So when is Salt Lake City going to get an NHL team?

[BKIslandersFan]

I think Vegas is trying to plant their roots down there.

Why is the NHL the only league in which going to markets that actually enjoy your product is a bad thing?

You're not taking anything away from the soldout Leafs.

There's more to running an NHL team than just selling tickets to your average fans. Selling suites to corporations is more valuable. Little to no corporate presence in a city means they are not getting a team, no matter how much the inhabitants like hockey.

 

[Human]

yes, an NHL team would do great in Salt Lake City...

 

[Galactico]

Quebec City and Hamilton
Give me a single source that said that either would generate more revenue than freaking Pittsburgh or Detroit. You can't possibly believe that. Unless you're being obtuse and just counting the one year where there'd be an $800m expansion fee. Winnipeg does everything right, is bigger both Quebec and Hamilton, has a larger economy with more corporate support, (isn't reliant on precarious equalization payments btw like QC is) and WPG still isn't profitable.
Not to mention that Quebec would just pull the same shit that Montreal does and weaponize an NHL team for political statements by only hiring under-qualified, French-speakers in prominent roles who purposefully lose trades to get their French kids.

Ottawa
Ottawa operates on a profit of <$5m every single year solely because of the hilarious way Melnyk manages that franchise, and you know it.

Hamilton
New York can barely support two teams. The only people you ever see advocating for a second Golden Horseshoe team are Toronto fans, who, at the end of the day, aren't gonna switch loyalties (as would be needed to support the franchise). You just want a crappy team to have a faux rivalry with like the Yankees and Mets.

American Losing Teams
Yea, I'd be in favor of moving all of Florida, Arizona, Columbus, and the Islanders. Carolina is fine though.

Tell the truth, you don't base your opinions off of anything other than undeserved Canadian entitlement when it comes to hockey.

Wrong. Winnipeg is smaller than Quebec City. Winnipeg metro area has 778k people while Quebec has over 800k. I’ll add that the province of Quebec as whole has over 8 million people while Manitoba has only 1.2 million people. This makes Quebec City a larger market for sure than
Winnipeg.

As for Houston, yes they are a huge market but they don’t even sell out Rockets game so I am not so sure a team would do well there.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Unlike the NHL, the NBA does not tend to change team names when they relocate. Hence, you have the Los Angeles Lakers (originally Minneapolis) and the Utah Jazz (originally New Orleans).

And until recently, the New Orleans Hornets

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Wrong. Winnipeg is smaller than Quebec City. Winnipeg metro area has 778k people while Quebec has over 800k. I’ll add that the province of Quebec as whole has over 8 million people while Manitoba has only 1.2 million people. This makes Quebec City a larger market for sure than
Winnipeg.

As for Houston, yes they are a huge market but they don’t even sell out Rockets game so I am not so sure a team would do well there.

The Rockets have had attendance of 99 percent or better 6 of the last 7 years...

 

[Confucius]

My bet is it would flop badly.

Do Mexicans even play hockey? Who the hell would watch a sport they can't even relate to?

At least in Scandinavian countries, hockey is a thing. If you put aside the unrealistic traveling, Japan would probably be a better choice than Mexico.

Average wage in Mexico is 16,000 U S per year, out of that they pay approximately 35% tax. Isn't that net income less than some season seats in Toronto? How can the team be a financial success?

 

[Machinehead]

It's far too small.

The only NHL city comparable is Buffalo and that's an exemplary hockey market.

Even Raleigh has more than twice the population and serves multiple markets within the state.

Winnipeg and Nashville have more three times the population.

 

[jbeck5]

i'm just passing through SLC right now and I keep thinking to myself, man this would be a very good NHL market. Growing economy, population with a good target populace with good incomes.

I want to toss in a name into the hat:

Salt Lake City Slickers

Why???

I have many cousins who live in salt Lake city. They know or care nothing about hockey. They like other sports, but literally couldn't care less for hockey.

I was never even made aware of the fact salt Lake city is a hockey starving city...any data to show this??

Otherwise sounds like a silly idea.

 

[rojac]

And until recently, the New Orleans Hornets

I was primarily thinking of names that no longer fit in the new location.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

I was primarily thinking of names that no longer fit in the new location.

Wouldnt that still count though, especially considering it was so beloved to the city of Charlotte that they brokered a deal with the league to get it back?

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Eh, visited there last year. Don't think it would do well. Or rather, I think there are better untapped markets.

I suppose the nhl could use it as a "growth" market, but then why not use a city 5x the population like Houston or fort worth...or kansas which is 2x or Portland which is 2x.

Quebec is 800k to SLC 1.2m, but the Quebec fans are basically built in fans right away, however that isn't going to create new hockey fans.

I know it would never happen but imagine putting the 1st Pro sports team for (baseball, hockey, basketball, football) into Mexico City that has a metro of 20 million. Could be an epic fail or epic win. Lots of tourists would go to games.

Fort Worth is basically Dallas.

 

[Champ]

Up, with the Coyotes about to be homeless and new NBA owner in SLC and an Olympic bid for 2030, could we see the Coyotes move to Salt Lake City?

 

[Maplebeasts]

Never.

 

[Derailed75]

Unlike the NHL, the NBA does not tend to change team names when they relocate. Hence, you have the Los Angeles Lakers (originally Minneapolis) and the Utah Jazz (originally New Orleans).

Depends on the team owners. The Hornets moved to NOLA and stayed the Hornets for a few years. Charlotte is given a new team and became the Bobcats. They both decided to rebrand and the Charlotte was once again the Hornets and the NOLA became the Pelicans

 

[rojac]

Depends on the team owners. The Hornets moved to NOLA and stayed the Hornets for a few years. Charlotte is given a new team and became the Bobcats. They both decided to rebrand and the Charlotte was once again the Hornets and the NOLA became the Pelicans

I know it doesn't happen all the time. That's why I specifically chose the phrasing "the NBA does not tend to change team names" as opposed to saying "the NBA does not change team names."

 

[Malaka]

Perfect scenic winter location, plenty of family oriented athletic outdoorsy/active types and fast growing primary demographic market with transplants from every single direction(Cali/AZ/Colorado/ETC), so many ideal things about this place idk where to begin!

But in fact this place is a shithole. Drug problems, homeless people, theft, corrupt government and endless racketeering from the Mormon church, an air quality index worse than Beijing, garbage roads, beyond mediocre food, liquor prohibition and everything closed on Sunday or past 9PM, I could go on forever bitching about it.

There will be no one living here in 5 years when the lake dries up and arsenic is released into the already polluted atmosphere with absolute rape of the public commons(we’re a net exporter of gas — why the f*** is it $4 a gallon?!), apocalyptic earthquakes due along the wasatch, and not to mention the inevitable forest fires that will wipe out every overpriced/hyperinflated home in the valley and beyond.

Salt lake is beautiful, great people too, but f*** no.

Start expanding to Europe.

 

[sansabri]

Utah Rockabilly

 

[EazyE1]

I've been thru that god awful state. Mega weirdos. I'm surprised they even have basketball.

 

[Drake1588]

It's an incredible winter sports city, and the demographics are positive -- SLC is quite affluent and the city is larger than most detractors think when they consider it at all. A team there would no doubt do very well with the SLC population.

The biggest drawback is the lack of a passionate owner or ownership group in waiting. Ideally, the owner(s) of the Jazz would want to own a basketball and hockey tenant of a modern multipurpose arena that they also own and operate, giving you 82 days of assured operations per year as a baseline. That model works quite well in a number of US cities and Toronto. Thus far, I don't believe this has been the case in SLC, however. The Jazz owner(s) seem uninterested in the NHL, yet the building would need substantial renovations for hockey. This probably isn't a city that needs two arenas that seat 18,000+ for sports. Generally, there has not been a push from the city's wealthier residents to attract the NHL through either relocation or expansion. The city has a lot in its favor, but this is a deal-breaking factor until it changes.

 

[OilerTyler]

I've been thru that god awful state. Mega weirdos. I'm surprised they even have basketball.

Mormons love basketball. I think a lot of their churches have a court in them.

I don't think the NHL would be able to compete with the NBA there.

 

[T REX]

Hear many good things about SLC.

How is the hockey culture there...

 

[Derailed75]

I know it doesn't happen all the time. That's why I specifically chose the phrasing "the NBA does not tend to change team names" as opposed to saying "the NBA does not change team names."

I just meant it up to the team owners not the league

 

[Suntouchable13]

Perfect scenic winter location, plenty of family oriented athletic outdoorsy/active types and fast growing primary demographic market with transplants from every single direction(Cali/AZ/Colorado/ETC), so many ideal things about this place idk where to begin!

But in fact this place is a shithole. Drug problems, homeless people, theft, corrupt government and endless racketeering from the Mormon church, an air quality index worse than Beijing, garbage roads, beyond mediocre food, liquor prohibition and everything closed on Sunday or past 9PM, I could go on forever bitching about it.

There will be no one living here in 5 years when the lake dries up and arsenic is released into the already polluted atmosphere with absolute rape of the public commons(we’re a net exporter of gas — why the f*** is it $4 a gallon?!), apocalyptic earthquakes due along the wasatch, and not to mention the inevitable forest fires that will wipe out every overpriced/hyperinflated home in the valley and beyond.

Salt lake is beautiful, great people too, but f*** no.

Start expanding to Europe.

Expanding to Europe? f*** no. Sorry. There are already too many teams as it is. Plus you want that logistical nightmare?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Let's see.

Houston
KC
Green Bay
Portland
Hartford
Quebec
Hamilton
New Orleans
Milwalkee
Cincinatee
Atlanta




I know I am missing a few cities where we have had a thread suggesting they could support a team.

My first and only question is "has there been pro hockey at any level and how did it go over?

We can talk about TV households, growing population and other none hockey related stuff. But it comes down to a city being able to support a hockey team in any shape or form

We could discuss about 50 US cities that people believe could support the 33rd team. But as we have seen there is more to than a growing population or how many TV households there are.

Not sure why people are getting mad at others mocking SLC, the only time I saw this kind of thread not get mocked is when Seattle was mentioned about ten years ago.

Do I see the NHL scouting SLC for a team in my lifetime? No. Why, there are other cities that I think the NHL will explore first. Houston KC, Quebec and a second team in Toronto will be looked at before SLC. I think the NHL would look at Atlanta again before SLC

 

[RealityBytes]

Wrong. Winnipeg is smaller than Quebec City. Winnipeg metro area has 778k people while Quebec has over 800k. I’ll add that the province of Quebec as whole has over 8 million people while Manitoba has only 1.2 million people. This makes Quebec City a larger market for sure than
Winnipeg.

As for Houston, yes they are a huge market but they don’t even sell out Rockets game so I am not so sure a team would do well there.

Yeah, but Bettman considers Quebec City as being part of the Habs market and adding a team in Quebec City won't add any new fans but will just split the existing market. When a league gives out franchises, they prefer to go to new markets to expand their overall fan base. It's just not city size that's taken into account.

Quebec City though, could be used as a last resort "bail out" city for a failing franchise that nobody wants, like Arizona for example. That could happen.