles (1972-2016)
1974: Regina Pats
1977: New Westminster Bruins
1978: New Westminster Bruins
1983: Portland Winter Hawks
1985: Prince Albert Raiders
1987: Medicine Hat Tigers
1988: Medicine Hat Tigers
1989: Swift Current Broncos
1991: Spokane Chiefs
1992: Kamloops Blazers
1994: Kamloops Blazers
1995: Kamloops Blazers
1998: Portland Winter Hawks
2001: Red Deer Rebels
2002: Kootenay Ice
2004: Kelowna Rockets
2007: Vancouver Giants
2008: Spokane Chiefs
2014: Edmonton Oil Kings

    Below: the 4 best-drawing teams in the 2015-16 WHL (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs),
    and the 3 teams that filled their arenas the best (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders)…

Calgary Hitmen: Best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 8,217 per game
calgary-hitmen_scotiabank-saddledome_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Calgary Hitmen. Aerial view of Greater Calgary in winter-time with Canadian Rockies in the background, photo by reddit.com/user/thelonelyYOTTABYTE at The 27 most beautiful photos of Canada uploaded to Reddit. Aerial view of downtown Calgary, photo unattributed at canadian-wellsite.com/images/Calgary. View of downtown Calgary in winter, photo by theconstantrambler.com at theconstantrambler.com. Exterior shot of the Saddledome, photo unattributed at static.gofansgo.com/images/Saddledome. Shot of Saddledome at night, photo by Rob Moses Photography at robmosesphotography.com Shot of fans at Saddledome cheering on the tunnel entrance of the Calgary Hitmen, photo by twitter.com/WHLHitmen/media. Shot of fans in front rows cheering after a goal with celebrating Hitmen clustered before them, photo by facebook.com/HitmenHockey/photos_stream. Original logos (1995) images from File:Hitmenlogos.png. 2015-16 Calgary Hitmen 20th anniversary black-silver-pink jersey, photo by Calgary Hitmen at hitmenhockey.com

Portland Winterhawks: 2nd-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 7,004 per game
portland-winterhawks_veterans-memorial-coliseum_moda-center_d_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Portland Winterhawks. Downtown Portland, OR at night, photo unattributed at portland2016.com. Portland, OR winter scene of skyline, photo unattributed at portlandloftscondos.com/portland-oregon-winter Aerial shot of Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Moda Center, photo by Mike Brewington at brewsphoto.com, here. Street-level-view of the Vet and Moda Center, photo by Jonathan House at Portland Tribune, at pamplinmedia.com/memorial-coliseum-money-pit. 1st-period-faceoff shot at the Moda Center, photo by @roncallan via emeraldcitysportsblogs.wordpress.com. Winterhawks fans celebrate a goal versus Seattle {april 2015], photo by Kent Frasure at portlandtribune.com/sports.

Edmonton Oil Kings: 3rd-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 6,838 per game
edmonton-oil-kings_rexall-place_e_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Edmonton Oil Kings.. Edmonton skyline, photo by WinterE229 (WinterforceMedia) at File:Downtown-Skyline-Edmonton-Alberta-Canada-01A.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Winter scene with tobogganners and view of Edmonton skyline, photo by Edmonton Tourism at uofainsideout.ca. View of Edmonton skyline on a winter night, photo by Lumens Borealis at lumensborealis.com. Shot of Rexall Place at night, photo by Heimo Kramer at sanjogonline.blogspot.com. 1963 Memorial Cup champions the Edmonton Oil Kings (I) (1951-76): 1962-63 game-worn jersey, photo by classicauctions.net. Oil Kings black/green-alternate-home-jersey & shoulder-patch logo, photos from ebay.com/edmonton-oil-kings. Shot of Oil Kings game from the stands at Rexall Place, photo by Codie McLachlan/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency at sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. 2014 Oil Kings squad with banners and trophies on Banner Night in Edmonton, photo by David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Age at edmontonsun.com/2014/09/21/jones-warm-glow-for-oil-kings-banner-raising.

Spokane Chiefs: 4th-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 5,765 per game
spokane-chiefs_spokane-veterans-memorial-arena_m_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Spokane Chiefs. Aerial view of Spokane, photo unattributed at carousels.org/Spokane2010. Spokane Falls, photo by Steven Lamar at flickr.com. Exterior shot of Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, photo by Jdubman at File:SpokaneArenaSECorner.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Chiefs fans cheer after goals at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (Oct. 2011) by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review at spokesman.com/galleries/2011/oct. Shot of Chiefs squad before the first outdoor game in WHL, Jan.15 2011: at Avista ballpark in Spokane, WA (Spokane Chiefs 11, Kelowna Rockets 2), photo by Jessee Tinsley at spokesman.com/nachbaur-whl-coach-year.

Kelowna Rockets: 5th-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 5,242 per game + Best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 95.1 percent-capacity
kelowna-rockets_prospera-place_25th-anniversary-gear_e_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Kelowna Rockets. Aerial view of Kelown, photo unattributed at trijuice.com/images/kelowna. Kelowna looking towards downtown, photo by stephanscharnberg.blogspot.com. Exterior shot of Prospera Place, photo by Tomtar.ca External Sheeting and Roofing. Interior of Prospero Place during a Rockets’ matinee game, photo by kelownanow.com/files. Kelowna 25th anniversary home alternate jersey (throwback), photo by kelownanow.com/Kelowna_Rockets_Reveal_25th_Anniversary_Jerseys. Kelowna Rockets 25th Anniversary patch, photo unattributed at power104.fm/powerpatrol/2015/08/24/.

Red Deer Rebels: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the WHL in 2015-16, at 93.9 percent-capacity
red-deer-rebels_emax-centrium_i_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Red Deer Rebels. Aerial view of Red Deer, photo by Waynercook at File:Red Deer – Aerial – downtown bridges.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Aerial view of Red Deer Alberta in summer, photo unattributed at yellowpencil.com/reddeer-aerial.jpg. View of Red Deer in summertime, photo unattributed at meshav.com. Red Deer Rebels 2014-15 alternate burgundy jersey & R and RED DEER shoulder-patch logos, photos from reddeerrebels.com/article/back-in-burgandy-rebels-unveil-third-jersey. Exterior shot of Enmax Centrium, photo by Curtis Lund via goodkey.com. Shot of traveling Red Deer fans cheering on the Rebels’ 5-0 away-win versus the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton on March 6, 2014. photo by Derek Leung at gettyimages.co.uk.

Prince Albert Raiders: 3rd-best percent capacity in the WHL in 2015-16, at 91.8
prince-albert-raiders_art-hauser-centre_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Prince Albert Raiders. Aerial photo of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, photo by Woodland Aerial Photo via peterballantyne.ca/communities/princealbert [Cree Nation]. View of PA skyline from North Saskatchewan River, photo by Prince Albert Downtown Improvement District Association via rvwest.com/prince_albert. Exterior shot of Art Hauser Centre unattributed at stadiumjourney.com. Mike Modano’s Prince Albert Raiders retired jersey-number (#9), image from screenshot of video downloaded by Shaw TV Prince Albert at youtube.com. Logos from sportslogos.net/Western_Hockey_League.
___
Thanks to all at the following links,
Sources for titles: WHL titles: Ed Chynoweth Cup ; CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to the contributors at Western Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find WHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph.

April 2, 2016

MLB: Paid Attendance (tickets-sold) map for 2015 (home/regular season average tickets-sold), including change from 2014 and percent-capacity figures./+ Illustrations for: the Los Angeles Dodgers (highest-drawing MLB team for 3rd straight year) & the Kansas City Royals (2015 World Series champions and best-increase-in-crowd-size for 2015).

Filed under: Baseball,Baseball >paid-attendance — admin @ 12:04 am

mlb_2015-attendance_tickets-sold_map_w-percent-cap_change-from-14_post_b_.gif
MLB: Paid Attendance (tickets-sold) map for 2015 (home/regular season average tickets-sold), including change from 2014 and percent-capacity figures



By Bill Turianski on 2 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Official site…mlb.com.
-Article on 2015 MLB attendance…from Sportsnet.ca, from 10 October 2015, MLB average attendance up slightly in 2015 (sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb).
-[Current] MLB attendance at ESPN…MLB Attendance Report [current] (espn.go.com).
-2015 MLB attendance at ESPN…MLB Attendance Report – 2015 (espn.go.com).

    Highest-drawing team in MLB (for the 3rd straight year) – the Los Angeles Dodgers (at 46,479 per game)…

Below: Dodger Stadium (aka Chavez Ravine). Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA. Opened April 10, 1962. Capacity 56,000. 2015 average paid-attendance: 46,479.
los-angeles-dodgers_dodger-stadium_chavez-ravine_best-drawing-team-in-mlb_2015_h_.gif
Photo credits above -
Aerial shot of Dodger Stadium with downtown LA in background, photo unattributed at orbicair.com/gi-56684-dodger-stadium. Tight-aerial-shot of Dodger Stadium, photo unattributed at latimesblogs.latimes.com. Exterior-shot/parking-lot-view of Dodger Stadium with fans streaming in, photo by Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers at dodgers.mlblogs.com/category/dodger-stadium [photo from 2010]. Exterior-shot of Dodger Stadium front entrance, photo [from Oct. 4 2014] by Sarah K. at yelp.com [Dodger Stadium]. Exterior-shot of giant Dodgers MVPs banner on side of main grandstand, photo by Ruel G. at yelp.com/biz_photos/dodger-stadium-los-angeles. Text-block of Dodgers MVPs, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Dodgers_award_winners_and_league_leaders. Interior shot at sunset of Dodger Stadium from seats behind home plate, photo by ÉmmÉrōSiá S. at yelp.com/biz_photos/dodger-stadium-los-angeles. View as night falls of Dodger Stadium from upper-deck with large crowd, photo by Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports at bleacherreport.com. Exterior-ground-level shot of Dodger Stadium at twilight, photo by Daniel Sofer at hermosawavephotography.com.

    Best crowd-size increases in MLB in 2015…

All MLB teams which had an increase of +3,000 per game in 2015…
1). Kansas City Royals, +9,284 per game. The Royals increased from 25th-best crowd-size in 2014 (at 24,154 per game) to 10th-best-crowds in 2015 at (33,438 per game). The Royals won the AL Central/ beat Houston in ALDS/ beat Toronto in the ALCS/ won the 2015 MLB World Series (4 games to 1 over NY Mets).
2). Toronto Blue Jays, +5,177 per game. The Blue Jays increased from 17th-best crowd-size in 2014 (at 29,327 per game) to 8th-best-crowds in 2015 at (34,504 per game). The Blue Jays won the AL East/ beat Texas in ALDS/ lost to Kansas City in the ALCS.
3). Houston Astros, +4,960 per game. The Astros increased from 26th-best crowd-size in 2014 (at 21,627 per game) to 22nd-best crowds in 2015 (at 26,587 per game). The Astros were the lower-seeded-Wild-Card in the AL/ beat NY Yankees in the ALWCG/ lost to Kansas City in ALDS.
4). New York Mets, +4,865 per game. The Mets increased from 21st-best crowd-size in 2014 (at 26,860 per game) to 12th-best-crowds in 2015 (at 31,725 per game). The Mets won the NL East/ beat LA Dodgers in NLDS/ beat Chicago Cubs in the NLCS/ lost to Kansas City in the 2015 MLB World Series (in 5 games).
5). Chicago Cubs, +3,798 per game. The Cubs increased from 11th-best crowd-size in 2014 (at 32,742 per game) to 6th-best-crowds in 2015 (at 36,540 per game). The Cubs were the lower-seeded-Wild-Card in the NL/ beat Pittsburgh in the NLWCG/ beat St. Louis in the NLDS/ lost to NY Mets in the NLCS.
6). San Diego Padres, +3,264 per game. The Padres were the only MLB team in 2015 to have a +3,000-or-more increase in average attendance without making the playoffs, let alone playing above .500 (the Padres were 74-88). The Padres didn’t even have a better record than the previous year (they went 77-85 in 2014). They did have a bunch of young and exciting players and were involved in a lot of high-scoring and come-back games, and fan excitement there in San Diego translated into a healthy attendance increase. {See this article, and the comments there, at the Padres blog at SB Nation, Padres experiencing increased attendance and ratings, by jbox on Apr.27,2015 at gaslampball.com).}

    The 2015 Kansas City Royals:
    The Royals were 2015 MLB World Series champions (winning their second MLB World Series title);
    & the Royals also had the 2015 MLB best-increase-in-crowds (at +9,284 per game)…

kansas-city-royals_2015_world-series-champions_2015-best-increase-in-attendance_lorenzo-cain_mike-moustakas_eric-hosmer_wade-davis_ned-yost_r_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Unattributed at chatsports.com. Lorenzo Cain after hitting a triple [May 2015], photo by John Sleezer/ The Kansas City Star at kansascity.com. Mike Moustakas throwing out runner to first, photo by the Kansas City Star via gettyimages.com. Eric Hosmer swinging, photo by John Sleezer/ The Kansas City Star at kansascity.com. Wade Davis congratulates C Salvador Perez after a win, photo by Jim Mone/ AP Photo via ksn.com. Royals manager Ned Yost talking with C Salvador Perez as 3B Mike Moustakas and SS Alcides Escobar listen on, photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com. Royals bench rushing to celebrate after Wade Davis gets final out of 2015 World Series, photo by David J. Phillip/ AP Photo via wina.com.


The map, and notes on the chart…
The circular-cap-logos on the map page are all each MLB teams’ 2015 home cap logo. That is, except with respect to Baltimore’s circular-cap-logo, which is of their all-black road cap, because the Orioles wear their white-paneled cap at home, and I wanted to maintain a uniformity to all 30 of the circular-cap-logos on the map. The circular-cap-logos were then sized to reflect crowd size, utilizing a constant gradient (the larger the team’s average paid-attendance, the larger their circular-cap-logo is on the map). If you are unsure about the term “paid-attendance”, my post on MLB paid-attendance from last year can clear that up for you {here, 2014 MLB paid-attendance map}.

On the chart on the map page, this year I decided to scrap the column for Percent-Change-from-previous-season [average attendance], and now I have a column for Numerical-Change-from-previous-season. (I just think it is easier to visualize a numerical-change figure, than it is to visualize a percentage-change figure.)

Notes on Capacity and Percent-Capacity numbers…
On the map page, under the attendance chart, are 3 notes; the following is a further elaboration on them…
1). Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park. Since 1953, Fenway has had different capacities for day games and for night games: 37,227 seated capacity for day games/ 37,673 seated capacity for night games {see this, Fenway Park/Seating capacity (en.wikipedia.org)}. It was 426 less seats for day games from 1953 up to 2014, and now (currently [2015-16]) it is 446 less seats for day games. During day games, the furthest-to-leftfield centerfield seats – a triangle of seats in the centerfield stands (near the Green Monster) – is kept empty and covered with a triangular dark-greenish-grey tarp (see it at the lower-left of the photo below). This is to make a more uniform background for batters to more easily see pitched balls. Other MLB ballparks have benign backdrops for the batters’ sight-lines; and this is in that area of a batter’s sight-line that is often referred to as “The Batter’s Eye”. From time to time, because of night-game-rain-outs and then re-scheduled day-games with those tickets already having been sold, the Red Sox have been forced to keep that triangle of 400-odd outfield-seats open during a rescheduled day-game. In those cases, they solved the problem by handing out dark green t-shirts to all ticket-buyers who had bought tickets for seats in that triangle…so the batters still had a quasi-dark green background for their sight-line.

-Here is a thread (from 2012), on the subject of the dual/day/night-seating-capacities at Fenway, from Reddit.com/r/sports,
Why is the capacity larger at Fenway Park when it is a night game rather then a day game? (reddit.com/r/sports).

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Photo credit above – Cindy Loo/Boston Red Sox via boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/fenwaypark100/timeline.jsp?year=2011

2). Oakland Athletics, at O.co Coliseum, have tarps covering the upper decks for MLB games, making the seating “capacity” for baseball 35,067, which is about 20,800 less than the real capacity (real seating capacity of the stadium is 55,945). They do this, of course, because the A’s draw so poorly and their stadium is (and always has been) too ridiculously large for the ball club. The O.co Coliseum (originally known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) is one of the last of the oft-derided and basically hideous structures known as the dual-purpose stadium, a thing that has come and now is thankfully all but gone from the American landscape. Almost every other dual-purpose stadium has been torn down (see next paragraph). Three multi-purpose stadiums in the USA remain: Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego; RFK Stadium in Washington, DC; and the Houston Astrodome. But besides the San Diego Chargers (NFL) and DC United (MLS), these 3 venues are devoid of big-league tenants and are underutilized (and the Astrodome is virtually condemned).

{Multi-purpose stadium/History in the United States (en.wikipedia.org).} Once there were over a dozen multi-use stadiums in MLB and in the NFL, and they all sucked, because they were designed to host two very incompatible configurations (baseball and gridiron football). They were giant soul-less concrete doughnuts that gave the fan – for either sport – vast yawning empty spaces where there should have been seats, and sight-lines looking upon totalitarian-architecture backdrops of brutal concrete. There were 9 now-demolished multi-purpose stadiums that were built in the USA in the same era or a few years later than the stadium in Oakland (which opened in 1966). Specifically, in San Francisco [which was re-purposed as a multi-use stadium for the 49ers in 1970] (Candlestick Park demolished in 2015). In Minneapolis (the Metrodome demolished in 2014). In Queens, NYC, New York (Shea Stadium demolished in 2007). In St. Louis (Busch Memorial Stadium demolished in 2005). In Philadelphia (Veterans Stadium demolished in 2004). In Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium demolished in 2002). In Pittsburgh (Three Rivers Stadium demolished in 2001). In Seattle (the Kingdome demolished in 2000). And in Atlanta (Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium demolished in 1997). There is only one multi-purpose stadium still in use in both the NFL and in Major League Baseball, and that is Oakland’s stadium, and its days are numbered. And when it is gone, good riddance.

3). Tampa Bay Rays, at Tropicana Field, also have tarps covering the upper decks for MLB games, making the seating “capacity” for baseball 31,042, which is about 11,600 less than the real capacity (real seating capacity of the stadium is 42,735). The Tampa Bay Rays, as pretty much all baseball fans know, are hands-down, the absolute worst-drawing ball club in the Majors. This, despite, these days, being a very competitive team (most seasons). And the Rays’ dreary and surreal and pathetic stadium is a big reason why. The other major reason why the Rays draw so horribly is because the team is based in Florida. Floridians do not really like to go to baseball games – because there’s not enough tackling and fist-fights in baseball, and because baseball’s pace is too slow and nuanced for Florida Man.

Tropicana Field is like a Bizzarro-world Major League ballpark. The place just exudes a pervasively gloomy atmosphere. And need I say more than catwalks in play all around the roof of the dome? For that matter, how on Earth can it be, that in 2016, Major League Baseball still has a team which plays in a fixed-roof dome? On friggin’ artificial turf (as does Toronto). Look how long the list is, of criticisms about Tropicana Field, at the Trop’s page at Wikipedia, {here, Tropicana Field/Criticisms}. In 2013, USA Today, in a 30-part series, ranked Tropicana Field as the worst MLB venue {see this, Tropicana Field: All dome and gloom, by Joe Mock of BaseballParks.com}. At the StadiumJourney.com site, their review of Tropicana Field notes that…’Tropicana Field is one of those places where you get excited to see the game until you walk into the stadium for the actual game. The concourse areas in the stands have plenty to do and look at. Entering the stadium you will find a wide-open atrium with very colorful displays, but this disappears when you enter the seating bowl. Once inside however, you will encounter one of the dullest professional sports atmospheres anywhere. It feels like going into an early 1980′s time warp. The ugly field and tarp covering the top rows of the upper deck are depressing.’ { – excerpt from Tropicana Field, by Scott Bultman at stadiumjourney.com.}

Hey Major League Baseball – move the Tampa Bay Rays franchise to Montreal, Canada. {See this, from the New York Times on August 18, 2015, Baseball Fever Grows in Montreal With Hope of a New Team, by David Waldstein at nytimes.com/sports.} There’s your Tropicana Field problem solved right there. Then the new-and-improved Major League Baseball would be a product with 50%-less-Florida…and the new-and-improved MLB would be a product with 50%-more Canuck. Like in “the good old days“.

___
Thanks to NuclearVacuum for the blank map, File:BlankMap-North America-Subdivisions.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
Thanks to ESPN for attendances & percent capacities, espn.go.com/mlb/attendance.
Thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos.net, for several (~17) of the cap logos, sportslogos.net.
Thanks to Baseball-reference.com, for stats.
Thanks to the contributors at en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball#Current_teams.
Thanks to yelp.com, and photo-contributors there at yelp.com/biz/dodger-stadium-los-angeles.
Thanks to the Kansas City Star for some nice photos of KC Royals stand-outs.

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