NHL Board of Governors to approve opening of expansion process; Atlanta and Houston believed to be leading candidates

[voyageur]

There's no way the league doesn't go to 36 then. Staying at 34 doesn't make any logistical sense.

Why?

Let's say the NHL wanted Atlanta to form a South division and break up the divisions like the NFL to focus on rivalries. They could do that, keeping Washington out of the South in a division with Philly and Pitt. I'm sure Montreal/Toronto/Detroit/Buffalo/Ottawa would be happier to not have Florida teams in their divsion, which are geographical outliers. Put Boston with 3 N.Y teams that's a real metropolitan division, that would have a rivlary that New York/Carolina just doesn't have, or generate on TV.

In the West there is no real rivalry between Edmonton or Calgary/San Jose/Anaheim, you could easily split the division up into NW and Pac, and have more rivalries that way. Maybe you end up with AZ and Dal, in a division with Colorado/Utah. Geographically sensible. Keep 3 Norris teams together in the other.

TV networks would probably like that more than having a lot of nothing games, that are supposed to be rivalries in big, expansive divisions on their dockets. And TV still is king in the fight to be a relevant pro sport.

I don't think 36 is some magic number, because you get into 3 divsions of 6, and the lines get harder to draw around who belongs where, taking into account that there is two different countries and broadcasters who have some say.

 

[dj4aces]

Fertitta seems to think he can whine and play hardball and get a better deal. No idea why he thinks this.

He already tipped his hand at being interested with the ice maker returning to Toyota Center.

There is an opportunity to completely develop a hockey community in one of the biggest cities in the US. It worked in Dallas. It's worked in several southern cities. If the team is winning and the sport is made readily accessible, the fans and the money will follow.

I'm willing to bet that the plan was to announce expansion at the October meeting, but Fertitta balked at the asking price. While the league has a history of just expanding one team at a time, I think they'd prefer to announce the process for both ATL and HOU at the same time. Since HOU just needs ice plants installed, they could start a year earlier while ATL gets the building constructed.

An argument could be made (as it was in the BoH thread) that the asking price may actually be too high, but we don't actually know what the league is asking. One thing is certain though: It's absolutely poor form to go to the press and say the NHL is asking too much.

 

[voyageur]

I'm willing to bet that the plan was to announce expansion at the October meeting, but Fertitta balked at the asking price. While the league has a history of just expanding one team at a time, I think they'd prefer to announce the process for both ATL and HOU at the same time. Since HOU just needs ice plants installed, they could start a year earlier while ATL gets the building constructed.

An argument could be made (as it was in the BoH thread) that the asking price may actually be too high, but we don't actually know what the league is asking. One thing is certain though: It's absolutely poor form to go to the press and say the NHL is asking too much.

What's the time frame on building an arena in Atlanta? I think of the expansion process that got Vegas in, and the NHL deferred the Quebec bid, because they wanted Seattle, and had to wait for the shovels to get in the ground, and have all the pieces in place before awarding a team.

 

[dj4aces]

What's the time frame on building an arena in Atlanta? I think of the expansion process that got Vegas in, and the NHL deferred the Quebec bid, because they wanted Seattle, and had to wait for the shovels to get in the ground, and have all the pieces in place before awarding a team.

Well... first, the league will have to make an announcement saying which group wins the right to purchase a franchise. After that, the last few new arena constructions have taken between 24 and 36 months from groundbreaking to grand opening. But with multiple groups having their own arena plans, no one is gonna break ground on a building without knowing who'll own the team.

 

[voyageur]

Well... first, the league will have to make an announcement saying which group wins the right to purchase a franchise. After that, the last few new arena constructions have taken between 24 and 36 months from groundbreaking to grand opening. But with multiple groups having their own arena plans, no one is gonna break ground on a building without knowing who'll own the team.

I'm not sure you get an announcement on that. That seems more behind the scenes. You knew Seattle was getting a team when Leiweke was part of the Key Arena restoration. The NHL works with certain people.

 

[cptjeff]

I think the owners counter would be, they have to build an arena, which obviously the 1/32 expansion fee money wouldn’t cover,

And the PA comes back with "don't you usually manage to scam taxpayers into buying those for you?"

The NHLPA absolutely should get a cut of the expansion money and it almost certainly will be an issue in the next CBA, which is why the league is speeding along to get at least two teams done before the current CBA expires.

And as an aside, you don't need to do anything to escrow, just issue the player share of expansion money as a bonus to players at the end of year and don't include it in cap calculations. Same mechanism you would use if the face value of contracts came in under the midpoint instead of above it.

 

[dj4aces]

I'm not sure you get an announcement on that. That seems more behind the scenes. You knew Seattle was getting a team when Leiweke was part of the Key Arena restoration. The NHL works with certain people.

For sure. But the winning group has to know who they are before anything happens, which is my point.