NHL Expansion: Seattle, Quebec City, Las Vegas?

[Idoit40fans]

I havent crossed the border either way since the 90s, but it wasnt fast then and i cant imagine its faster post 9/11, so i would assume that imaginary line creates quite a barrier from regularly going to games.

[Staggy]

Oh god please don't sell to the Maloof's, incompetent owners who ruined basketball in Sacramento. Enthusiastic but terrible owners.

I love the Seattle idea though. They have a passionate fan base and they deserve a team after watching their Sonics develop into a juggernaut these past few years in OKC.

[ExPatriatePen]

Bring back the Nordiques!

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

NHL teams keep 50 percent of hockey related revenue (and then payout expenses other than players salaries which is already out of the other 50).

They keep 100% of all non related income minus expenses which a lot of it, like execs and a lot of key employees are probably already covered on the hockey side.

I have partied a ton in Vegas but don't remember any real arenas. Either they don't have them or the alcohol induced poor memory hides them.

Point being its very attractive as they will be able to drive a lot of revenue for the owners to keep all of if there is a good arena deal. Lots of competion but selling out concerts and other event types plus selling tons of booze would absolutely help the bottom line.

Corporate support would be huge as well. Only issue is can they generate enough fan support so games are not embarrassing? I think they will do just fine as an overall business.

[Pitt87]

Las Vegas is an event town. 41 homes games a year isn't an event.

Er, Cirque du Soleil disagrees... they seem to do OK selling out daily shows in every casino on the strip....

Largely by tourists. Sports, especially hockey, depend on strong local fan bases. Nobody is going to Vegas to see a hockey game.

If my team was playing in Vegas, it would be a great reason to go. There are also a ton of transplants in Vegas, which has benefitted markets like Tampa. You might be right, but the worst that happens is they move a team without a strong local fanbase to a place with lots of potential.

[shoeshine boy]

thinking that a team will well in a city with a lot of transplants isn't a good idea. Tampa has benefited from good owners and having won the Stanley Cup. Atlanta is FULL of transplants but had HORRIBLE owners. Florida is the same way, TONS of snowbirds. I won't talk about the owners since I knew very little about the previous ones and even less about the current ones.

[mikey287]

But shoeshine, and you commented specifically on Southeastern teams - so I will too, is it fair to say, the Panthers are negatively affected by the fact that they don't play in Miami anymore...? They aren't even close...they play up in Sunrise, I don't know what Sunrise is or what it represents or who lives there or what...but I'm quite sure the Tampa Bay Times Forum is in Tampa, the Philips Arena is in Atlanta near the Georgia Dome...and when the Panthers came in as an expansion team in 93-94, they played in Downtown Miami at the Miami Arena and they had their success there...then they moved AND got bad...there's a lot more competition for an entertainment dollar in Florida than there is in Manitoba too...

[Kovy27]

I think at this point, the NHL is down to Seattle (no brainer) and Quebec/Toronto/KC. The problem becomes that they will need to re-align again. They really did not think this through too well when they decided to move Detroit to the East.

[shoeshine boy]

But shoeshine, and you commented specifically on Southeastern teams - so I will too, is it fair to say, the Panthers are negatively affected by the fact that they don't play in Miami anymore...? They aren't even close...they play up in Sunrise, I don't know what Sunrise is or what it represents or who lives there or what...but I'm quite sure the Tampa Bay Times Forum is in Tampa, the Philips Arena is in Atlanta near the Georgia Dome...and when the Panthers came in as an expansion team in 93-94, they played in Downtown Miami at the Miami Arena and they had their success there...then they moved AND got bad...there's a lot more competition for an entertainment dollar in Florida than there is in Manitoba too...

I agree about the entertainment dollar. Atlanta had the same problem. there's just too many things to pick from so that unless you're a diehard hockey fan you're not likely to be a STH to NHL hockey in Atlanta.

Sunrise is only 20 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale, only 30 minutes from Boca Raton. plenty of Snowbirds to make the team a success if that kind of strategy worked. you end up with the same problem you had in Atlanta: the transplants never give up their "home" teams. you've got people from all over the North and Canada in the metro ATL but they remain Leafs, Rangers, Flyers, Bruins, Habs, Sabres fans so the only time they go to see a game is when their team comes to town. I am a big Pens fan (born and raised Atlantan) and tried very hard to be a Thrashers fan. I even had season tickets the first 2 seasons but in the end, the team never gave me a reason to make them my #1 team. the Panthers at least made it to the Finals one season but unfortunately for them, that's ancient history and the team has been run on the cheap ever since then. it's hard to grow a young fan base when your team is that terrible.

[Pitt87]

I think at this point, the NHL is down to Seattle (no brainer) and Quebec/Toronto/KC. The problem becomes that they will need to re-align again. They really did not think this through too well when they decided to move Detroit to the East.

At this point, the decision is about supporting league television revenues and the economics of the arena. Not sure why Seattle is so high on everyone's list; Chris Hansen is in sort of a tough spot after all that stuff came out about his donations to an anti-arena group in Sacremento. Did Seattle no favors with that approach, but he's right in that the economics are difficult in Seattlewithout an NBA tenant in the type of Arena they are planning. Ask the Devil's how that's working out... the last thing the NHL needs is another franchise on the ropes.