Beer Distributor Seeks To Purchase Blues

[xbleed83bluex]

Does no one like my River City idea? Has anyone ever been there? I live in Telegraph Rd, (the good part, not Lemay) and River City is fairly close to my house. I think it's absolutely perfect for a number of reasons.

- It's right off the Mississippi River, which is a St. Louis landmark. It'd be kind of like how Petco Park arena is off the Pacific Ocean.
- It's off Broadway, arguably the most popular street in St. Louis, and leads you to downtown.
- Still relatively close to downtown. Unlike St. Charles or Collinsville, you don't get the feel you're moving too far away from downtown.
- You can see the downtown skyline in Arch in the distance, so there would still be that St. Louis atmosphere.
- It's in St. Louis county, so the city name would still be true.
- Fans can go to River City after the games - they have restaurants, bars, and obviously the casino. Hell, Tony Twist could do his post-games shows in River City, since it'd be right next to the arena.
- Driving and parking there is so simple. No traffic you have to deal with, and no finding shitty lots to park at for $5.
- The view would be breathtaking. Fans can have pretty scenery to look at, across the river, etc.
-It's technically in Lemay, so taxes will be super cheap.

I took the liberty of circling the possibilities the arena could go: The circles aren't intended to be exact dimensions...just put those as an idea. It could go Right across from the casino, on the other side of River Des Peres, or to the left of the casino. Who could not like this idea?

[STLADOGG]

Does no one like my River City idea? Has anyone ever been there? I live in Telegraph Rd, (the good part, not Lemay) and River City is fairly close to my house. I think it's absolutely perfect for a number of reasons.

- It's right off the Mississippi River, which is a St. Louis landmark. It'd be kind of like how Petco Park arena is off the Pacific Ocean.
- It's off Broadway, arguably the most popular street in St. Louis, and leads you to downtown.
- Still relatively close to downtown. Unlike St. Charles or Collinsville, you don't get the feel you're moving too far away from downtown.
- You can see the downtown skyline in Arch in the distance, so there would still be that St. Louis atmosphere.
- It's in St. Louis county, so the city name would still be true.
- Fans can go to River City after the games - they have restaurants, bars, and obviously the casino. Hell, Tony Twist could do his post-games shows in River City, since it'd be right next to the arena.
- Driving and parking there is so simple. No traffic you have to deal with, and no finding shitty lots to park at for $5.
- The view would be breathtaking. Fans can have pretty scenery to look at, across the river, etc.
-It's technically in Lemay, so taxes will be super cheap.

I took the liberty of circling the possibilities the arena could go: The circles aren't intended to be exact dimensions...just put those as an idea. It could go Right across from the casino, on the other side of River Des Peres, or to the left of the casino. Who could not like this idea?

I would like it, it's close to me but the River City Rascals don't get a great attendance.

[F Keenan]

I would like it, it's close to me but the River City Rascals don't get a great attendance.

The River City Rascals play in O'Fallon, MO... They have nothing to do with the River City Casino in South St. Louis.

[F Keenan]

Does no one like my River City idea? Has anyone ever been there? I live in Telegraph Rd, (the good part, not Lemay) and River City is fairly close to my house. I think it's absolutely perfect for a number of reasons.

- It's right off the Mississippi River, which is a St. Louis landmark. It'd be kind of like how Petco Park arena is off the Pacific Ocean.
- It's off Broadway, arguably the most popular street in St. Louis, and leads you to downtown.
- Still relatively close to downtown. Unlike St. Charles or Collinsville, you don't get the feel you're moving too far away from downtown.
- You can see the downtown skyline in Arch in the distance, so there would still be that St. Louis atmosphere.
- It's in St. Louis county, so the city name would still be true.
- Fans can go to River City after the games - they have restaurants, bars, and obviously the casino. Hell, Tony Twist could do his post-games shows in River City, since it'd be right next to the arena.
- Driving and parking there is so simple. No traffic you have to deal with, and no finding shitty lots to park at for $5.
- The view would be breathtaking. Fans can have pretty scenery to look at, across the river, etc.
-It's technically in Lemay, so taxes will be super cheap.

I took the liberty of circling the possibilities the arena could go: The circles aren't intended to be exact dimensions...just put those as an idea. It could go Right across from the casino, on the other side of River Des Peres, or to the left of the casino. Who could not like this idea?

Let's just have the Blues play at the Skatium.

[cprice12]

I could be wrong, but didn't the Blues have one of the highest team salaries in the NHL a few years ago in the Keith Tkachuck, Demitra, Mellanby, MacInnis, Pronger days? If I remember correctly, the total salaries of the team were much closer to the Red Wings and the Rangers, who at the time were the highest salaried teams in the league, and not so much the lower salaried teams like the Wild and Thrashers. If that's the case, what has changed from then until now?

Laurie sold the team (after a firesale ) to Checketts.

But Laurie really let the team go after the lockout, when we traded Pronger and let Demitra go. We probably had the lowest salaried team in the league that year, or pretty damn close to it. So why did Laurie just give up like that? Did he just not care anymore?

Laurie's line of thinking was that a team with no big contracts on the books would be easier to sell.
Checketts was asked about that after he bought the team and he said that was ridiculous.

Had Laurie resigned Pronger and not had a mini-fire sale, Checketts gave the impression that would have only made his interest in the team stronger.

Even though Laurie spent a lot of money here when he was trying to win, Laurie is, and should be, public enemy #1 to all Blues fans. He is the primary reason the Blues didn't go after any free agents coming out of the lockout...and that was the biggest and most talented free agent pool in the history of the NHL. Everyone else signed players and got better, but we traded away our best players and thinned out the roster on purpose. Laurie is the reason we were forced to rebuild and why we have struggled for the past five years.

[DaDitka]

I could be wrong, but didn't the Blues have one of the highest team salaries in the NHL a few years ago in the Keith Tkachuck, Demitra, Mellanby, MacInnis, Pronger days? If I remember correctly, the total salaries of the team were much closer to the Red Wings and the Rangers, who at the time were the highest salaried teams in the league, and not so much the lower salaried teams like the Wild and Thrashers. If that's the case, what has changed from then until now?

Laurie sold the team (after a firesale ) to Checketts.

But Laurie really let the team go after the lockout, when we traded Pronger and let Demitra go. We probably had the lowest salaried team in the league that year, or pretty damn close to it. So why did Laurie just give up like that? Did he just not care anymore?

Laurie's line of thinking was that a team with no big contracts on the books would be easier to sell.
Checketts was asked about that after he bought the team and he said that was ridiculous.

Had Laurie resigned Pronger and not had a mini-fire sale, Checketts gave the impression that would have only made his interest in the team stronger.

Even though Laurie spent a lot of money here when he was trying to win, Laurie is, and should be, public enemy #1 to all Blues fans. He is the primary reason the Blues didn't go after any free agents coming out of the lockout...and that was the biggest and most talented free agent pool in the history of the NHL. Everyone else signed players and got better, but we traded away our best players and thinned out the roster on purpose. Laurie is the reason we were forced to rebuild and why we have struggled for the past five years.

#1. Could Checketts have afforded the team had Laurie not dismantled it?

#2. When Dave pawns off Andy Mac this offseason......will it start to feel like the end of the Laurie era?

This team spent approx. 40 million out of pocket this year. By some estimations they have spent the fewest actual dollars of any team in the league this year.

Clearly, I will wait until this offseason to draw my conclusion, but I am definitely leaning a 'certain' direction right now.

We have a young, talented team, and I can only hope Armstrong will prevail despite the serious constraints I believe this current ownership will put on him.

[TheoSqua]

I think the talk about where the team will move is a bit premature. The Savvis center isn't even halfway through its shelf life. The team will likely get 40 years out of that building, if not more.

[dmiles2186]

I think the talk about where the team will move is a bit premature. The Savvis center isn't even halfway through its shelf life. The team will likely get 40 years out of that building, if not more.

And from all of the reviews I've read, it's widely considered one of the better buildings in the NHL.

[big d note]

I think the talk about where the team will move is a bit premature. The Savvis center isn't even halfway through its shelf life. The team will likely get 40 years out of that building, if not more.

And from all of the reviews I've read, it's widely considered one of the better buildings in the NHL.

Not by Umberger!

I agree, if the team can't make a profit in the Scottrade, then how can they afford a shiny new building? The Scottrade is not a decrepit relic without enough seats or suites to bring in enough revenue to sustain a large payroll. They can't even fill what they have now. The ownership has made good upgrades to the building over the years, like the new scoreboard, ribbon panels, Top Shelf area, etc. It's still very serviceable.