Next expansion team in Las Vegas - How does everyone feel about it?

[HanSolo]

Honest question:

Have you ever been to Las Vegas?

Clearly Vegas is just the strip, few business buildings and sand. Nothing but sand.

 

[Wolf Without a Howl]

Makes me mad to the point where I may give up in the nhl and spend all my money on the OhL and watch more midget aaa for free.
This is my problem. I am a leaf fan that hates the organization and all they have done with a passion. I will not support this garbage. I want to support a local team.
That being said. I want to watch NHL. I can A spend an arm and a leg to get a ticket to a leaf game. Tht is if I can get a ticket. Or B drive the two hours to buffalo and get a ticket for a fair price.
I can never get tickets in Toronto yet when I watch the highlights at night I see a half a dozen markets where the seats are empty most nights.
The Golden Horsehoe can def support another team. Same with Quebec.
If the coyotes are indicitive of NHL failure the desert why try again on a city half the size as Phoenix. I know it is a big tourist town with lots of money. But many of those wont be true fans they will be novelty fans with the small percentage that Charles from Montgomery Alabama becomes a hockey fan after watching a game while hammered at a venue cuz he got free tickets from the bellagio. I will tell you this. Casinos try their darnest to keep their customers in their own hotel and casino and try desperately to get more people in. Do you really think they are going to be giving away free tickets to games where the customer will be not spending money at their casino for four hours. I think not.
Not to mention Vegas has been a fast growing city. But it will stop with the water shortage.
I am not saying that seattle isnt a good market. I think it is the best available American market now. But it isn't hockey mad like people are here. And there are two many teams that are not working right now.
I also am a devil fan and haven't really watched many games since the strike.
We cancelled our cable. We have netflix and loads of other opportunities to watch tv. I only had tv for NHL.
I cancelled it and am not paying $80 a month for cable plus $200 a year to watch my team play anymore after the strike.
Many people outside of toronto think this is a leaf town. It isn't. It is an NHL fan. There are about a third of NHL fans in Toronto that are not leaf fans. I bet one in every 8-10 fans is a habs fan. I am not talking about the bandwagon fans that start cheering for the leafs when they make the playoffs. I am talking about true leaf fans. Support them at their worst. There are a lot of supporters of other teams in this city. Another team in Toronto would be a top five profitable franchise in this league within a decade and would be top ten right away.
That's right if Vegas gets a team, I am through.

The NHL is making $4 Billion this year, they'll be fine without you. I have a feeling very very few fans (especially "hockey-mad" Canadians) are going to completely abandon the league because of a LV team.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

The NHL is making $4 Billion this year, they'll be fine without you. I have a feeling very very few fans (especially "hockey-mad" Canadians) are going to completely abandon the league because of a LV team.

I'll never understand how a league's business decision impacts your ability to be a fan of a team. If you're a Leafs fan, be a Leafs fan. If you let something like this say that you're done being a Leafs fan, you're not really a Leafs fan to begin with.

 

[seancolorado]

The NHL is making $4 Billion this year, they'll be fine without you. I have a feeling very very few fans (especially "hockey-mad" Canadians) are going to completely abandon the league because of a LV team.

I have a feeling literally zero fans will abandon their team in a LV situation, including that guy

 

[ThatQuietGuy93]

Who is going to play for this franchise?

 

[Umingmak]

Honestly, Albuquerque and Talladega are better expansion options than Las Vegas. That's to say that this is honestly the worst expansion idea I've ever seen. I can't believe that the NHL is seriously considering this, especially with already floundering franchises in Florida and Phoenix. The NHL needs to look at realistically profitable relocation and expansion relocations, not Las Vegas. Top priorities should be Quebec and Seattle, as I think is agreed on by pretty much everybody.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Who is going to play for this franchise?

Anybody interested in getting the most out of their contracts due to a better tax environment in Nevada.

 

[Wolf Without a Howl]

I have a feeling literally zero fans will abandon their team in a LV situation, including that guy

No you're right. I was basically humoring him by implying there might be 3 or 4 other maniacs that have the same thinking as him.

Who is going to play for this franchise?

They'll have an expansion draft, just like they did in 2000 when Columbus and Minnesota entered the league.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_NHL_Expansion_Draft.

If you're question more along the lines of "who is going to want to play for this franchise?", then you sir have never been offered millions of dollars to a play a game before. Players will go where there's an opportunity, I assure you that.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Honestly, Albuquerque and Talladega are better expansion options than Las Vegas. That's to say that this is honestly the worst expansion idea I've ever seen. I can't believe that the NHL is seriously considering this, especially with already floundering franchises in Florida and Phoenix. The NHL needs to look at realistically profitable relocation and expansion relocations, not Las Vegas. Top priorities should be Quebec and Seattle, as I think is agreed on by pretty much everybody.

Honestly, if you believe what you said, you need to become more informed about what actually makes for good expansion options. Already floundering franchises is mostly irrelevant when it comes to expansion. Chances are you will always have one or two or three floundering regardless of locations. The league doesn't have any issues looking at relocations when it is necessary and doing that at the same time roughly as expansion.

Top priorities for who should get a team is dependent on ownership and arena status. Seattle has issues to work through before they're in the clear on those issues. QC has them set up and is likely next in line for an Eastern team to be relocated if/when necessary. Vegas doesn't have arena issues or ownership issues. They just need to make sure that they have buyers in line for their product which they probably will much to the chagrin of most people.

 

[JMT21]

In regards to this season ticket drive.... are people required to put down some cash or just sign their names to a clipboard???

 

[Pinkfloyd]

In regards to this season ticket drive.... are people required to put down some cash or just sign their names to a clipboard???

First one then the other.

 

[Damisoph]

They should be talking contraction, not expansion.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

They should be talking contraction, not expansion.

No, they shouldn't.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

They should be talking contraction, not expansion.

Only if your team is one of the ones contracted.

 

[Drake744]

It's dumb. Who are the season ticket holders in Nevada? Vegas is a tourist town. You're not going to fill a hockey arena with tourists who have other things to choose from, at least not after the novelty of the new team wears off. Seattle or Portland would make a lot more sense.

Seattle would probably make more sense than Portland (actually IDK, I just like Seattle and don't like Portland), but Vegas is a metropolitan area bigger than several current NHL markets. Vegas metro has 2 million people. Many of which have relocated from colder areas, who already are hockey fans.

 

[McNashty88]

Why hasn't the NHL thought about a hockey team in Wisconsin? A hockey team would flourish there in my opinion. I would love to see Seattle and Wisconsin get a team via expansion or relocation. I've just recently begun to delve into the business side of hockey and thought, why not give Seattle an expansion team, relocate the Coyotes to Wisconsin, and relocate the Panthers to Quebec? It's obviously easier said than done but... With the NBA out of the picture in Seattle for a few years now, I very well believe the potential for growth for the game of hockey looms large over the state of Washington. Wisconsin and Quebec already have a clear and discernible market for the game.

 

[TrillMike]

I'm not really a fan of expansion at this point. Relocation is probably a better option (not naming any team(s) in particular).

 

[57special]

If they lose, no one will go.

Also, Seattle is not a hockey town, though it's better than Vegas.

In Hamilton or Markham there will be a waiting list to see a losing team.

Does Bettman care? No. He is looking to increase viewers in the US. Having another team in Canada, however viable it may be, does nothing to help him achieve that goal.

A Vegas team will end up being an embarrassment, just like Phoenix.

 

[57special]

Why hasn't the NHL thought about a hockey team in Wisconsin? A hockey team would flourish there in my opinion. I would love to see Seattle and Wisconsin get a team via expansion or relocation. I've just recently begun to delve into the business side of hockey and thought, why not give Seattle an expansion team, relocate the Coyotes to Wisconsin, and relocate the Panthers to Quebec? It's obviously easier said than done but... With the NBA out of the picture in Seattle for a few years now, I very well believe the potential for growth for the game of hockey looms large over the state of Washington. Wisconsin and Quebec already have a clear and discernible market for the game.

Seattle isn't a hockey town.

Only population of any consequence in WI is in Milwaukee, which is very close to Chicago. Don't see that area supporting two teams. While there is some hockey in WI, it's nothing like what is found in MN, which rivals Canada for hockey mania.

 

[Damisoph]

Only if your team is one of the ones contracted.

OK.

Diluted talent pool, markets that couldn't give a rats ass about hockey...but ya let's get a team in another one of those markets.

 

[CBJx614]

Seattle isn't a hockey town.

Only population of any consequence in WI is in Milwaukee, which is very close to Chicago. Don't see that area supporting two teams. While there is some hockey in WI, it's nothing like what is found in MN, which rivals Canada for hockey mania.

Seattle isn't a hockey town? They had a team way back when. Hockey is growing quite immensely in the PNW. There's what 5 or 6 Jr and minor league teams in the American PNW.

 

[JVR21]

If they lose, no one will go.

Also, Seattle is not a hockey town, though it's better than Vegas.

In Hamilton or Markham there will be a waiting list to see a losing team.

Does Bettman care? No. He is looking to increase viewers in the US. Having another team in Canada, however viable it may be, does nothing to help him achieve that goal.

A Vegas team will end up being an embarrassment, just like Phoenix.

How is having a team in Hamilton or Markham going to help grow and sustain the league? It takes a lot more than ticket sales.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

OK.

Diluted talent pool, markets that couldn't give a rats ass about hockey...but ya let's get a team in another one of those markets.

The diluted talent pool is a myth.

I don't remember anyone giving a rat's ass about hockey in many current markets prior to hockey's arrival.

 

[MoreOrr]

The Desert Two, coming to the NHL near you soon. Potentially!

 

[Team_Spirit]

I don't like it.

Teams will use this stop to party and booze like in Florida.