Andy’s Angry: Dissing Daniel Bryan, Snubbing Sting, and the Impact of Rising Prices

Tonight, Impact airs LIVE (on a several-week delay) from the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom.  It’s a big deal for TNA.  The company spent a ton of money to run in NYC, and the Manhattan Center is NOT a cheap venue to run.  It’s a gamble, and for TNA’s sake, I hope it pays off.

The company is already set to return next month, for another round of tapings. But don’t expect them back after that.
It’s just been reported that the Manhattan Center has raised its prices for both the Grand Ballroom, and the Hammerstein Ballroom downstairs.  The move effectively prices both TNA and Ring of Honor out of running the venues, because even if they sell out, they won’t make enough money back to turn a profit.

But that’s not a bad thing.  It’s a good thing. (That’s a DDP reference, ya noobs.)

There are a lot of venues in and around NYC that either company could run, while still looking professional, and saving cash.  As a Long Islander, I’d be stupid not to suggest the Paramount Theatre in Huntngton, which could hold a couple thousand fans.  There are a couple of big universities with big basketball arenas, which could also host a few thousand enthusiastic fans. I’m looking at you, Stony Brook and Hofstra.  And hey, we all know that Long Island LOVES TNA.

And if you don’t want to run Long Island, you could venture north.  WWF saved a lot of money during the pre-arena days of Monday Night Raw by running the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie. House of Hardcore seems to be doing pretty well there.  And hell, once the renovations there are complete, a certain ECW Arena will be ready to house some of the country’s best wrestling fans.

And that’s just the beginning.

You don’t need to overpay and act like total marks to run the same venues your competition ran 20 years ago.  But you do need to spend wisely, and do what’s best for business.  Good venues in hot markets are best for business.  And if there’s anything TNA desperately needs, it’s to do what’s best for business.

I’m waiting to see what happens with TNA in the coming months.  While I won’t be watching Impact, I will be watching to see if they resign with Spike, move to another network… or just die off altogether.  I hope it’s not the latter.  But if TNA is going to take their show on the road, they need to make money in the process.  And the best way, is to shop around.

@AndyMillerJMS

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