NHL to Atlanta odds just increased significantly

[Evilhomer]

This is so stupid. Another money pit funded by successful teams gate revenues.

Quebec would be a better market for two reasons.

1) bigger hockey market. Atlanta could be 10M for all I care, still would be a smaller hockey market. Quebec is a bit larger then the Peg if you account for nearby regions outside the metro who’ll be ticket buyers for sure.

2) TV deal. The Canadian TV deal is far, far larger then the US one on a per team basis. Last time around, Quebecor overpaid massively in the hope that a team was coming. The French part of the Canadian deal will be smaller then it would have.been next time around. I guarantee you it’s a bigger impact then whatever impact teams like Phoenix, Atlanta, other have on US tv deal.

Overall Bettman was right about betting on the YS, but he’s overdone it with teams like Phoenix and Florida

Quebec would not be a suitable NHL market for so many reasons. It's not an accident that there are no other professional sports teams in Quebec City. It is an absolutely beautiful city, but it's size does not warrant a professional sports teams. That said, much like Winnipeg, maybe a sports team could survive there if it is owned by Quebecor, but it offers almost no growth going forward.

 

[FlyguyOX]

No it isn’t. You don’t know what to tell me because you don’t know what you’re talking about. The Hawks, which haven’t been good since Dominique Wilkins, has played to plenty of sell outs the last few seasons. The Braves have been top-5 attendance last few years. The MLS team has literally broken American soccer attendance records. The Falcons are fine. College football is so big here that they moved the hall of fame to downtown Atlanta several years ago. Bad sports town??

World* soccer attendance records

Ahh so you're a new fan i see, welcome! Hey so, the Atlanta Trashers were a thing around the beginning of the millenium. They even qualified for the NHL playoffs... once. After nearly AN ENTIRE DECADE of existence, they left this world with no explanation.

And now they're getting ready for round 2, because Bettman could not just ignore the millions of fans in Georgia roaring to have their beloved hockey team back right?

unironically, yes. My generation grew up loving the thrashers and there's a huge contingent that have that nostalgia. I have lots of peers that aren't necessarily NHL fans but would definitely attend Thrashers games. Not to mention a need for a pro sports team closer to the largest population in metro Atlanta.

 

[FlyguyOX]

not to mention Atlanta is the final stop of the Fedex Cup and effectively hosts 2 pga tour events if you count the Masters

Atlanta is the sporting capital of the South.

The fact nashville and raleigh have teams but Atlanta doesnt is a sickening injustice

And US Soccer may be moving their HQ to Atlanta if they haven't already.

AND it'll be a host site for the next World Cup.

It really is odd that the NHL isn't already here. ATL really is the capital of the South.

 

[tucker3434]

This is so stupid. Another money pit funded by successful teams gate revenues.

Quebec would be a better market for two reasons.

1) bigger hockey market. Atlanta could be 10M for all I care, still would be a smaller hockey market. Quebec is a bit larger then the Peg if you account for nearby regions outside the metro who’ll be ticket buyers for sure.

2) TV deal. The Canadian TV deal is far, far larger then the US one on a per team basis. Last time around, Quebecor overpaid massively in the hope that a team was coming. The French part of the Canadian deal will be smaller then it would have.been next time around. I guarantee you it’s a bigger impact then whatever impact teams like Phoenix, Atlanta, other have on US tv deal.

Overall Bettman was right about betting on the YS, but he’s overdone it with teams like Phoenix and Florida

Nashville pulls in more revenue than Winnipeg. Real head scratcher why a city 3 times the size of Nashville is gaining more traction than another Winnipeg, right?

 

[FlyguyOX]

And USA Soccer just relocated their national headquarters and entire operations to here.

Hey! We're on the same wavelength haha

Man, canadians are going to hate the new ATL team so much because of how popular it's going to be. Way beyond any hatred of Vegas. I can see it already.

 

[Chrysalis99]

The area being considered is right in the middle of, or adjacent to, the majority of growth and prosperity in the Atlanta MSA. Theres more people from somewhere else living in the area then there are from Atlanta. I would imagine most economic impact studies would be giving the prospect a green light.

However, I personally dont want to see Atlanta get another team without more worthy cities being considered first. Even then I worry about watering down the game. The NBA has 30, the NFL 32 and we're considering moving the NHL to more than 32? I dunno folks....

 

[AintLifeGrand]

The area being considered is right in the middle of, or adjacent to, the majority of growth and prosperity in the Atlanta MSA. Theres more people from somewhere else living in the area then there are from Atlanta. I would imagine most economic impact studies would be giving the prospect a green light.

However, I personally dont want to see Atlanta get another team without more worthy cities being considered first. Even then I worry about watering down the game. The NBA has 30, the NFL 32 and we're considering moving the NHL to more than 32? I dunno folks....

Atlanta is the most worthy city
- Huge Untapped demographic
- A more vibrant and culturally relevant city than houston
- An economic juggernaut on par with Houston
- 7th largest TV market in the US
- Our team was unjustly stolen from us by covetous Canadians/Manitobans- A great injustice and a form of Athletic Genocide

 

[Chrysalis99]

A form of Athletic Genocide

Kinda harsh eh mate? LMAO

I dont disagree with the statistic's though. It's an economic powerhouse. There's also a HUGE different playing NHL games in the location considered vs where they played before.

 

[MoneyManny]

Hey! We're on the same wavelength haha

Man, canadians are going to hate the new ATL team so much because of how popular it's going to be. Way beyond any hatred of Vegas. I can see it already.

That is so petty. I'm pretty sure most of us would be thrilled if Atlanta can hit the ground running like Vegas.

Who the hell comments on a hockey message board rooting for the NHL to fail lol.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

That is so petty. I'm pretty sure most of us would be thrilled if Atlanta can hit the ground running like Vegas.

Who the hell comments on a hockey message board rooting for the NHL to fail lol.

this fanbase and team is going to have the biggest chip on its shoulder which should make for an electric in game atmosphere

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

That is so petty. I'm pretty sure most of us would be thrilled if Atlanta can hit the ground running like Vegas.

Who the hell comments on a hockey message board rooting for the NHL to fail lol.

I do agree that some Atlanta fans can be a bit harsh, but to be fair, there are plenty of posters here that are already hoping/calling for Atlanta to fail.

 

[FlyguyOX]

The area being considered is right in the middle of, or adjacent to, the majority of growth and prosperity in the Atlanta MSA. Theres more people from somewhere else living in the area then there are from Atlanta. I would imagine most economic impact studies would be giving the prospect a green light.

However, I personally dont want to see Atlanta get another team without more worthy cities being considered first. Even then I worry about watering down the game. The NBA has 30, the NFL 32 and we're considering moving the NHL to more than 32? I dunno folks....

The NHL has less US teams than those other leagues you mentioned.

 

[hangman005]

I hope Atlanta comes back and kicks ass.... then again, I also what Arizona to get their shit sorted and kick some ass.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Atlanta is the most worthy city
- Huge Untapped demographic
- A more vibrant and culturally relevant city than houston
- An economic juggernaut on par with Houston
- 7th largest TV market in the US
- Our team was unjustly stolen from us by covetous Canadians/Manitobans- A great injustice and a form of Athletic Genocide

Is Houston even that much of an economic Juggernaut? I always considered Atlanta's peers cities like New York, Chicago, and LA. That's pretty much it.

 

[CDN24]

you really think the NHL will let that happen after how hard they have fought for Phoenix,

Atlanta has one additonal advantage over Phoenix- An untapped demographic that I am sure the nhl will make grand overtures to engage as part of expansion into Atlanta

the current NHL is all about growing the game ; Atlanta provides the best avenue to accomplish that goal given its status as “Black Hollywood”
and the Civil Rights Movement’s spiritual home

every ignorant yankee/ Canadian take in here is completely oblivous to this key metric which assures a new NHL team in Atlanta.

I am also certain Anson Carter will be the public figurehead of the new team either as President or GM to help drive this initiative further

They fought a whole lot harder for Phoenix than they ever did for Atlanta. Its almost as if Winnipeg was the obvious place to move a struggling team and wanted to avoid the embarrassment of moving the coyotes back where they came from.

Maybe its an ignorant take, but Atlanta has failed twice. The NHL will be leery of trying again. It only takes a 2/3 majority of teams to approve an expansion team but The NHL likes to announce unanimous votes. I am not so sure all teams would be willing to vote for a 3rd attempt.

I don't think its as assured as you think it is. They are at 32 which is a pretty balanced number. If they expand its likely 2 teams- one east and one west to maintain balance. Utah being the obvious choice. But there is still the matter of Phoenix, if they ultimately have to move it needs to be in the west, is there a 2nd option in the west?

I think The NHL will address the issue of a team playing in a 5000 seat arena before they consider expansion.

 

[FlyguyOX]

That is so petty. I'm pretty sure most of us would be thrilled if Atlanta can hit the ground running like Vegas.

Who the hell comments on a hockey message board rooting for the NHL to fail lol.

Plenty of fans resented Vegas for how quickly they won a cup, the theatrics of their games, their fans being supposedly "bandwagon" fans since they're new etc etc etc

 

[LeafGrief]

Too many teams. Talent dilution is part of the problem, but the real problem is attention dilution. In a league with an already bloated regular season who's only outcome is playoff seeding and individual awards/stats, games need to be against relevant teams to drive fan interest. More teams means less rivalry games. I'm sorry, but I don't give a single shit about 70% of the Western Conference or half the Metro, but I'm going to tune in to the Leafs vs Bruins or any Canadian team every time I can. Adding more irrelevant teams makes more games irrelevant and dilutes the already slim narrative value of the regular season.

With this many teams, a necessary change will be to massively cut down on inter-divisional play. I don't care if that means Pittsburgh doesn't get to see Connor McDavid every year, I think that playing the Flyers and Caps 5 times a year is probably better for fan attention. The Leafs play the Habs just three times this year, it's an absolute travesty.

There's also the fact that this growth is completely un-organic is just the league getting deeper and deeper into the Ponzi Scheme. All bubbles burst, this one will be ugly when it does.

 

[NVious]

Atlanta is the most worthy city
- Huge Untapped demographic
- A more vibrant and culturally relevant city than houston
- An economic juggernaut on par with Houston
- 7th largest TV market in the US
- Our team was unjustly stolen from us by covetous Canadians/Manitobans- A great injustice and a form of Athletic Genocide

This, it's pathetic that Atlanta has only gotten 2 NHL teams. The market is ridiculously untapped

#StopAthleticGenocide

 

[jbeck5]

Who is the proposed owner?

I really don't think you can say "well they failed twice". The Atlanta Flames were almost 50 years ago - lots of things have changed. Atlanta Thrashers just had a weird situation where the owners literally did not want to own a hockey team any more, but also controlled the arena (and didn't want them playing there any longer).

There are thriving southern hockey markets, so who knows how Atlanta 3.0 would do?

Why didn't they sell the team to another owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta?

 

[Salsero1]

Why didn't they sell the team to another owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta?

They would have had no building to play in. ASG didn't want the Thrashers to exist in Atlanta. They owned the only building and wouldn't offer any sort of arrangement for them to continue playing there.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Why didn't they sell the team to another owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta?

because the only viable way to make an NHL
team work in Atlanta was to be able to have an arena to play in.

Atlanta Spirit sabatoged any attempt by any local ownership group to take over the Thrashers to keep them in Atlanta by offering extremely onerous leasebterms thet would eliminate any chance of the team being profitabile.

It was effectively a poison pill

 

[hangman005]

Why didn't they sell the team to another owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta?

Because ASG who wanted to be rid of them controlled the arena and wouldn't let them play there either.

 

[jbeck5]

They would have had no building to play in. ASG didn't want the Thrashers to exist in Atlanta. They owned the only building and wouldn't offer any sort of arrangement for them to continue playing there.

But why didn't someone else buy them and build an arena? They could have played at a university like Arizona for a year or two while they build?

Like, what has changed that didn't make it an option then but is an option now?

Couldn't an owner have bought them and built an arena and kept them there? That's what happens when expansion teams come around. Someone buys them and builds and arena. What's different?

 

[jbeck5]

Because ASG who wanted to be rid of them controlled the arena and wouldn't let them play there either.

But why wouldn't the new potential owners build their own arena there?

Isn't that what happened in Vegas? They built the arena to host an NHL team.

Andlauer bought the sens and is in plans to build a new arena.

Just play at a smaller arena until the new one is ready like a university arena in the area or junior team or minor league team, etc. Arizona is doing it.

 

[jetsforever]

Is this a joke?