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NHL expanding to Seattle in 2014?


MafiaMan

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Think Austin could support a team too, if they had an NHL quality rink. Austin wants a pro team too, like Columbus, Raleigh, Oklahoma City (NBA), but its closeness to San Antonio closes the doors on the NBA. When the UTexas builds a new arena, it should partner with a prospective NHL owner. Austin is like San Jose in the tech world. San Jose works in the NHL, and both cities have an enormous amount of corporate tech money floating around.

 

They have the Texas Stars (AHL) in Cedar Park TX which is in the Austin metropolitan area.

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The interstate rivalries are very intense. See Texans vs Cowboys, Rangers vs Astros, Spurs vs Rockets vs Mavericks. A Houston or Austin franchise would be a big boost to the Stars. Austin has the corporate money to make it happen, but they need cooperation from the Longhorns, who need a replacement for the Erwin Center. If a new NHL rink was built in Austin, NCAA hockey would follow there too.

Texas has nearly as many people as Canada and is growing much faster.

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The interstate rivalries are very intense. See Texans vs Cowboys, Rangers vs Astros, Spurs vs Rockets vs Mavericks. A Houston or Austin franchise would be a big boost to the Stars. Austin has the corporate money to make it happen, but they need cooperation from the Longhorns, who need a replacement for the Erwin Center. If a new NHL rink was built in Austin, NCAA hockey would follow there too.

Texas has nearly as many people as Canada and is growing much faster.

Oh, I see what you were saying now...I read it originally as you wanting another "Texas team" in Dallas. I seriously think Houston would be the best bet, but Les Alexander won't have a team sharing his bouncy-ball court with the Rockets.
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Oh, I see what you were saying now...I read it originally as you wanting another "Texas team" in Dallas. I seriously think Houston would be the best bet, but Les Alexander won't have a team sharing his bouncy-ball court with the Rockets.

Austin isn't happening anytime soon, but I wouldn't bet against then in in five or ten years.

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  • 1 month later...

The NHL won't allow a team in Seattle or Hamilton without getting massive expansion fees, which will be divided up among all teams.

If the Coyotes don't move back to Phoenix proper, my bet would be that Paul Allen will buy the team and relocate to Portland. That would set for three teams in the Northwest.

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The west is already short two teams compared to the east.  No way the Coyotes move to the east (Hamilton, ON) and make an even bigger mess.

Exactly. Detroit and Columbus were made promises that they wouldn't move West. As EST zone teams, their TV deals suffer dramatically. Florida can move to Quebec City, but the NHL won't allow Phoenix to. That's why the NHL is in such a rush to even out the conferences by adding Las Vegas and probably Seattle when it starts arena building.

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Exactly. Detroit and Columbus were made promises that they wouldn't move West. As EST zone teams, their TV deals suffer dramatically. Florida can move to Quebec City, but the NHL won't allow Phoenix to. That's why the NHL is in such a rush to even out the conferences by adding Las Vegas and probably Seattle when it starts arena building.

It's already travesty enough that Nashville is in the west. NASHVILLE! Ridiculous.

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It's already travesty enough that Nashville is in the west. NASHVILLE! Ridiculous.

Nashville is a Central Time Zone city, just like Dallas, Chicago, St Paul, St Louis, and Winnipeg, so its advantageous for the Predators to play mostly CST teams. Indiana is EST, as is most of Kentucky, but the zone boundary shifts East to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, so only the eastern 1/4 of Tennessee is in Eastern Time.

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Nashville is a Central Time Zone city, just like Dallas, Chicago, St Paul, St Louis, and Winnipeg, so its advantageous for the Predators to play mostly CST teams. Indiana is EST, as is most of Kentucky, but the zone boundary shifts East to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, so only the eastern 1/4 of Tennessee is in Eastern Time.

I guess that makes sense...maybe I should check out a map once in a while. It would still be nice to see some other cities in the west with teams - Kansas City and Seattle would be my choices.

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NHL needs an eastern team to move to a western market or else two expansion teams in the west.

 

Just looking at wikipedia really quick, there is no western Canada markets that could sustain a team that doesn't already have one. Largest city that doesn't have one is Saskatoon with only 220,000 people. 

 

I think Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, and Milwaukee would all support hockey better than Las Vegas. I can't think of any other western US city that would support hockey.

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NHL needs an eastern team to move to a western market or else two expansion teams in the west.

Just looking at wikipedia really quick, there is no western Canada markets that could sustain a team that doesn't already have one. Largest city that doesn't have one is Saskatoon with only 220,000 people.

I think Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, and Milwaukee would all support hockey better than Las Vegas. I can't think of any other western US city that would support hockey.

Two more teams would further dilute talent in the league. I miss the days of teams having not one or two but several players that fans could easily label stars. Continued expansion would water that down even more.

Florida is an obvious choice for an eastern team to move west. I can't think of another franchise in such dire straits so that leaves room for one expansion team as well. Make it happen, NHL. Let's see the Seattle Thunderbirds (formerly the Coyotes) and the Kansas City Scouts (formerly the Panthers) along with the expansion Portland Timbers in 2015-2016.

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I think Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, and Milwaukee would all support hockey better than Las Vegas. I can't think of any other western US city that would support hockey.

San Diego could support a team, but it doesn't have an quality arena, and the Chargers need a new stadium. San Diego is much like Anaheim / Orange County demographically, which has the Ducks.

Houston could easily support a team, but the arena owner is not interested.

Austin, if it had a quality arena, could support a team, and the U of Texas wants a new arena. It would be like Oklahoma City or Salt Lake City supporting their NBA teams. OkC and SLC could support NHL teams if they didn't have NBA ones, as they probably don't have enough corporate money to go around.

The corporate clientele and the number of suites they buy is a more important criteria than number of hockey fans.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There has been a competing arena plan for NHL/NBA teams for Seattle in Tukwila, a suburb just south of the Seattle line where I5 and I405 meet. It also would have mass transit connections and would be built with private money. Here's a link:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/sonics/2015/05/14/sodo-arena-vs-tukwila-arena-which-plan-do-you-prefer/#32980101=0

Portland may also come into play. Here's a link where Paul Allen states that he looked at bringing in an NHL at different times. Paul Allen seems to want a good deal, if the Coyotes can be had cheaply. The Rose Garden can handle a team as early as this fall. Seattle only has the decrepid Key Arena for at least a couple of years.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/03/paul-allen-still-looks-at-bringing-the-nhl-to-portland-from-time-to-time/

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Looks like the NHL is looking to expand.

 

Let's Play Hockey ‏@LetsPlay_Hockey 42m42 minutes ago

The NHL has announced that the formal expansion process will run July 6-August 10 with minimum expansion fee set at $500 million.

Seattle and Las Vegas have potential owners to pay that price. Portland will be a backup if the Coyotes have to move, at a reduced price.

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There has been a competing arena plan for NHL/NBA teams for Seattle in Tukwila, a suburb just south of the Seattle line where I5 and I405 meet. It also would have mass transit connections and would be built with private money. Here's a link:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/sonics/2015/05/14/sodo-arena-vs-tukwila-arena-which-plan-do-you-prefer/#32980101=0

Portland may also come into play. Here's a link where Paul Allen states that he looked at bringing in an NHL at different times. Paul Allen seems to want a good deal, if the Coyotes can be had cheaply. The Rose Garden can handle a team as early as this fall. Seattle only has the decrepid Key Arena for at least a couple of years.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/03/paul-allen-still-looks-at-bringing-the-nhl-to-portland-from-time-to-time/

 

I like the Tukwila arena design of Hanson's arena design. I think the arena would be better off at Seattle Center (tear down Key Arena) then in the SoDo district.

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