NHL Anti-Thread: Bad Business Decision Aggregator

[Glover]

1 hour ago, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

Not sure if any of you listen to NHL radio on sirius, but they've been talking about Cleveland as a possibility on the air this morning.

Don't go getting my hopes up like that. However, Cleveland can barely support 3 major league teams as it is, so I do not see it happening. 

 

Just move them to Quebec City and call it a day - it is a slam dunk. Some Sunbelt teams have worked, some haven't. This one has been a disaster for a number of reasons.

[MiK]

26 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

No for Milwaukee.  Fiserv Forum had an ice unit installed as an afterthought. I'd say there's no financial backing, either owner or fans, for an NHL team. 

 

I wish this weren't true but it is.

 

Hockey in Wisconsin is just not as popular as you would think. Madison and the Northwest part of the state I would say have a solid foundation of hockey fans. But northeast Wisconsin and Milwaukee metro, I just don't see it.  Would that change with an NHL team presence, maybe. But it would take some time to build up that fan base. Would likely need committed partnership with the Packers, Brewers, and Bucks to make it work longterm.

 

Also, Chicago will block it just like they did in the early 90s and denied us the Lightning.

[Sport]

The people said no. There's never been a more clear message that the Coyotes are not worth it to the residents of greater Phoenix. The league said "options" moving forward and I see two - Either get TF out of there or pay for the arena your damn selves. 

[IceCap]

Of the American cities Milwaukee seems like the most appealing? It's a city that just seems like a natural fit given the league's footprint. Like they should have been there all along. 

 

Portland also makes sense. You'd get a rivalry with Seattle right off the bat. And both teams would be new (to the PNW) so there wouldn't be much of a "big brother" dynamic either. 

 

Salt Lake City is interesting. The Jazz are well supported and they've always seemed to have solid minor league representation. The biggest hurdle is the arena situation. 

 

Kansas City. They have a NHL caliber arena. They'd have an in-state rivalry with the Blues. They even tried at one point, being the likely landing spot for the Penguins if Pittsburgh didn't get them a new rink. Thing is they've discovered that they don't even need a Big Four anchor tenant to turn a profit at that arena. Not that I'm sure they wouldn't be interested if the Coyotes showed interest, but potential ownership just isn't desperate. 

 

Houston. Everyone creams themselves at the thought of a Stars-Aeros rivalry but Houston has all the hallmarks of Phoenix and Atlanta. Large Southern city that's very sprawl-y. Not saying it can't work but when the profile seems to match the two worst Sunbelt locations it's concerning. It would have to be a team that's 1) owned by the Rockets so they're not paying rent and 2) run exceptionally well to motivate people to go. 

 

Cleveland. This is pure "what pro team cities aren't in the NHL?" guesswork. No. The Columbus Blue Jackets are a NHL success story and part of that is their central location in Ohio. Don't compromise that. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The only real answer is Cincinnati, of course. According to Airborne, it's the hockey capital of the United States.

 

 

 

[kiwi_canadian]

I really enjoyed the joy that Jay Onrait got announcing this on SportsCentre

 

NHL 'terribly disappointed' after Tempe voters reject arena for Coyotes

[CS85]

Somewhere in Wisconsin feels like the logical non-Canada landing spot, if I was to pull suggestions assward.  A second franchise in Michigan?  Would Indiana work?

[IceCap]

4 minutes ago, CS85 said:

Somewhere in Wisconsin feels like the logical non-Canada landing spot, if I was to pull suggestions assward.  A second franchise in Michigan?  Would Indiana work?

Indianapolis is basketball crazy. And given that the NBA and NHL seasons run parallel you're going to be fighting a losing battle for sponsorship and ticket money. 

 

Michigan COULD work. The idea of a team in Grand Rapids sounds like it would be fun but the Red Wings would kill it dead. 

[LMU]

[IceCap]

1 minute ago, LMU said:

lol the Suns have a perfectly fine arena why would they do that?

[MJWalker45]

8 hours ago, WestCoastBias said:

Rip to the Coyotes.

 

I doubt they relocate to Quebec City though, it's gonna be Houston. 

https://www.sportskeeda.com/ice-hockey/news-move-houston-already-fans-give-opinions-arizona-coyotes-move-voters-say-new-arena

I think Houston is the better option of all those discussed so far. As insane as it sounds, I don't think the NHL wants to go back to Quebec, no matter what they may say.  Personally, I'd love to see San Antonio as an option, but it's not in the cards. San Antonio has diehard fans from the Iguanas/Rampage days, but those herds are thinning out, otherwise I'd say there's an arena and a city with only one major league sports team that could support NHL hockey. But I don't think city leadership is willing to put in the work to do that. Especially if the new #1 pick for the Spurs packs AT&T Center every game for the next dozen years. 

1 hour ago, Sport said:

No and I haven't heard anything that would suggest that's a serious possibility. I don't think the league would do that to Columbus, one, and, two, Cleveland is a small market that's already over-extended with their NFL, MLB, and NBA teams. Sounds like AM radio guys openly brainstorming about available cities without much thought beyond "hey they cold they have arena they have other sports"

I wonder if the team moving to Cleveland would give the Blue Jackets a boost, similar to what happened with FC Cincinnati and the Crew. I'd like to think it would, but I don't see it the same way that we see the Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati rivalry. That's why I don't see Cleveland as a viable first option, but possibly a third or fourth one.

 

[Sec19Row53]

1 hour ago, IceCap said:

Of the American cities Milwaukee seems like the most appealing? It's a city that just seems like a natural fit given the league's footprint. Like they should have been there all along. 

 

Other than needing a potential owner

 

and a venue with a full-time ice facility that wouldn't relegate an NHL tenant to third tier (behind the Bucks and Marquette at a minimum)

 

and fans who aren't already accustomed to paying $10-15 for Admiral tickets.

We can wish it, but Milwaukee isn't gonna happen.

[gosioux76]

2 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Other than needing a potential owner

 

and a venue with a full-time ice facility that wouldn't relegate an NHL tenant to third tier (behind the Bucks and Marquette at a minimum)

 

and fans who aren't already accustomed to paying $10-15 for Admiral tickets.

We can wish it, but Milwaukee isn't gonna happen.

 

This is pretty much the scenario for all of the relocation options. It isn't ideal.

 

Theoretically, the ownership situation wouldn't be an issue if the current ownership decided to keep the team upon relocation. But the disadvantage would be in moving to a venue in which you'd be a tenant and not an owner. 

 

The stadium in Quebec City, I believe, is owned by the city, as is the T-Mobile Center in KC. The Houston arena is owned by Harris County. Portland's Moda center is controlled by Blazers' owner Jody Allen, and she hasn't (lately) expressed any interest in the NHL. 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only scenario — of those mentioned so far — that seems to fit would be SLC. If Ryan Smith is truly interested in buying the franchise, he already owns the arena, and would be able to get the maximum benefit of owning a second tenant.

 

 

 

 

[sky1324]

1 hour ago, IceCap said:

Kansas City. They have a NHL caliber arena. They'd have an in-state rivalry with the Blues.

 

Houston. Everyone creams themselves at the thought of a Stars-Aeros rivalry

I generally agree what you posit in this post but genuinely what's the difference here? Why would a Dallas-Houston rivalry not happen but KC-STL would?

[who do you think]

57 minutes ago, IceCap said:

lol the Suns have a perfectly fine arena why would they do that?

 

And even if they were in the hunt for an arena, why would they want the Coyotes involved in any way shape or form?

 

> To fill arena dates

 

I know some Thrashers guy way early in this thread broke down all the costs and labor associated with maintaining NHL ice all year in a warm climate. If you commit to that, there better be fans coming. Well, it's been almost 30 years and the Coyotes still have about 30 fans. Add it up and the Suns would probably be better off letting their employees bring their kids to the empty arena to play hide-n-seek 41 times a year than letting the Coyotes in there.

 

Also Kansas City is the meme of memes. Nobody there gives a single solitary rat's ass about hockey.

[SCMODS]

 Doesn't Salt Lake City have the seating issue with the one side folded in like Brooklyn & the Suns arena?

[charger77]

2 hours ago, CS85 said:

Somewhere in Wisconsin feels like the logical non-Canada landing spot, if I was to pull suggestions assward.  A second franchise in Michigan?  Would Indiana work?

 

I don't think a 2nd Michigan franchise would get support. 

[Gary]

11 hours ago, VampyrRabbit said:

Tonight the Yotes are going to rock up at the now Desert Diamond Arena trying their best not to fall over, asking
 

"Well tell me do you think it'd be alright,
if i could just crash here tonight?
You can see I'm in no shape for driving,
and anyway I got no place to go"
 

Funny, Gin Blossoms used to play at the Long Wongs just a couple blocks from the dump the Coyotes wanted to build the future parking lot 

[Gary]

15 minutes ago, charger77 said:

 

I don't think a 2nd Michigan franchise would get support. 

A second for wouldn’t work in Detroit or even Michigan. The Red Wings are beloved there and a relocation of another team would be laughed at and moved the next year

[Gary]

Sorry third post in a row, but listening to the local station this morning and they were saying there’s a rumor that the Coyotes are talking to Ishbia and the Suns about being tenants to the Footprint Center. If this happens another 25 years of losing money