Hockey growth in Louisville Kentucky

[LOUISVILLE ICE CARDS]

I wouldn't see Columbus ever doing any sort of community stuff in Louisville like Nashville does as they're 100 miles further away from Nashville and have plenty of populated cities near them to draw from (Cincy, Dayton, Cleveland, Akron,etc).

I seriously doubt Louisville would ever get an NHL team, but I'd be happy with AHL, ECHL or SPHL. Anything where I don't have to drive 150 miles to see hockey in person. (Mind you I love the Preds, and the Evansville Thunderbolts, but I would love to get home before midnight after a game.)

I do agree I don’t see nhl but any pro hockey would be great. And not getting home at 1 am. Only reason we get Columbus games is because of the Reds

 

[PredsV82]

I do agree I don’t see nhl but any pro hockey would be great. And not getting home at 1 am. Only reason we get Columbus games is because of the Reds

When I lived in Louisville in the late 80s/early 90s the River Frogs seemed reasonably popular with the locals. But I'm sure the economics were different then. I think Louisville could easily support an ECHL team and probably even an AHL team now.

 

[ref19]

I’d pay the money just to see the fans at the games lol. I feel like everyone is backwoods there

 

[S E P H]

Curious, if Louisville ever got a college hockey team which conference do you lot see them joining? Atlantic Hockey? Hockey East? ECAC? Or dare I say WCHA? Kentucky is in a weird part of the US map.

Being a top college, I think they might want Hockey East, but in terms of regional location they are right in WCHA and Big 10's backyard.

 

[VikingAv]

Curious, if Louisville ever got a college hockey team which conference do you lot see them joining? Atlantic Hockey? Hockey East? ECAC? Or dare I say WCHA? Kentucky is in a weird part of the US map.

Being a top college, I think they might want Hockey East, but in terms of regional location they are right in WCHA and Big 10's backyard.

They would definitely NOT be in the ECAC, that's the only one that's a guarantee and I very much doubt they'd be in HE (Notre Dame was a special case considering the area). They would probably want to be in the BIG TEN, but, again, Louisville is no Notre Dame....

I'd actually think it would be the NCHC. They wouldn't mind a bigger name school and I believe Miami and WM would love an opponent closer to them to get less travel.

This is all a moot point though. I'll bet a pretty penny it's not happening in our lifetime.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

Curious, if Louisville ever got a college hockey team which conference do you lot see them joining? Atlantic Hockey? Hockey East? ECAC? Or dare I say WCHA? Kentucky is in a weird part of the US map.

Being a top college, I think they might want Hockey East, but in terms of regional location they are right in WCHA and Big 10's backyard.

I would bet we would see some type of realignment again with Huntsville, Louisville, some Ohio teams and Michigan teams forming their own conference and the Western teams like North Dakota, Omaha, the smaller Minnesota schools, the Alaska schools and Arizona State forming their own conference.

 

[LOUISVILLE ICE CARDS]

I’d pay the money just to see the fans at the games lol. I feel like everyone is backwoods there

It’s a completely different demographic in Louisville than in the rest of Kentucky. It’s a lot more city like than you’d think. Much diffentent than Lexington. There demographic would close resemble Cincinnati and Indianapolis

 

[LOUISVILLE ICE CARDS]

I would bet we would see some type of realignment again with Huntsville, Louisville, some Ohio teams and Michigan teams forming their own conference and the Western teams like North Dakota, Omaha, the smaller Minnesota schools, the Alaska schools and Arizona State forming their own conference.

I could see them forming a Midwestern conference if anything especially with Illinois joining the big ten. Atlantic hockey or Big Ten is the only plausible option in location but even then with the Atlantic it’s still a trip. That’s it there isn’t a new conference too

 

[S E P H]

Big 10 and other conferences will not absolve for the sake of University of Louisville. They're going to have to join a preconceived conference of some sort.

 

[LOUISVILLE ICE CARDS]

Big 10 and other conferences will not absolve for the sake of University of Louisville. They're going to have to join a preconceived conference of some sort.

What I mean by that is they would join one of the 2 if they don’t implement a new conference

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Post-Thanksgiving Reader Q&A: Lots of questions about the SPHL!

Louisville gets a mention when SPHL expansion is brought up and I remembered this thread. It does quickly go over positives of the potential market and then the obvious issues we've already talked about here.

 

[Devils Dominion]

It’s a completely different demographic in Louisville than in the rest of Kentucky. It’s a lot more city like than you’d think. Much diffentent than Lexington. There demographic would close resemble Cincinnati and Indianapolis

Yes, Louisville is on that First 48 detective show

 

[razor ray]

Hockey Continues to Thrive in Louisville

 

[HisIceness]

Disclaimer, this is not an official endorsement but rather a change of opinion.

Haven't read through the entire thread, but if I were a betting man I would bet that if anything the NBA pops up in Louisville instead, and it's actually not out of the picture that happens. Louisville seems like the kind of town the NBA would be interested in. Outside of the major markets, the league loves the likes of Sacramento, Salt Lake city, Orlando, Memphis, etc. where there isn't any other big 4 competition. It's also not a secret that people in Kentucky love their Basketball. At some point the league will expand, and Louisville and Seattle would be the perfect fits, balance out the conferences too.

I'm quite confident that the NHL has next to no interest in Louisville. AHL yes, but the NHL would probably look at somewhere like Austin before they gave any thought to Kentucky.

I'll make this short since I've posted my thoughts about Hockey in Louisville on other Louisville topics in the Business of Sports forum. But I do think the NHL would be a better success in Louisville than the NBA. They of course would need the correct ownership and would need time, but I think the Kentucky Mustangs or whatever could become the Predators 2.0, or even the Hurricanes 2.0 (preferably w/o a 10-year playoff drought).

The biggest hurdle would likely be U of L sharing the KFC Yum Center. But everything else appears to be there.

-Population? Check
-Corporate support? Check
-No other major competition? Check
-Potential marketing to not only the rest of Kentucky, but also Indiana? Check.

Again, this is no endorsement. Just a change of opinion.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Disclaimer, this is not an official endorsement but rather a change of opinion.



I'll make this short since I've posted my thoughts about Hockey in Louisville on other Louisville topics in the Business of Sports forum. But I do think the NHL would be a better success in Louisville than the NBA. They of course would need the correct ownership and would need time, but I think the Kentucky Mustangs or whatever could become the Predators 2.0, or even the Hurricanes 2.0 (preferably w/o a 10-year playoff drought).

The biggest hurdle would likely be U of L sharing the KFC Yum Center. But everything else appears to be there.

-Population? Check
-Corporate support? Check
-No other major competition? Check
-Potential marketing to not only the rest of Kentucky, but also Indiana? Check.

Again, this is no endorsement. Just a change of opinion.

I don't think any of them are really checks.

Is the population really there? It is the same size as Hartford. That "just over a million" mark is tough to work with in Top 4 leagues. Buffalo is the only smaller NHL market, and they get by courtesy of unparalleled fan support (consistently the best league TV ratings among other things like ingrained hockey culture). Louisville certainly wouldn't have that.

Corporate support and no other major competition go hand-in-hand. University of Louisville basketball, and to a lesser extent football, are major competition. Columbus Blue Jackets struggle financially because of the competition from Ohio State, and Columbus is a significantly larger market than Louisville. It is the reason why there are so few Top 4 leagues in places with big collegiate athletic programs. I doubt if there is enough corporate support, and possibly market interest, in Louisville they can survive off from the Cardinals leftovers.

For potential marketing, there are only one or two other heavily populated areas that are worthwhile. Lexington is around 500k and after that is nothing is worthwhile. Just about every small market NHL team has several large satellite cities as part of their draw. Louisville having one major one and a handful of significantly smaller ones just wouldn't be enough to sustain them.

All in all, it would be an absolute stretch. And that is in the best case scenario, where they do get a rich and dedicated owner and good dates at the KFC Yum! Center and the NHL deciding to expand and the NHL deciding to expand to Louisville before the at least 10 other preferable markets.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I don't think any of them are really checks.

Is the population really there? It is the same size as Hartford. That "just over a million" mark is tough to work with in Top 4 leagues. Buffalo is the only smaller NHL market, and they get by courtesy of unparalleled fan support (consistently the best league TV ratings among other things like ingrained hockey culture). Louisville certainly wouldn't have that.

Corporate support and no other major competition go hand-in-hand. University of Louisville basketball, and to a lesser extent football, are major competition. Columbus Blue Jackets struggle financially because of the competition from Ohio State, and Columbus is a significantly larger market than Louisville. It is the reason why there are so few Top 4 leagues in places with big collegiate athletic programs. I doubt if there is enough corporate support, and possibly market interest, in Louisville they can survive off from the Cardinals leftovers.

For potential marketing, there are only one or two other heavily populated areas that are worthwhile. Lexington is around 500k and after that is nothing is worthwhile. Just about every small market NHL team has several large satellite cities as part of their draw. Louisville having one major one and a handful of significantly smaller ones just wouldn't be enough to sustain them.

All in all, it would be an absolute stretch. And that is in the best case scenario, where they do get a rich and dedicated owner and good dates at the KFC Yum! Center and the NHL deciding to expand and the NHL deciding to expand to Louisville before the at least 10 other preferable markets.

KFC Yum Center is not a hockey arena. Although there might be enough non obstructed seats to surpass 15,000 mark.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

KFC Yum Center is not a hockey arena. Although there might be enough non obstructed seats to surpass 15,000 mark.

Add that to the long list of reasons of factors that make the NHL a nonstarter in Louisville.

 

[oknazevad]

The KFC Yum Center is not only a basketball-first arena, it doesn't even have an ice plant. Disney on Ice uses their portable rink when they play there.

 

[Cacciaguida]

The KFC Yum Center is not only a basketball-first arena, it doesn't even have an ice plant. Disney on Ice uses their portable rink when they play there.

not a problem. If you can't afford a new ice plant you can afford an NHL team.

 

[Voight]

I don't think any of them are really checks.

Is the population really there? It is the same size as Hartford. That "just over a million" mark is tough to work with in Top 4 leagues. Buffalo is the only smaller NHL market, and they get by courtesy of unparalleled fan support (consistently the best league TV ratings among other things like ingrained hockey culture). Louisville certainly wouldn't have that.

Corporate support and no other major competition go hand-in-hand. University of Louisville basketball, and to a lesser extent football, are major competition. Columbus Blue Jackets struggle financially because of the competition from Ohio State, and Columbus is a significantly larger market than Louisville. It is the reason why there are so few Top 4 leagues in places with big collegiate athletic programs. I doubt if there is enough corporate support, and possibly market interest, in Louisville they can survive off from the Cardinals leftovers.

For potential marketing, there are only one or two other heavily populated areas that are worthwhile. Lexington is around 500k and after that is nothing is worthwhile. Just about every small market NHL team has several large satellite cities as part of their draw. Louisville having one major one and a handful of significantly smaller ones just wouldn't be enough to sustain them.

All in all, it would be an absolute stretch. And that is in the best case scenario, where they do get a rich and dedicated owner and good dates at the KFC Yum! Center and the NHL deciding to expand and the NHL deciding to expand to Louisville before the at least 10 other preferable markets.

Cincinnati as well.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Cincinnati as well.

Zero chance.

Columbus-based sports are traditionally well-followed in the state, with Ohio State and Columbus Blue Jackets both having a big following in Cincinnati. Columbus-Cincinnati is equidistant to Cincinnati-Louisville, so Louisville would be incredibly unlikely to get it in their zone of influence and definitely not as part of their regional TV market. There is a well established and well known rivalry between UCincinnati and ULouisville, along with a heated rivalry between their two soccer teams when they played in the same league.

Unless you have evidence to prove otherwise?