NHL met with a group interested in expanding to New Orleans

[My3Sons]

I was a Coyotes fan... and this sounds hauntingly similar to what happened to us.

I’m sorry. As a Coyotes fan you deserved better

 

[JianYang]

Saturate the game more.

The start of the Canada - US games doesn't happen. Hell, getting 3 fights in one game is becoming rare now.

There's barely any emotion, even in the playoffs.

The fast, high action and skill sport you want to sell isn't there because the NHL themselves have been killing that type of hockey with rivals barely playing, a beyond f***ing stupid playoff format and listening to the majority of crybabies.

The NHL has definitely tried to quietly go back by almost certainly instructing NHL officials to call the instigator less, but do something to still get the aggressor a penalty.

There's always something. People were unhappy when the league went to the 8 game divisional format too.

To me, the bottom line is this. If you want more quality games where the players are playing at their best level, you have to reduce the the number of games on the schedule by a significant amount.

Of course, that will never happen though for obvious reasons.

 

[Nstar to Wild]

For every Vegas there's a Minnesota, Seattle, Columbus, Nashville...

Maybe pump the brakes a bit Gary.

I have no idea what this even means?

 

[blueandgoldguy]

It doesn't make financial sense. A poor city with 1.2 million people in the metro. Static or declining population. Very few fortune 500 companies. It is already pushing above its financial capabilities in supporting to teams in the big-4 pro leagues and both those teams are bottom-5 in annual revenues. Given this, the hockey team would likely be pulling up last in league revenues year after year, even with the Canadian dollar at sub .70.

Then there is the issue of their arena apparently either needing a replacement or a serious refurb. That's another $500 million - $1 billion right there. The city doesn't really move the needle on a national tv contract and I don't see how it expands the US footprint in any noticeable way.

Of course the NHL will listen, but I'm sure the only purpose New Orleans will serve is to drive up the price for other potential expansion cities.

 

[Summer Rose]

I have no idea what this even means?

I’m not entirely sure either, but I’d assume that they meant those other four markets aren’t good markets. However, they seem to be doing just fine for themselves. Not every expansion team has to be an overwhelming success financially.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

It doesn't make financial sense. A poor city with 1.2 million people in the metro. Static or declining population. Very few fortune 500 companies. It is already pushing above its financial capabilities in supporting to teams in the big-4 pro leagues and both those teams are bottom-5 in annual revenues. Given this, the hockey team would likely be pulling up last in league revenues year after year, even with the Canadian dollar at sub .70.

Then there is the issue of their arena apparently either needing a replacement or a serious refurb. That's another $500 million - $1 billion right there. The city doesn't really move the needle on a national tv contract and I don't see how it expands the US footprint in any noticeable way.

Of course the NHL will listen, but I'm sure the only purpose New Orleans will serve is to drive up the price for other potential expansion cities.

While I personally think that NOLA is simply a stalking horse to keep the price of expansion franchises up elsewhere .....

..... I do point out that because the NHL gets its money up-front for an expansion franchise, it couldn't really care less about whether the new team succeeds or flops. In fact, if the new team flops, then the NHL could eithern let the franchise dissolve and try to get another investor to pony up the same money for the same city or, at worst, pocket a relocation fee.

[And, yes, there is embarrassment to the League if a team fails, but is that embarrassment really worth more than the non-refundable $1.5 billion the League will get as an expansion fee?]

 

[Pepper]

I find this quite entertaining, for 30+ years fans in Quebec have been telling that NHL needs another team in a french speaking city and finally Bettman agrees to that. Habs - Cajuns should be a fun rivalry.

 

[Coach Reggie Dunlop]

Please stop trying to take the NHL to southern cities. It is a northern sport. Majority of franchises that go down there are just going to be a negative long term. They just don’t support their teams enough.

 

[onmygameboi]

Having a meeting and actually standing up a team are two very different things.

 

[DEANYOUNGBLOOD17]

Road Trip!!!!! The Big Easy!

 

[SeaChaser]

The Lighting and Panthers survived with rival teams filling the arena in the early years. Local fans where always a minority to rival team fans. Florida is full of northern states residence that retired here, and they supported their hometown teams when their team came to play in Florida. Does NO have the same thing?

 

[93LEAFS]

New Orleans seems like way too small a market population-wise and is not a particularly wealthy city either to support both an NBA and NHL team. If they didn't have an NBA team they are competing against, I could see it. But, with an NBA team, I think they are likely to have significant problems.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

How has Houston not gotten an NHL team yet? Natural rival in Dallas. Population base that is like 4th in the USA.

 

[Summer Rose]

How has Houston not gotten an NHL team yet? Natural rival in Dallas. Population base that is like 4th in the USA.

Tilman Fertitta owns the Rockets, who play in the only arena in the Houston area that could host an NHL team. He's "interested" in the NHL but only if he owns the team, and has balked at paying what it would take to own one. There's also something along the lines of a no-compete clause in the contract surrounding the arena - no competing arena is allowed to be constructed in the city of Houston. You could build one in a suburb with a team owner who isn't Fertitta, but that would probably not be a recipe for the continued success of an NHL franchise. I'd bet that Fertitta was at least contacted and possibly made an offer for the Coyotes when it came time for them to relocate last year, but then Ryan Smith ponied up the big bucks to land the team instead.

That's the gist of it, anyway. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of details as I haven't followed it too closely, but I'm at least aware of some of the league business like this since I was a Coyotes fan and they were right in the middle of the this kind of fray for pretty much their entire existence as a franchise in Arizona.