Potential Atlanta NHL Expansion Team Thread

[Dale Gribble]

Hopefully it isn't Tony Ressler, but I wouldn't be surprised given that he's building his own $5 billion entertainment district around State Farm and would love 41 more events to attract people there before and after a game.

Would it be that bad for the owner of the Hawks to also own the Hockey Team should it ever come ?

 

[Tawnos]

Could that be because their pizza sucks? They've filed Chapter 11 twice for a reason.

Tbf, their pizza is the best I’ve ever had in a mall.

 

[nhlfan79]

Would it be that bad for the owner of the Hawks to also own the Hockey Team should it ever come ?

Yes, definitely.

 

[sneakytitz]

Would it be that bad for the owner of the Hawks to also own the Hockey Team should it ever come ?

Tony is a decent owner, but it's just not a good location for a hockey team. Falcons (next door) and Hawks make it work because their fans live in all directions of State Farm. A vast majority of NHL fans live 20-45+ minutes north of that arena.

The Braves made a "heat map" of every single ticket sale in the previous 10 years leading up to the announcement of Truist Field and put a stadium as close to center as possible. Apparently Krause did the same thing with Thrasher ticket sales and his proposed arena. You want your product as close to your customers as possible.

 

[GreenHornet]

I mean... who really knows what will be in 30 years? 30 years ago, Forsyth County was too far away for pretty much anything. Today, folks say that, but the urban sprawl has definitely gobbled up south Forsyth and is working its way north. The county has grown exponentially over that 30 year span. Hell, in 30 years, Alpharetta could be to Atlanta what Ft. Worth is to Dallas. Who really knows for sure?

It's kind of like that now. I mean, Buckhead (which is part of Atlanta), the Galleria area in Southeast Cobb and Dunwoody/Sandy Springs have their own skylines now independent of downtown and midtown ATL.

As to Forsyth County, it wasn't that long ago, maybe about 20 years at most, that it was considered out in the country.

Yo man, all we need is a John Kincade tweet of a shoe!

I wouldn't be upset if we never heard from that obnoxious lout ever again.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Would it be that bad for the owner of the Hawks to also own the Hockey Team should it ever come ?

I'm not a huge Hawks fan, but I've seen rumors that Resler's son plays a big role in structuring the team and he apparently goes over the GM's head. I've read that there's a lot of disfunction in the C-suite of the Hawks. I don't want that with my hockey team.

 

[dj4aces]

Would it be that bad for the owner of the Hawks to also own the Hockey Team should it ever come ?

I definitely understand the idea... and, you know, if the owner of X team is also passionate and committed with Y, it would definitely work. But, first and foremost, that's not something that has ever happened here.

Sure, there's a small sample size, but we have Turner Broadcasting/AOL who initially owned the Thrashers, gave the team scraps for payroll, and just showed they really weren't all that passionate at all. Then we have the sale from Turner Broadcasting to Atlanta Spirit, and that group has been discussed ad nauseam since 2006.

Even if the current Hawks ownership had zero issues of its own, even if they were passionate about bringing hockey back to the area and supporting the team as much as they support the NBA product, it would simply be a case of very poor optics for the NBA owner to also own the NHL team in this city.

Folks love to try and say the old line about the "definition of insanity" related to returning to the Atlanta market. Why do everything the same as it has been done before -- downtown location, NBA owners -- and prove them right? Maybe this would work in any other city, but here, there's a high level of distrust with the idea of a NBA owner also owning a NHL franchise.

If the league is smart, this is something they wouldn't consider.

 

[aqib]

Tbf, their pizza is the best I’ve ever had in a mall.

Do you not have Blaze or PiCo in malls down there?

 

[BKIslandersFan]

If that's the mystery third person, he'd have to basically undo hundreds of millions of dollars of renovations to SFA to make it hockey compatible again. And he'd also still have the original hurdle of the poor downtown location to overcome.

Its already hockey compatible. Renovation couple years ago didn't make it not hockey compatible.

 

[sneakytitz]

Its already hockey compatible. Renovation couple years ago didn't make it not hockey compatible.

They severed and capped the brine lines when they made the courtside bar area - had to completely remove and repour the foundation in that area to make way for the new columns. They'd have to fix that first.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

They severed and capped the brine lines when they made the courtside bar area - had to completely remove and repour the foundation in that area to make way for the new columns. They'd have to fix that first.

Easily doable.

I believe most of the renovation was done to convert some of suites to regular seats.

 

[dj4aces]

Easily doable.

I believe most of the renovation was done to convert some of suites to regular seats.

I think the point is, it'd be undoing millions spent to sever those lines to begin with. That doesn't even consider the question of whether the ice plants are still there, and if so, whether they need repairs or to be replaced entirely.

But again, putting the team downtown is just repeating one mistake of the past.

 

[Headshot77]

No reason they can't temporarily play downtown for 3 years while the new arena gets built.

 

[sneakytitz]

No reason they can't temporarily play downtown for 3 years while the new arena gets built.

Only would be necessary if the Coyotes relocated here which I hope doesn't happen because a) that would mean Yotes fans go through what we all did back in 2011, which sucked and b) we don't get that sweet, sweet expansion draft.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I think the point is, it'd be undoing millions spent to sever those lines to begin with. That doesn't even consider the question of whether the ice plants are still there, and if so, whether they need repairs or to be replaced entirely.

But again, putting the team downtown is just repeating one mistake of the past.

I don't think its gonna cost much to put hockey rink back in there.

Sure as hell gonna cost less than building a new arena.

Downtown Atlanta is fine. I never believed location was an issue with Thrashers.

 

[tucker3434]

Has Ressler ever shown any interest at all in hockey? If he was interested, that would be the easiest and most logical path back for the NHL. But as it stands today, I don't think downtown and State Farm Arena are really on the table as options.

I don't see a quick fix. If a team is on the move in the near term, QC or SLC will be the benefactors. That's okay with me. I'm happy to wait if it means getting it right.

 

[nhlfan79]

I don't think its gonna cost much to put hockey rink back in there.

Sure as hell gonna cost less than building a new arena.

Downtown Atlanta is fine. I never believed location was an issue with Thrashers.

You're not local, are you?

 

[dj4aces]

Downtown Atlanta is fine. I never believed location was an issue with Thrashers.

Getting into Atlanta during rush hour is pretty awful -- especially if you're coming from 35 miles or more away, like the cities of Canton or Cartersville, which are areas I knew season ticket holders lived. It's currently (at 1130pm) a 45 minute drive from Canton to downtown, but it's easily 90 to 120 minutes at rush hour.

So... while downtown was not the problem, downtown is an issue if the league hopes to showcase a team that actually has a full lower bowl at puck drop, as opposed to one that might be full by the end of the first period.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Getting into Atlanta during rush hour is pretty awful -- especially if you're coming from 35 miles or more away, like the cities of Canton or Cartersville, which are areas I knew season ticket holders lived. It's currently (at 1130pm) a 45 minute drive from Canton to downtown, but it's easily 90 to 120 minutes at rush hour.

So... while downtown was not the problem, downtown is an issue if the league hopes to showcase a team that actually has a full lower bowl at puck drop, as opposed to one that might be full by the end of the first period.

How is Atlanta any different than any other cities in this regard?

 

[dj4aces]

How is Atlanta any different than any other cities in this regard?

Around 95% of the Thrashers fanbase are located at least 20 miles north of downtown. This is not an exaggeration, this is a fact that I know has been stated before in this thread.

Logically speaking, a business will locate itself in an area where its consumers and target market lives, not the place it hopes to attract them to. The NHL's target market are hockey fans and money. There's a reason why both Carter and Krause are planning their developments in the Alpharetta area.

I'm sure others can provide more details. This is just what I know. I lived south of town during the Thrashers era, and have only lived north of town for the past two years.

 

[tucker3434]

There’s nothing “wrong” with putting the team downtown. Give the people something worth seeing, and they’ll make the drive. I think you’d have far better luck getting the fans to support a losing team if it was out in the burbs, and I think that’s important for the long term success of the franchise. Make it a very attractive option for families who don’t even know the standings. Can’t really do that downtown.

 

[sneakytitz]

Downtown Atlanta is fine. I never believed location was an issue with Thrashers.

Eh, two things:

1) It is a pain in the ass getting into and out of games. MARTA is a disaster on the way out.

2) Suburbanites, mostly, don't like going into Atlanta at night these days. State Farm and Centennial Park aren't high crime areas but they're bordered by a few of them.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

How is Atlanta any different than any other cities in this regard?

Specifically, what makes Atlanta unique? The sprawl. In order to capture the true population (demographic data) of the Atlanta market, the MSA is a total of 28 counties. It's like the size of Connecticut. To get from one end to the other (some moderate traffic included) could easily take a couple hours, or more. So, the location of a development of this magnitude, with this type of anchor tenant has to be in a strategic location. Right in the middle of their ticket base is perfect.

 

[BMN]

I lived in Atlanta nearly two decades, all of it ITP. And all the friends I have that still live there that casually mention missing the Thrashers also live ITP. I'm as fierce a "ITP or GTFO" advocate as there can be.

But I'm also a realist, and there's no way downtown is a better proposition than north metro for a NHL team.

 

[sneakytitz]

I lived in Atlanta nearly two decades, all of it ITP. And all the friends I have that still live there that casually mention missing the Thrashers also live ITP. I'm as fierce a "ITP or GTFO" advocate as there can be.

But I'm also a realist, and there's no way downtown is a better proposition than north metro for a NHL team.

Yeah, the last shot for an ITP arena/stadium ended when the Assembly Studios project was announced at the former Doraville GM plant (this was a rumored, potential spot for the new Falcons and Braves stadiums years ago). Would have been a great spot for a hockey team/arena too since it is serviced by MARTA (the station touches the site), the highway infrastructure is already prepared for it, and anyone in Duluth, Alpharetta or Roswell, Marietta or Kennesaw, Atlanta or Decatur could have been there in under 30 minutes but alas...

Another option would be Silverbacks Park, although that is a few feet outside of the Perimeter. Now that I would love, because my neighborhood is across the street and I could walk to NHL games.