NHL Anti-Thread: Bad Business Decision Aggregator

[Magnus]

Guess I'll have to start ranting and raving again to keep this place interesting. LOL

[The_Admiral]

Again, damn shame.

Still, 14,500 would be better than they draw in Nassau. And they'd remain accessible to their historical fanbase.

Would a few seasons there be worth it over remaining in Nassau while trying to figure out their situation?

Seeing as Nassau is literally falling apart (the roof is leaking, they have to strip the asbestos out), I'd say they could do a couple years in Brooklyn between the end of their ironclad Nassau lease and the completion of a new arena. I wouldn't make it permanent; it really doesn't seem like a very good hockey rink at all.

Question for Gothamite: with the renaissance of Brooklyn, is suburban Long Island, in some sense, dying? All I read is that the high taxes and NIMBYism/BANANAism are sending everyone out of there. I mean, it's not that people won't live there anymore, just that maybe there won't be that sort of enormous middle class that would justify building a 17,000-seat arena outside of New York City.

Anyway, this press conference is probably just to say they have the arena stuff figured out, finally. I doubt they're going to come right out and say "nous avons acheté les Coyotes," because that would make the NHL very mad. I guess Quebecor people are gonna be there, though.

[IceCap]

Guess I'll have to start ranting and raving again to keep this place interesting. LOL

Who knows though? Maybe this isn't over. For all we know the press conference will come and Bettman will announce that the Blues have been sold to Quebecor. In unrelated news he'll also announce that the Coyotes will remain in Glendale for at least one more season, as Elaine Scruggs closed the hospital and sold a kidney from each patient to come up with the $25 million.

[Sodboy13]

Anyway, this press conference is probably just to say they have the arena stuff figured out, finally. I doubt they're going to come right out and say "nous avons acheté les Coyotes," because that would make the NHL very mad. I guess Quebecor people are gonna be there, though.

Yeah, there's no way anything concrete gets announced before the Coyotes' season is officially over. Today's presser will be all about laying out plans, intentions, and what they hope to accomplish. No mention will be made of any specific team, lest ownership even faintly come across as the second coming of the Hamilton Predators.

And besides that, I'm still willing to put even odds on them not getting the Coyotes.

[The_Admiral]

I'm sure someone will ask Peladeau and the mayor about the Coyotes, and then one of them will force "oh we wouldn't know a thing about that" through an array of snorts and giggles while the other elbows him in the side saying "shut uuup" (all this in French, of course). On the whole, the Quebecois seem to lack the discipline and stoicism of their prairie brethren, from what I've seen.

[njmeadowlanders]

Again, damn shame.

Still, 14,500 would be better than they draw in Nassau. And they'd remain accessible to their historical fanbase.

Would a few seasons there be worth it over remaining in Nassau while trying to figure out their situation?

Seeing as Nassau is literally falling apart (the roof is leaking, they have to strip the asbestos out), I'd say they could do a couple years in Brooklyn between the end of their ironclad Nassau lease and the completion of a new arena. I wouldn't make it permanent; it really doesn't seem like a very good hockey rink at all.

Question for Gothamite: with the renaissance of Brooklyn, is suburban Long Island, in some sense, dying? All I read is that the high taxes and NIMBYism/BANANAism are sending everyone out of there. I mean, it's not that people won't live there anymore, just that maybe there won't be that sort of enormous middle class that would justify building a 17,000-seat arena outside of New York City.

Anyway, this press conference is probably just to say they have the arena stuff figured out, finally. I doubt they're going to come right out and say "nous avons acheté les Coyotes," because that would make the NHL very mad. I guess Quebecor people are gonna be there, though.

I saw my first ever game at the Nassau Mausoleum back in November for Rangers/Isles. Awesome atmosphere with about a 50/50 crowd. That's about it though...

The actual seats were falling apart, there's basically zero food options, it's the single worst concourse ever constructed, you can't move anywhere. I think there are 4 bathrooms period with about 4 urinals each. What's the point? It's time to leave...though the last row of the upper deck you still are relatively close to the action and it does have great sightlines for hockey.

[JQK]

I remember people talking about how NVMC was falling apart, decrepit, and in need to be replaced back when they were in the Wales Conference Finals against Montreal...

...that was 20 seasons ago

[mattwswfc]

Anyone got a link for this press conference?

[waltere]

Considering the way things have gone over the last few years it would absolutely not surprise me if this somehow drags itself out further and we see another team sacrificed on the Altar of Bettman's Ego. I mean this time last year everyone pretty much assumed that the Coyotes were on their way back to Winnipeg, and then suddenly it was the Thrashers' going up there instead.

[RedSox44]

If any team other than the Coyotes moves to Quebec City, the NHL Board of Governors and Bettman should all be shot.

[mattwswfc]

Considering the way things have gone over the last few years it would absolutely not surprise me if this somehow drags itself out further and we see another team sacrificed on the Altar of Bettman's Ego. I mean this time last year everyone pretty much assumed that the Coyotes were on their way back to Winnipeg, and then suddenly it was the Thrashers' going up there instead.

Thing is though, people really knew it was either Phoenix or Atlanta moving to Winnipeg, they didn't care as long as they got there team.

Also you've got to think if the tables were turned and Phoenix did move to Winnipeg, would we be speculating weather Atlanta would move to QC? Probably not...

QC are taking advantage of the current situation and using it to try a lure the Coyotes North of the border...

[sportstar1212]

If any team other than the Coyotes moves to Quebec City, the NHL Board of Governors and Bettman should all be shot.

AMEN to that

It was bad enough that the Coyotes didn't leave after last year.

[waltere]

Oh the Coyotes definitely SHOULD leave, I'm just saying it would not surprise me if they pull a fast one with some other team who are sort of a little bit in trouble. At the end of the day Quebec City don't care which team they get they just want someone.

[Magnus]

Here's a thought. Move the Abbotsford AHL team to QC. Oh, wait...

[Gothamite]

Also you've got to think if the tables were turned and Phoenix did move to Winnipeg, would we be speculating weather Atlanta would move to QC? Probably not...

I think we would.

Atlanta was a terrible market. They would have lost that team, if not to Winnipeg than to the next ownership-ready city willing and able to build an arena.

[njmeadowlanders]

If any team other than the Coyotes moves to Quebec City, the NHL Board of Governors and Bettman should all be shot.

AMEN to that

It was bad enough that the Coyotes didn't leave after last year.

Well I don't think that many people would care if it were Florida, Columbus, etc. They're NOT moving, but nobody would miss them either save for a few people in each market, let's be honest.

[Gothamite]

Question for Gothamite: with the renaissance of Brooklyn, is suburban Long Island, in some sense, dying? All I read is that the high taxes and NIMBYism/BANANAism are sending everyone out of there. I mean, it's not that people won't live there anymore, just that maybe there won't be that sort of enormous middle class that would justify building a 17,000-seat arena outside of New York City.

The city is more and more attractive, but I'm not sure that I would categorize LI as dying in any sense.

The Long Island Rail Road is expanding, making Nassau an even better location for suburban commuters. That will help secure that middle class. I think the tax thing is a bit overblown - we keep hearing the same thing about the city, with our added income tax, but that hasn't stopped people from flocking to Gotham.

And I also think that Brooklyn's main growth has come in the more urban areas rather than the more suburban ones on the eastern edge of the borough, and is therefore largely irrelevant to Long Island's situation. I don't think Fort Greene is attracting the sort of people who would otherwise live in Hicksville.

[rvrdgsfn]

What has been told as of the HFboards...

-18,000 seat arena next door to the Colisee

-Deal was finalized as of Friday 10 PM

-Shovels in ground this September

-The name would be: Centre Quebecor, have a 25 year lease agreement

-Quebecor will pay extra 40M$ for a complete TV studio integrated in the arena

-Opening September, 2015 & it has to be done by then someone said... hmm, I wonder why???

[The_Admiral]

The NHL posted this and then deleted it. Predicting that they'd take it down, I cleverly screencapped it.

I'd like to congratulate Quebec City on its forthcoming "NHL-style arena." I'm going to bake them a batch of chocolate chip-style cookies.

[Brian in Boston]

... as I remember it the Totems were still active when Seattle was promised an NHL franchise, and I had the Totems as going belly up in 73 on one of the spreadsheets I did (I see no need in hiding my obsessive/compulsive nature on our sports logo and uniform message board). I see now that it was 75, so I am probably off.

The National Hockey League announced on June 12, 1974 that a Seattle, Washington-based expansion franchise was being awarded to Vince Abbey and Dr. Eldred Barnes, who were part-owners of the Western Hockey League's Seattle Totems - along with the Vancouver Canucks - at the time. The NHL revealed that the team would take the ice for the first time during the 1976-77 NHL season. Abbey and Barnes were required to come up with a $180,000 deposit by the close of 1975, line-up the remainder of the $6 million franchise fee, and purchase the Canucks' shares in the Totems so as to free up the Seattle marketplace.

Abbey began to experience problems securing financing for the bid almost immediately, which resulted in his missing several league-set deadlines for payments towards both the deposit and total franchise fee. The NHL responded by threatening to pull the promised franchise. During this period, Abbey passed on a chance to purchase a World Hockey Association franchise for $2 million, as well as the opportunity to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins in a bankruptcy auction for $4.4 million in June of 1975. When the Totems folded following the 1974-75 WHL season, the NHL came to the conclusion that Abbey didn't possess the financial wherewithal necessary to secure the promised NHL expansion and rescinded the franchise rights. In the fall of 1975, Abbey filed suit against the NHL and Vancouver Canucks for allegedly engaging in anti-trust violations that prevented him from securing an NHL expansion franchise for Seattle. The suit dragged on until 1976, when a verdict was returned in favor of the NHL and Canucks.

Stranger still is the story behind Seattle's bid for a franchise to take the ice as part of the NHL's 1992-93 expansion. Shortly after the NHL announced its expansion plans in December of 1989, two groups stepped-up to announce their interest in making bids on Seattle's behalf. One was led by Bill Ackerley, son of Seattle Supersonics owner Barry Ackerley. The other was to be financed by Microsoft millionaire Chris Larson and headed-up by former Seattle Totem Bill MacFarland. Ackerley was the first - indeed, only - party to actually submit a formal application to the league. Shortly after he did so, the two groups decided to combine their efforts into a single bid. The pooled resources of Ackerley and Larson were thought to be more than enough to meet the NHL's $50 million price-tag for an expansion franchise, as well as the ability to cover operating expenses for the first five seasons.

Larson and McFarland represented the group in a meeting with the NHL's Board of Governors in October of 1990 and reportedly gave a great presentation. The presence of a Microsoft millionaire amongst the ownership group bankrolling the bid, as well as news that the group was in discussions with the City of Seattle about construction of a state-of-the-art arena, truly impressed the BOG. In fact, then-Vancouver Canucks President and GM Pat Quinn - who had played for Bill MacFarland on the 1966-67 WHL Championship Seattle Totems team - told his former coach that the Seattle bid was "a lock" to land one of the NHL's planned expansion teams.

On December 5th, 1990, Larson, MacFarland, Ackerley, and Bill Lear - a financial advisor to Ackerley - were scheduled to make their formal presentation to the NHL Board of Governors. When NHL Vice President and General Counsel Gil Stein came to escort the group the board room in which the presentation was to be made, Ackerley made an unusual request: he asked if he and Lear could address the BOG first - in private - before Larson and MacFarland delivered their portion of the presentation. The request came as a complete surprise, as it had not been a topic of conversation during the strategy meeting Larson, MacFarland, Ackerley, and Lear had engaged in over breakfast that morning. Nevertheless, Larson and MacFarland reluctantly agreed, as the group's expansion application was in Ackerley's name - a result of his having been the only party to actually submit a formal expansion application before the groups merged their efforts.

Ten minutes later, Gil Stein returned to Larson and MacFarland with strange - indeed, downright disturbing - news: Ackerley had introduced himself to the BOG, then informed them that the Seattle group was withdrawing its bid for an NHL expansion franchise. Ackerley gave no reason for the about-face. Ackerley and Lear then left the boardroom through another exit, so as not to cross paths with Larson MacFarland.

MacFarland and Larson were afforded the opportunity to make their presentation, despite having no formal bid expansion application before the BOG with their names on it. NHL expansion franchises were ultimately awarded to Ottawa and Tampa Bay, though neither group ever came up with the $50 million fee that the Seattle group had said they were prepared to pay in full.