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NY Islanders possible relocation?


Ez Street

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Well, nothing imminent, but according to the article, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has stated something needs to be addressed soon on the Islanders arena situation.

"or else"

Anyone else hearing anything on this?

I wrote about it in my blog yesterday, in it you can find the link to the Newsday story if you haven't seen it.

http://davidstreeter.blogspot.com/

I just can't see them moving.

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Maybe they move a little bit northeast to Hartford!

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Maybe they move a little bit northeast to Hartford!

Right.....

What about Brooklyn, where the new Nets arena supposedly will be?

I'm still not even sure if that's going to get off the ground. It sure would be a good option as Brooklyn is still technically on Long Island, although it not what Long Islanders consider the island.

I've always wondered how 3 teams survived in one designated area. I can understand 2 in an area, but 3 just seems overcrowded.

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The Newsday article says Kansas City and Seattle.

Seattle itself is a pipe dream. KC as we know is ready to go. Las Vegas, not even close. Winnipeg, please....

It's interesting though, I would have never thought Wang would consider moving his team. Of course he might not, all this could just be the same ol' ploy the Penguins used to get their arena done.

Or he could just sell them outright and that new owner could take the team. So, will Ballsille's name show up now?

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Winnipeg, for God's sake. Give it a try for a few years and if it bombs move on.

The case has been made for WPG and as far as I'm concerned it's a safer bet than KC or Seattle due to the region's diehard fan support.

Plus, pragmatically speaking, it's good business for the NHL to put a team on the Canadian side of the border.

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BUT IT WOULD ALWAYS BE SOLD OUT!!!11!!!fortyfive

They can expand the arena, yadda yadda yadda. Winnipeg fans won't shell out $90 for a one-time ticket to see the NHL in pre-season, so I can't see them spending that for 42 games for very long.

It'll be a success for a couple of years, but once the honeymoon's over, it's over. Vancouver tickets are in the hundreds, and they sell out in an 18,000+ seat arena; Winnipeg will get sticker shock in a hurry if the NHL ever foolishly decides to move back in.

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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I don't think Wang gets it. A major reason the team doesn't draw is beacuse, um, well, um to put it mildly they suck. They've sucked for a long time. This is a team in a perpetual state of rebuilding since 1994 or so and the fans are sick of it. Mind you that it started before Wang took control of the team but he has not done much to improve them and made several bad decisions in the Yashin and DiPietro contracts. The reason I place blame on Wang for those is that he approved them. He should also know that of the product were better and if there was hope of making and advancing through the playoffs the people would show up and the attendance figures would be higher.

Second, the arena situation. I think Wang's Lighthouse project is a bit too ambitious and over the top for the area. There are two major shopping malls within two miles of the Colisseum. A better idea would have been to either do a complete gutting and rebuilding of the arena as was doen in Oakland for the Golden State Warriros a few years back or to just build a new arena. The NVMC is a dump no doubt about it and needs replacement. However, there has to be a better way. As Wang's plan includes reusing the shell of the existing building probably the best course of action is to either work out a deal with MSG to allow them to play one season there during renovations or to have them play in Bridgeport, and renovate the Colisseum.

Third, Wang should well have been aware of the political climate in the Town of Hempstead and how long it takes to get things through them. The Roosevelt Field expansion took years to get through the Town as did the Mall at the Source. There is a big issue with NIMBY's in the area who are greatly concerned with the amount of increased traffic a project like The Lighthouse would bring and he's also fighting an uphill battle against the other two malls as well considering the opposition of their owner (I believe both are owned by the same corporation). I think if Wang wants to get his project through he needs to scale it back and work with the Town or hire a better law firm to help him.

I also take anything Newsday says with a grain of salt.

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He'll probably sell, but to who?

Balsillie to the rescue

Pfft. Like he'll be allowed within 400 yards of the winter meetings.

Leave it to the NHL to constantly turn away billionaires ready to hand over cash

That's why I think they'd be smart to let him buy an expansion squad an pay a big amount in territorial fees.

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