Mirka the Turka
Jesus loves you
- Oct 20, 2022
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Houston vs Quebec City
- Thread starter Mirka the Turka
- Start date
- Apr 27, 2005
- 35,300
- 33,897
It's kinda crazy Houston doesn't have a team. It's the 4th largest city in the US, with a large population of relocated western Canadians due to the energy industry.
A team would do very well there.
A team would do very well there.
Killer Orcas
Registered User
Kairi Zaide
Unforgiven
Besides just "waiting" and "hoping", Quebec hasn't really done anything to be "deserving". The economy isn't that great. It's not as desirable a city to live in as other cities in the league, which will make it hard to attract and retain talented players to stay competitive. Attendance will go down drastically if the team starts struggling for a few years. It would end up being the 2nd smallest market, only beating Winnipeg. Good luck finding anyone willing to drop the $1B+ to acquire a team too. I wouldn't be surprised if this required governmental subsidies for it to happen, and nobody will want their taxes into that.
There are far better options out there for relocation and expansion.
Primary Assist
The taste of honey is worse than none at all
- Jul 7, 2010
- 6,064
- 6,087
Logic dictates Houston, emotion dictates Quebec City. As a modern man who is in touch with his emotions, I say "bonjour le Quebec!" and "what the hell is a couche-tard?"
Bouboumaster
Registered User
- Jul 4, 2014
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Top 5 market in the US vs. Quebec City.
Who you think they're gonna go with?
Who you think they're gonna go with?
This is a pretty cool concept. Houston is a no-brainer to me if we are talking 34 or some future relocation. Both Houston and QC would be on my wishlist for a 36-team league.
Houston Aeros - NHL Brand Concept
Houston Aeros - NHL Brand Concept
The league strategy says Houston but I say Québec.
A second Texas team I'd rather see in Austin.
A second Texas team I'd rather see in Austin.
Houston issue right now is the NBA owner Fertitta as he holds the arena management agreement with the Toyota Center. No other NHL team is the tenant to an NBA controlled arena. Nashville is a tenant to the city/county run Bridgestone Arena for example.
So, he has to agree to pay the price the NHL wants for a team. He's been public in the past about his opinions that NHL clubs are overvalued (esp. in the south).
Someone else has to come in and look to build another arena in a different county. Question is whether there is a location and county that makes sense to do that. So, we wait.
We know the NHL wants back in ATL, AZ, and into HOU. 4th and final spot is open. But, does QC have enough corporate support as we saw Win's corporate support fall off drastically post Covid. Regular fans can only buy so many tickets. Need the corps to step up all the time.
There will be no Canadian Expansion for as long as the value of the Canadian dollar is, compared to the US. This could be years, could be decades, even longer ? The low Canadian dollar is the main reason, simply put. The other reason is the "smaller population centers" in those Canadian cities cannot sustain an NHL franchise over a span of years.
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 27,233
- 12,382
I voted Quebec City out of spite, purely based on the kind of annoying tone of the original question.
I think this is a more complicated question than the poll is likely to represent though. Quebec City is arguably the more stable and "deserving" hockey market. But from the NHL perspective...it has very negligible upside. That market is already being served and engaged in hockey watching by existing franchises. It's also a puny TV market that would have next to no impact on the all important TV deals.
Houston is dumb as a "hockey market"...but it's an enormous TV market, rapidly growing and huge as an actual population base with shifting demographics, and it represents a huge amount of almost "pure upside" in terms of generating actually new or novel revenue streams. Which is what the NHL actually cares about.
But that's where it comes down to a more complicated question of...which is better For the NHL vs which is the Better/More Deserving Hockey Market.
I think this is a more complicated question than the poll is likely to represent though. Quebec City is arguably the more stable and "deserving" hockey market. But from the NHL perspective...it has very negligible upside. That market is already being served and engaged in hockey watching by existing franchises. It's also a puny TV market that would have next to no impact on the all important TV deals.
Houston is dumb as a "hockey market"...but it's an enormous TV market, rapidly growing and huge as an actual population base with shifting demographics, and it represents a huge amount of almost "pure upside" in terms of generating actually new or novel revenue streams. Which is what the NHL actually cares about.
But that's where it comes down to a more complicated question of...which is better For the NHL vs which is the Better/More Deserving Hockey Market.
Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
I think Austin would be a very good market as well. NHL teams tend to do well in less saturated sports markets. Almost half the league plays in a city with only 1 or 2 teams in the big four leagues.
93gilmour93
Registered User
- Feb 27, 2010
- 19,525
- 22,949
It would probably be Houston but it sucks that Quebec isn't back in the league yet and there's no city i want the NHL in more than that one. Hopefully one day we get the Nordiques back.....
Nogatco Rd
Pierre-Luc Dubas
- Apr 3, 2021
- 2,847
- 5,336
Interesting, that’s a good point. Seems like Austin has a lot of civic/cultural pride there too, I could see them really embracing a team.
How well do the Texas Stars draw?
Want? Quebec
What will happen? Houston
What should happen? Houston
It makes no financial sense to put a team in Quebec City. Too low of a population, not much of a private sector economy, not much TV market gains to be made and the arena would probably end up like Winnipeg, struggling to sell out and like Winnipeg, we'd start to hear threats of moving the team again eventually because people can't afford to go 41 nights a year.
What will happen? Houston
What should happen? Houston
It makes no financial sense to put a team in Quebec City. Too low of a population, not much of a private sector economy, not much TV market gains to be made and the arena would probably end up like Winnipeg, struggling to sell out and like Winnipeg, we'd start to hear threats of moving the team again eventually because people can't afford to go 41 nights a year.
No Fun Shogun
34-38-61-10-13-15
Whichever has someone willing to pay a billion dollars for an expansion team.
So Houston, allegedly. I'd love to see Quebec City get a team back, but they were seemingly priced out over a half billion dollars ago.
So Houston, allegedly. I'd love to see Quebec City get a team back, but they were seemingly priced out over a half billion dollars ago.
- Oct 9, 2012
- 32,541
- 31,478
How the hell does Quebec have 35% of votes.
Because the people voting in this poll aren’t actually trying to run a $6.43 billion business and are thinking about who they’d rather see in their NHL25 franchise mode.
Also, Member Berries.
