Is Saskatchewan (CAN) suitable for an expension team

[kevsh]

Not a chance, and not even close.

However, there is nowhere near enough corporate money in this province to make that even remotely feasible.

And that's really the end of the discussion as far as the league is concerned.

 

[habdynasty]

I think people use the weak argument that they can sell out Roughrider games but it's different selling out 9 weekend games a year than it is to sell out 41 games a season scattered through the week

The riders sold out 1 game last season. The crowds are dwindling in n Saskatchewan.

 

[Daximus]

Regina is 2 hours away, Moose Jaw is 2 hours away, Prince Albert is an hour and a half away, North Battleford is an hour away; that's another 350,000 people right there, not including all the smaller towns like Humboldt, Melfort, Swift Current, Yorkton, etc. Regardless, I don't disagree that it will never happen, but I guarantee that if somehow Gary Bettman lost his mind and it did ever happen, you would have season ticket holders in all of those towns and cities. However, there is nowhere near enough corporate money in this province to make that even remotely feasible.

You underestimate how many people would buy season tickets to a team 2+ hours away here. You absolutely need 700-800k in the immediate vicinity of a team to make it work for the NHL.. Sask is a very blue collar province in that the majority of the middle class to upper middle class money here is made up in people working in trades, mining and manufacturing. Those types of people cannot drive 2+ hours for games on weekdays. I know because I am one of those people who would absolutely love to buy and could afford season tickets to a team here but there is no feasible way I can drive to a game 2+ hours away Sunday to Thursday when I get off work and have to work the next morning. So that basically only leaves Friday and Saturday games. It's insanity to think that people would even entertain that idea. And yeah the corporate money isn't quite there yet either.

At our current pace of growth, barring some kind of insane gold rush type of growth rate here, it's going to be like 2080 before we even come close to the population required to even entertain the idea of a team. And it's very likely that we would get a AHL team to test the market like Winnipeg did and if we can show support there then we would maybe make a shortlist. Provided we had a stable ownership group and an arena that meets the NHL's standards. All of those are a loooooong way off.

 

[Osakahaus]

Gary Bettman cares about two things

1. Can I make money from this place
and
2. Is the TV deal worth it?

Saskatchewan will never get an NHL team because of that. Nobody outside of Canada would care, Bettman probably thinks the South is still viable and all that crap. It wont happen. As long as Gary is in charge.

 

[Bender Duster]

Yes, they absolutely would drive there 41 times a season, without question. you are severely underestimating how boring Saskatchewan winters are. I know season ticket holders to the Oilers that live in Prince Albert, 4 hours away from Edmonton.

We have nothing in this province besides the Roughriders; an NHL team would legitimately be the biggest draw in the province.

Saskatchewan in the summertime, especially northern Saskatchewan, is absolutely beautiful if you're an outdoors person. the lakes, Boreal forest, and the Canadian Shield make for some of the most beautiful nature I've ever seen, and I've traveled extensively. But Saskatchewan in the winter is a bloody frozen wasteland.

No player in their right mind would ever want to live here in the winter.

I have no skin in this argument, and I bet SK would fill up a building for the first season...

But for context, I've had a share of Jets seasons since they returned. The original group next to us was from Selkirk (about 45 mins from the rink) and after the first couple of seasons it wasn't unusual to see those seats empty on a Tuesday night in February. That group has since given up their seats.

I also know a guy from Steinbach (about 1 hour) that has full season tickets but he ended up bringing in partners because he couldn't/didn't want to get to all the games.

It's definitely not uncommon to see folks NW Ontario or western Manitoba travel 2+ hours to go to a Jets game, but those fans buy tickets to single games to see their favourite team or player. They don't have seasons.

Also, c'mon man...PA to Edmonton is closer to six hours than four. Nobody is going to 41 Oiler games from PA...

 

[Juxta Position]

I have no skin in this argument, and I bet SK would fill up a building for the first season...

But for context, I've had a share of Jets seasons since they returned. The original group next to us was from Selkirk (about 45 mins from the rink) and after the first couple of seasons it wasn't unusual to see those seats empty on a Tuesday night in February. That group has since given up their seats.

I also know a guy from Steinbach (about 1 hour) that has full season tickets but he ended up bringing in partners because he couldn't/didn't want to get to all the games.

It's definitely not uncommon to see folks NW Ontario or western Manitoba travel 2+ hours to go to a Jets game, but those fans buy tickets to single games to see their favourite team or player. They don't have seasons.

Also, c'mon man...PA to Edmonton is closer to six hours than four. Nobody is going to 41 Oiler games from PA...

Ok i'll tell my buddy that he doesn't go to the majority of games then...He's a shift worker, and barring evening shifts or bad weather (he sells his tickets when he can't make it), he goes to the games. I'm not saying it's rational, I'm saying people do it.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

Yes, they absolutely would drive there 41 times a season, without question. you are severely underestimating how boring Saskatchewan winters are. I know season ticket holders to the Oilers that live in Prince Albert, 4 hours away from Edmonton.

We have nothing in this province besides the Roughriders; an NHL team would legitimately be the biggest draw in the province.

Saskatchewan in the summertime, especially northern Saskatchewan, is absolutely beautiful if you're an outdoors person. the lakes, Boreal forest, and the Canadian Shield make for some of the most beautiful nature I've ever seen, and I've traveled extensively. But Saskatchewan in the winter is a bloody frozen wasteland.

No player in their right mind would ever want to live here in the winter.

I grew up in Saskatchewan. I know.

Sure, some will drive a long way, a few. Even fewer will do it that often. Saskatoon would simply require too many fans to travel that far that often and spend that amount of money.

Manitoba has nothing but Bombers and Jets. Without the Jets Manitoba winters are every bit as boring as Sask winters. You think the wind stops at the border? The whole province supports both. When the Jets came back in 2011 the season tickets sold out overnight and there were 8,000 on the waiting list for tickets. But the new wore off. A few disappointing seasons and a hiccup in the economy and they couldn't sell out any more. Those seasons still included play-offs but the team underachieved. They failed to meet expectations. Combined with the post-pandemic inflation and some people stopped buying tickets. And don't tell me that Saskatchewan has better fans who would not do that. That's BS.

 

[Nikishin al Gaib]

Gary Bettman cares about two things

1. Can I make money from this place
and
2. Is the TV deal worth it?

Saskatchewan will never get an NHL team because of that. Nobody outside of Canada would care, Bettman probably thinks the South is still viable and all that crap. It wont happen. As long as Gary is in charge.

*checks NHL standings*

*checks list of Conference Finalists the last 5 years*

Yeah, I know, hockey is really struggling in markets like Dallas, Nashville, Miami, Tampa, Raleigh, etc.

 

[westc2]

Well...would they be able to make enough money to support an NHL team? I don't doubt they'd be able to fill an arena, but teams rely on many other sources of revenue as well, such as viewership numbers, merch sales, etc.

 

[Bender Duster]

Ok i'll tell my buddy that he doesn't go to the majority of games then...He's a shift worker, and barring evening shifts or bad weather (he sells his tickets when he can't make it), he goes to the games. I'm not saying it's rational, I'm saying people do it.

If the business plan relies on shift workers driving 10-12 hours to and from the rink to see a game, there might be some holes in it.

 

[RedHawkDown]

Even if there was corporate money and even if there was the population, this team would never be able to hold on to a single free agent. Winnipeg already has so much trouble and Saskatchewan is 2x as isolated and desolate.

 

[Voight]

Reason 1: $650 million just to get a franchise (what the Kraken paid)
Reason 2: $375 million for an NHL arena (what T-Mobile arena cost 9 years ago)
Reason 3: $70 million per season to hit the low end of the salary cap
Reason 4: The vast majority of players would do anything and everything to work a trade or work the CBA to hit free agency as soon as possible

A brand new arena these days will cost at least 1 billion.

 

[frisco]

There's no chance it would ever happen. Period. Saskatchewan is a relatively rich province on a per/capita GDP basis (slightly behind Alberta) but there are not enough people over or in a centralized spot.

However, if by some strange happenstance it did happen there's a decent chance it would work if:

1. Saskatoon would need a new downtown arena.
2. You'd probably have to split the games 31/10 in Saskatoon/Regina or something.
3. Corporate sponsors would have to really step up and heavy government involvement.
4. People are willing to travel from rural locations.
5. On the principle that somehow if you can get 9,000 people a game to watch a fly-by-night lacrosse league, who knows what the NHL would do.
6. Canadian dollar would have to improve.

It would be interesting to see how many people would put a decent up-front fee ($500) for season tickets. I bet you could get 16,000 within a week. That being said, once the novelty wore off in 4-5 years it would really be a trouble spot. And there are 15-20 better locations in North America to choose from.

My Best-Carey

 

[chaser17]

I live here, it would be cool but I hope it doesn't happen. Love Sask but similar to what we already see with Winnipeg and other Canadian markets if I were an NHL player making millions I wouldn't wanna live here when I could be in Florida or something.

 

[1989]

A brand new arena these days will cost at least 1 billion.

I think the Calgary arena, which I believe is the most recent arena project not yet completed, is slated around 850m, so your answer is correct especially considering it's not like an arena deal will materialize by tomorrow for Saskatchewan.