1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

NHL In Vegas?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by Breeze147, Dec 9, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    11,356
    Location:
    Southern Maryland by way of Philadelphia
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman has given the go ahead to local interests to determine the extent of a season ticket fan base in Las Vegas for an expansion team. A 20,000 seat arena is allegedly in the works.

    Other cities being considered are Seattle, Quebec City and another Toronto franchise.
     
  2. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2009
    Messages:
    5,820
    Location:
    Burnaby, BC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    17
    Listening to the local sports talk radio this morning and they were all over this like its pretty much a done deal that the NHL will be in Las Vegas soon...


    Personally, I think the whole NHL to Las Vegas thing is mostly a dream of the media than anybody else, and thats because:

    - The NHL will want to expand eventually. There is a lot of money in that for the owners ($500M for the next two teams and then expected to be $1B for the two teams after that) and thats money they don't have to share with players
    - The NHL will want to add two teams to the Western Conference
    - One of those cities is expected to be Seattle
    - Other than Kansas City, there isn't really anywhere else in the western half of North America to put a team that looks like it would be a decent market for an NHL team
    - If you are a hockey writer/reporter you sure would rather put your vote in for Las Vegas than Kansas City

    And then the biggest issue I see with Las Vegas is: maybe there is an owner that wants a team is Las Vegas, maybe there are sports reporters that want a team in Las Vegas... but is there a fan base that wants a team in Las Vegas?

    Sure, people will say: I would go see my team in Las Vegas if they were playing there! And I can say I would be one of those as well... but for people from the east coast thats once a year they'll be there and from the west coast thats a few times more. But in the end those traveling fans aren't going to amount to all that much: The Canucks do this already where they have "follow the team" travel packages for when they go to California and there are quite a few people that do that... but thats only going to amount to maybe 200-300 people per game tops, thats not going to sell out/fill a 20,000 seat arena.

    So then its a question of local fan base and thats the biggest issue I see: there is no grassroots movement to bring an NHL team to Las Vegas. If there are any NHL fans in Las Vegas they sure are a quiet and inconspicuous group.

    Compare that to Winnipeg getting the Jets back: that was just to move a team from a bad market, which should be easier than expanding, and there were rallies and drives and petitions and a whole lot of support that even went so far as people pledging to buy season tickets for years in advance to get the team back in to that market and even with all that going on there was still a lot of deliberation on the NHL's part about letting the team move...

    By comparison you look at Las Vegas and there is nothing. Not a peep, not a sound. If there is even one NHL fan in Las Vegas who knows, because nobody seems to be standing up and saying "I want an NHL team in my city" other than a couple of ownership groups.
     
  3. NickyDim

    NickyDim Hockey is life

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2012
    Messages:
    1,404
    Location:
    Lone Mountain
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    999
    My niece is employed by the Cosmo and she was part of a BIG meeting about a month ago about Las Vegas becoming an NHL city and for them to start preparing ideas on how that can be used in marketing and future business.

    The Wranglers, believe it or not, had one of the top season ticket holdings and above average attendance for any ECHL team(averaging almost 5000 a game). They are in suspended limbo with Orleans pulling the plug and the Plaza not being able to build the "tent" in the parking lot. Now is a perfect time for the NHL to expand into Vegas, or at least announce they will before the Wranglers sign a long term lease somewhere else in the city.
     
  4. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2010
    Messages:
    3,640
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    11
    How much were the Wranglers season tickets?

    NHL its 100$ a game for 45 games so thats 9000$ for a pair
     
  5. NickyDim

    NickyDim Hockey is life

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2012
    Messages:
    1,404
    Location:
    Lone Mountain
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    999
    As a partial season ticket plan holder for the Islanders we were paying $27 a ticket for 5th row Mezzanine 2 years ago. This will be an expansion team, so I would think individual tickets $19 for last row, $35 for end mezz, $60 center Mezz and $85 for lower bowl. Of course there are top dollar seats for $100+ and suites. I don't know what seasons tix would be. Coyote prices are just above the figure I gave you.

    Wrangers season ticket prices were for 2014-15:
    Adult Youth
    Glass $1094 –
    Select Circle $820 $216
    Premium $642 $216
    Mardi Gras $535 $216
     
  6. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    3,326
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    The league struggles to gain American exposure. That's as far as it goes.

    Putting a team in either Seattle or Vegas does nothing for them except for a one time fee. They tried the expansion, to "non" traditional places and failed miserably.

    It won't happen again.

    Toronto or Quebec City will be the next stop.

    Toronto is hockey mecca, with money. Most probable and logical choice.

    Quebec City has a vacant arena and are throwing everything the leagues way.

    Seattle way down in third.

    Las Vegas has a 1 percent chance. With the backing of something like a MGM.
     
  7. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2009
    Messages:
    5,820
    Location:
    Burnaby, BC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    17
    Toronto is going to get another team, but they will put two teams in the western conference first: the next two teams are expected to pay $500M each in a franchise fee... the next two after that (likely Toronto area and Quebec City) are expected to be up to $1B each in franchise fees, which for those markets they would be able to come up with that kind of money.

    So they can't do eastern market teams first and then try to gouge the west because the western half of the USA is too limited in big money and places to put a team.
     
  8. ruralhipster

    ruralhipster High-Roller

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2008
    Messages:
    502
    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    If the NHL does come I can see the larger properties maybe getting into air, room, and ticket packages I think the boxes will sell out quick and casino marketing will probably grab about another 3-6000 seats leaving locals to come up with 10-15000 season ticket holders. Again if the franchise can get successful quick it might be able to make a go of it.
     
  9. DReynolds86

    DReynolds86 Let's Go Pens!

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2010
    Messages:
    1,470
    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    I'd definitely go see the Pens play in Las Vegas. I think it's more likely that a Florida Panthers or another team would move rather than have an expansion team start in Las Vegas.
     
  10. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    3,326
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    I agree with some major shuffles....long....before expansion.

    There are plenty of teams struggling, to make ends meet.

    Those teams move to Toronto and Quebec first. Realign a few teams, again.

    Expansion is at least 10 years away....and never in Vegas.

    No professional sports team will ever play in Vegas!!!! No league, will ever, risk a gambling related scandal.

    This is all about publicity.
     
  11. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    11,356
    Location:
    Southern Maryland by way of Philadelphia
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    The league desperately needs the $500 Million entry fee.
     
  12. MoneyToBurn

    MoneyToBurn Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    313
    Location:
    Ottawa
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Eh, us Canucks will come down and see our teams. I heard somewhere that it was cheaper to buy a plane ticket to Florida and buy a seat to watch a Maple Leafs game that you could see it in Toronto. There'd also be some, err, ex-pats from NHL cities that moved to Vegas for work that'd buy in.
     
  13. BCMike

    BCMike VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2003
    Messages:
    1,007
    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    83
    I'd go to see games. I imagine the casinos would buy seasons tickets to offer to interested players as well (comp benefits or offers).

    Btw, gambling scandals have happened already in most major sports whether they have a franchise in Vegas or not.
     
  14. Motorcat

    Motorcat Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2013
    Messages:
    234
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10

    ^ This is what it is all about - bottomline
     
  15. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    3,326
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    They can get the $500 million from 3 or 4 other places, in a heartbeat.

    Sure, the NHL will "entertain" the idea. Think about all the millions in comps the league will get, before they "decide."

    The commissioner, is a very smart businessman. He would never flat out say no. That would be ludicrous.

    They will "explore" any and every option, to get a new team to Vegas. They will drag it out for a year or two. Then, they will just move on.



    The only way that Vegas gets a team is if, one person or organization assumes, all of the risk. With no municipal or state funding for an arena (governments are harder for the league, to screw over).

    The league collects the $500 million. The team fails within the first 3 or 4 years. The NHL bails them out, sells them and then relocates them, for an extra $200 million.

    This is ONLY way, that Vegas will ever see a team. A highly unlikely scenario.

    The league has learned its lesson (with places like Phoenix and Florida), where they relied on the tourist to fill the arenas.
     
  16. NickyDim

    NickyDim Hockey is life

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2012
    Messages:
    1,404
    Location:
    Lone Mountain
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    999
    In fact, that's exactly the scenario in Vegas....

    http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/11996421/nhl-las-vegas-truly-handle-expansion-team
     
  17. pressitagain

    pressitagain VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    Messages:
    3,326
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    Thanks for the article.

    You can make the same arguments, for at least 10 cities (in North America) that are looking for an NHL team.

    The arena lease will be the deal breaker. They don't own their own arena. Arena leases are tough to break.
     
  18. Motorcat

    Motorcat Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2013
    Messages:
    234
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    ^ as with most leases they are wrote for/under a specific owner/ownership group.

    If a team was to be purchased/sold - the lease (in most instances) becomes null and void once ownership changes hand.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.