Expansion

[I.am.ca]

Baloney. That's a losers' attitude.

Look at NASCAR. Once considered a regional sport, it's been able to expand beyond its traditional fanbase in the Southern and MidWest states. There's absolutely no reason why the NHL can't do the same. Retrenchment is no strategy.

Your in denial man. If TSN were to show the Scrabble championship instead of the Hertiage game, the TSN people would be on high alert for threats pouring in thru mail, phone call, email and anyother way they could get to them.

NHL, once it resumes, will be fine in Canada. In the states it will not be, as much as the American fans hate to admit it, hockey is suffering in the states. Teams like Philadelphia, Detroit and a few others will have strong fans simply because they have been winning and well they've been around a while, but most of the teams will lose a good chunk of their fan base and might not return. They'll either switch over to become football fans or just not give a crap about the sport anymore.

Face it man, if the NHL expands again it should NOT be in the states and NOT in the cities you recommended thats for sure.

 

[Numb Nuts]

Expansion without contraction will only hurt the game. The teams already have a diluted talent pool and there are guys playing the game that really have no place to be playing with the world's best.

Adding more teams will only open up a few more spots on each roster for more fringe players. If there is going to be expansion to some of the cities mentioned then a couple teams have to go as well.. actually I think a couple could go right now as it is.

 

[Bicycle Repairman]

Face it man, if the NHL expands again it should NOT be in the states and NOT in the cities you recommended thats for sure.

The sport has reached its saturation point north of the border. There are no more viable cities there.

The NHL is committed to strengthening its presence in the US long term. You do this by shoring up support in those markets and drawing new fans in. New markets take time to grow.

 

[I.am.ca]

Yes, we need more Carolina's and Phoenix's in the league...thats EXACTLY what the NHL needs.

Hockey has reached its saturation point north of the border? And you know this how? Do you go to games up here in canada? did you ever attend a Jets or Nordique's game? Have you ever been to a CHL game in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec?

There is no saturation point for hockey in Canada, Hockey is life in Canada. When your a canadian kid, chances are you play street hockey and dream about playing in the NHL some day, in the states its more baseball and football than hockey.

Hockey is #3 or 4 in the states, its #1 in canada, there is no saturation point for your number one sport.

 

[I.am.ca]

If anything the US has reached its saturation point, Carolina is a huge example of that and yes even Nashville and Phoenix who just can't seem to draw big crowds on a consistent basis.

"Saturation point" has been reached in the states for Hockey. I think the scrabble championship showing on ESPN over the Heritage game was a huge example of that. If the US loved hockey, that game would have been on regardless of where it was played.

 

[Bicycle Repairman]

Yes, we need more Carolina's and Phoenix's in the league...thats EXACTLY what the NHL needs.

That's what they said about Los Angeles and St. Louis once upon a time.

There is no saturation point for hockey in Canada, Hockey is life in Canada. When your a canadian kid, chances are you play street hockey and dream about playing in the NHL some day, in the states its more baseball and football than hockey.

Hasn't minor hockey registration gone down in recent years?

In the US, more kids are playing the game now. These are future fans.

 

[I.am.ca]

That's what they said about Los Angeles and St. Louis once upon a time.



Hasn't minor hockey registration gone down in recent years?
In the US, more kids are playing the game now. These are future fans.

Says who?

 

[bossy22]

Sure. Why not? Ya gotta think big or you ain't going to grow.

The NHL could probably be 48-team league if it wanted to.

Awsome! I knew I kept my cooperalls for a reason. Won't score much but I'll hold my own in the corner's. Sign me up.

 

[Papa Smurf]

Hasn't minor hockey registration gone down in recent years?

No.

In the US, more kids are playing the game now. These are future fans.

I may have misunderstood that statement, but this is the impression I am getting from you.

So you're saying that the NHL should just ditch Canada now because eventually, even though maybe not, the US could, in a very very very long time, replace Canada in terms of fan base.

Winnipeg has a massive hockey fan base, Las Vegas doesn't have one. Put a team in LV because, maybe, in the year 2089, they will have a larger fan base than Winnipeg!

Face it, the southern US NHL franshise experiment has failed!

 

[I.am.ca]

No.



I may have misunderstood that statement, but this is the impression I am getting from you.

So you're saying that the NHL should just ditch Canada now because eventually, even though maybe not, the US could, in a very very very long time, replace Canada in terms of fan base.

Winnipeg has a massive hockey fan base, Las Vegas doesn't have one. Put a team in LV because, maybe, in the year 2089, they will have a larger fan base than Winnipeg!

 

[Reilly311]

once all 30 teams are able to afford players, then all 30 teams will be competative.

 

[Bicycle Repairman]

So you're saying that the NHL should just ditch Canada now because eventually, even though maybe not, the US could, in a very very very long time, replace Canada in terms of fan base.

Winnipeg has a massive hockey fan base, Las Vegas doesn't have one. Put a team in LV because, maybe, in the year 2089, they will have a larger fan base than Winnipeg!

Nowhere have I stated that the NHL should abandon the Canadian market. Only that there are no more large cities there in which to expand to (the subject of this thread). Winnipeg may have many hockey fans, but there weren't enough attending Jets games.

The US is a better long-term target. Success need not take a generation as you imply.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Awsome! I knew I kept my cooperalls for a reason. Won't score much but I'll hold my own in the corner's. Sign me up.

If you still have your Micron "Scotty's" I plan to take you in the first round of my keeper pool....

 

[Papa Smurf]

Nowhere have I stated that the NHL should abandon the Canadian market. Only that there are no more large cities there in which to expand to (the subject of this thread). Winnipeg may have many hockey fans, but there weren't enough attending Jets games.

The US is a better long-term target. Success need not take a generation as you imply.

I agree with the fact that there are more big cities in the USA. Especially since all Canadian cities with atleast 1,000,000 have an NHL club. However, it that comment you made about the "future fans" and that their in the USA. That may be true, but until that happens there no reason to consider cities like LV or Houston.

 

[I.am.ca]

Nowhere have I stated that the NHL should abandon the Canadian market. Only that there are no more large cities there in which to expand to (the subject of this thread). Winnipeg may have many hockey fans, but there weren't enough attending Jets games.

The US is a better long-term target. Success need not take a generation as you imply.

US is not a better long term project. When the NHL resumes, we'll see how well the US teams do compared to the Canadian teams...your underestimating hockey in Canada.

Winnipeg and Quebec could survive.

 

[Bicycle Repairman]

Winnipeg and Quebec could survive.

How is adding Quebec City and Winnipeg going to increase the US television ratings? That's what the NHL wants to do.

 

[I.am.ca]

How is adding Quebec City and Winnipeg going to increase the US television ratings? That's what the NHL wants to do.

Thats the dumbest thing with the NHL you have an American trying to push a sport that won't catch on in the cities he's expanding to. Bettman is a dumbass and Hockey will never catch on ratings wise, Football, Baseball and Basketball will rule the ratings in the states.

Like i said before, Scrabble instead of Heritage game....hockey won't catch on the way it has in Canada, thats a pipe dream.

 

[Bicycle Repairman]

Thats the dumbest thing with the NHL you have an American trying to push a sport that won't catch on in the cities he's expanding to. Bettman is a dumbass and Hockey will never catch on ratings wise, Football, Baseball and Basketball will rule the ratings in the states.

Like i said before, Scrabble instead of Heritage game....hockey won't catch on the way it has in Canada, thats a pipe dream.

And Hockey would have never made off the frozen slew on the McGill University campus if someone didn't put it where it wasn't before.

Besides, there were a number of Canadian NHL Governors who made up the league expansion committee. It wasn't Bettman's initiative.

 

[PanthersRule96]

Hockey is #3 or 4 in the states, .

No it's not.

There's:

football
poker
college football
baseball
college basketball
basketball
NASCAR
soccer
men's weightlifting
women's tennis
men's tennis
hockey
WNBA :lol
it's sad

But at least in FLA, only the Dolphins get more ppl when they win.

 

[Reilly311]

Thats the dumbest thing with the NHL you have an American trying to push a sport that won't catch on in the cities he's expanding to. Bettman is a dumbass and Hockey will never catch on ratings wise, Football, Baseball and Basketball will rule the ratings in the states.

Like i said before, Scrabble instead of Heritage game....hockey won't catch on the way it has in Canada, thats a pipe dream.

First, Heritage game was stupid. Wow, a hockey game outside!! LOL, Theodore has a hat on!!LOLOLOL. Like it's never been done before. Plus, it was between Montreal and Edmonton. Two teams that no one cares about. As a die hard hockey fan, I probably would have rather watched scrabble.

Like it matters if he expands into cities where hockey isn't big. If you're Bettman and someone comes to you with hundreds of millions of dollards for an NHL franchise, would you turn him down? Of course not. There is hockey in carolina because someone (not bettman) thought it's a good idea to put a team there.

More NHL teams in Canada, now that's a pipe dream.

 

[I.am.ca]

First, Heritage game was stupid. Wow, a hockey game outside!! LOL, Theodore has a hat on!!LOLOLOL. Like it's never been done before. Plus, it was between Montreal and Edmonton. Two teams that no one cares about. As a die hard hockey fan, I probably would have rather watched scrabble.

Like it matters if he expands into cities where hockey isn't big. If you're Bettman and someone comes to you with hundreds of millions of dollards for an NHL franchise, would you turn him down? Of course not. There is hockey in carolina because someone (not bettman) thought it's a good idea to put a team there.

More NHL teams in Canada, now that's a pipe dream.

That is why the NHL will always suffer in the states, only teams like the Philly's and Detroit's will stay strong, the rest won't not after this lockout.

 

[Clash*]

Here's an original idea for Canadians. Relocate all present NHL teams to the U.S., and let the six cities join the Federal League (the All Canada only league that hasn't happened). Let's see where the top players play then. Will they play for the American dollar or the Canadian looney (or whatever it is called, I don't remember). Who wants to bet they play in the USA for the more valuable dollar.

While teams in the sunbelt haven't worked out greatly, much of the foundation for a fanbase still is not old enough to have a job, let alone buy season tickets. You have their parents, most of who are from other areas, thus havin allegiances to other markets or not carin about hockey all together. But its the kids that are there that will supoort the teams. With the influx of more and more northeners to southern cities, there will be a call for hockey. I don't see many Canadian cities growin with the regularity that these southern cities are. But a city like Portland Oregon, far enough away from Vancouver to not infringe on them, or Kansas City Missouri, would possibly be the most viable options for hockey right now not in the sunbelt. While the two most popular hockey markets of Winnipeg and Quebec City might come close to consistently sellin out 15,000 seats arenas, there's not much room for growth in those markets.

 

[Reilly311]

That is why the NHL will always suffer in the states, only teams like the Philly's and Detroit's will stay strong, the rest won't not after this lockout.

no, I bet the attendence will stay relatively the same as the previous year.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

Here's an original idea for Canadians. Relocate all present NHL teams to the U.S., and let the six cities join the Federal League (the All Canada only league that hasn't happened). Let's see where the top players play then. Will they play for the American dollar or the Canadian looney (or whatever it is called, I don't remember). Who wants to bet they play in the USA for the more valuable dollar.

Well at the rate the U.S dollar is falling, I see some players going loonie! :lol The Canadian dollar is over $0.80 now and is projected to be at $0.88 one year from now. By 2008 when Furious George is on his way outta D.C, it could be worth $1.30 considering when he took office, it was having trouble staying over $0.60.

This is terrible news for canada, mainly an exporting nation. M<any of our important industries count on a weak dollar to maintain their viability. If W cannot straighten out the economic woes, just where will we export our hockey players, Lumber, and beef?

 

[Ismellofhockey]

It was said that Colorado and Atlanta weren't viable markets either, teams are back there now.
I see no difference between a team losing money in Carolina and a team losing money in Quebec: both cities need a new CBA to allow them to host an NHL team. If that CBA gets done why couldn't Quebec get its team back?

The US isn't ''all-important'', the league was fine before it expanded into the south, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't continue to be fine if hockey progressed slowly in the US. Canada and old US markets are sufficient to sustain the league.

So with all that in mind, I'd expand to Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford long before I went to Kansas (relatively small US market, already has MLB and NFL), Cleveland(direct competition with Columbus, has MLB and NFL), Houston (let Dallas fanbase grow, could be a good market in the future but currently has MLB, NFL, NBA) and Seattle (slight competition with Vancouver but more importantly already has MLB, NFL and NBA).

Portland, New Orleans and Las Vegas are the only 3 reasonable untapped US markets.