Is Saskatchewan (CAN) suitable for an expension team

[HolyGhost]

As a born and bred Saskatchewanian: incredible hockey history and love of the game here, there’s no way we could support an NHL team.

Nobody’s driving to Saskatoon in -40 to watch the Blades play some bottom of the barrel American team on a Tuesday. Most people can drive to Regina for a Riders games when the weather is nice and the roads are clear. If you’re relying on it being a provincial team, it’s not going to happen. For many/most living in Saskatoon (or Regina), affording a couple tickets a year would be aspirational, let alone season tickets. BHP or Potash Corp aren’t buying up millions worth of corporate seats for the suits to watch on their vacations and board meetings in sunny Saskatchewan. Sasktel Centre isn’t up to league standards and the downtown rink that’s been talked about for forever is still pretty suspect. Unless they’re looking to live in rural solitude up in f***ing Osler (insert name of your favourite small town in the middle of nowhere nearish the airport), there’s no way we’d attract free agents - even the ones that may be from here. Many more reasons this won’t work.

Lovely idea, but no.

That is something some people are over looking, Most of the province is rural or farm land and while the cities are nice, they would not be able to support a team long term. If they got a team? It would move in 5 years

 

[HolyGhost]

also the question here is, Who is the billionaire who would be willing to off set loses?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I would love to see more teams in Canada. I think there are too many in US markets that don't care about hockey (and get ridiculous tax breaks on the cap), but Canada's dollar is too weak. They have to get that up. Until then, NHL isn't expanding to Canada.

 

[ozzie]

With Quebec City, Hamilton or a second team based in Toronto denied, I highly doubt it. The economics don't make any sense, even the Jets are borderline with their arena. I can't imagine many players wanting to sign and play there either, sorry Sask. CFL and WHL for you.

Houston, Milwauke, Indianpolis, Cinci. Some decent american markets well in front.

 

[Ezpz]

No there's a reason why it's the only province with an abundance of cheap housing left. Except Quebec who are isolated by the fact that people who can't speak French can't move there. Nobody wants to move there.

Season tickets for the Leafs for two years cost more than a low end house in Regina. Season tickets for the leafs were 28k or something this year. Low end detached two bedroom houses in Regina are around 60k. Saskatoon obviously would be the play for the NHL but still has tons of sub-200k housing.

Granted the lower cost of living leaves more disposable income, but you can't really be selling NHL tickets super cheap when the salary floor is going to be 80 million. What corporate sponsors can you get in any city there? What TV market can you penetrate that isn't already watching the NHL?

300k people in the Metro of Saskatoon, a hair under 1.5 mil in the entire province that is bigger or equal to Texas in size (like every non-Maritime province/territory is). Regina and Saskatoon are four hours apart, so it's not going to be a daily thing to commute between them, but lets say a quarter of the people Regina goes out to see at least one game in a season, you're selling 56.5k tickets.

Let's just do the math, even at the Jets seating set up of 15k, 15,000 * 41 is 615 thousand tickets over a year. After those Reginites visit, you have 558.5 tickets left. So now you need every single person in Saskatoon to buy about two tickets per year. Including babies, elderly, etc. Obviously the league probably wouldn't even allow another 15k arena to be built so you probably need to judge from 17k, adding another 82k seats to sell over a season.

I have no doubt Saskatchewan could support it if seasons were 10 games long. Or even an inaugural 41(home) game season. The issue is will people spend that level of money and sell out every game when the team is bad? Probably not, and that's the big problem when there's no corporate sponsor to draw on. The only way it will ever happen is if a billionaire from Saskatchewan really wants to lose money. Even the Jets wouldn't exist without Chipman, and to be honest might end up relocating after he dies. Winnipeg's metro is 2.5 times bigger than Saskatoons and bigger than Saskatoon and Regina put together. They still had attendance issues when the team hiked prices.

This is just going to have to wait 50 years until California and Florida fall into the ocean or get permanently flooded and Canada has to start taking on significant numbers of climate refugees. Then you'll see Canadian team number 9-16. If hockey even exists then; it's already losing popularity with young people.

 

[Ezpz]

I would love to see more teams in Canada. I think there are too many in US markets that don't care about hockey (and get ridiculous tax breaks on the cap), but Canada's dollar is too weak. They have to get that up. Until then, NHL isn't expanding to Canada.

The issue there is Canada purposely keeps a weak dollar to boost international trade. We've never had so many manufacturing jobs close as when Harper got the dollar to par. In border towns across the country American companies shut down plants because they were suddenly spending significantly more on Canadian employees than American ones. The ones that didn't close forced salary cuts and concessions even in unionized jobs. I worked in one that got told flat out they'd close if there weren't rate cuts, only for the place to close 7 months later. Tourism craters, goods are harder to sell. A stronger dollar helps Canadian's purchasing power but comes with many negative drawbacks.

 

[cowboy82nd]

Why the hell not?

Who's the rich owner that going to pony up the expansion fee?

 

[ponder719]

If every single person in Saskatchewan moved to Saskatoon, we might be able to revisit this conversation then.

 

[Daximus]

I believe the Blues had also traded away their top picks that year. As for getting an NHL team. I believe that the entire province only as about 1.4 million people with the two largest cities having under 300k inhabitants. The place is a boom or bust place like many places but they do not have the infrastructure to with stand a prolong recession, I have been to Regina and a few other places and the people are nice

I believe Saskatoon is now over 350k and Regina is over 250k but still not enough. We would need one of these cities to hit at least 700k and more likely 800k before it could get to the point that the NHL would consider it. Saskatoon is the more likely city to get there but at current growth rates it will be like 2080 by the time that happens.

 

[Voight]

After Saskatchewan, watch for flin flon, Manitoba as the next destination.

Lead by hometown hero Bobby Clark

 

[jigglysquishy]

No, Saskatchewan won't get a team. But some of these takes are bizarre.

The province is quite wealthy. We have the second highest GDP per capita after Alberta and second highest disposable income. GDP is higher than Manitoba.

No, Saskatoon and Regina are not 4 hours apart. 2 hours edge to edge or 2.5 hours downtown to downtown.

Yes, hockey is crazy popular here but less popular than years past. See selling 2000 tickets for the 1600 person arena to see midget AAA a couple weeks ago.

Yes, the Pats do terribly. Tickets are expensive, the owners are hated for non hockey reasons, and the team is perennially bad. Lots of people won't go to anything except NHL games.

The AHL won't work here. There's more appetite for WHL and it's 100 year history here than the AHL.

 

[boredmale]

I think they should move the St Louis Blues there

 

[overlords]

We let you be a province, now don't get greedy

 

[Djp]

Eventually, sure! Teams are like Walmarts, everyone gets one sometime. Plus, it’s warming up, so maybe more people move there. Gosh, y’all are negative.

I do think it’d be interesting- I’d bet people would support a team like that like crazy, actually. Green Bay, for example.

Football is once a week. On weekends, and people are willing to go 2+ hrs one way for a game

 

[brentashton]

No way in hell the province could support an NHL team. This issue has been litigated to death in the past. Not sure this is even thread worthy.

But in short summary:
-1.3 million total provincial pop, compare that to metro areas of most major league sport teams
- miles and hours to attend games is substantial, over a 41 home game season
- corporate HO desert, save for a few potash, uranium, equipment manufacturers, a lack of in Sask corp ad/marketing/season tick purchasing ability. The base for this is too small over a long term.

Could they support a franchise, probably short term with the start up euphoria, but over the long term probability would be bleak. See Winnipeg. It’s an even larger pop base, has more HO companies based there and they can’t sell out the leagues smallest arena.

Would it be cool, f*** ya,but it ain’t happening.

 

[the valiant effort]

Imagine the springtime buzz in Regina with a couple playoff games AND the refinery turnaround

 

[HarrySPlinkett]

Hockey is the most popular sport in Saskatchewan. More than 500 National Hockey League (NHL) players have been born in Saskatchewan, the highest per capita output of any Canadian province, U.S. state, or European country.

Why is it not up in expension talks, why is no investors showing interest in growing an NHL team over there?

If feel like its the missing link to make Canada stronger hockey-wise, all province from south-west to quebec would have a team

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Saskatchewan can barely support a CFL team, and that’s with the whole province banding together to make it 60% of their personality.

Regina is Sherwood Park with a mayor.

They produce so many good hockey players because there’s nothing to do and it’s always cold enough for outdoor ice.

No, they can’t have an NHL team.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

How about Flin Flon? Lloydminster? Medicine Hat? Moose Jaw? Iqaluit?

Being in Canada is not enough of a reason to have a team. This is a business, not a charity. Sorry.

 

[FlyguyOX]

No more Canada teams.

 

[Dust]

No, Saskatchewan won't get a team. But some of these takes are bizarre.

The province is quite wealthy. We have the second highest GDP per capita after Alberta and second highest disposable income. GDP is higher than Manitoba.

No, Saskatoon and Regina are not 4 hours apart. 2 hours edge to edge or 2.5 hours downtown to downtown.

Yes, hockey is crazy popular here but less popular than years past. See selling 2000 tickets for the 1600 person arena to see midget AAA a couple weeks ago.

Yes, the Pats do terribly. Tickets are expensive, the owners are hated for non hockey reasons, and the team is perennially bad. Lots of people won't go to anything except NHL games.

The AHL won't work here. There's more appetite for WHL and it's 100 year history here than the AHL.

Thank you for correcting some of these exaggerated takes. Saskatchewan probably won't ever be able to support an NHL team for a variety of reasons, but at least Regina and Saskatoon won't move 30 minutes further apart for every page in this thread. Also 60k for a 2 bedroom house? If you believe that, I've got ocean front property for you near Moosomin.

 

[Skidooboy]

Just can't see it. no population.

Regina 255 K
Saskatoon 367 K
the whole province is 1.2 mil

Winnipeg is the smallest NHL market at
783 K ...Twice Saskatoon.

with a "realistic draw" of close to 850K for the "metro area" and surrounding communities... even the Jets struggle to fill the barn every night...

I just don't see the population there to support a team.

 

[HisIceness]

If Phoenix got a team, anything is possible.

Not sure if sarcasm?

Regardless Phoenix the city has more population than Saskatchewan the province. Kind of a stretch to include the two.

 

[Beezeral]

GDP of the ENTIRE province (251k square miles), 77.9 billion

GDP of Broward County (1200 square miles) where the Panthers are located, 132 billion.

Sorry to the hockey fans in Saskatchewan, but it's never going to happen.

I just don't see the population there to support a team.

It's more than just population. Where is the corporate sponsorship money coming from?

 

[LeonDraisaitl]

I’m in the heart of Saskatchewan and can confidently say no. The population isn’t big enough and it’s too spread out. The exhibition games they play in Saskatoon aren’t even sold out. The winter storms the province has makes it impossible to come in from Regina, MooseJaw etc

 

[Bruins4Lifer]

Tons of ignorant takes in here on Saskatchewan despite answering the main question correctly: no, we can't support an NHL team.

Check back in 20 years or so. Still probably won't be able to, but if Saskatoon keeps up its growth rate it might seem more realistic.