Kansas City? Hamilton? Hartford?

[PromoTheRobot]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=172078&hubname=

 

The Cuban/Marino/etc group that vowed to keep the team in Pittsburgh has ahad their bid rejected. Apperently $5 mil is too much to keep a franchise in the city it was born. What kills me is the leading $75mil bidder wants to move the Pens to (of all places) Kansas City?? Anyone tell this guy about the Scouts? How about the KC Blades of the old IHL that couldn't draw flies!

 

Good thing the Hamilton group is out. No way the Leafs and Sabres were going to allow that. The Hartford group is an interesting concept but why are they so quick to give up on Pittsburgh?

 

PTR

[Taro T]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=172078&hubname=

 

The Cuban/Marino/etc group that vowed to keep the team in Pittsburgh has ahad their bid rejected. Apperently $5 mil is too much to keep a franchise in the city it was born. What kills me is the leading $75mil bidder wants to move the Pens to (of all places) Kansas City?? Anyone tell this guy about the Scouts? How about the KC Blades of the old IHL that couldn't draw flies!

 

Good thing the Hamilton group is out. No way the Leafs and Sabres were going to allow that. The Hartford group is an interesting concept but why are they so quick to give up on Pittsburgh?

 

PTR

My quick read of the article said that it was the Hartford group that was planning on moving the team to KC.

 

I THOUGHT they are waiting on results of whether a new rink will get built before making a decision to pull up stakes, but didn't pay that close attention.

[apuszczalowski]

I doubt the NHL would even permit them to have a team in Hamilton. Buffalo and Toronto's fan base and area both overlap around the Hamilton area so they would not permit another team to infringe on their area.

[navybillsfan]

hey PTR!

 

 

My wife is from Pittsburgh and the Arena is SORRY AS #%^$#!! The place is falling apart. Pittsburgh is worse off than Buffalo when it comes to money. NOBODY is going to see the Pens play and people just dont care about them. They will when the Steelers have a beat down season....

 

The Pens are as good as gone man

 

More to come....

[Rayzor32]

It would be a damn shame if they couldn't stay in Pittsburgh, but IF they HAD to move, it should be Winnipeg or Hartford -- two cities with big hockey fan bases that got SCREWED by greedy owners. Winnipeg also built a state of the art arena for their AHL team that is supposedly NHL-ready..

[olivier in france]

It would be a damn shame if they couldn't stay in Pittsburgh, but IF they HAD to move, it should be Winnipeg or Hartford -- two cities with big hockey fan bases that got SCREWED by greedy owners. Winnipeg also built a state of the art arena for their AHL team that is supposedly NHL-ready..

 

 

Winnipeg or Hartford 'd be fine with me but what about Quebec City?!! The rebirth of the Nordiques 'd be great news!!

[PromoTheRobot]

Winnipeg or Hartford 'd be fine with me but what about Quebec City?!! The rebirth of the Nordiques 'd be great news!!

Quebec City has less than 200,000 population. It's really a minor-league city, despite having the NHL there once. And Quebec is all about the Montral Canadiens. There's no changing that. I would even question if Winnipeg is large enough at 600,000, but at least they would be a regional franchise, encompassing Manitoba, Saskatchewan,and western Ontario fans.

 

Hartford is an iffy town. There is a strong corporate presence, but the population is pretty poor. The town is a real dump for the most part. It's still better than KC which simply does not support hockey. Why anyone would reconsider them is beyond me.

 

In my opinion, the best places to move the Pens are:

 

Seattle or Portland - large population, area with years of junior hockey support, but never a pro team. Pacific Northwest is virgin NHL territory.

 

Oklahoma City - Yes! OKC is home of the Blazers, the team that set minor-league hockey attendance records for years. City is hungry for a pro franchise, as shown by it's support for the NBA Hornets.

 

Winnipeg - probably the last viable Canadian market for the NHL. Hamilton? Don't make me laugh!

 

Hartford - The Whalers were well-supported while they were around. I'd rather see the Islanders or Devils move there.

 

LEFT FIELD LONG SHOTS - Norfolk VA. Largest market without a major lague franchise. Years of hockey history with the minor-league Admirals, but support has been spotty. NavyBillsFan could probably tell us more.

 

Indianapolis - Decent-sized market. Midwest is underserved by the NHL. Wayne Gretzky's pro career began with the WHA Racers. David Letterman, a hockey fan with mountains of money, could be an owner.

 

Who knows? The Sabres could be heading to one of these towns some day.

 

PTR

[TM8-PL16]

the Pens can't stay in Pittsburgh because of the arena they currently play in. It doesn't let them generate enough revenue to compete with the rest of the league if you compare things like luxury boxes and advertising space. To go and watch a game there, it's fine, I actually like it... all the sight lines are fine, but that is NOT what teams think about when saying "we need a new arena". The place is OLD, and parts are falling apart. All the new arenas are built in a way where the nicest luxury boxes are at center ice and are SWEET... the luxury boxes in Mellon Arena are just OK and the best one is on the corner almost behind the net.... that doesn't warrant the price tag that all other teams get for their luxury boxes... that is a lot of money they are NOT getting because of luxury boxes. The second form of revenue in arenas is advertising... Mellon Arena doesn't have what they call "prime advertising space"... this is costing them money as well. These are just 2 reasons that the team needs a new arena... there are SEVERAL more.

 

The fans are not the problem, contrary to popular belief, the fans did show up pretty well this year even though they sucked bigtime. It's not the Steelers fans, but they do have a good fan base in the Pittsburgh area and would be a shame if they left town. If they do leave, it will be because of politician back door deals (slots licenses), I would bet my life on that one.

[BetweenThePipes00]

If they do leave, it will be because of politician back door deals (slots licenses), I would bet my life on that one.

 

This is true ... for a year now they have had an offer on the table from a company to pay 100 PERCENT of the cost of the new arena if they get the slots license and it looks like they will not get it.

 

Granted, that's pretty much extortion, but at least they are out in the open with it and it is a good deal for all involved. The taxpayers don't have to pay for a new arena and the team gets to stay. the company making the offer is a legit outfit that runs casinos in other places, so it's not like the tax revenue is at risk because the people running that casino would screw it up. no one can give a good reason why these guys are not the leaders for the slots license. Something is going on in the background ...

[SabresForCup]

An NHL franchise will not go to Hamilton because their Arena, although holds a lot of people, is old and has few suites. Winnipeg will never get a team back because their arena is too small (15,000) for hockey. They would not bring in enough revenue off of that in that market.

[apuszczalowski]

An NHL franchise will not go to Hamilton because their Arena, although holds a lot of people, is old and has few suites. Winnipeg will never get a team back because their arena is too small (15,000) for hockey. They would not bring in enough revenue off of that in that market.

I think a NHL team in Hamilton would not happen more due to the Leafs and Sabres so close, Neither team would accept that. Hamilton is one of the reasons why Buffalo does not have a Southern Ontario TV deal. The closest TV station in Southern Ontario is CHCH from Hamilton and there was talks of them picking up the Sabres games again, but since the are close to Toronto's market radius (forget the exact term for it but its a radius that the league sets out for teams to determine their market, I believe 50 mile radius from their arena) the Sabres couldn't use the Hamilton station. Hamilton is in an area where both the Sabres and leafs markets both overlap. There is no way the NHL allows another franchise in that area.

 

As for the arena, the could use Copps, but it would reuire ALOT of renovations, so the deal could probably revolve around manditory upgrades or a brand new arena. If another franchise moved into Ontario, it would probably have to go to somewhere like Kitchener or London and i can't see that happening. Winnepeg would be the most likely Canadian city to get a team and I thought I read that the possible owners for a Winnepeg deal have backed out of buying the Penguins.

[rtconner]

winnipeg!!

[Eleven]

 

Who knows? The Sabres could be heading to one of these towns some day.

 

PTR

 

Unless you mean the Sabres would head there to play a road game, and then come back to Buffalo, I have no idea what could be behind a statement like that.

 

There simply is NO cause to believe that the Sabres will be anything but fine in Buffalo.

 

Want to worry about something? Worry about the Bills.

[Wild Jay]

I would also include Houston in that mix of dark horse candidates. It's the 4th largest city in the US and it's minor league team draws very well as far as I recall, I believe they're the Houston Aero's? Don't count them out as a possible destination for the Pens or some other franchise down the road.

 

I agree that the US Northwest would also be a great market to get into. It's virgin territory for the NHL but Seattle in particular has a long hockey history going way back as one of the first winners of the Stanley Cup if I remember correctly.

[PromoTheRobot]

Unless you mean the Sabres would head there to play a road game, and then come back to Buffalo, I have no idea what could be behind a statement like that.

 

There simply is NO cause to believe that the Sabres will be anything but fine in Buffalo.

 

Want to worry about something? Worry about the Bills.

 

Uh, read the news today about skyrocketing payroll.

 

PTR

[Hawerchuk]

Vegas baby!! A new arena will be ready. Just say the word! Unlimited money abound, just keep the bookies under wraps and you'll have a second desert NHL team. I mean, LV has 2 million people in it. I just am saying this because I live there. I sure do miss going to Sabres games.

 

You gotta feel for Pens fans though, even though I hate the Penguins, its almost like a repeat of the Sabres when their sorry ass went to bankruptcy and almost moved. They have tradition like Buffalo. Kansas City on the other hand.... No Fukin way!! They don't deserve a NHL team. Winnepeg would be cool to get one back. Canada needs another, I'd go for that.

[blugold43]

Winnipeg or Hartford 'd be fine with me but what about Quebec City?!! The rebirth of the Nordiques 'd be great news!!

mais oui!

[Eleven]

Uh, read the news today about skyrocketing payroll.

 

PTR

 

Gimme a break. There's no cause to believe the Sabres are going to move, unless you're Bucky Gleason in disguise.

[SabresForCup]

I think a NHL team in Hamilton would not happen more due to the Leafs and Sabres so close, Neither team would accept that. Hamilton is one of the reasons why Buffalo does not have a Southern Ontario TV deal. The closest TV station in Southern Ontario is CHCH from Hamilton and there was talks of them picking up the Sabres games again, but since the are close to Toronto's market radius (forget the exact term for it but its a radius that the league sets out for teams to determine their market, I believe 50 mile radius from their arena) the Sabres couldn't use the Hamilton station. Hamilton is in an area where both the Sabres and leafs markets both overlap. There is no way the NHL allows another franchise in that area.

 

As for the arena, the could use Copps, but it would reuire ALOT of renovations, so the deal could probably revolve around manditory upgrades or a brand new arena. If another franchise moved into Ontario, it would probably have to go to somewhere like Kitchener or London and i can't see that happening. Winnepeg would be the most likely Canadian city to get a team and I thought I read that the possible owners for a Winnepeg deal have backed out of buying the Penguins.

 

I live right next to London, ON. They would NEVER get an NHL team. The city is too small and their new John Labatt Centre holds less than 10,000 for hockey. It is a good OHL town but that's it.

 

Vegas baby!! A new arena will be ready. Just say the word! Unlimited money abound, just keep the bookies under wraps and you'll have a second desert NHL team. I mean, LV has 2 million people in it. I just am saying this because I live there. I sure do miss going to Sabres games.

 

You gotta feel for Pens fans though, even though I hate the Penguins, its almost like a repeat of the Sabres when their sorry ass went to bankruptcy and almost moved. They have tradition like Buffalo. Kansas City on the other hand.... No Fukin way!! They don't deserve a NHL team. Winnepeg would be cool to get one back. Canada needs another, I'd go for that.

 

 

Winnipeg's market can's support an NHL team. It has a metro population of less than 700,000. If Buffalo, with a metro population of over 1.2 million (Not counting Southern Ontario) is considered a small market team, then Winnipeg is a smaller market team.

 

I got my numbers from emporis.com

[apuszczalowski]

I live right next to London, ON. They would NEVER get an NHL team. The city is too small and their new John Labatt Centre holds less than 10,000 for hockey. It is a good OHL town but that's it.

I know

 

I wasn't saying that they would get looked at for an NHL team, but just that they are far enough away from any other team that it would be more likely to have a team there then in Hamilton

[PromoTheRobot]

Vegas baby!! A new arena will be ready. Just say the word! Unlimited money abound, just keep the bookies under wraps and you'll have a second desert NHL team. I mean, LV has 2 million people in it. I just am saying this because I live there. I sure do miss going to Sabres games.

Vegas is actually a tough market for a pro team. Yes, it is the fastest growing area in the USA with a population approching 2 million, but the vast majority of residents are rather low-wage. Another interesting thing, which I read in the LV newspaper, is that being a three-shift town means one-third of your market is sleeping, and another third is at work!

 

I agree with the earlier post about Houston. I hate to see hockey in yet another southernmarket where no one gives a rat's behind, but it's hard to ignore.

 

PTR