[Rumour] Group interested in bringing expansion team to New Orleans

[sureLoss]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1892270510924255423

[dissentowner]

I have been there many times, I just don't see hockey working in NOLA.

[Toonage]

The New Orleans King Babies playing out of the Smoothie King Arena.

[Sylvanfan]

Isn't it a smaller market, and it's not a particularly affluent area either. They already have NFL and NBA team. I don't think that market can handle another team.

[DoubleK]

The NHL is going to have 40 teams, with 32 making the playoffs.

[Monahammer]

NO Hushpuppies

[Lewis_D]

They could bring back the New Orleans Brass identity from the defunct ECHL team.

[topfiverecords]

I thought New Orleans was sinking?

[Playfair]

New Orleans Blues

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Isn't it a smaller market, and it's not a particularly affluent area either. They already have NFL and NBA team. I don't think that market can handle another team.

The metro area is about 1.5 million, with people not being as poor as the people around many parts of the city near the downtown area. They do get a lot tourists. Maybe pushing to follow Vegas' model, of propping up ticket sales with tourists?

[Toonage]

Utah kept the Jazz name, so maybe New Orleans should steal something from them?

New Orleans Mormons

Rolls off the tongue.

[Calgary4LIfe]

There is going to be 4 conferences soon by the looks of it, with 10 teams in each! That sweet sweet expansion money is a hell of a drug.


In all seriousness, I like this much better than the entire fiasco that was happening in Arizona where they couldn't give that franchise away (seemingly). I wonder if the NHL will cap the league to a certain number of teams, and if so, what they end up being.

[Toonage]

On a serious/legit note I'm certain expansion money & revenue sharing is going to be extremely important, especially to the Canadian owners/teams if the cap continues to rise as much as predicted.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by blankall

The metro area is about 1.5 million, with people not being as poor as the people around many parts of the city near the downtown area. They do get a lot tourists. Maybe pushing to follow Vegas' model, of propping up ticket sales with tourists?

That's the only think I can think of as well, but NOLA is nowhere near the same amount of money flowing through it as Vegas. It's a somewhat declining area, with an ever present risk of flooding. It also isn't a very big city and it doesn't really have any connection with hockey.

But then again, this all applies equally to a city like Nashville, and they have a strong hockey market.

So...try it and see if it works. Worst case is you collect the expansion fees and then move the team to a better location.

[Ba'alzamon]

There has to be a point of diminishing returns, doesn't there? There's no way continually expanding a league that isn't particularly affluent (in the context of professional sports leagues) is sustainable, is there?

[Hot_Flatus]

Sigh. The NHL is already talent diluted with 32 teams and increased expansion is only going to amplify that further. Just watching international play and seeing what it's like not having traditional 4th liners and 3rd pairing players fill out a roster is a real reminder of what a team full of skill can look like and do for the game.

NOLA is the furthest thing removed from a hockey area, and I can't see tourists choosing the sport over the many music, football, basketball options at the college and pro ranks that are available. Nashville is a poor comparable as they only have/had 1 other major pro team at the time the Predators came to be and is a city full of people who have come from hockey areas in the Midwest and New England. Sometimes saying no to potential deals is the best decision you can make and this (and anywhere else for that matter) seems like the right choice for the next few years.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

There has to be a point of diminishing returns, doesn't there? There's no way continually expanding a league that isn't particularly affluent (in the context of professional sports leagues) is sustainable, is there?

If you continue to water down the regular season product, it makes the best on best Olympics and World Cup products seem much more exciting.

[lazypucker]

New Jersey should move the team there, then the city will have both the Saints and the Devils...

[FlamesAddiction]

Not a particularly big media market either. It's ranked #53, right between Providence and Wilkes-Barre-Scranton.

I also can't see it being a ready-made market for walk-up sales either. And what is their arena situation?

The only reason why it would make sense to put a team there is to get the expansion fees, followed by relocation fees a few years later.

[drewtastic]

If you wanna go to hell, you should take a trip, to the Sodom and Gomorrah on the "Mississipp"!

New Or-leans!