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NHL expanding to Seattle in 2014?


MafiaMan

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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...

They'll play the Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Jets, Wild, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Ducks, Kings, Coyotes multiple home games as all are Western Conference teams. The fans of those teams would flock to Vegas to see a game and spend time on the strip, or that is the premise.

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They'll play the Canucks, Oilers, Flames, Jets, Wild, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Ducks, Kings, Coyotes multiple home games as all are Western Conference teams. The fans of those teams would flock to Vegas to see a game and spend time on the strip, or that is the premise.

LOL! The fans of Phoenix can't even "flock" to Glendale to see the Coyotes...you think they will be heading to Vegas?

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Build the arena forget a home team just contract as many games as it can with two other teams to come there & play

I bet a lot of folks would watch for that schedule & book a trip there

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Seattle has the population and fan base to support a team. There are two CHL teams here and I think they both draw pretty well. As far as fans of western teams "flocking" to Vegas to see their teams play, I can see that happening - about once/year. Enough to put butts in the seats on a consistent basis? No.

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Build the arena forget a home team just contract as many games as it can with two other teams to come there & play

I bet a lot of folks would watch for that schedule & book a trip there

C'mon, Fetch. You really want to go "all in" (pun intended) on 18,000 tourists showing up to see a couple of non-home teams play hockey?

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Well it would depend on which teams & where ur from I suppose

I just don't think the NHL product demand is big enough for a season's worth of games in Las Vegas, even if we're talking Bruins vs Penguins or Red Wings vs Blackhawks.

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LOL! The fans of Phoenix can't even "flock" to Glendale to see the Coyotes...you think they will be heading to Vegas?

Nobody from Phoenix or the East Valley wants to go to Glendale for an evening, but they want to go to Vegas for a night or two. Las Vegas residents actually might go to Glendale for a game!

The problem with Las Vegas is that there is too much entertainment options for the locals. But then again, half the population is from Jersey or New York or Canada. Casinos are expected to buy nearly half the seats so most games would be sell outs.

The NHL is working overtime to find a arena in Seattle as they already have another western franchise identified in Las Vegas with an arena. Portland probably gets a team rather than Seattle if the new Seattle arena won't be built for the NHL. Houston would be a better choice than Portland but the Rockets owner reportedly doesn't want hockey. Quebec or a second team in Toronto can wait on the Panthers relocating.

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Nobody from Phoenix or the East Valley wants to go to Glendale for an evening, but they want to go to Vegas for a night or two. Las Vegas residents actually might go to Glendale for a game!

The problem with Las Vegas is that there is too much entertainment options for the locals. But then again, half the population is from Jersey or New York or Canada. Casinos are expected to buy nearly half the seats so most games would be sell outs.

The NHL is working overtime to find a arena in Seattle as they already have another western franchise identified in Las Vegas with an arena. Portland probably gets a team rather than Seattle if the new Seattle arena won't be built for the NHL. Houston would be a better choice than Portland but the Rockets owner reportedly doesn't want hockey. Quebec or a second team in Toronto can wait on the Panthers relocating.

Let's say a casino "partner" is going to buy up 9,000 empty seats on any given night. At $50 a pop, thats $450,000 PER GAME. Good luck finding a sponsor that generous.

The east can't handle an expansion team because that would further tilt the balance of difficulty in the newly-formed conferences. You'd now have a NINE-team division in the east along with an eight-team division as opposed to two seven-team divisions in the west. Seattle makes the most sense in the west...I'd be fine with Vegas just to see the divisions even up with what's in the east. That and Florida moving to Quebec City and becoming Nordiques 2.0.

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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...

In Vegas, it would be another event to visit during a stay in Vegas and they would get some traffic from the strip. With the gambling and betting, it could be a big time seller.

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In Vegas, it would be another event to visit during a stay in Vegas and they would get some traffic from the strip. With the gambling and betting, it could be a big time seller.

Yes, for 500 or so folks from MSP who want to go see the Wild play in Vegas on a Tuesday night in January and book a flight. I just don't see 5,000+ doing that in addition to 10,000 or so locals.

The southern expansion in the NHL has been nothing short of a disaster. The Dallas Stars have had numerous owners and problems since 1993, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lighning have their own issues (namely attendance), Phoenix, er, Arizona, is a mess, and Atlanta flamed out (pun intended) a second time with the Thrashers. San Jose has established a pretty solid franchise. I guess Anaheim has also done quite well considering they play in the shadow of the Kings, but that's not much different than the Rangers/Islanders/Devils situation or the possibility of a second team in Toronto.

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Yes, for 500 or so folks from MSP who want to go see the Wild play in Vegas on a Tuesday night in January and book a flight. I just don't see 5,000+ doing that in addition to 10,000 or so locals.

The southern expansion in the NHL has been nothing short of a disaster. The Dallas Stars have had numerous owners and problems since 1993, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lighning have their own issues (namely attendance), Phoenix, er, Arizona, is a mess, and Atlanta flamed out (pun intended) a second time with the Thrashers. San Jose has established a pretty solid franchise. I guess Anaheim has also done quite well considering they play in the shadow of the Kings, but that's not much different than the Rangers/Islanders/Devils situation or the possibility of a second team in Toronto.

Tampa sells out their arena every night

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The southern expansion in the NHL has been nothing short of a disaster. The Dallas Stars have had numerous owners and problems since 1993, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lighning have their own issues (namely attendance), Phoenix, er, Arizona, is a mess, and Atlanta flamed out (pun intended) a second time with the Thrashers. San Jose has established a pretty solid franchise. I guess Anaheim has also done quite well considering they play in the shadow of the Kings, but that's not much different than the Rangers/Islanders/Devils situation or the possibility of a second team in Toronto.

Look at the ownership situation throughout the league. It's not just the southern teams.

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Let's say a casino "partner" is going to buy up 9,000 empty seats on any given night. At $50 a pop, thats $450,000 PER GAME. Good luck finding a sponsor that generous.

The east can't handle an expansion team because that would further tilt the balance of difficulty in the newly-formed conferences. You'd now have a NINE-team division in the east along with an eight-team division as opposed to two seven-team divisions in the west. Seattle makes the most sense in the west...I'd be fine with Vegas just to see the divisions even up with what's in the east. That and Florida moving to Quebec City and becoming Nordiques 2.0.

A casino probably wants 200 - 500 tickets. Times that by 20 to 40 casinos and your talking some real money. That come back for some real action after the game. But the real key is getting suite tickets for high rollers. Every casino wants high rollers.

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A casino probably wants 200 - 500 tickets. Times that by 20 to 40 casinos and your talking some real money. That come back for some real action after the game. But the real key is getting suite tickets for high rollers. Every casino wants high rollers.

I know Vegas was hit hard by the recession...has the "recovery" been good enough where casinos have bounced back a bit?

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