Speculation: NHL in Seattle? Report: Bettman and Daly in town

[Raincouver]

http://www.thescore.com/news/501533

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly traveled to Seattle last week to meet privately with King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, according to Chris Daniels of King5.com.

Constantine spokesman Frank Abe described the meeting as a "meet and greet," adding "nothing was really brewing right now" in regards to potential NHL expansion or relocation.

It is interesting, however, that Bettman and Daly made a personal appearance in Seattle right in the thick of the playoffs, as opposed to discussing matters over the phone.

Could we have a 2nd NHL team 2.5 hours away?

Click to read more...

 

[JA]

They appear to be trying to make things work for Seattle, but there's nothing concrete right now. There's no owner or arena as of yet. Seattle definitely appears to be at the top of their list of potential destinations for a new/relocated franchise.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Still not sure how Cleveland got a franchise over Seattle, here's hoping Seattle can pull it off so I can hate them! and make a future Mariners-Canucks game weekend down there some day.

Pretty sure Seattle takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to from my house. Though my dad is a driving freak only few can rival.

 

[Butcher]

There is more relevant information in the BoH thread regarding this. If the NBA was to commit to Seattle, the arena and NHL would be much more likely.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Still not sure how Cleveland got a franchise over Seattle, here's hoping Seattle can pull it off so I can hate them! and make a future Mariners-Canucks game weekend down there some day.

Pretty sure Seattle takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to from my house. Though my dad is a driving freak only few can rival.

They did?

 

[VanillaCoke]

Im not sure Seattle can support a team on its own once the initial rush of BC fans dies down.

 

[ArtursSilovsShirt]

Still not sure how Cleveland got a franchise over Seattle, here's hoping Seattle can pull it off so I can hate them! and make a future Mariners-Canucks game weekend down there some day.

Pretty sure Seattle takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to from my house. Though my dad is a driving freak only few can rival.

Pretty sure Columbus isn't Cleveland

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

Hopefully Paul Allen gets involved. Should make for an exciting rivalry.

If Paul Allen brings a team to Seattle I sadly think they will win a cup before the Canucks

 

[Spamhuis]

Pretty sure Columbus isn't Cleveland

Cleveland barons 1976-78. Merged with the Minnesota north stars following the 77-78 season.

 

[EpochLink]

They did?

The Cleveland Barons of the 70's, didn't last though

 

[Jumptheshark]

They appear to be trying to make things work for Seattle, but there's nothing concrete right now. There's no owner or arena as of yet. Seattle definitely appears to be at the top of their list of potential destinations for a new/relocated franchise.

There are at least 3 ownership groups in Seattle but the problem is three fold

1) While chasing an NHL team at least two of the groups are also chasing an NBA team. Some think that they want an NHL team to share the arena and the cost--but they are more interested in the NBA team
2) About a year ago one of the ownership group wanted the NHL to sign a letter of intent that when the arena was built Seattle would get a team--NHL went down that path in Phoenix and does not want to do that again
3) NHL needs to sort out a few current franchises before they go to Seattle. I spend a lot of time in and around European hockey circles and it has been suggested at least two teams could be looking to move within the next five years or so if they can not start turning a profit. The new Phoenix owners have a clause that COULD allow them to move the team in five years if they can make a profit in phoenix (this time frame would fit in with Seattle building a new arena and needing a tenant).
4) Impact on nhl on the many junior teams in the state and in and around Seattle--there have been three different impact study reports on this--but none have been made public (they were not paid for by the city or state)

 

[The Stig]

Man I'd be stoked for this to happen. What a cool rivalry it'd be

 

[cbr9927]

No to an arena in the area where the Mariners and Hawks play, it is so crowded there as is.
A new arena needs to be in Bellevue, more room and they demographics on the Eastside is much more white collar than Seattle. Meaning= money.
Do you know how many tech workers are on the eastside and have more money than they can spend?

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

I don't think they are focused too much on Seattle yet. Seattle has to be ready for an NHL team and they need a rink.

 

[ArtursSilovsShirt]

Cleveland barons 1976-78. Merged with the Minnesota north stars following the 77-78 season.

Ah, I was under the impression he was talking about recently. Can't really compare Seattle or any cities situation in the 70s to what it is now.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Cleveland barons 1976-78. Merged with the Minnesota north stars following the 77-78 season.

The Cleveland Barons of the 70's, didn't last though

Ah so somebody does remember. You born before the 90s need to get it together.

Still though I know Seattle was different in those times in the 80s with Key Arena but given the right situation I still can't believe even Phoenix and Dallas in the 90s were given a chance before Seattle. And I'm strong supporters of Dallas and even the Cup-less Coyotes of being in the spots they are now. Atlanta was tragic but a good move by NHL. I can't think of a better move now. Columbus? they are just growing. Who do you move? Carolina? They have a Cup. Tampa? Same. IMO you don't move a team with a Cup. Which leaves Florida on the block but they just got a new owner.

Certainly a strange situation for sure right now.

 

[Type Not Specified]

No to an arena in the area where the Mariners and Hawks play, it is so crowded there as is.
A new arena needs to be in Bellevue, more room and they demographics on the Eastside is much more white collar than Seattle. Meaning= money.
Do you know how many tech workers are on the eastside and have more money than they can spend?

Are any of them hockey fans though?

As cool as it would be to have a team in Seattle, I really have my doubts about the long-term viability. I also think the league needs to get rid of a couple of teams before they even think about moving into a new market.

Ah so somebody does remember. You born before the 90s need to get it together.

Still though I know Seattle was different in those times in the 80s with Key Arena but given the right situation I still can't believe even Phoenix and Dallas in the 90s were given a chance before Seattle. And I'm strong supporters of Dallas and even the Cup-less Coyotes of being in the spots they are now. Atlanta was tragic but a good move by NHL. I can't think of a better move now. Columbus? they are just growing. Who do you move? Carolina? They have a Cup. Tampa? Same. IMO you don't move a team with a Cup. Which leaves Florida on the block but they just got a new owner.

Certainly a strange situation for sure right now.

Phoenix, Florida, Nashville and Anaheim are my top candidates to either be folded or moved.

 

[Samzilla]

No to an arena in the area where the Mariners and Hawks play, it is so crowded there as is.
A new arena needs to be in Bellevue, more room and they demographics on the Eastside is much more white collar than Seattle. Meaning= money.
Do you know how many tech workers are on the eastside and have more money than they can spend?

From my experience with bellevue, they're not really hockey going folk. Obviously outsiders can commute there, but it would kinduv being like if we got an nhl team (in the hypothetical scenario where we didn't have one already) and put them in west vancouver.

 

[dave babych returns]

Still though I know Seattle was different in those times in the 80s with Key Arena but given the right situation I still can't believe even Phoenix and Dallas in the 90s were given a chance before Seattle.

Why?

Dallas is a massively bigger metropolitan area than Seattle (so are Atlanta and Miami) and it's not like Washington state is some kind of hockey hotbed.. they support a few WHL teams but that's about it.. even in 2002-03 they had fewer than 6000 players registered in minor hockey, they have never cranked out NHLers (10, ever - with TJ Oshie the only one of note) and Seattle hasn't really been viewed as an easy marketplace to get into for a new sports team that I can recall. Probably most importantly, even in the 90s the Supersonics were trying (and failing) to get a new arena built to replace the Key Arena which was already 30+ years old.

Honestly I'd expect that ouside of people in BC pining for a rival (or alternative) to the Canucks and the NHL fans that are in Seattle I'd guess that few view it as some kind of huge untapped market.

At least Columbus gets proper winters..

 

[dave babych returns]

Still not sure how Cleveland got a franchise over Seattle, here's hoping Seattle can pull it off so I can hate them! and make a future Mariners-Canucks game weekend down there some day.

Pretty sure Seattle takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to from my house. Though my dad is a driving freak only few can rival.

They did?

Cleveland barons 1976-78. Merged with the Minnesota north stars following the 77-78 season.

Ummmm HELLO.... the Seattle Metropolitans won a Stanley Cup 59 years before the Cleveland Barons entered the league.

 

[dave babych returns]

PS. I noticed these old WHL Seattle Totems jerseys while googling around... pretty radical.

 

[Barney Gumble]

Ah so somebody does remember. You born before the 90s need to get it together.

Still though I know Seattle was different in those times in the 80s with Key Arena but given the right situation I still can't believe even Phoenix and Dallas in the 90s were given a chance before Seattle. And I'm strong supporters of Dallas and even the Cup-less Coyotes of being in the spots they are now. Atlanta was tragic but a good move by NHL. I can't think of a better move now. Columbus? they are just growing. Who do you move? Carolina? They have a Cup. Tampa? Same. IMO you don't move a team with a Cup. Which leaves Florida on the block but they just got a new owner.

Certainly a strange situation for sure right now.

They were given TWO chances at a franchise (essentially layed the foundation for the cup winning Calgary Flames - the Atlanta Flames were fairly successful *on the ice* before they moved to Calgary but still didn't have enough fan support). Poor management pretty much scuttled the Thrashers.

 

[Seattle Totems]

Seattle will never get an NHL team. Everything hinges on an arena proposal and local laws that are at odds with the NBA and NHL. It's basically a catch 22. All three parties demand the other to give something that is against their business philosophy and they will not commit otherwise.

The city of Seattle will not have anything to do with the NHL without an NBA team in place. The problem there is that the NBA will not move to any market unless the city provides an arena that is 100% financed by the public. If Seattle builds a privately funded arena it upsets the apple cart and suddenly the NBA can't strong arm markets into gifting them public subsidies. That is why they left Seattle in the first place and why they refused to move the Sacramento Kings even though the NBA would have been in a far superior market.

 

[Wetcoaster]

PS. I noticed these old WHL Seattle Totems jerseys while googling around... pretty radical.

I used to watch the Seattle Totems back in the day when the Vancouver Canucks were a WHL team. The Totems were led by the minor league's Wayne Gretzky of his time, Guyle Fielder. He also played for the New Westminster Royals.



In the late 1960's the Totems changed their team colours from red, white and blue

to green and white:

Seattle was the first US based team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917 when the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans and the National Hockey Association (NHA) champion Montreal Canadiens met. Seattle defeated Montreal three games to one in a best-of-five game series.

 

[WinterEmpire]

No to an arena in the area where the Mariners and Hawks play, it is so crowded there as is.
A new arena needs to be in Bellevue, more room and they demographics on the Eastside is much more white collar than Seattle. Meaning= money.
Do you know how many tech workers are on the eastside and have more money than they can spend?

Do you mean crowded as in physical space? Or just number of people who are there on game days? Because I think it would be rare for Mariners/Seahawks to overlap a NHL team's game times.