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NHL expanding to Seattle in 2014?


MafiaMan

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But do the Jets have a AHL team ? & wouldn't GF be a ideal place for a Winnepeg. Jets AHL team ?

They'd have to play in the Alerus or Purpur, as the REA Foundation wouldn't rent to them. Grand Forks is just too small for an AHL team. Really, nobody would have allegiance to an AHL team that changes its roster every three or four months.

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That's been explained to Fetch many times before, ... with no success.

Fetch is hanging on to this notion that REA should attract an AHL franchise and give UND the boot because of the demise of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. I would have hoped he would have dropped that stupid idea by now, but I guess he hasn't.

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Here's a little recent history of trying to get a new arena in Seattle. There is a Seattle native that is very rich and loves NBA basketball (Chris Hansen). He deci.ded that its time for Seattle to have an NBA team again, and is willing to put up $400M if the city will chip in $200M for a new arena. And by the way, it would work well for an NHL team too. So he tried to get the Sacremento Kings to bail out and come to Seattle. That didn't happen. So the proposed new arena is in limbo, Hansen may be stuck with $100M in non-refundable NBA fees and other stuff. The NHL is pretty much an afterthought, so it seems to be on the way-back burner. I don't think that there is any question that Seattle can support an NHL team but there is no one that has the passion that has come forward to make it happen

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  • 8 months later...

Here's a little recent history of trying to get a new arena in Seattle. There is a Seattle native that is very rich and loves NBA basketball (Chris Hansen). He deci.ded that its time for Seattle to have an NBA team again, and is willing to put up $400M if the city will chip in $200M for a new arena. And by the way, it would work well for an NHL team too. So he tried to get the Sacremento Kings to bail out and come to Seattle. That didn't happen. So the proposed new arena is in limbo, Hansen may be stuck with $100M in non-refundable NBA fees and other stuff. The NHL is pretty much an afterthought, so it seems to be on the way-back burner. I don't think that there is any question that Seattle can support an NHL team but there is no one that has the passion that has come forward to make it happen

My cousins grew up in Longview WA and since I didn't have a local team to root for, I adopted the Sonics as my own. 1979..."Downtown" Freddie Brown...Gus Williams...Lonnie Shelton...Dennis Johnson...Jack Sikma...loved, Loved, LOVED that team. Watched the final Sonics game ever and almost teared up hearing the fans chant "SAVE OUR SONICS!" near the end of the game. I still cringe every time I see Oklahoma City take the court. Shame on you, David Stern.

I would love to see the NBA get a team back in Seattle - as long as its called the Sonics. Hell, put an NHL team in Seattle and call them the Sonics too. :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Oh, the NHL will be in Seattle, make no mistake about it. It's just a matter of how soon.

They seem intent on Las Vegas too with Jerry Bruckheimer owning the Vegas team.

With Vegas and Seattle, the conferences become evenly distributed so Detroit and Columbus can stay in EST for games. What the NHL will do to keep the Red Wings happy campers.

Www.nhllasvegas.com

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No NBA team=no arena. No arena=no NHL team.

That's probably what the meeting is about. The proposed NBA owner Hansen won't finance a SoDo arena if it's only for the NHL. Vegas is ready to go and they have a new arena in the works. In the meantime an NHL Vegas team can play in the MGM Grand Garden (16,000). Seattle would be stuck in Key Arena by the needle, which is woefully inadequate.

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They seem intent on Las Vegas too with Jerry Bruckheimer owning the Vegas team.

Www.nhllasvegas.com

No way. That article is from 2007. Anaheim...Los Angeles...San Jose...Phoenix...and Las Vegas? Too many SW teams as it is.

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Like the article said I would be up to go to Vegas for a pro hockey before some dumb show....celine dion or 3/4 th of the entertainment hasno appeal to me but warm weather & hockey & cheap flights would

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Like the article said I would be up to go to Vegas for a pro hockey before some dumb show....celine dion or 3/4 th of the entertainment hasno appeal to me but warm weather & hockey & cheap flights would

I'd agree, Fetch, but is Las Vegas big enough to support a hockey team with enough fans from its own community? A city population of around 600,00 and metro area population of under 2 million? By contrast, Seattle has just under 650,000 in the city and a metro population of 3.5 million. How many fans are going to fly to Vegas and take in a hockey game on any given night? Yes, if the Wild, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Penguins, etc. are in town, but how about the Blue Jackets, Panthers, or Predators? I'm not sold on the idea...

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Las Vegas just had ground breaking on a 20,000 seat arena.

http://espn.go.com/b...las-vegas-arena

Kansas City's Sprint Center has been around since 2007...and has only had a nibble from the Penguins in terms of a team relocating there. Even Mario Lemieux admitted that that was simply a scam to get Pittsburgh to build the Penguins a new arena.

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Kansas City's Sprint Center has been around since 2007...and has only had a nibble from the Penguins in terms of a team relocating there. Even Mario Lemieux admitted that that was simply a scam to get Pittsburgh to build the Penguins a new arena.

The difference is that KC doesn't have any ownership group that wants to take on the NHL. Bruckheimer wants a Las Vegas team now, has major entertainment connections, and has big bucks. The NHL wants Bruckheimer as badly as the NBA doesn't want Sterling. Bruckheimer would bring marketing to the NHL.

http://www.forbes.co...ry-bruckheimer/

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