Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
I don't see the tourist angle being significant.
Fans are already skipping games against the bottom feeders, because they're not good hockey games. Many don't even watch them on TV. Why would they go to see those games in Las Vegas of all places?
Sure, Las Vegas gets a lot of tourists, but places like NY and LA get even more, and they have much better teams than an expansion franchise will have. NY even has one of the most iconic buildings. How many here took the time to see a hockey game last time you were in New York? Or anywhere. (And this is a site with mostly pretty hardcore hockey fans.)
As far as I've noticed, even European NHL fans don't usually go to see hockey games while they're in US or Canada, and for them it's truly a rare opportunity.
Of course most teams don't really target the tourists, so who knows, maybe if they did it would be more of a thing. But I don't see it.
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People go to New York and LA for different reasons. Your assessment on the fact that tourists don't do it in LA or NY with better hockey clubs or iconic buildings is fair..............but it's not really the comparable to the Vegas experience.
I could go to the casino here in Calgary, but I don't. I do when I go to Vegas. I could have gone to the Casino in Montreal when I was there but I didn't, but I do in Vegas. I could go see a show or a concert when I visit almost any city I travel to, but I don't, but I do when I'm in Vegas.
Different destinations offer desires and behaviours from the tourists. Vegas is all about attracting people down to see show's, exhibitions, events, then stay the weekend and get drunk and gamble. Hockey would be a part of this event entertainment package. Fair to question whether it will have enough appeal, but comparing the behaviour of NY and LA tourist patterns is pretty much irrelevant.