Expansion

[pixburgher66]

Vegas needs to market to eastern teams. Teams that play once a year in Vegas. Make it aam event for the fans. See a game, with cheap tickets, catch a show, grab a meal, grab a stripper, and gamble your bank account dry. It works with the Kings in Preseason. It should work with 14 of the Eastern teams. Fans would make it an annual event.

I think that a Vegas team would sell tickets simply because it's just another thing to do in town, but would they have a real fanbase? I can't imagine that. Is there a large base of people native to Vegas? My impression is that it's very much a town made up of out of towners.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

i think its been brought up before but Vegas has had the highest tv ratings for hockey amongst the cities that dont have hockey teams ... and they are higher than Phoenix's or Miami's

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

i think its been brought up before but Vegas has had the highest tv ratings for hockey amongst the cities that dont have hockey teams ... and they are higher than Phoenix's or Miami's

Those ratings are always taken with a grain of salt though. How much of that is truly local interest vs. people watching to see how their bets are doing?

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

If the teams combine, do they still only get one win in the bank, or would they get two?

TWO wins in the bank?!? Now you're just being silly.

 

[dash]

TWO wins in the bank?!? Now you're just being silly.

In Vegas, it's called a double down.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

In Vegas, it's called a double down.

Giving it only to one franchise would be in line with the league's practice of making shit up as they go and having different rulebooks for different teams.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Those ratings are always taken with a grain of salt though. How much of that is truly local interest vs. people watching to see how their bets are doing?

maybe ... but NHL betting has the lowest volume of betting of any of the pro sports in Vegas ... so ... wait a second ... maybe they arent interested in hockey afterall lol

 

[forty_three]

In Vegas, it's called a double down.

 

[stealth]

I would rather see Seattle than Vegas to get a team.....the focus would be on the game more than the dice

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Keep PHX and give Cleveland a team

 

[stealth]

they did and failed badly with the Barons

 

[stealth]

The question for Cleveland should be Browns or Bengals?

Love all that history with the Browns

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Barrons was a train wreck but give em another shot

and Browns of course

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Milwaukee in NHL expansion mix, more news and notes - NHL - SI.com

Nice short pros/cons list re: Milwaukee

 

[forty_three]

Milwaukee in NHL expansion mix, more news and notes - NHL - SI.com

Nice short pros/cons list re: Milwaukee

Nice. Completely makes sense to expand there. Yeah they won't grow the game a lot, but the revenue will be nice.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Nice. Completely makes sense to expand there. Yeah they won't grow the game a lot, but the revenue will be nice.

It's why the NHL brass are so infuriating: Why keep taking the risks that haven't panned out when there are two safe routes for each risky route? Putting teams in Milwaukee and Seattle would balance out the conferences (as dead set as I am against expansion, we all know it's coming) and just think of how heated the central division would get between Minny Milwaukee and Chicago? Hell, I couldn't care less about either team but if there was a Chicago roadtrip through those two cities plus a home game against one of those teams I'd make the trip.

 

[RP-29]

Milwaukee in NHL expansion mix, more news and notes - NHL - SI.com

Nice short pros/cons list re: Milwaukee

I think they're making a mistake by trying to put a new arena in downtown Milwaukee. A much better location would be immediately off I-94 in the western Milwaukee metro area (just west of Waukesha).

1. That location would draw a lot more fans from the Madison area.
2. That location is a lot safer than downtown Milwaukee.
3. That location is a lot cleaner than downtown Milwaukee.
4. That location is a lot more accessible and appealing to the rest of Wisconsin than downtown Milwaukee.
5. Western Milwaukee houses the largest percentage of people with enough disposable income to buy tickets.

Milwaukee fits a need geographically, and could quickly market rivalries with NHL teams in Chicago, Minnesota and St. Louis.

There would DEFINITELY be instant rivalries with Chicago, Minnesota and St. Louis. Cheeseheads already hate Minnesota and Illinois and they hate us. It's not like putting a team in Vegas where no natural rivalries exist.

The hockey culture is certainly in place. The six-time national champion Wisconsin Badgers have a massive following in the state,

Yep! The Green Bay Gamblers USHL franchise gets great attendance. My brother took his girlfriend to a game on Saturday and they didn't get to their seats until 6 minutes left in the first because the ticket lines were so long. A brand new USHL franchise just opened in Madison this year.

and the AHL Milwaukee Admirals have been a fairly consistent draw. Although attendance has been sluggish this season, averaging around 4,500 per game, there was a time when the Admirals routinely attracted upwards of 9,000 fans to the Bradley Center for IHL games.

The Admirals do not get a great draw because they play in the f'n shithole Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee.

That’s not a bad start, but there are reasons why Milwaukee has never been at the top of any prospective expansion lists. The biggest one: There are concerns that the city isn’t large enough to support two winter sports franchises.

Note: he said "the city" isn't large enough. The Packers and Brewers draw the entire state of Wisconsin very well. Both franchises market well to the entire state, they have friendly, clean & accessible stadium locations for the entire state and have expansive parking lots where tailgating is not only possible but encouraged. Alternatively, the Bucks really only draw Milwaukee metro residents and there's no place to tailgate/party outside.

Don't think small-minded and there will be plenty of support for hockey in Wisconsin!

There’s also no obvious local ownership option in place.

THAT is the big hole. Anyone have a billionaire buddy who wouldn't mind spending winters in Wisconsin?

 

[RP-29]

It's why the NHL brass are so infuriating: Why keep taking the risks that haven't panned out when there are two safe routes for each risky route? Putting teams in Milwaukee and Seattle would balance out the conferences (as dead set as I am against expansion, we all know it's coming) and just think of how heated the central division would get between Minny Milwaukee and Chicago? Hell, I couldn't care less about either team but if there was a Chicago roadtrip through those two cities plus a home game against one of those teams I'd make the trip.

Road trip on I-94! Epic!

Hit a game in Detroit as soon as you cross the border, then cruise west on I-94 and catch games in Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis without switching interstates.

 

[DevilishWon]

they did and failed badly with the Barons

So did Denver the 1st time....

 

[mooger_35]

So did Denver the 1st time....

So did Atlanta.

Oh wait....