Individual News
21st of January 2010
Is Ice Hockey as a spectator sport on the rise?
There have been many phases that British Ice Hockey has gone through during the past 20-25 years.
The old Heineken days 25 years ago saw arenas in Durham, Fife, Nottingham, Cardiff and Whitley packed for every game.
Soon afterwards the Superleague (ISL) was introduced which saw huge spending by teams with the view that Ice Hockey could become a major sport in the UK. Initially teams like Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham drew huge crowds whilst the smaller arenas like Cardiff, Bracknell and Basingstoke were getting good attendances.
The standard of hockey was at the highest level and compared with other top Leagues in Europe such as the Austrian, German and Swiss top Leagues. Manchester drew over 10000 people to some games, whilst Sheffield, Belfast and Nottingham would draw 6000- 8000 people to their games.
Superleague teams consisted mainly of North American players and top European players. There were only a handful of British players in the League. The majority of British players were in the BNL which lasted a similar period of time like the ISL.
Eventually it was clear that the Superleague would not be able to survive financially and the Elite League was formed. The BNL also disbanded which led to the EPL becoming the 2nd top League in Britain.
During this transformation period, people in ice hockey became disillusioned with the sport and many people and sponsors disappeared. It was a confusing time for British Ice Hockey, just as trying to read what I have just written!
Today, there is more clarity and the EPL is a strong, well run League. The owners and directors regularly meet throughout the season and in the offseason to ensure that the sport continues to go forward.
The Bison attracted a crowd of over 1250 people last Saturday. Ice Hockey is an extremely enjoyable and affordable family sport. As an organization, we aim to entertain and make the experience of attending a Bison game exciting.
With only a couple of months left in the season, we want to attract more people to the Bison games. The atmosphere is excellent and seeing people’s faces with smiles on their faces after games speaks volumes.
There have been many phases that British Ice Hockey has gone through during the past 20-25 years.
The old Heineken days 25 years ago saw arenas in Durham, Fife, Nottingham, Cardiff and Whitley packed for every game.
Soon afterwards the Superleague (ISL) was introduced which saw huge spending by teams with the view that Ice Hockey could become a major sport in the UK. Initially teams like Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham drew huge crowds whilst the smaller arenas like Cardiff, Bracknell and Basingstoke were getting good attendances.
The standard of hockey was at the highest level and compared with other top Leagues in Europe such as the Austrian, German and Swiss top Leagues. Manchester drew over 10000 people to some games, whilst Sheffield, Belfast and Nottingham would draw 6000- 8000 people to their games.
Superleague teams consisted mainly of North American players and top European players. There were only a handful of British players in the League. The majority of British players were in the BNL which lasted a similar period of time like the ISL.
Eventually it was clear that the Superleague would not be able to survive financially and the Elite League was formed. The BNL also disbanded which led to the EPL becoming the 2nd top League in Britain.
During this transformation period, people in ice hockey became disillusioned with the sport and many people and sponsors disappeared. It was a confusing time for British Ice Hockey, just as trying to read what I have just written!
Today, there is more clarity and the EPL is a strong, well run League. The owners and directors regularly meet throughout the season and in the offseason to ensure that the sport continues to go forward.
The Bison attracted a crowd of over 1250 people last Saturday. Ice Hockey is an extremely enjoyable and affordable family sport. As an organization, we aim to entertain and make the experience of attending a Bison game exciting.
With only a couple of months left in the season, we want to attract more people to the Bison games. The atmosphere is excellent and seeing people’s faces with smiles on their faces after games speaks volumes.