Will Atlanta Get Another Team?

[Fenway]

Why Milwaukee is Not an NHL City

The new Fiserv Forum has ice and could host an NHL game, but the Bucks have said there are no plans for an NHL team to have a permanent home in the Forum.

 

[voyageur]

Thrashers outdrew Hawks.

During the lean years of Hawks, but that didn't seem to impact the bottom line too much. Hawks also hold the record for being in the most watched game in US broadcasting history of the NHL, so that says something about threshold, which the Thrashers did not have.

 

[Fenway]

 

[doublejman]

It should be made clear, Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee can absolutely host NHL games. It has a full ice plant and the seating arrangement is similar to the sprint center in KC, the same group designed both arenas.

Before covid the Schedule on Bucks off nights was filled with concerts, the arena was one of the top ones in the country for concerts, that's why the Admirals aren't in the building.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

It should be made clear, Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee can absolutely host NHL games. It has a full ice plant and the seating arrangement is similar to the sprint center in KC, the same group designed both arenas.

Before covid the Schedule on Bucks off nights was filled with concerts, the arena was one of the top ones in the country for concerts, that's why the Admirals aren't in the building.

the Admirals weren't even consulted

 

[doublejman]

the Admirals weren't even consulted

The Bucks want to control all the dates in the building, they are also having problems with Marquette U basketball, Marquette wanted a long lease and the bucks only gave them 7 years and its likely that the team is out, at times the Marquette can fill Fiserv and still they can make more money off of concerts.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

The Bucks want to control all the dates in the building, they are also having problems with Marquette U basketball, Marquette wanted a long lease and the bucks only gave them 7 years and its likely that the team is out, at times the Marquette can fill Fiserv and still they can make more money off of concerts.

which is why Milwaukee will not be an NHL Market

 

[doublejman]

which is why Milwaukee will not be an NHL Market

I think the general belief is that the only way to get The NHL in Milwaukee is if the Bucks owners also owned the NHL team, they have the money., the group is one of the top richest in the NBA, out of the four of them 3 are billionaires and the 4th is very close to being one.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I think the general belief is that the only way to get The NHL in Milwaukee is if the Bucks owners also owned the NHL team, they have the money., the group is one of the top richest in the NBA, out of the four of them 3 are billionaires and the 4th is very close to being one.

it'll never happen....

 

[doublejman]

it'll never happen....

I think for next 5 -10 years the chances are very low, but basically my point is that Fiserv Forum is also built for NHL hockey, I've seen posts here before that its not.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I think for next 5 -10 years the chances are very low, but basically my point is that Fiserv Forum is also built for NHL hockey, I've seen posted here many times that its not.

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY difference whether the arena is NHL Capatible or not.... the Bucks don't want hockey in their building PERIOD

 

[doublejman]

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY difference whether the arena is NHL Capatible or not.... the Bucks don't want hockey in their building PERIOD

I don't think thats true though, the bucks owners wouldn't spend there own money to put a full ice plant if they never wanted hockey in the building. We have seen new NBA arenas being built recently without ice plants or with basketball only seating. at the time it was built concerts made the most money, that could change in the future and if the bucks think they can make more money with a NHL team then what will happen?

 

[Soundgarden]

By that logic, you could put a winning team anywhere and people will show up. But what's Atlanta bringing to the NHL community that the league needs to be there, if they're going to be the Lightning in good times and the Panthers when it's not good?

I mean, yeah. Ignoring obvious ownership issues, but if Atlanta had made the playoffs six times instead of just once they would most likely be lauded as a success like Nashville has been. Likewise, had the Panthers not gone a decade without the playoffs in a crucial period of their development they would probably be closer to how we view the Lightning. It's not rocket science, if you win people show up.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

During the lean years of Hawks, but that didn't seem to impact the bottom line too much. Hawks also hold the record for being in the most watched game in US broadcasting history of the NHL, so that says something about threshold, which the Thrashers did not have.

Atlanta Hawks, brother. Not chicago Blackhawks.

 

[Stephen]

I mean, yeah. Ignoring obvious ownership issues, but if Atlanta had made the playoffs six times instead of just once they would most likely be lauded as a success like Nashville has been. Likewise, had the Panthers not gone a decade without the playoffs in a crucial period of their development they would probably be closer to how we view the Lightning. It's not rocket science, if you win people show up.

So what we need are more well run organizations. Irrespective of the Atlanta market.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY difference whether the arena is NHL Capatible or not.... the Bucks don't want hockey in their building PERIOD

Ok...But I believe someone was asking if the building was physically capable of hockey games without obstructed seats, which Fiserv is...

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

the Bucks don't want hockey in their building PERIOD

What are you even talking about? They're going to have a yearly college hockey tournament around Christmas. The first one was scheduled for a month ago but obviously got cancelled.

Please do a second of research before you post.

 

[Soundgarden]

So what we need are more well run organizations. Irrespective of the Atlanta market.

Yes, but I don't think we can just ignore the untapped potential of the Atlanta market, their tv market is the largest one without an NHL team, next up would be Houston.

 

[CanadianCoyote]

Milwaukee's not very far from Chicago, so the Hawks consider Milwaukee as part of their market. That combined with the already plentiful amount of sports teams in Milwaukee (an already smallish market), and it's just not as appealing to the NHL even though Fiserv could feasibly support a full-time hockey tenant. The NHL's going to be looking at the Houstons and Atlantas that have people willing to pony up the cash to put teams in, because those markets are where you get the most return for the investment.

A middle-of-the-pack team in Houston or Atlanta still draws more revenue than a good Milwaukee team would because of the scope of the former two markets in comparison to Milwaukee, even besides the fact that it's pretty de-facto part of the Hawks' territory, meaning any prospective Milwaukee team would need to pay the Blackhawks to give up that TV region in addition to the upfront expansion fee.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Milwaukee's not very far from Chicago, so the Hawks consider Milwaukee as part of their market. That combined with the already plentiful amount of sports teams in Milwaukee (an already smallish market), and it's just not as appealing to the NHL even though Fiserv could feasibly support a full-time hockey tenant. The NHL's going to be looking at the Houstons and Atlantas that have people willing to pony up the cash to put teams in, because those markets are where you get the most return for the investment.

A middle-of-the-pack team in Houston or Atlanta still draws more revenue than a good Milwaukee team would because of the scope of the former two markets in comparison to Milwaukee, even besides the fact that it's pretty de-facto part of the Hawks' territory, meaning any prospective Milwaukee team would need to pay the Blackhawks to give up that TV region in addition to the upfront expansion fee.

I agree. Which is a shame, because no self respecting Wisconsinites would root for any Chicago teams.

If Madison and Milwaukee swapped locations, they would have a team by now.

 

[Bondurant]

atlanta had two shots...they aren’t getting a third

there are 10 cities at least ahead of them

1 Houston
2 austin
3 Kansas City
4. Portland
5 Milwaukee
6 Indianapolis
7 Cleveland
8 cincinati
9 Hamilton/ toronto 2
10 Norfolk/ Richmond
11 Charlotte
12 Louisville
13 Salt Lake City
14 Chicago 2
15 Southern California 3
16 Hartford

above are not in any sort of order

Louisville? Cincinnati? Do you have sources for these expansion claims?

 

[CanadianCoyote]

atlanta had two shots...they aren’t getting a third

there are 10 cities at least ahead of them

1 Houston

Not until they find ownership rich enough to buy in and who can also pay rent at Toyota, since Tilman ain't it.

2 austin

Offers nothing Houston doesn't and is in the same media market.

3 Kansas City

Nobody wants a team there for the prices the NHL wants, and KC seems perfectly happy without a major tenant in T-Mobile.

4. Portland

No ownership really intent on getting a team in Portland. They're more focused on baseball than hockey.

5 Milwaukee

Unless someone rich enough to pay off Chicago for the TV territory and pay the NHL expansion fee for what is a small market already crowded with sports teams, ain't happening any time soon.

6 Indianapolis

Possible, but would need ownership and nobody seems that interested in NHL right now; there's been movement of moving the Fuel up to the AHL, but that's about it.

7 Cleveland

Cleveland failed miserably last time and is already a crowded sports market, plus the Jackets already exist to serve as the state's pro hockey franchise. Unless someone really wants it, the Monsters are as good as I see them getting for a while.

8 cincinati

Too close to Columbus to work, unfortunately, and there's also not many people looking to place a team there.

9 Hamilton/ toronto 2

Probably among the last realistic Canadian markets. I'd expect Hamilton to be chosen because of it's size and the renovations going on to FirstOntario if this were to ever happen.

10 Norfolk/ Richmond

There's nowhere near enough support for an NHL team there. Does anybody remember how badly the Rhinos attempts flopped? The Admirals can't stick, either.

11 Charlotte

The Hurricanes have a corner on the NC NHL market, I doubt they add a second.

12 Louisville

A basketball town first and foremost, and just barely larger than Hartford. Not happening anytime soon.

13 Salt Lake City

Basically the same size as Louisville, and already has an ECHL team serving the market.

14 Chicago 2

You'd sooner see a team in Milwaukee than see any team even attempt to challenge the Blackhawks for Chicago. The Blackhawks basically have the entire market by the balls and I don't see them letting go anytime soon.

15 Southern California 3

Unless someone really wants to revive the Mariners, I don't see another team in Cali. It's got three already, it doesn't need four.

16 Hartford

Let's see here...

• Already has AHL hockey (Wolf Pack)
• Basically the same size as Buffalo, but with a far worse economic position before the pandemic
• Crammed in the Boston/New Jersey/New York/Philly region, being easily the lowest of the group (this was true even when the Whalers were still around, they were always the lame duck of the region's sports fandom count)
• Population is shrinking and has been for years
• No new arena set in place, thus any new team would be playing in the same arena the Whalers did previously, which was built in 1975 and is thus woefully out of date to modern NHL standards

Unless some insanely rich person decides to set an NHL team down in a state with a depressed economy and corporate exodus, Hartford's very far down the ladder, if even a possibility at all. Hell, Hartford likely doesn't even end up in consideration if the Bruins hadn't kicked the Whalers out of Boston Garden.

 

[HisIceness]

atlanta had two shots...they aren’t getting a third

there are 10 cities at least ahead of them

1 Houston
2 austin
3 Kansas City
4. Portland
5 Milwaukee
6 Indianapolis
7 Cleveland
8 cincinati
9 Hamilton/ toronto 2
10 Norfolk/ Richmond
11 Charlotte
12 Louisville
13 Salt Lake City
14 Chicago 2
15 Southern California 3
16 Hartford

above are not in any sort of order

Portland, Salt Lake, Charlotte, Norfolk, Richmond, Chicago 2, and Indianapolis are not happening. Atlanta easily has a better chance than any of those cities.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Possible, but would need ownership and nobody seems that interested in NHL right now; there's been movement of moving the Fuel up to the AHL, but that's about it.

The Hurricanes have a corner on the NC NHL market, I doubt they add a second.

Basically the same size as Louisville, and already has an ECHL team serving the market.

None of those places have arenas suitable for NHL, either way. And its unlikely existing NBA only arena will need to be replaced anytime soon.

 

[StreetHawk]

Portland, Salt Lake, Charlotte, Norfolk, Richmond, Chicago 2, and Indianapolis are not happening. Atlanta easily has a better chance than any of those cities.

Unlike expansion back in the 90's where Seattle, Houston, had multiple groups bidding, these days, whoever controls an existing arena is going to have to be the one who puts in a bid.

Bucks control the Forum, so unless they want to own an NHL team, one won't be there. Same as with Portland, Houston, etc. Then you also have to time it correctly. For Atlanta, the city still owns the arena but sell the management rights to it. So, any NHL expansion would have to be timed right when that comes due to get the NHL into that market if the team is going to have a different owner than the ATL Hawks.