How would a NHL team do in Vegas?

[sandman441]

Do you consider Gomez to be a star in the NHL? Do you not think a Joe Thornton type might have more drawing power?

Like I said I am probably being biased but yes I think he is a star 2 stanley cups and the rookie of the year award plus last year his line was on fire the last part of the year and he tied st.louis in assists. Do I think Thornton would draw more people yes but don't think there are people going to games to watch Gomez either.

 

[discostu]

Las Vegas is a risky venture, IMO. The NBA will move there, and I think they have a shot at success. They are more of a maintstream product, and can probably make it work.

Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., however, that growth is in through the casinos, and the related tourism. You can't sell season tickets to tourists. With the casinos being by far the largest industry in town, by far, you have a lower income level. Casino jobs don't pay great. They rake in money, but most of that money flows back into the investors, outside of the city.

That leaves the casinos themselves as your biggest clients. There is an appeal there. It gives them something to offer their big rollers that's different than stuff that's currently on the strip. However, location becomes a big worry. Casinos don't like sending their big customers away from the gambling too far. They want them close by, so that they can hit the tables right after the entertainment is done. That means getting an arena right on the strip, which is prime real estate. That can get pricey.

I say, wait for the NBA to move in there. They'll build an arena, get a location, build a relationship with the casinos. If it's successful, the NHL moving in should be much easier. They can piggyback on their success, and whoever owns the team probably wouldn't mind having another major tenant to share the costs.

 

[Hasbro]

Isn't there a nagging rumor that the Maloofs want to take the Sacremento Kings to Vegas?

I don't know how UNLV draws now, but during the Tarkanian era they were a de facto NBA team. That said college sports need less of a population base to work.

 

[EventHorizon]

I've been to Vegas, and the last thing on my mind was NHL hockey.

Tourism isn't the point. Of course tourists aren't going to an NHL game. But the residents of one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. sure might.

I don't think the NHL will ever move there, but I guarantee once one league goes there almost every other one league will follow when they see how successful a pro team does there.

 

[futurcorerock]

I've been to Vegas, and the last thing on my mind was NHL hockey.

Obviously, you're a tourist. And what kind of fan of hockey are you anyways? NHL, CHL... do you casually watch or are you a diehard fan?

I've been to New York, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington and guess what, hockey wasn't on my mind while I was on vacation.

 

[All-Star]

Obviously, you're a tourist. And what kind of fan of hockey are you anyways? NHL, CHL... do you casually watch or are you a diehard fan?

I'd probably qualify as diehard. Whenever I travel to an NHL city and there is a game on, I definitely try to attend no matter who's playing.

Hell, I made my wife go to a game with me during my honeymoon...

 

[Hoser]

What kind of fan am I? Hmmm... Hard to say.... Dissatisfied casual NHL fan? In any case I'm not a diehard (diehards need to step back and chill the f out ), and I don't follow the minor or major-junior leagues.


Of course I'm a tourist in Vegas and therefore do not give a crap about hockey in Vegas. But tourists drive the Vegas economy. Everything in the city is a spectacle. NHL hockey would be too.

And NHL hockey would be, at best, a sideshow attraction for a casino. A gimmick. There are no diehard fans in Vegas. If any, too few.

 

[Original6]

Pro Sports franchises will not fly in Las Vegas. The city is a tourist attraction rather than a place you actually want to live in for more than a week.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Isn't Las Vegas like the roller hockey capital of the world or something like that? I thought they had huge tourneys there and tons of teams or something. Maybe if roller hockey is huge there ice hockey could be huge there too.

 

[kdb209]

Pro Sports franchises will not fly in Las Vegas. The city is a tourist attraction rather than a place you actually want to live in for more than a week.

If people don't want to live there, how come it is THE fastest growing major city in the US (population wise), growing by an amazing 85% from 1990 to 2000.

 

[Leaf Lander]

I would put a team in vegas

 

[Johnnybegood13]

Personly i think a team in Vegas would draw very well,i know a few people who moved to vegas for work and never go near the glitter unless they have too for work.People are starved for something else other than gambling and showgirls..just try and find a last minute ticket for Nascar for example.Very soon there will be 2 million residents in Vegas,surely 15k of them will buy seasons and of course there will allways be fans from the visiting cities considering theres allways about 800k non residents there at any giving time. If anything,it would be very entertaining in the stands!!

 

[broadwayblue]

there are 2,000 people moving to Vegas every day. that's 60,000 per month or 720,000 people per year. and this trend is not expected to slow anytime soon. i think a professional sports franchise would do very well. people are moving to Vegas for more than just gambling and showgirls, as T@T points out. they are raising families and just about all of them are planning to live there for more than a week. one of the main obstacles has always been the issue of having a pro sports franchise in a gambling city. but if New Orleans has pro sports i don't see why Vegas can't.

 

[ClosetOilersFan]

Oh no, you're not serious? Even the thought of further expansion in the US makes me cringe. I'd have to say this a bad idea.

Sure LV is a new and emerging market. Is it good for hockey? Nashville, Atlanta, Anaheim, Hartford, etc. are all reasonable markets as well, and their draw for hockey is weak compared to most teams. Even Dallas until they won multiple Cups.

What would make LV any different?

I would venture into LV with an NFL or NBA team, maybe even MLB, but NHL??? The league that places behind horseback riding in some states? The league that was on strike for a full year?

I dunno...

 

[donelikedinner]

there are 2,000 people moving to Vegas every day. that's 60,000 per month or 720,000 people per year. and this trend is not expected to slow anytime soon. i think a professional sports franchise would do very well. people are moving to Vegas for more than just gambling and showgirls, as T@T points out. they are raising families and just about all of them are planning to live there for more than a week. one of the main obstacles has always been the issue of having a pro sports franchise in a gambling city. but if New Orleans has pro sports i don't see why Vegas can't.

Hockey might do ok, but will the team be able to afford the $$ for water to make ice? I'm sure I've read that they will no longer be able to meet the city's requirement in the near future?

 

[broadwayblue]

true, they'll have to include a water surcharge on each ticket.

oilers99fan, i wasn't advocating expansion in Vegas, rather proposing that it might make a good destination for a team that needs to relocate. the last thing we need is more teams.

 

[jamiebez]

Bob McCown had an interesting comment on this on The Fan after the NBA awarded them the All-Star Game. Apparently, he used to live in Vegas, so he has some perspective on the issue.

Anyway, his opinion was (using round numbers) if you have 2M people in Vegas, the vast majority of these work in casinos, which are open 24/7/365. This means for a 7 PM game time, 1/3 of your population is at work and 1/3 is sleeping in preparation for their midnight-8:00 AM shift (the "skank shift"). Is a 650,000 population in a questionable hockey market enough to support a team?

In any event, population is only one way of gauging a potential market. Corporate support is a huge part of it as well, and the "corporations" in Vegas are the casinos. As Disco Stu pointed out in an earlier post, casinos are not in favor of any kind of comp where the customer is taken out of the casino (hence the huge theatres, shows, rides, attractions, etc each one has).

There are much better relocation sites available than Vegas: Winnipeg, KC and Houston, at least.

 

[StevenintheATL]

Bob McCown had an interesting comment on this on The Fan after the NBA awarded them the All-Star Game. Apparently, he used to live in Vegas, so he has some perspective on the issue.

Anyway, his opinion was (using round numbers) if you have 2M people in Vegas, the vast majority of these work in casinos, which are open 24/7/365. This means for a 7 PM game time, 1/3 of your population is at work and 1/3 is sleeping in preparation for their midnight-8:00 AM shift (the "skank shift"). Is a 650,000 population in a questionable hockey market enough to support a team?

This "formula" doesn't work because it's way too simplistic. It fails to take into consideration that casino employees schedules/off days are done by seniority, so in reality the 1/3rd equation does not fit. Plus most shows have at least one dark night a week as well, so the cast and crew on those shows are off as well.

With the casino industry in Vegas consolidating, putting an arena on a casino property will benefit all of the casinos in that company. So let's say MGM-Mandalay Bay decides to build a 20,000 seat on part of the property they own adjacent to the Mandalay Bay or make one part of the City Center project they make proposed. Such an arena would be beneficial to every single casino the company owns, as you can comp your good players from a number of casinos (plus I wouldn't put it past a casino to put in slots or even a casino lounge where folks can play blackjack or craps and still watch the game on the floor).

As for the Maloof rumor about them moving the Sacramento Kings to Vegas, I'd wait until they get the current expansion project at The Palms done to see if perhaps they might move them. If someone was bold enough to put a pro-sports caliber arena in Las Vegas, it would be those guys.

If there was an NBA team to put in Vegas, I'd go with the Clippers.

 

[dru]

More hockey in the desert? Who comes up with this stuff?

 

[polarslam]

Now that the C.B.A mess is over with it would so be Gary Bettmans style for another round of expansion to bad markets in the southern U.S.

 

[dru]

Now that the C.B.A mess is over with it would so be Gary Bettmans style for another round of expansion to bad markets in the southern U.S.

Bring back the Golden Seals right?

 

[Timmy]

Now that the C.B.A mess is over with it would so be Gary Bettmans style for another round of expansion to bad markets in the southern U.S.

I didn't realize that expanding into bad markets in the Southern U.S. was his "style." Which ones were he responsible for in the last twelve years?

 

[jamiebez]

This "formula" doesn't work because it's way too simplistic. It fails to take into consideration that casino employees schedules/off days are done by seniority, so in reality the 1/3rd equation does not fit. Plus most shows have at least one dark night a week as well, so the cast and crew on those shows are off as well.

With the casino industry in Vegas consolidating, putting an arena on a casino property will benefit all of the casinos in that company. So let's say MGM-Mandalay Bay decides to build a 20,000 seat on part of the property they own adjacent to the Mandalay Bay or make one part of the City Center project they make proposed. Such an arena would be beneficial to every single casino the company owns, as you can comp your good players from a number of casinos (plus I wouldn't put it past a casino to put in slots or even a casino lounge where folks can play blackjack or craps and still watch the game on the floor).

It is a simplistic theory, but it raises a point that hadn't been discussed - how much of the Vegas population actually works in the gaming industry. Low wages and difficult hours might make it difficult to attend games.

As for gambling in the arena - I can't see that happening. Most leagues that have even entertained the possibility of expanding there have a problem with their sport being on the casino sports books. They don't want the association with gambling - I can't see them allowing it to happen in the building their team plays in.

It's an interesting possibility, but the likelihood of it happening is pretty slim considering there are at least 3 or 4 other cities that already have suitable arenas and ownership groups already in place.

 

[ClosetOilersFan]

Even relocating seems to be a bad idea in my books.

Logically, LV would be as much of a hockey draw as Atlanta. All you'd be doing is swapping one poor location for another, and slashing the few fans Atlanta has managed to form.

 

[Drrocket9]

if they did place a team in Las Vegas, i would probably go once a year and see the Sharks. it would be an easy and fun road trip.

honestly though, i dont think the demographics are there for a loyal fanbase. perhaps fans can be taught over time, and they could draw well enough based on a combination of home fans and road team walkups, and other tourists. another factor is how nice of a building they can put up. im betting they can build one incredible arena based on what i see whenever im driving on the Las Vegas Strip.

i can also see the viewpoint about folks there tiring of the casino life, and having a sports franchise to support and call their own.

in the end, id rather see hockey back in Winnipeg.