Questions about Expansion Fees

[MountainHawk]

Couldnt find any examples of that in either NFL:
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=1286

or MLB:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Expansion_of_1993
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Major_League_Baseball_expansion

Seems all teams that came in at same time, paid the same fee.



Problem with your scenario, which I realize was extreme to prove the point, is exactly that. Rarely is their that huge of a disparity between buying the gold mine or the barren land. Most of the areas usually lie somewhere in the middle, and whether you find a goldmine or waste away has almost as much to do with the organization itself (how it's run, etc.) as opposed to where it's actually located.

I don't think Hamilton is the proverbial "gold mine" either. You've got fierce competition from two long-standing franchises in Toronto and Buffalo on either side of you. Not to mention your costs of doing business are going to be a lot higher in an area like that then you'd have in say Winnipeg, where you have the added bonus of not having to build a new arena and you're the only game in town.

I would argue that Hamilton vs Phoenix are almost exactly that though. Phoenix is all about potential. 4 monkeys and a emu could successfully make money running and NHL franchise in Hamilton.

 

[IceAce]

Grandfathered In?. I wondered about that when Queens/Brooklyn was initially brought up. I still "wonder" about it based on the mildly litigious nature & cantankerous relationship the Rangers had/have with the NHL. .

I only think it would go that far if we looked to move into Manhattan, Staten Island (God help us!, or upstate NY. Outside of that, Brooklyn and Queens are technically part of "Long Island" in the geographic sense, even if from a zoning standpoint they're technically boroughs of NYC.

 

[MountainHawk]

Also, the last NFL expansion was a bidding process.

LA offered $540M plus maybe a stadium, Houston offered $700M plus Reliant stadium and won.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Texans

 

[IceAce]

I would argue that Hamilton vs Phoenix are almost exactly that though. Phoenix is all about potential. 4 monkeys and a emu could successfully make money running and NHL franchise in Hamilton.

If the Yotes move out of PHX, I dont think you'd have to worry about them seeing an expansion franchise ever.

Also, the last NFL expansion was a bidding process.

LA offered $540M plus maybe a stadium, Houston offered $700M plus Reliant stadium and won.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Texans

I believe it. Then again this is the NFL which has the ability to do such things. Had two teams gotten in however, based on precedent, it's fair to assume they'd have both paid the same fee. The auction process by it's own nature almost guarantees you'd have matching bids for each of two spots.

 

[MountainHawk]

I'm actually pretty confident that if the Coyotes leave, the NHL will work with Hulsizer and Quebecor to expand to PHX and QCY pretty quickly (within 2 or 3 years -- whenever Quebec will be ready.)