Should the Q hold an outdoor game?

With the long awaited announcement that the OHL would have two regular season outdoor games at Comerica Park in Detroit as part of the NHL Winter Classic, I wonder if Gilles Courteau has begun to fathom the possibility himself. 

I hope the commissioner of the QMJHL has at least contemplated the idea of the QMJHL holding an outdoor game

The positives to the idea are endless. The exposure the QMJHL would get would be priceless. Not only would fans in Quebec and Atlantic Canada be watching, but more than likely fans across the nation and maybe internationally as well.

And if the Q was able to put on a great event and gain attention, chances are networks like Sportsnet would air more games.

All this and I didn't even get into the revenue yet.

Revenue is the biggest positive. The revenue to be had in an outdoor game would be huge.

Scenario: The Quebec Remparts host the Halifax Mooseheads outdoor game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. 

This scenario would work out amazing if Mikhail Grigorenko did not make his NHL club in the fall. A showcase of Grigorenko versus MacKinnon in a stadium that can hold 65,000 plus spectators would definitely bring in a ton of cash.

Let’s say the average price of tickets to the event were about $15. If Olympic Stadium sold out (and all indications are it would), that’s $975,000 on ticket sales alone. Add in concessions, and merchandise, as well as parking and you could easily clear three million dollars in revenue before taxes.

On top of ticket sales, merchandise, concessions, as well as different events leading up to the game would also bring in serious dollars.

You can also bet that the host city would do everything in its power to hype up the game. Even with the host city taking in 20 percent of gate revenues, you’re still looking at the upper end of two million dollars.

I honestly do not see many negatives at all with an outdoor game, certainly not from a business perspective. The only negative I’ve been able to come up with is that ice surfaces outdoors are not as good as indoor ice surfaces, but that hasn’t stopped teams in the past.

The OHL is generally a trendsetter and I can imagine David Branch and company will make these two games a spectacle next year. So, I plead with Mr. Courteau, consider the idea?

If you do, I guarantee you will become an even smarter man.

jonathan@theqspot.ca