Quebec or Houston

[CanadienShark]

I am from Montreal, but live in Toronto now. Is it not a 3 hour drive to Quebec City.

That's pretty normal. I'm from Victoria and knew a TON of people who regularly went to games in Vancouver, which includes a 1.5ish hour ferry + driving to and from. All in all, probably similar to the Mtl-QC route in terms of time.

 

[CaptainCrunch67]

If I'm a player, its houston, paid in us dollars, low taxes, its not a high profile sport, warm weather

If I'm an owner, I'm picking houston, more money making opportunities, US dollar revenue, low taxes, lower costs. Not having to deal with the language question.

I don't know if there's a long term future in Quebec as a NHL market.

 

[Svechhammer]

Houston. Much larger market, relatively untapped to the league, and pretty young, which is the prevailing demographic of NHL fans right now.

League stands to make much more money in Houston. Even a middling team there probably financially outweighs a big success in QC.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

Quebec City has a population of 832k. Not sure they can sustain an NHL team long term.

832k people with 95% of them being hardcore hockey fans since birth is better than a place with 2,3 million people with 10 people who actually know what hockey even is.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Houston is such a big population base. Makes more sense to me despite the lower hockey fan dom

 

[cc]

with 3 other major pro sports teams in Houston, I wonder how much actual interest there will be for hockey despite their population base.

 

[Jumptheshark]

More headaches with Quebec City. It will be either Houston or KC

 

[WingsMJN2965]

with 3 other major pro sports teams in Houston, I wonder how much actual interest there will be for hockey despite their population base.

Ehh, Vegas does fine with the NFL and being the home base for the UFC, not to mention a litany of other entertainment outlets most cities don't have.

 

[Foppberg]

It won't be Quebec City, but I want it to be.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Shift Arizona to Houston, and Ottawa up to Quebec.
No conference realignment will be needed and its two markets that are worlds better than the markets the teams are currently in.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Houston gets Arizona or maybe KC, but I think Houston is the front runner.

If Quebec gets the Nordiques back it’s in the next wave of expansion that before Covid would have been around 2024-26, but now who knows.

 

[cc]

Ehh, Vegas does fine with the NFL and being the home base for the UFC, not to mention a litany of other entertainment outlets most cities don't have.

I don't equate ufc which holds global events in a variety of locations with professional team sports playing 41 games or more a season in your city

If you are a sports team enthusiast, the other forms of entertainment aren't going to distract you too much from that

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

Would Houston play in the same arena as the Rockets?

So we can expect them to sellout their games yet we'll see about 90% of the best seats being empty each and every game. The Rockets can't even fill the arena in the playoffs.

Adding Houston would be bad for the NHL's image. Quebec is a far better option.

 

[Albatros]

Adding Houston would be bad for the NHL's image. Quebec is a far better option.

Most casual fans would rather see their team play Houston than Québec, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa...

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

Most casual fans would rather see their team play Houston than Québec, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa...

Really? What's so special about Houston that makes them more interesting than Quebec?

 

[tucker3434]

As a fan, I'd prefer Quebec. Due to the business side of things, I think it'd be Houston. There's a lot of upside there.

 

[um]

Ehh, Vegas does fine with the NFL and being the home base for the UFC, not to mention a litany of other entertainment outlets most cities don't have.

Vegas went to the finals in their first year.

Whoever gets Arizona is in for a rebuild.

 

[um]

Shift Arizona to Houston, and Ottawa up to Quebec.
No conference realignment will be needed and its two markets that are worlds better than the markets the teams are currently in.

I don’t get the desire to move Ottawa. They’ve been a great franchise for 90% of their existence. A few shitty rebuilding years shouldn’t lose you your team.

Hell I was in Ottawa this summer and I still see Sens banners and flags everywhere. It’s a great hockey town.

 

[smitty10]

For Arizona? Houston all day.

Perfect for division alignment. Massive market with a ton of potential and huge TV base. Would help the NHL secure more lucrative TV deals in the future.

If QC is to get a team it would likely be Ottawa relocating there. Quebec City will bring decent ticket revenue, but there's next to no growth in this market. Most hockey fans there already watch the NHL. Such a small market with a small corporate base and likely having an extremely regional fan base isn't a great move for the NHL.

 

[OG6ix]

Houston bigger potential growth. Cities like Quebec make the NHL profile closer to CFL than NFL.

 

[um]

For Arizona? Houston all day.

Perfect for division alignment. Massive market with a ton of potential and huge TV base. Would help the NHL secure more lucrative TV deals in the future.

If QC is to get a team it would likely be Ottawa relocating there. Quebec City will bring decent ticket revenue, but there's next to no growth in this market. Most hockey fans there already watch the NHL. Such a small market with a small corporate base and likely having an extremely regional fan base isn't a great move for the NHL.

Why don’t want to be in markets with NHL fans? Is making money not the goal anymore?

 

[ItWasJustified]

Houston bigger potential growth

Just like in Arizona.

 

[OG6ix]

Just like in Arizona.

I guess you can look at the WHA franchise which was up there with Edmonton and Hartford

 

[Mickey Marner]

For Arizona specifically, Houston.

 

[WhiteCurse]

Moving Arizona to Houston would be a mistake, people who know squat about hockey getting the worst team in years won't go well.