NHL looking at Las Vegas?...

[Black99GT]

500,000 households in the states viewed the final stanley cup game..pathetic..i thought i read somewhere the canucks get close to that amount watching a regular season game on sportsnet pacific...yeah bettman, your game is alive and well in the States...

did you hear when bettman came on the ice to present the cup..he yells out "looks like Hockey is alive and well in California"...hardly anyone cheered...

[TheLionKing]

did you hear when bettman came on the ice to present the cup..he yells out "looks like Hockey is alive and well in California"...hardly anyone cheered...

Sums up the state of hockey in California doesn't it ?

[Lions4ever]

I noticed that the game was listed on the TV grid for NBC but the local Seattle affiliate King 5 didn't even bother to carry it.

[Lionheart]

Three problems with Vegas:

1. No suitable arena, a not so small problem.

2. Lack of corporate support. Do you think the big hotels and casinos want a pro sports team in town, horning in on their business and taking away the spending dollars of tourists? Not on your life -- they want those tourists in their hotels, going to their shows and gambling at their casinos.

3. Lack of local fans. Where do you think the full time residents in Vegas tend to work? Answer -- at the hotels, casinos, and show lounges. What kind of hours do you think they tend to work? Answer -- evenings.

What? Are you fooking kidding?

One, I'm sure (in fact I'm possitve) Mr. Bruckheimer has noticed there is no arena there. I'd say he's checked his bank account and has an idea how much it will cost to get a team there.

Second, if Casino's like their name in lights and have an advertising budget they will jump at the chance to place adds. After the game, place your bets here snowbirds yada yada.

Third, with an arena and team in place the 1000 workers needed will be no sweat to find. It's not spuzzum. That was quite the stereotype comment.

I'm not saying it would work in Las Vegas and I don't even want a team there but if it does't work it wont be for any of those reason's above.

[Dan Russell]

The reason that any pro team is not in Vegas is that the leagues don't want to promote gambling. Do we want another Pete Rose incident again?

[Lionut]

One, I'm sure (in fact I'm possitve) Mr. Bruckheimer has noticed there is no arena there. I'd say he's checked his bank account and has an idea how much it will cost to get a team there.

Do you think he's prepared to privately finance an arena on his own? If so, then God bless him. That hasn't been the way these things have gone down in most U.S. cities, though. Typically, as is happening in Seattle right now and as happened in Pittsburgh, the teams try to blackmail the taxpayers into financing the arena.

Second, if Casino's like their name in lights and have an advertising budget they will jump at the chance to place adds. After the game, place your bets here snowbirds yada yada.

Maybe, but I think it's just as likely that they don't want the competition for the snowbirds' dollars to begin with. Middle class people go to Vegas with a set amount of cash they are prepared to burn - what interest does the casino have in seeing them spending $300 at a hockey game instead of at Cirque de Soleil or Mamma Mia in their show lounge?

Third, with an arena and team in place the 1000 workers needed will be no sweat to find. It's not spuzzum. That was quite the stereotype comment.

I wasn't talking about workers -- you are quite right in that this won't be a problem. Vegas has been growing steadily, as working class Americans continue to de-populate the rust belt to come to places like Vegas. I was talking about locals who are willing to plunk down money to attend the games. I have never heard of a pro sports team yet that has been able to survive on purely walk-up crowds. You have to be able to sell season tickets to both corporate interests and local fans, and I think selling to local fans is going to be a tough grind in Vegas. The history of minor pro sports teams in Vegas is roughly similar to that of Honolulu -- someone always thinks there is a market there given all the tourists, and then they discover that the tourists did not come to Hawaii to watch a game.

I'm not dead set against expansion there. If the NHL thinks they can make it go, have at it. My theory, though, is that the media likes to talk about Vegas expansion because it's, well, Vegas, and it's exotic and sexy. I also think the League likes keeping the topic of Vegas expansion in the news, as it makes the League sound vibrant and growing, and therefore pumps up existing franchise values.

[Scottish Leos Fan]

Yeah rumour been going around for a while. I really don't think an NHL franchise would work in a market like Las Vegas. If they want to expand anywhere in the U.S they should go to somewhere like Seattle.

[GeroySimonFAN]

Yeah rumour been going around for a while. I really don't think an NHL franchise would work in a market like Las Vegas. If they want to expand anywhere in the U.S they should go to somewhere like Seattle.

Seattle or Portland would make a great Northwest Rival for the Canucks. The only problem with Seattle is they will never get an NHL team unless Clay Bennett(owner of the Sonics) gets that new arena. The current arena the Sonics play in(Key Arena) is pretty small(seats 17,072 for NBA games) and is not big enough to house an NHL team they say.

I'm sure there is a lot of interest in the Seattle area for an NHL team. They are fairly close to Canada and it would make more sense to have a team in Washington State instead of Las Vegas or any of those other silly "HOT" Weather Markets(who wants to go to a Hockey game in Florida when its hot out. (mind you the Tampa Bay Lightning do well at the gate). However, the other Florida team that plays near Miami is not doing as well at attracting fans.

[Soundy]

There's also a lot of junior hockey interest in the Seattle area with both the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips (one of the Giants' hottest rivalries); both pull in good crowds, so you know they like their hockey in the Jet City.