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The Data

This project started with one question. "Could the Frederick region support an ECHL Franchise?" After reviewing the statistics, it became evident that not only was it possible, but it made sense. Here are the eye-opening numbers.

Frederick's population is in line with established ECHL markets and growing faster

To bring together the community around hockey, while showing viability and support for putting the Frederick region in the conversation for an East Coast Hockey League franchise.

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Did you know that the Frederick's population is in line with ECHL Eastern Conference markets such as Reading and Savannah and rank higher than many in the league Both currently have ECHL clubs, and both clubs continue to be competitive in terms of attendance, in fact they rank higher in terms of population, household income, and marketing potential.

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Measuring the population in comparison with other metro areas that support minor league hockey teams sounds like it’d be an easy task. However, thanks arbitrary definitions that don’t take into consideration the unique setup of the DMV region, it’s actually quite complicated.

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It gave a true snapshot of the population radius of the area and gave a good idea of the area’s ability to support things that would draw from the surrounding area (like professional sports).

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Projections have Frederick Maryland with a 6.8% population growth year after year.  This is in part due to a reasonably accommodated housing market, high public education system, and consistent business growth.  The growth rate in the Frederick region would be one of the top in all of ECHL Hockey markets.

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A team in Frederick would rank in the higher end of job growth, school districts and per household income.  League-wide, Frederick would be in the middle of the row of all these categories making it competitive market for ECHL action.

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Expected Fan Pull

Based on projection, we can expect a substantial fan support pull from Frederick County and the nearby jurisdictions.

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Fast Paced Entertainment at a Lower Cost

As the economic impact has been felt by majority of Americans, the cost of going to an NHL game has increased by 16% since Covid.

For a family four to attend an NHL game, the average costs $462.58.

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For an ECHL club, the average cost for a family to attend is significantly more affordable, with tickets averaging from $10-$30 for a general non-VIP or club seat.  Based on averages, the cost for a family to attend is $125, over 75% lower than an NHL event.

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A proposed multi-purpose arena in the Frederick region allows for more than just hockey.  A year round venue can bring in top national touring acts, music festival events, more sporting events, the new Hood College Women's Hockey Team, the opportunity to recruit and improve their program, as well as other expos and events.  Bringing more people to Frederick on a weekly basis for entertainment.

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The graph shows the expected pull based off data pulled from 700 entries.

A Void in the Maryland Area

With the rising ticket prices of the NHL and distance to move through the highly traffic corridors of 495 and 270, to get to a pro hockey game will never be more difficult for the average family, especially for the families in the Frederick, Howard, Carroll and Washington County regions, and the same can be said for people traveling to Hershey.

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A localized team, entrenched in the Frederick County community will allow families to enjoy the best sport in person at a much lower cost, and the ability to leave their homes, not 4 hours before a game to make it in time for puck drop.

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Not taking into account travel time due to traffic

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The last Pro Hockey franchise in Maryland was the Chesapeake Ice Breakers, who played in the ECHL at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.  They left in 1999 after 2 subpar seasons in terms of attendance and  

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Since the year 2000, the entire US east coast has been home to Pro Hockey, except for one.  Maryland...

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People will say that because of the Washington Capitals (NHL) that Maryland doesn't need Pro Hockey.

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"Rising Tides Make All Ships Float"

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Maryland is seen by many as an un-tapped market.  Frederick has now grown to the level of many current ECHL markets, even exceeding many.  In 1999, with the Capitals move to DC at the new MCI Center, the time wasn't right.  The time is right for Maryland now.

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Attendance Expectations

To be within the competitive range of an ECHL club, the team will require an arena with a minimum seating capacity between 5000-7500 seats with areas for private boxes, parties, and standing room.  The average league attendance is: 4876 with highs of 7700, and lows of 1800.

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A team in Frederick averaging 5200 fans a night would put them in the top 10 of teams in the league in terms of attendance.  They would also rank in the top 5 in the Eastern Conference.

The ECHL in Frederick would generate tax new revenue for the city, county and state.

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Attendance Figures

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Other Events the Frederick Arena will have the opportunity to host.

  • Basketball Events

  • Concert Events

  • Live Shows

  • ECHL All-Star Game

  • High School Hockey & Basketball Game of the Month

  • Expos and Showcases

  • College Hockey & Basketball Tournaments

  • Monster Truck Shows

  • Car Shows

  • Indoor Lacrosse & Soccer

  • State Championship Events

  • School Graduations

  • Population numbers, TV market size, and area income stats are all important when you’re talking about viability for professional sports in a city. But that is just one side of the coin.

  • While the ECHL is not on regular networks aside from the occasional NHL Network or local channels, you can stream games on the Flohockey App.

  • The other thing that needs to be weighed is whether or not a new stadium and a professional franchise are financial ‘net-positives’ for the city.

  • Hockey nay-sayers like to mention the fact that attendance for the sport was down a few percentages the last season.  They like to talk about how Maryland is all football and baseball or how soccer is the fastest growing sport in the country.

  • Sure, Football is doing fine and soccer is growing, but those comments hold a lot less water when you put everything in context.

  • Hockey is a niche sport, with the most loyal of fans.  Hockey players who begin in their youth, rarely give up the game.  It continues into their adulthood as Adult League Hockey is the top sport for men post-high school.  Most football players and baseball players give up the game after high school or college. Not hockey players, and that enthusiasm can be felt in the adult leagues all over the region.

  • The per-game attendance numbers are popular, and easily the most attended in all minor league sports. Baseball may play more games throughout their season, but minor league hockey averages a higher percentage of fan attendance per game.

  • To understand just how popular a sport is and how much of an impact a franchise would have on a city, you have to pair it with the number of home games that team would play per-season.

  • What you find is that MLB far and away has the most home games with 81. NBA and NHL are next with 41 a piece, then there is MLS with only 17 and NFL with a measly 8.  The ECHL regular season home games number is 36, plus playoffs and pre-season.  The nearest clubs to Frederick are the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles.  Ravens play 8 games on Sundays with an occasional Thursday or Monday while the Orioles play from April to October.  Meaning no or very little overlap with ECHL hockey.  The Frederick Keys begin play in June and end prior to the ECHL season begins, meaning there is no overlap between the two clubs.

  • Yes, there is overlap with the NHL's Capitals, approx 60 miles away.  However, due to the increased cost to attend an NHL game, battling the traffic, parking, and the increasing lack of dinner options around the stadium (unless you get there 3 hours early) attending NHL games has become increasingly difficult for Capitals fans, especially in Western Maryland.

  • Should a team sell out the regular season, that would mean 180,000 fans just for hockey events alone, not including the other possibilities the arena would hold for Frederick County.

  • These numbers are staggering from a city’s perspective. For them, a professional franchise and a new stadium is an investment. The payoff is the increase in tourism and the generation of tax dollars. These stats show you that the ECHL is, by far, the golden goose of pro sports for a city and county the size of Frederick.

  • 180,000 people per year paying for tickets, a portion of them staying in hotels (thanks to the ECHL's average 2-game series set-up weekends), eating dinner and getting drinks downtown. All of these things would be bringing in tax revenue that the city currently is missing out on.

  • If Frederick wants bang for its buck from a professional sports franchise, then they need to be all in on the East Coast Hockey League in this coming round of expansion and relocation.

  • Frederick has proven to be a competitive minor league market, with the Frederick Keys being a community staple for over 30 years, and the nearby Hagerstown Suns, another minor league baseball club just having built a new stadium, also proving minor league sports work in Western Maryland.

  • Frederick is just far enough from Washington and Baltimore for a community team to thrive of this level, while not taking fans away from the Capitals, Ravens, Orioles, and other major pro sports clubs.

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Maryland ranked fourth in top states for young workers, assessing career factors such as: employment rate, financial considerations and lifestyle priorities.

Frederick was named the fourth best place to live in America.

Livability, Top 100 Best Places to Live In America, 2021.

As we continue our progress, we will update our data as the stats and data becomes available or changes.

We will keep you updated on news, announcements and events on our social media accounts.

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© 2024 Pro Hockey MD Inc.

GET IN TOUCH

Got questions, comments, concerns? We will be doing most of our communication through social media. However, if you would rather email us, you can do that too.

TOGETHER WE CAN HELP

Profits from events and merchandise are going towards helping fix hockey venues and launch hockey programs in our community.

DISCLAIMER

Pro Hockey MD Inc. is not associated with the Washington Capitals; East Coast Hockey League, or Monumental Sports or its properties.

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All original content on ProHockeyMd.com is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International – unless otherwise stated or superseded by another license. You are free to share, copy, and remix this content so long as it is attributed, done for noncommercial purposes, and done so under a license similar to this one.

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Pro Hockey Maryland Inc. is a Maryland charitable trust recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178). Contributions to Pro Hockey Maryland or Hockey With Purpose Inc. are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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