urbanSTL

Learned my lesson long ago with my full pro Blues sweater with Gretzky's name and number on it. Every jersey since has been plain. My Rams jersey is 95 (the year they came) and "Rams Fan" for the name.

^ I think that's better than my Cardinals jerseys, which are "Stud First Baseman," "Versatile Infielder" and "Aging Superstar Who Might Be Unloaded"

roger wyoming II wrote:^ I think that's better than my Cardinals jerseys, which are "Stud First Baseman," "Versatile Infielder" and "Aging Superstar Who Might Be Unloaded"

Let me guess: number 69?

^ yeah... compared to a new one you save a bundle!

btw, I think the all-time bonehead move is all those Clevelanders who burned their LeBron James jerseys!

debaliviere wrote:#RoarBacon

Love it.

The next home game with the Blackhawks on Saturday 11/14 will be completely epic.

Will throwing bacon become our version of throwing many-legged sea creatures?

Good news: Forbes says the Blues team value increased significantly over the last year (15%) and they're now 24th out of the 30 teams at $270 million. Bad news: they're still bleeding money.
http://www.forbes.com/teams/st-louis-blues/

Also it looks like the NHL is slowing down the next expansion round to try and get Seattle caught up since Quebec City just opened their new arena and Las Vegas' is quickly being built. A $500 million price tag for an expansion team will further help the books.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck- ... 46787.html

moorlander wrote:Will corporate StL & fans step up?

They would have to do so now. No doubt.

^ yup, they'll get more corporate support just flowing naturally in the absence of Rams but it'd be great to get some nice commitments while the iron is hot. Major Rams sponsor Perficient might be a good candidate as it said it is unlikely to follow them to LA even though they have a sizable amount of biz in California. And of course Ed Jones has to decide what to do.

flipz wrote:I think there was mention in the Mayor's answer of public contribution for the Scottrade. Upgrades to the arena will probably help get more funds. Every time I've been to a game it was full. Now is probably the time for them to seek corporate support, while everyone is still emotional.

From what it looks like most teams operate at a pretty slim margin and the extra revenue comes from deep playoff runs. Also Canadian teams seem to be better off.

The Scottrade needs upgrades. Tons of NHL arenas opened around the same time and have either been continously updated or had major renovations.

Scottrade Center opened 1994: no updates
United Center Chicago opened 1994: constant updates
Rogers Arena Vancouver opened 1995: medium updates in 2006. Major updates right now to concourse, entries and 25% more bathrooms.
TD Garden Boston opened 1995: medium updates 2007. $80 million in updates in 2014 and 2015.
Amalie Arena Tampa opened 1995: $50 million in updates including one of the largest center scoreboards and video screens
Bell Center Montreal opened 1995: $100 million in updates started last fall
Bridgestone Arena Nashville opened 1996: updates in 2007, 2011 and new seats this year.
Canadian Tire Center Ottawa opened 1996: way out in the suburbs. Already talking about a new arena in downtown.
First Niagara Center Buffalo opened 1996: constant updates including luxury suite renovations going on right now.
Wells Fargo Arena Philadelphia opened 1996: $100 million in renovations planned for this year.
Verizon Center Washington DC opened 1997: $50 million in updates in 2007. Talking about whole new arena as part of 2024 Olympics bid.
BB&T Center Florida opened 1997: not much except for new big scoreboard last year.
Air Canada Center opened 1997: One of the most expensive arenas when built. Multiple upgrades totaling about $100 million

^ Hopefully we'll get some more detailed plans out on Scottrade, Convention Center and Dome proposed upgrades sometime this year. All are needed, imo.

moorlander wrote:I know they added the "ribbon" video board upgraded the video board in the mid 2000s. For some reason I thought they added new seats ...maybe I'm misremembering

The seats were upgraded really early, like 1997 or 1998. Because they were pink and purple: so it looked really bad and even worse when the arena wasn't full.

Yes, the LED ribbon board got added and the scoreboard replaced in 2006 I think. But that's it. Other arenas of the same age have 2 or 3 levels of LED ribbon boards and are on their 3rd center scoreboard.

MarkHaversham wrote:

dweebe wrote: they were pink and purple: so it looked really bad and even worse when the arena wasn't full.

Never change, 1990s, never change.

Since the pink seats were newish they tried to sell them and couldn't. Then they tried to give them away but nobody would take them.

moorlander wrote:They gotta get some money in there to clean up the restrooms. Chit is nasty

Agreed. But still not as nasty as the old Arena on Oakland. When I was a kid my dad would make me wear boots to Blues games because there was always an inch of water/pee on the floors since there weren't drains to run off from an overflowed toilet.