Miscellaneous NHL Discussion: 2016/17 Season, Part III

[Curufinwe]

Taxpayers shouldn't have to fund these stadiums.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Taxpayers shouldn't have to fund these stadiums.

You are so right, enough billionaire welfare. Makes me sick

 

[sabremike]

Taxpayers shouldn't have to fund these stadiums.

The crazy thing is that Wang had lined up private funding for the Lighthouse project. The Nassau GOP machine killed it because the development included housing that they feared would be occupied by people from the city who would likely vote Democrat. So basically they killed it over naked self interest.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

The crazy thing is that Wang had lined up private funding for the Lighthouse project. The Nassau GOP machine killed it because the development included housing that they feared would be occupied by people from the city who would likely vote Democrat and attract dangerous minorities. So basically they killed it over naked self interest.

ftfy.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Well speaking of New York. The Rangers extend AV to 2019-2020. Lebrun saying it could be just north of $4M per year making him just behind Babcock & Quenneville for highest paid coaches.

 

[Johnk0728]

First of all Bettman is a lawyer. He works for the owners and does NOTHING without the owners direction and approval. Second NYC is a baseball town and doesn't need three NHL franchises. The joke was created when they added the third franchise. Its a NYR town, at least 75% of the hockey fans. The Devils and Isles have a truly dedicated core but not a knowledgeable core but not a very large following. Having been to many games at all three arenas the Barclays Center is a terrible place to watch hockey... no one likes it especially the team who have been trying to get out of the lease.

Saying that Bettman has no power or never leads direction is ridiculous. That's like saying Roger Goodell has no power. And part of my comment was the idea of having 3 NHL teams in the New York area. The Devils and Isles are welfare teams with no fan base. They shouldn't exist..... add the Coyotes which are run by the NHL. Plus the Southern teams and you have a league with too many struggling franchises. And Gary Bettman has a major hand in it... he is the guy at the rudder who made a lot of these decisions.

 

[Embiid]

Trump should fire Bettman....

But seriously ..never supported expansion but Bettman and the league got their expansion fee payout....

 

[NYCFlyer]

Taxpayers shouldn't have to fund these stadiums.

They dont have to. Its almost always a vote and every scenario is different but you can lose your franchise. I worked for a company (not a bank) that lent money to Buffalo and Ottawa and tried to buy the Panthers. All of those franchises were losing boatloads of money. Most of the Billionaires that own the teams are locals or are huge fans that are willing to subsidize the teams on an annual basis. They mostly only "make" money because franchises increase in value over time and they sell the team. An arena costs upwards of $500M and even a billionaire pauses before putting up that kind of cash/collateral every 25 years or so. Nassau County decided not to put up the cash and the Isles moved to Brooklyn and will possibly leave the region.

 

[NYCFlyer]

Saying that Bettman has no power or never leads direction is ridiculous. That's like saying Roger Goodell has no power. And part of my comment was the idea of having 3 NHL teams in the New York area. The Devils and Isles are welfare teams with no fan base. They shouldn't exist..... add the Coyotes which are run by the NHL. Plus the Southern teams and you have a league with too many struggling franchises. And Gary Bettman has a major hand in it... he is the guy at the rudder who made a lot of these decisions.

You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. Goodell and Bettman do what they are told by the Board they work for. Their job is completely defined and directed by the owners. No sophisticated billionaire businessman allows his lawyers to decide anything. They have NO meaningful discretion or decision making over league matters. They merely manage day to day operations and take bullets if need be for the owners. Goodell may be able to disciple the players but that isn't power. He is just a processor. I worked for a company (not a bank) that lent money to Buffalo and Ottawa and tried to buy the Panthers. All of those franchises were losing money. Most of the Billionaires that own the teams are locals or are huge fans that are willing to subsidize the teams on an annual basis. They mostly only "make" money because franchises increase in value over time and they sell the team. Thats why franchises were put in the Southern tier to pay existing owners a franchise fee and to improve the value of the TV contract. Bettman got his job because he helped negotiate the TV contract for the NBA, he knew almost nothing about hockey.

 

[Lindberg]

Taxpayers should never be willing to fund any professional sports teams arena, period. The notion that I should help fund for a bunch of rich *******s is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of in my life. At the end of the day I couldn't care any less if all professional athletes were told to pack sand. Blows my mind how many people are dedicated, base their identity, or life around a team.

 

[BritainStix]

It makes sense when the team becomes an integral part of the community. It can bring serious revenue to an area.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

It makes sense when the team becomes an integral part of the community. It can bring serious revenue to an area.

I'm pretty sure that the stats do not back this up.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I'm pretty sure that the stats do not back this up.

in hockey only communities absolutely.
when Manchester,NH got the Monarchs back in 2000 it was a big boom for downtown.
Unless you are talking NHL only. But any town that has minor league hockey, junior hockey, college hockey ect does get a boost in the local community. t

 

[BernieParent]

Taxpayers should never be willing to fund any professional sports teams arena, period. The notion that I should help fund for a bunch of rich *******s is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of in my life. At the end of the day I couldn't care any less if all professional athletes were told to pack sand. Blows my mind how many people are dedicated, base their identity, or life around a team.

Tangentially, this is why I would be firmly against any move to revive the Expos in Montreal. I was a huge fan of the team when they were here but it would be an enormous boondoggle for a city that needs to focus on redoing their entire infrastructure.

 

[NYCFlyer]

Every town is different. You can't compare Allentown to Vegas. The Vegas franchise owner paid $500 M for a franchise (Columbus paid 80 in 2000) but an brand new $400M arena was privately built (Vegas is such a draw that private money was attracted to the deal) so they just needed to negotiate a lease. The arena definite creates jobs and adds to the tax base and with over 300 nights a year of programming just about everyone is a winner.

Allentown on the other hand needed an anchor for revitalization and arenas can do that. So the city acquired land, floated bonds, built an arena and attracted a team. The arena is owned by the city of Allentown. Time will tell if it was a good bet or not.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Tangentially, this is why I would be firmly against any move to revive the Expos in Montreal. I was a huge fan of the team when they were here but it would be an enormous boondoggle for a city that needs to focus on redoing their entire infrastructure.

I want that jersey & logo to come back. I was a big Vlad fan growing up.

 

[Lindberg]

in hockey only communities absolutely.
when Manchester,NH got the Monarchs back in 2000 it was a big boom for downtown.
Unless you are talking NHL only. But any town that has minor league hockey, junior hockey, college hockey ect does get a boost in the local community. t

Using a particular case to justify your point doesn't mean anything. Plus you are talking about an AHL team in which the arena they use can probably be used for a ton of different things (concerts and other events). I would be willing to bet the operating cost for the monarchs is significantly cheaper than any NHL team. I highly doubt any team that has a minor league team or so forth is getting a boost in its local community.

In general often times the tax payers are on the losing end of the deal.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

While I 100% agree that the taxpayer funded stadium is a scam, if the Flyers or Phillies said they'd move if the City doesn't build them a stadium...I'd vote for it if I lived there. Luckily, we have teams that I don't think would ever do that (hopefully), but it really is a tough issue because sports are so integral to a lot of these communities. I don't even mean econmically, just in the sense that so many people depend on these teams to enjoy their lives. Imagine how much it would suck to be a St. Louis Rams fan right now. It is completely unfair that the teams do what they do, but at the same time I can understand why they do it (and why the cities agree to pay in many cases). It hurts the taxpayers, especially those that don't care about the teams, but like I said, if it were my team and my city, I'd vote to pay for it (reluctantly).

 

[Lindberg]

Every town is different. You can't compare Allentown to Vegas. The Vegas franchise owner paid $500 M for a franchise (Columbus paid 80 in 2000) but an brand new $400M arena was privately built (Vegas is such a draw that private money was attracted to the deal) so they just needed to negotiate a lease. The arena definite creates jobs and adds to the tax base and with over 300 nights a year of programming just about everyone is a winner.

Allentown on the other hand needed an anchor for revitalization and arenas can do that. So the city acquired land, floated bonds, built an arena and attracted a team. The arena is owned by the city of Allentown. Time will tell if it was a good bet or not.

Vegas is a very strange place in comparison to the rest of the United States. I know there is a large portion of people who live there but by in large that place lives/dies off tourism. I personally hate Vegas and will do my best to never go back there. Realistically it is probably one of the few places I can think of that actually can pack events out.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Move along.