WHL Expansion/Relocation Candidates

[FlamesAddiction]

The discussion about the Chilliwack Bruins losing part of their fanbase to the Abbotsford AHL team got me wondering about potential cities for relocation of expansion.

Victoria... came up as one place, although they did have the Cougars a few years back and that didn't work out too well. Being on the Island, there are some travel issue.

Winnipeg... is a little far east, but only a 2 hour drive from Brandon. Would having an AHL team be too much competition?

Penticton and Vernon... put up decent attendance numbers in the BCHL... but still slightly lower than than the worst WHL teams. (Nanaimo too, but see Victoria).

Fort Mac... to far north? Too much of a transient population that might not "care" about local sports?

Fort St. John... similar to Fort Mac. Population size similar to some WHL cities, but maybe too far out of the way.

Yorkton... similar population size to Swift Current, but would likely be in the lower end of attendance.

Any American markets?


I hope the Bruins can exist in Chilliwack. I lived for a few years in the area and really like it.

[North East Goon]

Boise Idaho
Great Falls Montana

[Resolute 14]

Grande Prairie would be a great market. They outdraw a couple of the Saskatchewan based teams for AJHL hockey, are only 4 hours from Edmonton, and that market would go NUTS for the WHL.

I maintain that Victoria will be an AHL market in the near future. As it is, it is rather interesting to note that Victoria only went the ECHL route after the WHL said it had no plans to expand, only to see the Tri-City Americans relocation disaster force the door open on expansion a year later.

Yorkton and the like have no chance. Swift Current is doing an admirable job of holding onto their team, but the league has really outgrown markets of that size.

[604flames]

Penticton and Vernon won't get teams anytime soon because of Kelowna's territorial rights.

Nanaimo would be ok, but they'd need a new rink and would have to have more than one team on the island to make that kind of venture viable.

Great Falls failed miserably in 1979. But then again, the same can be said for Spokane and look at them now.

There is also a rumour around that the Prince George Cougars are hinting at moving to Bellingham, WA, but still a rumour at best.

[Svartsengi]

Grande Prairie would be an awesome choice!.

[Sylvanfan]

Penticton isn't a big enough market either. I don't know if a West Kootenay team could work or not as there is some travel involved, but between Trail, Nelson, and Castlegar they might be enough fan interest for a team depending how dedicated folks are. Still that team would be a bit out of the way and thats a treacherous hiway in the Winter. Wenatchee Washington recently opened a 4500 seat arena and they have a team in a US Junior league, so they might be another American option one day.

[icarus]

Coeur D'Alene, ID?

Was a great town when I used to go there as a kid on family trips, my parents recently revisited and said it has really come into its own. Still may be a bit too small and or lack the requisite fan base.

Billings, MT could be another option.

Of all the options, Grande Prairie seems the most obvious choice.

[Resolute 14]

Coeur d'Alene might be too close to Spokane.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Coeur d'Alene might be too close to Spokane.

Maybe, but Everett and Seattle are pretty close together too. But yeah, Seattle has the population to support two teams.

[killer_carlson]

Ft Mac and GP would have no issues drawing in the crowds. Travel to and from each is really tough in the winter though.

[Resolute 14]

GP isn't horrible, actually. The 43 is twinned all the way, aside from a 30km stretch past Whitecourt where the natives are demanding far too much money for the ROW. (wow, shocking!). I'd rather bus up there than to Kelowna or Kamloops.

[Knalus]

Travel up to GP in the winter is easy, done it all the time.

[FlamesAddiction]

I'd rather travel to Grande Prairie from Edmonton in the winter than most places in the BC interior (especially Prince George). Fort Mac isn't too bad either, except for the maniacs on the road.

[Brad Marsh]

I wonder if a city like Lloydminster could support a WHL franchise. The location is good - literally a stop on the highway between Edmonton and Saskatoon.

The population is only about 25,000, but that's about 5000 more than Cranbrook, and because of the oil patch, there is a lot of money in that city.

Plus Lloydminster and the surrounding area is hockey crazy.

I don't think it would be a bad market to look at.

[Resolute 14]

No chance on earth the WHL considers a market that small anymore. It'd be like the NHL considering Saskatoon.

[vicphoenix13]

I think the WHL is waiting for a new arena to be built in Nanaimo so they can put two expansion teams on Vancouver Island. Victoria already has a new 7000 seat arena so its up to Nanaimo to get their act together.

[Resolute 14]

Victoria also has a pro team.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Victoria also has a pro team.

I would much rather have a WHL team in Victoria compared to that "pro" team we have. Just brutal hockey IMO I sometimes go when the Wranglers are in town, sporting my Flames jersey. People LOVE it around these parts.

The population has probably grown 150K more people since the Courgars left and with the ever expanding communities in Westshore it will only get bigger. Only downside is you have to have a competitive team for people to show up and the travel would probably suck.

[Resolute 14]

Well, as I noted above, I expect that the AHL will twin the Abbotsford market sooner rather than later, and I see Victoria as the most logical place to move up the ladder.

Ideally, for a 24 team WHL, I'd like to see Grande Prairie and an American market get teams. Six in the US division, six in the BC Division (Kootenay moves back), six in the Alberta division and six in the east.

[604flames]

Kootenay will never move back to the BC division. They spent their entire time in it asking to move back to the Central, and only played the Giants, Rockets, Blazers and Cougars 3 or 4 times a year while they kept seeing Spokane, Calgary and Lethbridge 8 or 10.