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NHL met with a group interested in expanding to New Orleans

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The league can't seriously think about putting a team in New Orleans. A team there would not last long. Demographics, geography, weather, non traditional sport all working against an NHL team there. Football and basketball work there because those are uber popular sports in that part of the country. This isn't a Vegas or Nashville situation.

I love the culture, cuisine, history, and people of New Orleans. Great place to visit. Nothing whatsoever against the city. Just a horrid idea to put an NHL there when there are much better options.
 
BKarchitect said:
Las Vegas isn’t successful because of visiting team fans. It’s successful because there are 3 million people within an easy drive of going to games regularly.
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While that turned out to be true, Bill Foley's initial pitch to investors was along the lines that they anticipated that the locals would at best be lukewarm to hockey and might on a good day fill maybe half of the arena, but they could expect large numbers of visiting fans and casual tourists to make up the difference.

I know this because I have a buddy who was pitched to be one of the investors and told me all about it at the time (and is now kicking himself because he thought it would flop and declined to invest).
 
Ghost of Murph said:
The league can't seriously think about putting a team in New Orleans.
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Nobody said they were.

There was a meeting, which means exactly nothing, but journalists need clicks.

Seriously, this isn't a complicated thing to understand. Some people with money asked for a meeting, the NHL gave them one because it costs them nothing but time to have a meeting and avoids unnecessarily burning a bridge, and that's that. The people with money were likely told the price of the bribe, everyone had a nice lunch, and they all went home knowing that this is almost certainly never going anywhere.

Any time there is a "meeting" or "discussion" about expansion to some city like New Orleans or Des Moines or whatever, that's what this is - some rich people are informed of the requirements and go away. If they come up with $2 billion and an arena, the NHL will seriously listen (they'll put a team in Kabul for a big enough bribe), but until then, these are just perfunctory meetings to lay out the requirements and establish a relationship that will likely go nowhere.
 
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VivaLasVegas said:
While that turned out to be true, Bill Foley's initial pitch to investors was along the lines that they anticipated that the locals would at best be lukewarm to hockey and might on a good day fill maybe half of the arena, but they could expect large numbers of visiting fans and casual tourists to make up the difference.

I know this because I have a buddy who was pitched to be one of the investors and told me all about it at the time (and is now kicking himself because he thought it would flop and declined to invest).
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Yeah - I'm not trying to argue there is a significance to the idea of a "destination" club...I just think saying Vegas is a destination and New Orleans is a destination, therefore, New Orleans works...is too simplistic.

There are significant differences in the demographics and growth of the area, the amount of corporate support, hell - even the number of visitors to each city. Vegas is just...bigger...in all ways. That helps.

The other big thing that people tend to forget about and part of why I think Vegas has cultivated a strong local fanbase - this was the first of the "Big 4" in town and the kind of excitement of having big league sports combined with success of the team I think really created a "this is our pro team" kind of atmosphere. Kind of a perfect storm. Now in a few years all four of the "Big 4" will be in Vegas...if the Raiders, A's and NBA were there first and then Vegas "discovered" hockey...I'm not sure it works out quite the same.

We've seen the NBA struggle in New Orleans....it being a tourist city has not helped that franchise "takeoff". It's a Saints town and now you're asking for an NHL team to occupy the same spot on the calendar as the Pels to compete for the same limited base? If the Pels moved and a new arena was developed, I'm not saying the NHL can't succeed in a new market like NOLA - but the idea that they would be near the front of the list simply because it is a touristy, destination city is crazy IMO and not the same kind of bet that was made on Vegas.
 
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Cas said:
Nobody said they were.

There was a meeting, which means exactly nothing, but journalists need clicks.

Seriously, this isn't a complicated thing to understand. Some people with money asked for a meeting, the NHL gave them one because it costs them nothing but time to have a meeting and avoids unnecessarily burning a bridge, and that's that. The people with money were likely told the price of the bribe, everyone had a nice lunch, and they all went home knowing that this is almost certainly never going anywhere.

Any time there is a "meeting" or "discussion" about expansion to some city like New Orleans or Des Moines or whatever, that's what this is - some rich people are informed of the requirements and go away. If they come up with $2 billion and an arena, the NHL will seriously listen (they'll put a team in Kabul for a big enough bribe), but until then, these are just perfunctory meetings to lay out the requirements and establish a relationship that will likely go nowhere.
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They wouldn't necessarily just go away at the price point. I mentioned this in a different thread, but it's entirely possible that the ownership group they met with has potential for an existing franchise down the road. Sure, the league might not be interested in putting a team in New Orleans but they could be the future St Louis Blues owners. You never know. The Penguins are owned by a group from Boston, to use a recent example.

So they might have gone home knowing that New Orleans isn't going to happen, but also having established a relationship with the league that might pay off later.
 
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Tawnos said:
They wouldn't necessarily just go away at the price point. I mentioned this in a different thread, but it's entirely possible that the ownership group they met with has potential for an existing franchise down the road. Sure, the league might not be interested in putting a team in New Orleans but they could be the future St Louis Blues owners. You never know. The Penguins are owned by a group from Boston, to use a recent example.

So they might have gone home knowing that New Orleans isn't going to happen, but also having established a relationship with the league that might pay off later.
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Yes, precisely why the NHL burning bridges by ignoring requests for meetings would be a bad idea, no matter how outlandish the specific idea is.
 
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Tawnos said:
They wouldn't necessarily just go away at the price point. I mentioned this in a different thread, but it's entirely possible that the ownership group they met with has potential for an existing franchise down the road. Sure, the league might not be interested in putting a team in New Orleans but they could be the future St Louis Blues owners. You never know. The Penguins are owned by a group from Boston, to use a recent example.

So they might have gone home knowing that New Orleans isn't going to happen, but also having established a relationship with the league that might pay off later.
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the only reason PIT is owned by FSG is Delaware North owns the arena and the prime tenant there and they weren't selling either
 
I’d rather they host like an All Star game there or something before considering putting an NHL team there.

Seems like a good fit for an ECHL/AHL team.
 
BKarchitect said:
Yeah - I'm not trying to argue there is a significance to the idea of a "destination" club...I just think saying Vegas is a destination and New Orleans is a destination, therefore, New Orleans works...is too simplistic.

There are significant differences in the demographics and growth of the area, the amount of corporate support, hell - even the number of visitors to each city. Vegas is just...bigger...in all ways. That helps.

The other big thing that people tend to forget about and part of why I think Vegas has cultivated a strong local fanbase - this was the first of the "Big 4" in town and the kind of excitement of having big league sports combined with success of the team I think really created a "this is our pro team" kind of atmosphere. Kind of a perfect storm. Now in a few years all four of the "Big 4" will be in Vegas...if the Raiders, A's and NBA were there first and then Vegas "discovered" hockey...I'm not sure it works out quite the same.

We've seen the NBA struggle in New Orleans....it being a tourist city has not helped that franchise "takeoff". It's a Saints town and now you're asking for an NHL team to occupy the same spot on the calendar as the Pels to compete for the same limited base? If the Pels moved and a new arena was developed, I'm not saying the NHL can't succeed in a new market like NOLA - but the idea that they would be near the front of the list simply because it is a touristy, destination city is crazy IMO and not the same kind of bet that was made on Vegas.
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Agree with pretty much all of that.
 
BKarchitect said:
Yeah - I'm not trying to argue there is a significance to the idea of a "destination" club...I just think saying Vegas is a destination and New Orleans is a destination, therefore, New Orleans works...is too simplistic.

There are significant differences in the demographics and growth of the area, the amount of corporate support, hell - even the number of visitors to each city. Vegas is just...bigger...in all ways. That helps.

The other big thing that people tend to forget about and part of why I think Vegas has cultivated a strong local fanbase - this was the first of the "Big 4" in town and the kind of excitement of having big league sports combined with success of the team I think really created a "this is our pro team" kind of atmosphere. Kind of a perfect storm. Now in a few years all four of the "Big 4" will be in Vegas...if the Raiders, A's and NBA were there first and then Vegas "discovered" hockey...I'm not sure it works out quite the same.

We've seen the NBA struggle in New Orleans....it being a tourist city has not helped that franchise "takeoff". It's a Saints town and now you're asking for an NHL team to occupy the same spot on the calendar as the Pels to compete for the same limited base? If the Pels moved and a new arena was developed, I'm not saying the NHL can't succeed in a new market like NOLA - but the idea that they would be near the front of the list simply because it is a touristy, destination city is crazy IMO and not the same kind of bet that was made on Vegas.
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I think as well, something that can't be understated is how the team came out following the events of 1 October really endeared the City and Team, in a way nothing else could of. Having a team "of Vegas for Vegas" as the city tried to heal, as you said it was a perfect storm.
 
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KJoe88 said:
No more teams unless it’s in Canada, please. And I’m not even Canadian.
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Nobody in Canada is seriously attempting to purchase an expansion franchise.

Still, the owners are committed to further expansion ... with utter and total disregard for some fans' opposition.

So a lot more teams in warmer climes.
 
I’m one of about 10 hockey fans in the area. There is no way this was a serious meeting. Bettman must have owed someone a favor or maybe he lost a bet. Otherwise there is no universe this happens. The only semi-realistic path to a team would be if Ms. Benson wanted to buy one and I doubt she even knows what hockey is. I wouldn’t trust Loomis and Lauscha to run a hockey team. Just a silly meeting to even agree to.

Edit - I will add that posters saying the city barely supports the Pels are over simplifying it. The Hornets held the city hostage almost immediately after arriving. Threatening to move regularly. Then the owner went bust and dumped the team back on the league. The fans here want to identify with the players and need an emotional connection. They never had the chance for that with prior ownership. Under the Benson umbrella the team just has mishap after mishap. Bad drafting and injury after injury. Then you have stupidity like thr ESPN campaign to get Zion Williamson to try to force his way to the Knicks. He’s fat and largely broken now but that really hurt them after the ugly end to the Chris Paul and Anthony Davis sagas. If they could string together five good years in a row with players staying out and saying the right things it would be fine. I doubt that happens while Ms. Benson is alive.
 
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