Which Cities are Candidates to Get an NHL Team?
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cheswick
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Alabama isn’t a city.
no it's not... the Admirals are in the UWM Panther arena aka the original Milwaukee facility known as the MECCA
razor ray
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- May 8, 2011
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I guess that means hosting NHL preseason games is wrong from this article:
NHL pre-season games, Disney ice shows will be possible at new Milwaukee Bucks arena
NHL isn't that, ray.... there is no hockey tenant in the Bucks facility, that's why the Admirals aren't included in the new facility, now that the Bradley Center is, or soon will be imploded
razor ray
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Never said a hockey tenenat is in the new Bucks facilty....never said anything about the Admirals either.
You seem angry....don’t know why. Scratch Milwaukee off the list then.
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BECAUSE Milwaukee already has the Admirals SINCE 1974.... most of these markets either already are served by some form of hockey, and are in various leagues... or existing you need markets in other leagues to feed the NHL, and the NHL already has taken more and more of the control over those leagues, through either affiliation or outright ownership of the affiliate or affiliates...
QC is well known, and has dedicated threads on this forum, so is Hartford/Hamilton et all..... Alabama is served or covered by the SPHL in Birmingham, see the correlation now.....
Toronto/GTA you're dealing with either existing teams or the Leafs and Sabres, depending on what area is proposed.....
Jeffrey93
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What are you on about?
The Admirals being in the area means the area can't have an NHL team? Aside from Chicago that is.
How does an area being served by a lower league than the NHL mean it should be ruled out as a candidate for the NHL?!?
That's mind boggling logic right there. Prove you like hockey....and that rules you out of getting better hockey and therefore spending more money on hockey. Brilliant.
Jeffrey93
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And btw, the WESC seems quite capable of hosting NHL hockey, even if the Admirals are in the area. If it is true that the Admirals being nearby would make playing NHL hockey at the WESC impossible...it seems they're going to give it a try anyway. I wonder what will happen. Maybe the puck just won't drop from the official's hands? Maybe if the Admirals are on the road at the time....they will be able to play in slow motion? Perhaps if the Admirals are in the area and an NHL game is attempted at the WESC....the universe will implode?
Not the best sight lines though as it is primarily being built for hoops. The Admirals weren't invited to be a tenant at the new venue, that doesn't mean an NHL team wouldn't be.
Not the best sight lines though as it is primarily being built for hoops. The Admirals weren't invited to be a tenant at the new venue, that doesn't mean an NHL team wouldn't be.
cheswick
Non-registered User
Mark Chipman, president of the Jets, made a presentation to the NHL in 2007 on Winnipeg for consideration on entering the league.
The other groups that presented that day? Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Seattle.
So of the 5, 2.5 have teams. It would seem to me that Houston is the next front runner. Don’t really hear much about Kansas City but there was obviously at least some what serious interest at one point. Quebec City is obviously interested.
I’d put it as
1. Houston
2. Quebec City
3. Toronto
4. Kansas City
5. Atlanta
The other groups that presented that day? Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Seattle.
So of the 5, 2.5 have teams. It would seem to me that Houston is the next front runner. Don’t really hear much about Kansas City but there was obviously at least some what serious interest at one point. Quebec City is obviously interested.
I’d put it as
1. Houston
2. Quebec City
3. Toronto
4. Kansas City
5. Atlanta
you want the ire of Milwaukee fans from here on out badgering you, Jeffrey..... I'm defending MILWAUKEE, here dude.... the OP has ZERO, repeat zero credibility by even posting this inane thread
folks there are numeros threads, past or present that are open for discussion... Hartford, Burlington, Hamilton, etc....
Jeffrey93
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As to this original question.....I think the list of potential markets is a long one.
Through relocation or expansion....you can't rule many locations out.
QC, Houston, Kansas City, Hamilton, Toronto2, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Hartford, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, San Antonio, San Diego, Portland, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and so on.
Any of these places could be a candidate, and sure....even Birmingham.
In my humble opinion......if you want to really spark interest and get people watching.....you purposefully put teams pretty close to another team.
I think Columbus would benefit from a team in Indianapolis....there would be a huge rivalry there due to geography alone. Throw a team in Cincinnati and those three teams now have 2 rivals each instantly, plus any others that develop for reasons outside of geography.
Same goes for
Toronto-Hamilton Buffalo
Milwaukee-Chicago
Sacramento-San Jose
Portland-Seattle-Vancouver (bit of a hike to go from Vancity to Portland...but not unheard of)
Columbus-Cleveland-Pittsburgh
Imagine down the road....if there are teams moved and a bit more expansion....if teams are put in:
Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Within a 4 hour drive from each other....you'd have Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
7 teams pretty much within 4 hours of each other. Chicago to Pittsburgh would be a stretch....but 5 of those 7 teams are right in there.
To me, that isn't encroaching on another Owner's area....(since it actually isn't according to the by-laws)....it is helping them. Giving those teams an instant rival they will draw big crowds for and can charge more for.
Competition in sports helps both parties, as long as it is within reason. Like dumping a team in San Francisco to be rivals with San Jose, that'd be a bit too close. But a Sacramento team? If San Jose has a very stable and local fan base....it might actually increase their revenue to have a team in Sacramento.
Teams that are struggling....they might not be able to handle losing some of the fans that are in-between.....so it would have to be done carefully.
TLDR......there are a lot of candidates. Too often people rule locations out, I used to do that myself.
bye, Jeffrey, this thread makes absolutely zero sense, the NHL ISN'T GOING TO 200 TEAMS
HisIceness
This is Hurricanes Hockey
Not really sure why Alabama was mentioned 
Seattle, Houston, and Quebec are the top 3.
After that you've got the likes of Kansas City, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Toronto 2, and a wild card in Austin.
But make no mistake, the first 3 I mentioned are likely top priority.
Seattle, Houston, and Quebec are the top 3.
After that you've got the likes of Kansas City, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Toronto 2, and a wild card in Austin.
But make no mistake, the first 3 I mentioned are likely top priority.
No Fun Shogun
34-38-61-10-13-15
Basically, you can hunt and peck around:
Portland - wealthy market with a modern arena with a very rich owner that has seemingly tipped his toe in the NHL's waters from time to time, but it also looks like his group finds the NHL's expansion prices as being too rich of a pill to swallow. Also questionable if they could support two major pro teams with nearly identical schedules as that's splitting the fanbase's disposable income at the same time between the NHL and NBA. Not likely, but possible.
San Diego - has a pretty decent minor league hockey history and with the Chargers going there is room for disposable income with really only the Padres and NCAA Aztecs as an alternative. That being said, they lack an arena, so that's a humongous hurdle. Not remotely likely.
Sacramento - new arena and all, but I haven't heard remotely any chatter of either the (NBA) Kings ownership or another group being interested. Not likely.
Salt Lake City - a market that I always highlight as a potential longterm expansion candidate, given the market's winter sports history, growth rate, and wealth. Now, that being said, they're still a small market and the geography of the area means that they have a fairly long and narrow market to draw from. Come back to this in a few decades and you'd have a stronger candidate, but not remotely likely in the near future.
Saskatoon or Regina - nobody would deny the rabid fanbase here for sports, but the simple fact of the matter is that either city are far too small for practical consideration. NHL would listen to an expansion proposal politely, but then not remotely consider it. Either city would probably have to at least double if not triple in size for this to have a serious chance.
Houston - seemingly a slam dunk in ever way. Huge market with a big sports scene and an arena ready to go. Only thing lacking is an owner that has access to said arena. If the new Rockets' ownership wants it, they'd probably catapult to the top of the NHL's hit list in a heartbeat, but can't say for sure if they even are remotely interested. Maybe.
San Antonio or Austin - intriguing option here, with both markets having deep sports scenes but fairly limited professional competition. Not seeing an owner standing up here, though. And Austin would need either a new arena or massive upgrades to their collegiate basketball arena. Unlikely.
Oklahoma City - probably too small to be a combined NBA/NHL town. Unlikely.
Tulsa, Topeka, Wichita, or Omaha - probably all too small to be seriously considered, and even if they were they'd be dead last in landing free agent talent in all likelihood. Nope.
Kansas City - another seeming slam dunk, but lacking an interested owner. Unlikely.
Milwaukee and Indianapolis - I'm combining these two for a simple reason, as I think they suffer from the same problem. Oversaturation. Namely, I think that both already have too many pro and collegiate teams competing for fan disposable income as it is, and if you throw in an NHL team to the equation you further cannibalize that. Both are possible, but I think that they'd be relocation candidates sooner rather than later.
Louisville - nice-sized untapped market by the big four, but I see them as an NBA or bust city. Unlikely.
Atlanta - huge market with a long sports scene, growing rapidly, a lot of money, an available arena, and a history in the NHL. Obviously a slam dunk. Oh... right... well, maybe not. I wouldn't put it past the NHL, but I'd say that we're a long way's away before the NHL serious tries a third time in Atlanta. Maybe an expansion partner with Salt Lake City in 2050.
Cleveland or Cincinnati - I'd be shocked. Think that Ohio's going to be a one-team state forever.
Hampton Roads - lacking an arena, an owner, and significant local corporate bucks. I think that this region will eventually get a team in some sport when they get their ducks lined up, but I'm not seeing that happening soon or with the NHL first. Unlikely.
Hartford (or elsewhere in Connecticut) - the dream of many, but just never seems to be high on the NHL's hit list as of late. Needs a modern arena, a willing owner, and a huge amount of money. Unlikely.
Hamilton - makes a lot of sense, but Balsillie could've taught a master's level course on how to piss of the NHL Board of Governors, so he was his own worst enemy in many ways. With him seemingly out of the picture, I'm not aware of a willing owner in the area with the capital that the NHL is interested in, and a new arena or major arena upgrades would be needed. Unlikely.
GTA - the holy grail for all intents and purposes. LA and NYC can both support multiple teams, so it seems like the greater Toronto area should easily be able to do so as well. The Leafs are a humongous roadblock though, as they clearly view a monopoly on the region as a valuable asset. They'd fight tooth and nail at every step and likely demand a staggeringly huge indemnity beyond even what the expansion price would be, so we'd be talking about a huge hole to start up in. Unlikely, but would absolutely work.
Quebec City - really should be a no duh, but the NHL just seems like they're more interested in keeping this market in their pocket as an emergency relocation option a la Winnipeg versus actually expanding there.
So, of the options, Houston or Kansas City would probably be the frontrunners if either had interested and viable owners, Portland would be up there if the Allen group decided to open up their pockets, and Quebec City is the wild card that the NHL probably wants to keep in case a team just out and out has to move and there are no local parties interested. In other words, I'm not expecting an expansion past Seattle in the near future.
Portland - wealthy market with a modern arena with a very rich owner that has seemingly tipped his toe in the NHL's waters from time to time, but it also looks like his group finds the NHL's expansion prices as being too rich of a pill to swallow. Also questionable if they could support two major pro teams with nearly identical schedules as that's splitting the fanbase's disposable income at the same time between the NHL and NBA. Not likely, but possible.
San Diego - has a pretty decent minor league hockey history and with the Chargers going there is room for disposable income with really only the Padres and NCAA Aztecs as an alternative. That being said, they lack an arena, so that's a humongous hurdle. Not remotely likely.
Sacramento - new arena and all, but I haven't heard remotely any chatter of either the (NBA) Kings ownership or another group being interested. Not likely.
Salt Lake City - a market that I always highlight as a potential longterm expansion candidate, given the market's winter sports history, growth rate, and wealth. Now, that being said, they're still a small market and the geography of the area means that they have a fairly long and narrow market to draw from. Come back to this in a few decades and you'd have a stronger candidate, but not remotely likely in the near future.
Saskatoon or Regina - nobody would deny the rabid fanbase here for sports, but the simple fact of the matter is that either city are far too small for practical consideration. NHL would listen to an expansion proposal politely, but then not remotely consider it. Either city would probably have to at least double if not triple in size for this to have a serious chance.
Houston - seemingly a slam dunk in ever way. Huge market with a big sports scene and an arena ready to go. Only thing lacking is an owner that has access to said arena. If the new Rockets' ownership wants it, they'd probably catapult to the top of the NHL's hit list in a heartbeat, but can't say for sure if they even are remotely interested. Maybe.
San Antonio or Austin - intriguing option here, with both markets having deep sports scenes but fairly limited professional competition. Not seeing an owner standing up here, though. And Austin would need either a new arena or massive upgrades to their collegiate basketball arena. Unlikely.
Oklahoma City - probably too small to be a combined NBA/NHL town. Unlikely.
Tulsa, Topeka, Wichita, or Omaha - probably all too small to be seriously considered, and even if they were they'd be dead last in landing free agent talent in all likelihood. Nope.
Kansas City - another seeming slam dunk, but lacking an interested owner. Unlikely.
Milwaukee and Indianapolis - I'm combining these two for a simple reason, as I think they suffer from the same problem. Oversaturation. Namely, I think that both already have too many pro and collegiate teams competing for fan disposable income as it is, and if you throw in an NHL team to the equation you further cannibalize that. Both are possible, but I think that they'd be relocation candidates sooner rather than later.
Louisville - nice-sized untapped market by the big four, but I see them as an NBA or bust city. Unlikely.
Atlanta - huge market with a long sports scene, growing rapidly, a lot of money, an available arena, and a history in the NHL. Obviously a slam dunk. Oh... right... well, maybe not. I wouldn't put it past the NHL, but I'd say that we're a long way's away before the NHL serious tries a third time in Atlanta. Maybe an expansion partner with Salt Lake City in 2050.
Cleveland or Cincinnati - I'd be shocked. Think that Ohio's going to be a one-team state forever.
Hampton Roads - lacking an arena, an owner, and significant local corporate bucks. I think that this region will eventually get a team in some sport when they get their ducks lined up, but I'm not seeing that happening soon or with the NHL first. Unlikely.
Hartford (or elsewhere in Connecticut) - the dream of many, but just never seems to be high on the NHL's hit list as of late. Needs a modern arena, a willing owner, and a huge amount of money. Unlikely.
Hamilton - makes a lot of sense, but Balsillie could've taught a master's level course on how to piss of the NHL Board of Governors, so he was his own worst enemy in many ways. With him seemingly out of the picture, I'm not aware of a willing owner in the area with the capital that the NHL is interested in, and a new arena or major arena upgrades would be needed. Unlikely.
GTA - the holy grail for all intents and purposes. LA and NYC can both support multiple teams, so it seems like the greater Toronto area should easily be able to do so as well. The Leafs are a humongous roadblock though, as they clearly view a monopoly on the region as a valuable asset. They'd fight tooth and nail at every step and likely demand a staggeringly huge indemnity beyond even what the expansion price would be, so we'd be talking about a huge hole to start up in. Unlikely, but would absolutely work.
Quebec City - really should be a no duh, but the NHL just seems like they're more interested in keeping this market in their pocket as an emergency relocation option a la Winnipeg versus actually expanding there.
So, of the options, Houston or Kansas City would probably be the frontrunners if either had interested and viable owners, Portland would be up there if the Allen group decided to open up their pockets, and Quebec City is the wild card that the NHL probably wants to keep in case a team just out and out has to move and there are no local parties interested. In other words, I'm not expecting an expansion past Seattle in the near future.
HisIceness
This is Hurricanes Hockey
Milwaukee is certainly intriguing. Instant rivals with Chicago and Minnesota.
Jeffrey93
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- Nov 7, 2007
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There are....and all deal with specific markets. Not an overall list of potentials.
Unfortunately, I assume this thread will get derailed into specific markets worthiness instead of a big picture approach.
What locations are possible? Why?
No need to argue about where the Coyotes should go...or where team 33 and 34 should go.
Just general talk about a pool of candidates. Is it likely Birmingham will be part of the NHL in the next 20 years? No. But we can still look at why it could/should/would be a candidate.
We don't have to identify what team will move there or who will own it. Can the location possibly support an NHL team? Benefits if it had one? Drawbacks?
Good enough.
Burlington, lol.....what a joke.
How many of these threads do we need per year when even Seattle has to wait a couple to start?
Close it down, Fugu, if you like.
My answer:
For various reasons relating to the price of entry, and the need for a generous gov't subsidy in many places, is that there are only a few possibilities at the present time:
1-Seattle. They are all but in.
2- Quebec City. They have an arena. They have a ravenous market. They have potential ownership. The only thing they lack is geography. If QC were located exactly at Sault Ste Marie, ONT, they would already have a team.
3- Houston. The problem here is that Fertitta doesn't seem to want to pay the high price of entry.
All other options, viable as they may be "in the right situation" are currently NOT candidates, for arena, market or entry price reasons.
My answer:
For various reasons relating to the price of entry, and the need for a generous gov't subsidy in many places, is that there are only a few possibilities at the present time:
1-Seattle. They are all but in.
2- Quebec City. They have an arena. They have a ravenous market. They have potential ownership. The only thing they lack is geography. If QC were located exactly at Sault Ste Marie, ONT, they would already have a team.
3- Houston. The problem here is that Fertitta doesn't seem to want to pay the high price of entry.
All other options, viable as they may be "in the right situation" are currently NOT candidates, for arena, market or entry price reasons.
Jeffrey93
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The question was asked about candidates.....even the least likely is a candidate.
Who are candidates? People never thought the NHL would expand to Miami, Columbus, Anaheim or San Jose....but they did.
So....who are candidates? What markets could potentially host a team and make a go of it?
If they will ever get a team, or how they would get a team....that's irrelevant.
AdmiralsFan24
Registered User
Admirals fan. Would trade them in a second for an NHL team. Don't know why you think there would be ire.
not everybody would...Admirals fan. Would trade them in a second for an NHL team. Don't know why you think there would be ire.
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