McKenzie NHL Expansion targets: #1 Seattle and #2 Las Vegas

[cKy]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Biggest risk in Vegas is the same reason none of the other major sports have tried to put a team there... there's too many other choices when it comes to entertainment and people don't come to Vegas to watch hockey.

I would. I dont really like gambling. A day of the shops/strip, then dinner, then a hockey night followed up by more strip and drinking. Count me in. And I dont even like Vegas.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Biggest risk in Vegas is the same reason none of the other major sports have tried to put a team there... there's too many other choices when it comes to entertainment and people don't come to Vegas to watch hockey.

Well I wouldn't expect the Wranglers to be a big draw.

I think it's worth a shot... I can't imagine the corporate support not being there as I imagine the Casino's alone will buy a lot of boxes/seats to comp their guests/clients and I can easily imagine hockey fans opting to have their vacation date harmonize with a road game from their team (so that's a fair number of single game sales). I'm sure some locals like hockey and would buy tickets.

I think it would work.

[the2bears]

Vegas could work, but any solution probably has to involve the casino owners. They're very unlikely to want competition for entertainment dollars unless they somehow making their cut as well.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by stemit14
Biggest risk in Vegas is the same reason none of the other major sports have tried to put a team there... there's too many other choices when it comes to entertainment and people don't come to Vegas to watch hockey.

I think the original argument against putting any major league team from any of the leagues was that they didn't want to be that closely associated with gambling as it could put their integrity in question. Now that Nevada gambling isn't as much associated with the mob, it may be a different story.

[Tyler]

I think that the NHL is far more concerned with dollars signs now that it's a 50/50 split with the players, than by its perception among the major 4 pro leagues.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

You need about 10 000 season ticket holders and the boxes sold out. Boxes won't be a problem with all the casinos and big spenders, but you need a solid fan base that actually lives in the city, otherwise you're going to have attendance issues. Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes were built around the idea of snowbirds from both the colder U.S. states and Canada, but that hasn't worked out very well so far for either team.

Tourism might sell out single games, but you need a stable and loyal fan base to attend when the Columbus Blue Jackets are in town.

Boxes won't be a problem as you mention, and the casinos would buy regular seats as well. Everyone always brings up Phoenix as a counter-example, but its a red herring. Vegas had more than twice as many visitors as Phoenix last year (37 million vs 16 million as per local convention bureaus).

Plus, the type of tourists you get in Vegas is different. People down for a guys weekend are way more likely to go to a hockey game than those who are there for a golf/spa weekend, imo.

Finally, the sports competition isn't the same. Phoenix has baseball, basketball, and the NFL. Vegas has none of those things. Plus, an arena in Vegas would be full every other night of the year with concerts.

1 http://www.visitphoenix.com/about-ph...cts/index.aspx
2 http://www.lvcva.com/stats-and-facts/

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I think that the NHL is far more concerned with dollars signs now that it's a 50/50 split with the players, than by its perception among the major 4 pro leagues.

Where did I say it was about perception? Gambling interests taking control of a team and controlling the results, was a legitimate concern.

[stemit14]

To those that think Las Vegas would be a slam dunk for the NHL... Why haven't any of the other sports leagues taken a shot at Vegas? Baseball, football, and basketball are all bigger than hockey in the states so there has to be a reason why none of them are willing to risk putting a franchise in Las Vegas.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by stemit14

To those that think Las Vegas would be a slam dunk for the NHL... Why haven't any of the other sports leagues taken a shot at Vegas? Baseball, football, and basketball are all bigger than hockey in the states so there has to be a reason why none of them are willing to risk putting a franchise in Las Vegas.

They haven't had an arena until now. The NBA is also looking into a team now that an arena will be a reality.

[DionTheDman]

I wonder if the beer would be free since it's so easily obtainable everywhere else.

[Alberta_Beef]

I wonder what they would call a Las Vegas franchise.

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

I wonder what they would call a Las Vegas franchise.

I'd say Aces, but Alaska already has that one. Royals? Lions? (MGM anyone?)

Ooh Blazing 7's!

[getbak]

The Posse.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

I wonder what they would call a Las Vegas franchise.

The Las Vegas WiseGuys?

The Goodfellas?

The Las Vegas Little Friends?

[OzSome]

I'll say Seattle and even Portland or both. Quebec City should be another one. Not so sure about Las Vegas. I guess they can be Phoenix rivals though.

[Poe969]

The Las Vegas "relocating in 5-7 years"

[YYC in LAX]

Las Vegas or Nevada Mavericks
Las Vegas or Nevada Roadrunners
Las Vegas or Nevada Knights
Las Vegas or Nevada Desert Dogs/Wolfpack/Wolves

I love Vegas!

[getbak]

The Las Vegas Vegas

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Locke

The Las Vegas WiseGuys?

The Goodfellas?

The Las Vegas Little Friends?

I did make up a WiseGuys logo when there were Utica rumors because they also have a mob history, they could use it