Quote:
Originally Posted by Bleeding Red
Forget that - how about this math for the NHL:
Seattle - $500 million
Houston - $500 million
Quebec City - $500 million
What would the NHL get for a "relocation fee"? $50 mil? $100 mil?
I believe Bettman (and the other owners) sees $1.5 billion in the not too distant future.
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Quebec City will not pay $500M for a team. Quebecor balked at the price tag in the last expansion. If they were game to pay that, there would be a team in Quebec City right now. No one in Canada is ponying up $500M USD for an expansion team. Not even someone in Toronto.
Houston is probably not in the mix for expansion either. Expansion will be a result of a market wanting to plant their flag and beat out the competition from the other leagues. Las Vegas was game, because they knew they would be able to have a two year lead on the the NFL coming to town. Houston will be a secondary tenant to the Rockets, so it will be a cheaper relocation scenario (Calgary or Arizona IMO). Seattle might be willing to cough up that money for expansion, just to force the hands of the NBA. This is a situation that will need monitoring as I think it could go either way. The Seattle market is great sports market, but you have acknowledge pecking order for the sports ticket dollar.