Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd like to see another team in the Pacific time zone or Mountain time zone. The travel for the Western teams is brutal. There are Western Conference teams in the Eastern time zone for crying out loud .
So... given that, my list would be:
Portland
Seattle
Salt Lake City?
Even though they're pretty big cities, I don't see the NHL in:
Las Vegas
Sacramento
San Diego
Winnipeg is in the Central time zone... that might be close enough.
Firstly, . . . a 2nd team for the Toronto area (includes Hamilton) is needed. I was APPALLED by that crook Bettman blocking Balsillie (Blackberry CEO) from doing so.
(I mean COME ON, . . . we have 2 teams in LA metro and 3 teams in NY metro)
I think Winnipeg deserves their team back.
and as much as I hate to say it, . . . Houston might be a large enough market to support a team.
and I have heard folks tossing around Seattle.
however, . . . I have said it before in these posts, . . . .
for any positive change to occur, they will first have to impeach / impale / arrest / imprison and/or execute that mischief making CRIMINAL Bettman !
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,534,772 times
Reputation: 2038
Question for the folks who are pro Winnipeg, looks like it's 50/50 the Yotes, will be back there as soon as next year: can the MTS Centre be expanded? I didn't think it could. With that in mind, the NHL is going to have to explain itself by denying to other towns that have more capacity than MTS Centre (MTS centre only seats just over 15k). Even if they did move, the only 2 ways I could see that working is if fans there paid 70 bucks for the worst seats (which may very well happen to try to make up for Phoenix losses and since the building is so small, look at how much it is to see a baseball game in Boston, same reason) and if you had 80% of the games on the weekend. Winipeg itself is not exactly an area with folks with a lot of money in it, unlike Edmonton or Calgary. The town would really have to rely on fans from a less than days drive distance from Winnipeg, since Winnipeg itself is just too small and the area around it is not that much bigger population wise.
Quebec City, though? That might work, they do have a new building being built and a lot more people (like people from Montreal) in the region than Winnipeg.
Also, the Canadian dollar is fine right now, but what's going to happen if it goes to 80cents vs the US Buck and Winnipeg is stuck in an arena that can only seat 15000 people?
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,534,772 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head coach
Never! They couldn't muster up 5000 season ticket holders when the Houston Aeros (WHA) were playing back in 1978.
In order for the team to be added into the NHL, the commissioner has to see that there is an actual market within that city. This means potential ticket sales.
If, I were the commissioner, I would want to see how many tickets are sold with the current Houston Aeros team.
But, it would be nice to see a team there.
Head Coach
Like someone else said to this poster already: Can't factor in attendance for minor league hockey, as a BIG factor (maybe a little bit, that's it) for NHL potential. If that's a big criteria, Hamilton, would not even smell an NHL team (2k to 3k for AHL playoff games).
I've read about half the thread. Let me throw some new cities out there to be rejected.
1. Boise, ID - It's decent sized and growing. Plus it should be far enough away in miles and travel time to be a lot less likely than Seatlle or Portland to get a Vancouver veto.
2. Ft. Worth, TX - Dallas is a good hockey market you say? Then why not give them a cross town rival for the second Texas team? There's plenty of people down there to support it if it really is a good hockey market.
3. Anchorage, AK - Okay its a long ways from anywhere, and I guess there's a good argument that it isn't Pacific Northwest since it is so far away from the heartland of the old Oregon Country. However, the city itself is decent sized. Maybe you get merchandise sales across Alaska and in Yukon. Again it should be far enough away for Vancouver to be cool with it.
4. With Detroit collapsing why doesn't the NHL kick it while its down? Move the Red Wings to Windsor. Windsor Red Wings sounds a little better than Detroit Red Wings to me. You don't really move the team outside Detroit in any serious manner provided we pretend that international border isn't there. Plus the NHL can say it has given Canada another team, and if things get really bad (oviously I mean compared to now since they're already really bad) in Detroit the NHL will make the NFL, NBA, and MLB look silly by sticking around for so long.
Looks like it might be Phoenix -> Winnipeg, we'll know by Tuesday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenhereandthere
Question for the folks who are pro Winnipeg, looks like it's 50/50 the Yotes, will be back there as soon as next year: can the MTS Centre be expanded? I didn't think it could. With that in mind, the NHL is going to have to explain itself by denying to other towns that have more capacity than MTS Centre (MTS centre only seats just over 15k).
Yes, the current arena is relatively new. And when they lost the Jets initially, it was because the couldn't fork up the money for a new arena. They do have space for seat and private box expansion anyways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenhereandthere
Winipeg itself is not exactly an area with folks with a lot of money in it, unlike Edmonton or Calgary. The town would really have to rely on fans from a less than days drive distance from Winnipeg, since Winnipeg itself is just too small and the area around it is not that much bigger population wise.
Alberta's Population: 3,711,845 (Supports 2 NHL teams with sellout crowds every night) 3,711,845/2 = 1,855,922
Manitoba's Population: 1,228,984
Yes there is a 600k difference but it gives you an idea how much people it really takes to support a team. Ottawa has a metro population of about 1,130,000 which covers about the same area as Winnipeg's CSA, so it's all relevant to where the population's centered at.
Last edited by ThroatGuzzler; 05-08-2010 at 11:47 PM..
Want the NHL to stop becoming irrelevant? Here's how to fix it:
Drop Teams Here:
1-Winnepeg
2-Hamilton
3-Quebec City
4-Milwaukee
Well, before you go about fixing it. Please take this into account....
The reason why there are more NHL teams here in the USA then in Canada is because players and owners don't want to pay those taxes! When 50% of your salary goes to pay your taxes...what's left!
^Well with the way Obama's bringing the country, we won't have to deal with that descrepency anymore But's let's not bring this thread that direction.
I really, really hope Winnipeg gets the team. That would be amazing for the NHL. Hell I'd probably drive up to see three of four games next year if they did so. Does anybody got any good links that show how likely this actually is?
^Well with the way Obama's bringing the country, we won't have to deal with that descrepency anymore But's let's not bring this thread that direction.
I really, really hope Winnipeg gets the team. That would be amazing for the NHL. Hell I'd probably drive up to see three of four games next year if they did so. Does anybody got any good links that show how likely this actually is?
Well if you can build up the patience to wait two days then you'll know. They make the decision on Tuesday.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 
But's let's not bring this thread that direction.
They make the decision on Tuesday.
