Houston vs Quebec City

[Mirka the Turka]

Where should the NHL expand to next?

I go with Houston: More people, better economy, less taxes, and its another team in the best state in the USA, Texas. Texas, for its size and scope, deserves 2 NHL teams. The NHL wins in every category with Houston over QC.

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[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

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.

 

[Killer Orcas]

Quebec deserves it but Houston will get it before them. The Nords fans will have to wait most likely for a relocation as they need teams for the western conference before adding more in east.

 

[Cas]

Wherever the people offering a billion dollars in bribes expansion fees want a team.

 

[ViD]

Houston obviously

A hockey town with a rich history - the Aeros, Mr.Hockey

 

[Kairi Zaide]

Quebec deserves it but Houston will get it before them. The Nords fans will have to wait most likely for a relocation as they need teams for the western conference before adding more in east.

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]

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]

Québec

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Top 5 market in the US vs. Quebec City.

Who you think they're gonna go with?

 

[cc]

I would like it to be Quebec City but I think it's a foregone conclusion it will be Houston

 

[BKarchitect]

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

 

[Albatros]

The league strategy says Houston but I say Québec.

A second Texas team I'd rather see in Austin.

 

[StreetHawk]

Where should the NHL expand to next?

I go with Houston: More people, better economy, less taxes, and its another team in the best state in the USA, Texas. Texas, for its size and scope, deserves 2 NHL teams. The NHL wins in every category with Houston over QC.

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.

 

[maskingagent]

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.

 

[Faceboner]

They should let Ryan Reynolds have quebec

 

[biturbo19]

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.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I think Houston gets a long look due to Dallas and a naturally rivalry

 

[BCNate]

The league strategy says Houston but I say Québec.

A second Texas team I'd rather see in Austin.

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]

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]

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.

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?

 

[Rafafouille]

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.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

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.

 

[Three On Zero]

Quebec can’t support a NHL team

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

How the hell does Quebec have 35% of votes.

 

[BKarchitect]

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.