Apparently not, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal which reports that the NHL is going to expand to Las Vegas and Kansas City in the coming years.
Movie mogul Jerry Bruckheimer is looking into heading up a potential Vegas franchise, and with the Anschutz Entertainment Group(LA Kings, Galxy, Chicago Fire and more) behind the efforts in Kansas City it is only a matter of time before this becomes a reality.
Admittedly, that may be 4-5 years away though. So says this report found on TSN.
Dear Gary Bettman:
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!!
You've got more interest in the sport of hockey in places like Cairo and Calcutta than you do in these two NHL hellholes. Neither city has been able to support the sport for long periods of time regardless of level of competition.
If you really have to expand to two more places, let me help you out. I'll even give you a non traditional market that makes a shred of sense...
1. Winnipeg: passionate fan base that will fill the joint on a nightly basis in their new MTS Centre. They've been banging the drum for another NHL club almost since the Jets left a decade ago. What's the matter? Don't you want your product in a city where it is actually desired??
2. Houston: Another brand new venue in the Toyota Center, and you know what? They have a strong and continous tradition of hockey going back decades.
Gary, I know you came to the job without knowing a shred of hockey back in the mid nineties, but way back in the seventies there was this rival pro league known as the WHA that had a team in Houston.
Did you know they were pretty darned good too? Had this player...Howe...Gordie Howe. Guy was so old that he had his sons on the team with him as well. Won the Avco Cup twice. Even applied to be part of the NHL merger back then. Hopefully you also know there's current IHL/AHL version that's been around for the last fifteen years or so as well.
C'mon Gary, I'm giving you two slam dunks here. Two cities that are known hockey markets and in Houston a large media market with loads of money to insure success. And heck, Stars v. Aeros...instant rivalry!!!!
There you go Gary, I'm just some silly blogger. But my proposal sure make more sense than yours.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Bettman's gotta go!!!!!
http://www.FireBettman.com
What about Portland, OR?
Portland would be good also....went with Houston being the super huge market that the NHL craves.
Go Thunderbirds:)
Kansas City will get the franchise for one reason only: A nice shining new arena in the Sprint Center. Vegas, on the other hand, still has issues in terms of building a new arena to replace the Thomas and Mack Center. If you remember, the NBA made a little noise about moving a team there (Kings? Sonics?), but everything has been up in the air because the folks in Vegas have been slow on a new arena.
However, I will agree with you on this one: Winnipeg and Houston should get the new teams, if only because of the large market in Houston (4th or 5th largest TV market in the country last time I checked) and Winnipeg, because of its fan base and because Canada should get another team.
Post a Comment