Saintsfan Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 I hope I am not stepping on any toes here, but I thought it would be quite fun and interesting to build an NHL franchise from the ground up as a board, so January's saintsfan challenges are going to be a week by week building of said franchise. In this first stage you have until New Years day ( or sooner if we are flooded with nominations!!) to nominate a city that currently doesn't host NHL hockey but you think should. Your nominating post should contain an explanation as to why you think it deserves NHL hockey. A vote will then be taken and the winning location will be the nominated location for other rounds, during which a name, logo and then a uniform will be designed. Any city that could viably host NHL hockey is fine! (I have a feeling I know what some of the nominations will be *cough winnipeg cough cough hartford etc!)The usual TBTC format for saintsfan challenges will return after this challenge is complete!) 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ez Street Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Kansas City, they plan on building a new arena. There are a lot of Hockey fans in the area. Build a good rival with St. Louis. Give the town something to root for between Chiefs and Royals season. @DavidStreeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicfurth Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Green Bay, WS. They could have a good rivalry with both the Wild & the Red Wings. Good sports fans in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clyon81 Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Milwaukee, WI. The blue collar loyal fans of Milwaukee make regular trips up to Green Bay to watch NFL football, west for the Badgers, and even contributed 400 million dollars to a franchise(brewers) for a new stadium, even though the team had not been to the playoffs since 1982. The city of Milwaukee is surrounded by great hockey towns via tradition and/or cultish followings. Milwaukee is an instant rival with Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, and St. Louis. Hockey is a very popular, and rapidly growing sport in Wisconsin, including SE Wisconsin. The Petit family tried for years to get professional hockey into Milwaukee, and contributed the Bradley Center to Milwaukee in an effort to do so. The Petit's also contributed the Petit National Ice Center, which is used for local hockey leagues, and a speed skating track surrounding the multiple hockey rinks, which doubles for olympic training, and public skating. The loyalty that the fans of Milwaukee have shown the Packers(entire stadium sold via season tickets since the 1960's) and die hard (very hard) Brewer fans, has yet to be rewarded with an NHL franchise. Though they are home to the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, the brew city faithful know the difference between the real thing and a cheap ripoff. The city of Milwaukee is ready and viable for an NHL franchise. I have never attended an NHL game, and don't follow it that close, but if a team were here, my season ticket money is in the bank! :: Play RBI Baseball 2K9 @ http://league.rbicentral.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintsfan Posted December 24, 2003 Author Share Posted December 24, 2003 Clarification of rules for this first section- A poll will be posted with the first 10 cities nominated with good reasons as and when I notice 10 cities have been nominated. 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusebazell Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 edit nevermind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrdevil Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 How about you combine Milwaukee and Green Bay and just make Wisconsin a choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Winnipeg, except than you don't have much need of any name contest, logo contest, etc.Ehh... Wisconsin wouldn't be a bad place for a team either. Natural rivals for the Wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosioux76 Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 I think Winnipeg would be just as natural a rival to the Wild than a Wisconsin team -- at least based on its proximity to Minnesota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeh-see Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 How about the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth). This is because it is the biggest market in the US without ANY professional sports franchise and has been a hotbed for the ECHL/AHL Admirals, a franchise that has thrived in two leagues for over ten consecutive years. Honestly, we just love the hell outta our Admirals and we know an NHL franchise would make it here. Plus they would be perfect rivals for both Washington and Carolina. ~UJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintsfan Posted December 24, 2003 Author Share Posted December 24, 2003 Couplke of things, Fusebazell, we need some reasons for Salt Lake City. If Winnipeg did win,or any other former NHL city. I have decided that no former NHL team name will be eligible in the team naming round, so we won't end up with Whalers or Jets mark 2.And I am looking for cities not states, so both Green Bay and Milwaukee are in, although in the naming round teams will be able to adopt the name of there state rather than city.Too clarify, qualifying bid cities to date: Kansas City, MO, Green Bay, WI. Milwaukee WI, Winnipeg, (based on Go Siouxs point about rivalry with the Wild.) and Hampton Roads, Virginia (not technically 1 city but I am allowing it!) 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clyon81 Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 How about the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth). This is because it is the biggest market in the US without ANY professional sports franchise and has been a hotbed for the ECHL/AHL Admirals, a franchise that has thrived in two leagues for over ten consecutive years. Honestly, we just love the hell outta our Admirals and we know an NHL franchise would make it here. Plus they would be perfect rivals for both Washington and Carolina. ~UJHey, WE have the AHL Admirals in Milwaukee!As far as joining GB and Milwaukee, I think Milwaukee is really the only city in the state that could host the team. Im not driving 4 hours for every home game. A "Wisconsin" team wouldnt be bad, I just like how "Milwaukee" sounds. Play RBI Baseball 2K9 @ http://league.rbicentral.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yh Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Pittsburgh, PA is presently not hosting NHL hockey. OK, OK, I kid the Pens. Longtime CC board members can bypass the remainder of this post because you've seen this argument made by me a number of times over the last couple of years. My nomination is for Oklahoma City.Oklahoma City has a metropolitan area of roughly 1 million people within a 40 mile radius. Tulsa, with a metro area about 2/3 that size is only a 90 minute turnpike drive away. The community, simply put, is hockey mad. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the area was settled by a fair number of Canadians and hockey has just always been a part of the area's heritage. The Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League (a league on the low end of the AA level) average 5 figure attendances and have for 12 consecutive seasons now. A brand new 20,000 seat, NHL/NBA caliber arena was built in 2002. There is an adequate corporate population to support the sale of lower bowl seats, luxury suites and to underwrite arena advertising. There is also a sufficient demographic base to support the necessary level of season ticket and walkup sales. An NHL franchise would represent the state of Oklahoma's first and only major league level sports franchise (excluding Tulsa's short-lived USFL team and their NASL franchise in the 70's). And although Oklahoma University's athletics teams gobble up a huge percentage of the OKC sports dollar, they don't have a Division I hockey program, thus there would be no overlap compromising allegience to the Sooners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JQK Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Seattle, Washington.Because i said so. Stay Tuned Sports Podcast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winters in buffalo Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Charlotte. It's a much better market than Raleigh, where the only thing to draw a smaller crowd than a Canes game was a matinee showing of Gigli earlier this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gameface Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 What JQK said, albeit for different reasons Seattle is a major metropolitan area with a lengthy hockey history. It has a large enough population to support it, already existing grassroots programs, potential owners with deep pockets (Paul Allen) as well as corporate sponsorship (Starbucks Arena, Microsoft Place or whatever). Vancouver is less than a two hour drive away and the California teams are a short flight away.It is both a natural and long overdue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintsfan Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 Okay first of all merry christams everyone!!!Secondly we have two spots to fill before voting will begin, so far we have 7 US cities and 1 canadian, if anyone wants to big it up for any other Canadian city lacking NHL hockey now is the time (maybe Halifax?? or somewhere else!!) 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discrim Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 How about the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth). This is because it is the biggest market in the US without ANY professional sports franchise and has been a hotbed for the ECHL/AHL Admirals, a franchise that has thrived in two leagues for over ten consecutive years. Honestly, we just love the hell outta our Admirals and we know an NHL franchise would make it here. Plus they would be perfect rivals for both Washington and Carolina. ~UJHey, WE have the AHL Admirals in Milwaukee!As far as joining GB and Milwaukee, I think Milwaukee is really the only city in the state that could host the team. Im not driving 4 hours for every home game. A "Wisconsin" team wouldnt be bad, I just like how "Milwaukee" sounds.it's sort of complicated, clyon. our Admirals and the Norfolk Admirals, both were formerly members of other leagues and neither wanted to change their name (i still say them Virginia boys should do it cus the MIL Ads been around since the mid 70s, them, like 10 years?). i used to follow the Admirals back in teh IHL days, but them being in the AHL....it's still weird, like the Ft Wayne Komets basically being a junior team. i miss the IHL *raises fist in air...the AHL will never be my league*anyways, for some pie in teh sky reason, i nominate Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. Oh, wait, they have that MoDo team...my bad. Ok then, Rapid City, South Dakota-i'm serious this time. Figure they'd be hype as anyone over just having a major pro team, so I nominate the former home of the Thrillers :: A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLChandler Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 i would like to 3rd the vote for seattle. it would be kind of a mid-point for pac coast teams and an overall good place to play. i think the team should be based in northwest u.s., be it seattle or portland, oregon i think either would be a great choice. like gameface said paul allen is a good "deep-pocketed" guy and he could make a fan favorite team with that kinda mooch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thad Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I would definately w/o a doubt say that Syracuse, NY could have a NHL team because everyone there loves hockey, they have a nice arena to play in, and the climate fits a 'hockey-town' Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% about how you react to it.App State Mountaineers / Alabama Crimson Tide / Atlanta Braves / New York Jets / Atlanta Hawks "If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards." [Bear Bryant]Redmond Rampage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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