pro Hockey in Southern Patagonia

[Bubbrubb231]

There's a glut of pro hockey labor come summer and would be relatively easy to start some sort of A/AA pro league in southern Patagonia.

Rio Gallegos, Rio Grande, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia all have 90,000+ population bases and cold and relatively dry winters (rain shadow from Andes). Also, towns of Puerto Natales (20,000), El Calafate (20k), porvenir (8k), Rio turbio (10k) and Tolhuin (10k+).

Build open air ice rinks with a cantilever roof on the Northside so a shadow can be cast over the ice sheet for the most amount of time in year, thus keeping sun off ice and allowing an open air venue.

If you know Argentinian sports culture, there will be flares and fireworks, plus no roof is cheaper build cost. Maybe have the Northside be a club seating side with the roof and then the other 3/4 of the rink is safe standing.

I know refrigeration plant would be a big cost, say $500k new or 350k used, but construction costs would most likely be around $1mm or less for a simple concrete bowl with club side being the more North American style.

Do you think I'm in the wheelhouse on those costs?

I know NHL winter classic would only stop if heavy rain and the only rain they get down there is in more trace amounts which wouldn't inhibit GameDay much. Maybe the odd cancelation but for the cost savings on adding a roof and disabling fans from flares and fireworks would be well worth it.

Again, this is based on the glut of A/AA pro hockey labor that exists in summertime. What if there was a 4mo league in Argentina that split between the NA seasons? Thoughts? Am I smoking too much pot?

Obviously having the capital to build each rink is the one prohibitive factor, but I'm curious to know what other factors there may be outside of money.

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[Bubbrubb231]

Major markets in Yellow - 90,000-150,000 populations
Micro Markets in Blue - 7,000-20,000 populations (El Calafate is just a tad to the north)

Barren outposts in barren sub-Antartica with no sporting identity in the greater Latin American world. Only location in southern hemisphere one can call winter with the needed population centers to put butt in seats. Plant and Equipment woul cost same as NA, but labor to build, land potentially, pennies on the dollar or close to.

Compare the Climate and Weather in Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Río Gallegos, and Río Grande - Weather Spark

As per above weather comparison of the 4 Major Markets, Rio Gallegos would get too a bit too high to sustain an outdoor rink past 9mos of the year, all the others are capable of 12mo if a cantilever roof provides enough shade to block out sun in the warmer months. Maybe kickup the refigeration at same time.

If you know anything about Argentinian sporting passion, then thats the idea of it. Lots of standing room so that the game is accesible to all, much like NHL used to be for the working man, not as much anymore. Stream games in HD. Maybe free for Latin American IPs, subscription model for Northern Hermisphere, etc etc. Would be based more on media rights than ticket revenue.

 

[tarheelhockey]

There's a glut of pro hockey labor come summer and would be relatively easy to start some sort of A/AA pro league in southern Patagonia.

Rio Gallegos, Rio Grande, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia all have 90,000+ population bases and cold and relatively dry winters (rain shadow from Andes). Also, towns of Puerto Natales (20,000), El Calafate (20k), porvenir (8k), Rio turbio (10k) and Tolhuin (10k+).

Build open air ice rinks with a cantilever roof on the Northside so a shadow can be cast over the ice sheet for the most amount of time in year, thus keeping sun off ice and allowing an open air venue.

If you know Argentinian sports culture, there will be flares and fireworks, plus no roof is cheaper build cost. Maybe have the Northside be a club seating side with the roof and then the other 3/4 of the rink is safe standing.

I know refrigeration plant would be a big cost, say $500k new or 350k used, but construction costs would most likely be around $1mm or less for a simple concrete bowl with club side being the more North American style.

Do you think I'm in the wheelhouse on those costs?

I know NHL winter classic would only stop if heavy rain and the only rain they get down there is in more trace amounts which wouldn't inhibit GameDay much. Maybe the odd cancelation but for the cost savings on adding a roof and disabling fans from flares and fireworks would be well worth it.

Again, this is based on the glut of A/AA pro hockey labor that exists in summertime. What if there was a 4mo league in Argentina that split between the NA seasons? Thoughts? Am I smoking too much pot?

Obviously having the capital to build each rink is the one prohibitive factor, but I'm curious to know what other factors there may be outside of money.

I guess the question is whether all of these costs would lead to money being made.

Capital costs + flying dozens of players across the world + league travel costs + equipment + staff salaries + advertising

A/AA hockey has a very hard time making money in North American markets. Is there enough disposable income in southern Patagonia to expect people to pay, say, $30 USD per ticket for, say, 30 games per season?

By population alone, a city of 150K in the USA would be too small to sustain pro hockey — that would be like a Bangor ME or Santa Fe NM. A city with only 90K would be like a Fairbanks AK or Helena MT, much too small. Are cities in Southern Patagonia generating more revenue than their NA counterparts?

Genuinely asking these questions. I know less than nothing about these markets.

If the answer is “no”, then I don’t see how it could possibly work given the capital and travel costs.

 

[GindyDraws]

Don't make me get the hose.

 

[JMCx4]

Letting this thread (and its seminal idea) die would be the only humane thing.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

Major markets in Yellow - 90,000-150,000 populations
Micro Markets in Blue - 7,000-20,000 populations (El Calafate is just a tad to the north)

Barren outposts in barren sub-Antartica with no sporting identity in the greater Latin American world. Only location in southern hemisphere one can call winter with the needed population centers to put butt in seats. Plant and Equipment woul cost same as NA, but labor to build, land potentially, pennies on the dollar or close to.
View attachment 739986

Compare the Climate and Weather in Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Río Gallegos, and Río Grande - Weather Spark

As per above weather comparison of the 4 Major Markets, Rio Gallegos would get too a bit too high to sustain an outdoor rink past 9mos of the year, all the others are capable of 12mo if a cantilever roof provides enough shade to block out sun in the warmer months. Maybe kickup the refigeration at same time.

If you know anything about Argentinian sporting passion, then thats the idea of it. Lots of standing room so that the game is accesible to all, much like NHL used to be for the working man, not as much anymore. Stream games in HD. Maybe free for Latin American IPs, subscription model for Northern Hermisphere, etc etc. Would be based more on media rights than ticket revenue.
View attachment 739987

View attachment 739988

To put it simply…. nobody gives a shit about hockey in Argentina.