If Quebec City doesn't get a team at some point it's a shame! Very rich hockey roots, already have a new arena ready to go and would bring back one of the NHL's great rivalries between Quebec and Montreal!
Quebec City should be an nhl expansion team because they have a arena in Quebec called Videotrom centre and make it Quebec home arena so let’s bring back the Quebec Nordiques
@@rayspooner1982 I would like to agree, however, growing up in Boston we all knew that Hartford had 18,000 of the most loyal fans. Unfortunately, there were only 18,000 of them
Atlanta wasn't the problem, they were ahead of a lot of teams in attendance even though they sucked. Their ownership screwed up big time, that's why they moved.
People tend to under estimate the size of Omaha. Its a metro area of around 950k people. And Lincoln is less than an hour drive from the 17,000 CHI arena and has another 400k people.
950,000 is small. Even combining Omaha and Lincoln, you don't even have 1.5 million people. Buffalo is only slightly larger than Omaha, but they've had a team there for generations, and they are in an area where hockey has greater support. I just don't think that Omaha can handle anything other than an NBA team, and that's realistically twenty years off. I know they shared the Kings with Kansas City in the 70s.
Edmonton is 1.5 mill, and Calgary is 1.6. They both have voracious fans that are very well invested. Omaha might get something rolling, but unless the team is as good as Vegas, I feel people may lose interest fast.
I mean the University hockey team is not a blue blood hockey program but they draw close to 8,000 fans a game. Plus I think it’s time for Omaha to show they’re more than just a city for minor league and college teams
@@brianschryver8314 the hockey leagues we have in the city attract thousands. Plus it will be the only Major League team in the state. You can see how Nebraska supports the Huskers which is a loosing club, that has been nothing but a bottom feeder since I have lived here, and yet has massive hold here and sells out every game.
@@willp.8120 hockey has incredible support here. Its one of the few parts of the US that you can find plentiful hockey finder pick up games and leagues for every age and skill level. There are 5 major ice arenas in the city alone.
If the NHL expands it should be to 36 teams that should include 2 in Canada: One in Quebec and one based somewhere in the Golden Horseshoe outside of Toronto.
Not a chance that happens. 1 for sure but if the NHL only goes to 36 it wont get 2. Its all about markets and the NHL's desire to go to places to spread the game. I am not hating here, just being real. Quebec for sure gets the 1 team when it goes to 36... But I foresee 40 eventually. Then we are talking a different story.
But will Buffalo and Toronto allow that to happen? Didn't someone try to get a franchise into Hamilton quite some years ago and both neighbors said no way????
There is also talks of a sports district being built in Gretna, NE, which is just outside of omaha. The purpose of the district is to try to draw the relocation of the USA national volleyball team training center as well as a new hockey arena for an NHL team.
Omaha native here. Baxter Arena (where UNO plays) is a purely college hockey arena and the potential NHL team in Omaha wouldn’t play there. Rather they’d play at the 17-18K seat CHI Health Center. Much more fit for the NHL. However, I don’t expect it to happen. Honored to have been mentioned by Gary Bettman as an option though
hard to imagine omaha because it wouldn't be like a regional team, KC and east kansas would probably still be considered blues fans, all you would have is nebraska, it makes no sense.
There was an announcement today by Grow Omaha about a new 18,000 seat arena to host USA Volleyball and an NHL team in the suburban city of Gretna Ne. This is on the edge if the Omaha metro and about 40 minutes away from Lincoln.
@@kevinkrupski246 I don’t see it happening. I’m definitely not opposed to the idea of an NHL team in our area I just don’t think our market is big enough and I don’t see a billionaire that could fund it for us. Plus a new arena would be unnecessary when we have the CHI
That's what Columbus is for. Distance from downtown Cincinnati to downtown Columbus. 105 miles (1 hour, 30 minutes) Distance from downtown Cincinnati to downtown Detroit. 255 miles (3 hours, 38 minutes) Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Columbus. 140 miles (2 hours) Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Pittsburgh. 127 miles (1 hour, 47 minutes) Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Buffalo. 184 miles (2 hours, 35 minutes) Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Detroit. 164 miles (2 hours, 17 minutes) Cincinnati is really close to Columbus. From the edge of the suburbs (northeast for Cincinnati, southwest for Columbus), it is even closer: 68 miles (South Lebanon to Pleasant Corner/Grove City) Similarly the distance between the Cleveland/Akron/Canton area is very close to the Beaver Valley area northwest of Pittsburgh, which for all intensive purposes are the far northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. Only around 70 miles from Akron to Beaver Falls. Even closer to Beaver Falls from Canton, Ohio. The issue with both Cleveland and Cincinnati is that they are mid-sized metropolitan areas. Even Charlotte and Orlando are larger than them. With Columbus being in the middle of the state, both of them can be considered the same territory. Cleveland especially is surrounded by NHL cities. There are other regions of the country where teams are far more spread out who need a team.
Part of me would love to see an NHL team in Milwaukee, but I have my doubts whether it is a big enough market to support an NBA and NHL team at the same time. The same could be said of Salt Lake City.
Omaha has a 17,500 seat arena downtown where Creighton plays basketball, think it was built in 2003ish. I’d imagine the NHL team would play there instead of at UNO’s stadium.
One thing to consider for Salt Lake City is local attitudes regarding sporting events on Sunday. They don't schedule the Jazz to play home games on Sundays during the regular season. The Braves play in Cobb County, not Cumberland. The Blue Jackets would likely object to another NHL team in Cincinnati; the Blue Jackets and Penguins would likely object to Cleveland.
It would be interesting to see if the NHL looks back to Canada again for expansion. It is still hard for those teams to make a profit for a number of reasons but with the new labor agreement it seems they have solved some of the issues. Anchorage could be really interesting. Hard travel for sure but a state with no other pro sports and an indoor winter culture I think it could work. Problem with teams in Florida in general is there is too many outdoor activities all year around.
Canada will likely get another one day, probably inherited failed US franchises again, but they will likely be located somewhere that they will split advertising revenue with Toronto or Montreal. It would be the case with Hamilton or Quebec City at least anyway.
And you base this on what? Let's look at reality, shall we. Atlanta: 6.4 million metropolitan area population 6th largest metropolitan area in USA by population. 6th largest media market. 8th largest GDP Huge media hub with CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, TCM, Boomerang, The Weather Channel, and the "New Hollywood" catching up with LA in movie production. Great attendance in sports/sports history. 1st(of 30 teams) in MLS attendance. (United) 5th (of 30 teams) in MLB attendance. (Braves) 15th (of 32 teams) in NFL attendance (Falcons) Over 99% filled capacity in NBA attendance (Hawks) Hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Annual host of the SEC football Championship game. What does Quebec have? 875,000 metropolitan area population. If it were in the USA, it'd place as the 66th largest metropolitan area, comparable to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Quebec City is not a media hub, and has relatively little corporate presence compared to Atlanta. The NHL is in the business of making money, and there isn't much money to be made in Quebec City, given its small media market. That you claim that a new Atlanta team would fold, when the others that left had nothing to do with attendance, speaks volumes. The Atlanta Flames had 8 seasons. In those eight seasons, they outmatched in attendance: -Higher attendance than the Pittsburgh Penguins 6 times. -Higher attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks 6 times. -Higher attendance than the Los Angeles Kings 4 times. -Higher attendance than the Detroit Redwings 4 times. The Atlanta Thrashers had 11 seasons. In those eleven seasons, they outmatched in attendance -Higher than the New York Islanders 8 times. -Higher than the Nashville Predators 6 times. -Higher than the Phoenix Coyotes 8 times. -Higher than the Chicago Blackhawks 5 times. -Higher than the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 times. -Higher than the Washington Capitals 5 times. -Higher than the New Jersey Devils 5 times. They also bested the Boston Bruins like 3 times.
Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum has a stigma from what happened in the 70s (The Who concert deaths in 1979 and the literal file cabinet full of building security issues from 1975 up until the 1979 Who concert). Cincinnati Cyclones drew great when they played in Cincinnati Gardens 1990-1996.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Cleveland, Ohio instead of Cincinnati fun fact: Omaha is smaller than Winnipeg Omaha is also smaller than Quebec city So what is going on here? I HONESTLY think Bettman is trolling Canadians. I think he is 71 and has been in charge since 1993 and needs to go away FOREVER
@@eriklakeland3857 I mean...two teams in New York one in Newark, two teams in LA..... They are talking about expanding into Texas - Dallas Stars territory and Missouri - St. Louis Blues territory. Give your head a shake...why would territorial rights only apply to Toronto/buffalo...but not New Jersey, NYR, NYI, Dallas, Los Angeles, Anaheim, or St. Louis. Maybe those territorial rights are not set in stone? Otherwise wouldn't expansion be....impossible?
State Farm Arena can't host hockey anymore due to the renovations done after the Thrashers moved, a new team would either have to play in the Gwinnett Arena as a temporary home or wait until the Forsyth arena is built before entering the league.
That's the point. Whether there is a team there or not, the fans will stay passionate. Putting a team in a new market and creating new fans is a good reason. Putting a team in an old market with no growth... is bad @@NolzySZN
Adding more NHL teams to the south is not a bad idea, even if they have little or no winter, and they are: Houston and San Diego as of couple of expansion teams. Recently, team of the south and southwest did won the Stanley Cup, such as Tampa Bay Lightning did it in 2021, Las Vegas did it in 2023, and now, Florida Panthers might win the Stanley Cup for 2024, and they are the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference of the NHL. Jacksonville Florida is another city that is also seeking for the NHL team in the future, since Florida is the fastest growing state between 2020 and 2030.
It wasn't too long ago that the NHL moved Detroit and Columbus from the Western Conference to the Eastern. It wouldn't be a stretch to move Nashville to the east as well to make room for more western cities.
My picks for an NHL expansion city would be: - Oklahoma City - Houston - San Antonio - Cincinnati - Baltimore - Cleveland - Milwaukee - Kansas City - Salt Lake City - Indianapolis
Portland, Oregon would have made more sense than Omaha to be honest. Portland already has a large multipurpose arena that did host hockey games, bigger population, and bigger markets. If Portland wants an MLB team, might as well get an NHL team instead of having to build a new stadium.
1996 NCAA frozen four in Cinnci... you know the one where the freon line broke so the ice was melting during the UVM vs Colorado College semifinal.. yeah the heritage bank center is a great place for hockey... (put an ahl team in Cinnci and put its NHL team in Louisville)
Omaha would present some problems. Baxter Arena is a college barn. So it could be a potential Mullett Arena situation for any new team. the USHL team plays and has played in the Omaha suburbs at the MAC in Council Bluffs, IA and the Ralston Arena. There is a 17,000 seat arena in the downtown, the CHI Health Center Omaha. The issue there is that it 20 years old and will probably need a reno.
San Diego is way better than Freaking Omaha or Cincinnati the people here in San Diego loves their hockey and also support Big Time The AHL Gulls and there's the new Midway Rising Arena planned to replace the ol sports arena.
Omaha has a professional volleyball team already. The omaha supernovas. Which is already setting attendance records. 11,900 at the last home game, which is a pro volleyball record.
My church has a feminine event named The Gathering. It's where women do many things on Saturday morning to replace Bible study. The Bible study group for women hasn't been at my church since the pandemic.
The NHL will expand to the market that has both the most solvent ownership group as well as the strongest support from the Business community. It has nothing to do with fan support.
It did. Construction begins in September. Land has been cleared and grading has begun. The arena has been approved, but it may not get built unless Atlanta is awarded the team. It seems that we'll know something this summer. I think it's all a go.
@@Josh-ut4wv Do you people not understand that hockey works in Atlanta and that Atlanta was unfortunate to have two unfortunately bad ownership circumstances, especially the Thrashers? Some of these cities you support over Atlanta are literally a tenth the size and developmentally are like one twentieth the size. Atlanta is the fourth largest developed landmass in square miles on Earth. Only New York, Boston-Providence, and Tokyo are larger. In this manner, Atlanta is larger than Los Angeles developed area and Chicago. Atlanta is literally one of the best sports markets.
@willp.8120 yeah one of the "best sports markets" the fans got screwed over by bad ownership twice but maybe they should wait in line and let other cities get a chance at it. Quebec city has been waiting for a team for some time. Houston has shown they can support a team multiple times but got screwed over multiple times one of them was the NHL itself. Giving a hockey team to Atlanta is like bringing a NFL team into LA give it enough time and they leave.
Columbus can't be happy with the idea of another team 90 minutes away from their home. Even if they do not draw many people from Cincinnati, they would be fighting for some of the same fans, such as those living in the Dayton area.
Columbus being happy or unhappy doesn't matter. The question is why put another team in Ohio when there are new areas to open up or much larger cities than Cincinnati like Houston or Atlanta.
Pacific - Vancouver, Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas Mountain - Calgary, Edmonton, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Winnipeg Central - Dallas, Omaha, Saint Louis, Houston, Minnesota, Chicago Metropolitan - NY Islanders, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus Southeast - Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Carolina, Washington, Nashville Atlantic - Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit, Boston
it is 4 wild cards. Dont think teams would be happy about only two guaranteed spots especially in the Eastern divisions where lots of storied franchises will be left out@@jeffadventures1
Salt Lake City's Delta Center which currently houses the Jazz could do double duty and house a hockey team. An example they can look at is the Garden in Boston which houses the Celtics and Bruins
NHL does not need expansion teams. 4 Divisions on 8 is plenty. 32 is perfect for now. However if they were to expand say in 2042 on 125th Anniversary of its founding. I would pick, Houston, KC, Milwaukee, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Quebec City and Hartford as my 8 expansion teams for 8 groups of 5 teams. Omaha, SLC, Cincinnati and Peel region(Toronto) are close
Kansas City would be an excellent choice for a relocation/expansion team for the NHL!!! Kansas City vs St Louis rivalry will be epic!!! Plus the T Mobile Center basically an arena just sitting there for over 15 years now waiting for an NHL team to use that facility!!!
Hartford needs a team! There are actual hockey fans in Hartford. Its in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard metroplex from Boston to New Jersey. Kids play hockey in Hartford. Quinnipiac University is a top college hockey team and won the NCAA championship. Its a hockey hotbed. NHL should go where the hockey fans are.
Hartford-New Haven is the largest metro area without a pro sports team, larger than some others that have one. People actually care about and play Hockey here@@Just-Jack18
An Omaha franchise wouldn't play at Baxter where UNO plays.. there's an 18,000 seat arena in downtown.. although story is breaking of a dedicated arena proposed between Lincoln and Omaha.
Yes, Cobb County, in the Cumberland district. Cumberland is not a county or a city. Truist Park has an Atlanta postal address, as its mail is out of an Atlanta post office, and it sits only like two miles from the city limits. The area Truist Park is in, the Cumberland district, all have an Atlanta postal zip code.
Baxter arena for NHL in Omaha is way too small. CHI Center can fit upwards of 18000 for basketball. It used to be the home for Omaha Maverick hockey team but it was too big for the fan base.
Cincinnati doesn't need another pro team. They don't even support the Bengals and the Reds unless they're winning. And once the honeymoon phase with FC Cincinnati wears off and THEY start losing, fans will quit going to those games as well. I very highly doubt anyone there is going to support an expansion hockey team that will more than likely be lousy most of its first decade of existence while it builds up its roster.
Overlooked ideas: New Orleans, Louisiana Memphis, Tennessee San Diego, California note: Quebec City can have a team again ONLY if they accept the terms. The terms are simple: one, Youppi stays in Montreal. Two, no Nordiques. The name stays dead. The name of the temple will be the Lions largely because it is the same damn word in English as it is in French and thus hissy fits on either side can be avoided.
Atlanta - no arena Houston - Toyota center needs renovations Omaha - no arena Cincinnati - no arena Salt Lake City - Delta center needs renovations LMFAOOOOOOOO Was this list made by my little brother? This list was made by somebody who does not watch NHL hockey. 100% It would be like suggesting Edmonton as the next NFL team...anybody who watches football would just be in shock...what a dumb sugggestion edit: omaha does have an arena...OMAHA IS SMALLER THAN QUEBEC CITY
@@samelmudir that is true if the NHL expanded to 36 teams....I still wouldn't choose Nebraska.... that's one of the worst locations I have EVER heard EVER I would prefer Atlanta, and I HATE ATLANTA as an NHL market. What's worse than Omaha? Cincinnati....these are REALLY BAD options. Like Milwaukee has FISERV FORUM, more people than Omaha, one of the most popular teams in the NCAA, and it Madison Wisconsin is right next door...
@@sampicano Portland larger than all of them by quite a bit except Atlanta and Houston and it regularly for important games has 17,000+ fans for a JUNIOR LEAGUE hockey game, they would be hanging from the rafters for NHL. This list is terrible.
Nashville and a few other really eastern western conference teams could easily be shifted to the eastern conference if they add more to the western side of the western conference (SLC, Houston, KC)
Didn't Hartford petition to have a new NHL franchise since they lost the Whalers to Carolina and became the Hurricanes? I know Quebec City is demanding a franchise.
@@briansmith2125 you are including the combined statistical areas - like oak bluffs and fremont in those numbers I could also include Levis Queebc in my overall numbers. According to the US Census in 2020 Omaha-Fremont, NE-IA Combined Statistical Areas (967,604 ) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS According to the 2021 Canadian census Quebec City's Combined Statistical Area is (1,191,262) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS so again OMAHA is smaller than Winnipeg AND smaller than Quebec City Omaha CSA - 967,604 Quebec City CSA - 1,191,262 Don't take my word for it, the census exists and lists population data (census.gov and statscan)
@@briansmith2125 you are including the combined statistical areas - like oak bluffs and fremont in those numbers I could also include Levis Queebc in my overall numbers. According to the US Census in 2020 Omaha-Fremont, NE-IA Combined Statistical Areas (967,604 ) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS According to the 2021 Canadian census Quebec City's Combined Statistical Area is (1,191,262) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS so again OMAHA is smaller than Winnipeg AND smaller than Quebec City Omaha CSA - 967,604 Quebec City CSA - 1,191,262 Don't take my word for it, the census exists and lists population data.
@@sampicano ...and those are the radii in ANY city where the NHL resides. The fan base is not located within only 20 miles of any arena. Area: 4,407 mi² Population: 1.058 million (2019) State(s): Nebraska; Iowa Other cities: Council Bluffs; Bellevue; Papillion; La Vista Largest city: Omaha Population rank: 58th-largest That number has climbed to over 1.1 million in 2023. These were the numbers presented to the NHL committee.
They already got too many pro teams out there they needa focus on cleaning up that shit hole of a city before they worry bout more pro sports just being honest
Omaha’s not a good option. Nebraskans would support the team but there’s only 1.6 to 1.8 million people in Nebraska. Even if you combine Iowa it’s still not enough. Honestly a MLB team would do better, but it’s in Royals territory so that will never happen.
Nebraska would support an nhl team better than an mlb team. Too many games, not to mention the cws is already in Nebraska every year so people get sick of baseball. An nba or nhl team would make a lot more sense.
Before the Omaha Mavericks played in their current arena, they did play in the CHI Healt Center (about 17-18,000 capacity) that could also serve as a good arena. Hope NHL comes to Omaha we love this sport! 🏒🏒🏒
Do you honestly think that was an issue? The Atlanta teams outdrew the Chicago Blackhawks 12 of 19 seasons. That means that Chicago only beat Atlanta in attendance 7 years out of 19 seasons.
Where did you hear this? Like...Cleveland is a FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR BETTER hockey market than Cincinnati. This is a bad video. The best NHL markets are: - Portland, Oregon - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Houston, Texas, - Quebec City And on a second Tier: - Salt Lake City, Utah - Kansas City, Missouri - Cleveland, Ohio - San Diego, California They ALL HAVE ARENAS. Your choices are EXTRAORDINARILY BAD.
I dont think any Canadian markets are getting one, except maybe Hamilton, just due to the Canadian dollar being weaker it puts those franchises at an instant disadvantage and Quebec city is far too small a market.
@@br8745 Atlanta had 5.5 million people Lost 130 million - valued at $135 million in 2010 Then moved to Winnipeg - 731,000 in 2011...and instantly generated value (went from $135 to $164 million in ONE YEAR) then went to $200 million by 2012. Winnipeg soldout EVERY home game from 2011 to 2020 (until covid 19) 41 games a year, for 10 years straight...something Atlanta could never do. So if you had to choose 839,000 in Quebec City or 4.8 million in Arizona it is a no brainer.
@@br8745 Bro...HE JUST SAID OMAHA NEBRASKA! Omaha, Nebraska 819,508 people Quebec City, Quebec 839,311 people Omaha = 819,508 Quebec City = 839,311 So, Omaha is smaller than Quebec City. Quebec City is LARGER than Winnipeg (834,678 )
Omaha resident here and no way the NHL will come here. First Baxter arena, referenced in the video, is a college stadium. Why would you want to have a team play in a college stadium like the Coyotes? The scheduling would not work as this is also the location for the Mav's winter sporting areas. If they have to go into town the Chi arena, where current Creighton Bluejays men's basketball plays, is a better option. This is where UNO Mavs played before they built their own stadium. Also have people forgot what happened with the AHL Aksarben Knights here? they didn't even last 5 years. All three levels USHL, NCAA and AHL had games on the same night, and executives with the AHL commented on how empty it was. There just isn't the population to go around for three hockey leagues in this town. Will not happen. not that big of an interest to hold a team here. No idea where that letter came from. Just another talking point for the media.
The NHL is going to be a bigger draw then AHL. An NHL team is likley to draw fans to games from Lincoln regularily. The population has expanded quite a bit since the Askarben knights. Also lessons learned, can help eliminate scheduling conflicts. The letter itself came direct from the NHL commisioner about cities they are interested in.
Please educate yourself with what actually happened. The Flames left because the owner, named Tom Cousins, who owned Cousins Properties, a local commercial real estate company, began having financial problems in the late 1970s (after the Flames had been around about five seasons) when the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates. When this happened, other companies who wanted to build things were being denied loans, given the effects of higher interest rates. Cousins Properties could not acquire enough contracts, and thus not enough capital to keep it afloat. Tom Cousins wasn't a deep pocketed owner, and his company's stability was predicated on continuous building. So, in order to save the company, Cousins decided to sell his only asset that could provide him enough cash to prevent his company's insolvency. He sold the Flames. Since he needed a lot of money to save his development business, he sold the Flames to the highest bidder, just which happened to be an interested owner whose intention was to take the team to Calgary. Ted Turner wanted to buy them team, but because he owned two other teams, the Hawks and Braves, the NHL would not allow him to buy the team. There were other interested buyers, but because they did not offer as much, none of them were chosen for sale. The Thrashers' story is a bit more complicated. In 1997, Atlanta was awarded a franchise. The owner was Ted Turner, under Turner Sports. At the time, he had recently sold the Braves, thus allowing him to own an NHL team (because he could only own two teams). However, Turner sold the team, along with his other sports assets, the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena in earlier 1999, even before the Thrashers played their first game. He sold them to Time Warner. About a year after the sale, Time Warner merged with AOL (America Online), the largest internet service in America at the time. I don't know how old you are, but they offered dial-up Internet. Here is the issue with that. It wasn't but about two years into the sale that AOL-Time Warner were losing money because people were dropping dial-up Internet rapidly for cable Internet. AOL did not transition quick enough to outcompete competitors, such as Comcast. As a result, AOL-Time Warner became shaky as a company. In order to secure some capital to make them more profitable, as well as to mitigate losses, the company decided to sell its sports teams. Another reason they did so was because with the company's fledgling status, it threatened the stability of both the Thrashers and the Hawks at the time and their long time success. If they had sold them to about any other buyer, the Thrashers would still be in Atlanta. However, they sold them to a group who was only interested in the Atlanta Hawks. The reluctantly bought the Thrashers only because it was the only way for them to get what they wanted, the Atlanta Hawks. From the start, this ownership group, known as Atlanta Spirit Group, a group of businessmen from different cities around the country, wanted to get rid of the Thrashers. In fact, they were ready to sell the moment they acquired the team. What prevented them from doing so is that there were two owners within the group who did want the Thrashers. Mind you, these two owners represented only about a fifth of the owners, as there were at least ten of them. Atlanta Spirit Group, despite the two owners' objections were about to put the team up for sale, but the sale did not happen because the owners who wanted the Thrashers filed a lawsuit against the other owners. For the next six or seven years, the owners were suing one another. The lawsuits cost the ownership group a huge amount of money, making them unprofitable. What's more, they mismanaged their money and handed out huge, unheard of contracts for certain players on the Hawks. This made them even more unstable as an ownership group and made them lose more money. This resulted in the Thrashers selling off most of their good to decent players, and when the ownership group made it known that they did not care about the team, many of the fans lost interest. Even with all this going on, the Thrashers never finished last in attendance. Speculations regarding the owners selling the team crescendoed after the courts decreed that that the owners could sell the team. As a result, attendance plummeted in the second half of the last season, as people figured that they were trying to move the team out of Atlanta, and many realized that the owners did not care about the team. During Atlanta Spirit's tenure of owning the Thrashers, they hardly even marketed the team. You could hardly find a billboard advertising for them around the metro area, but you sure saw plenty of Atlanta Hawks billboards, hundreds in fact. This is because Atlanta Spirit wanted to tank the team by lowering the maximum amount of fans who attended games to justify a reason to sell them when they would be allowed to sell the team. Atlanta Spirit did not take seriously any sales to interested parties who would keep the team in Atlanta. Tom Glavine wanted to own the team, but they denied him. There were other groups who came forward, but when they saw the stipulations on the sale, they balked. You see, Atlanta Spirit Group never intended to keep the team here in Atlanta. They even wanted the team out of their arena. One of the owners was later even outspoken and upset that during the Thrashers stay they outsold the Hawks most seasons and that the Thrashers tended to attract a lot of white suburbanites that the Hawks had trouble attracting. Stipulations for the sale were that the new owner could not receive any revenue on concessions or parking, and they had to pay an exorbitant arena use fee to Atlanta Spirit Group. These stipulations were so outrageous that no owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta, at Philips Arena, the only Atlanta arena the NHL at the time said was big enough for the team to play in. Thus, in essence, Atlanta Spirit Group forced the team out with nowhere to play. Their stipulations for sale made it where no one would risk such a situation, as that would bankrupt any team. And since the NHL said they could play nowhere else, Atlanta was left with a situation whereby if the team stayed, they'd have to play in Philips Arena and the owner would take huge losses by these sale stipulations. As a result, no one bought the team, and since True North Sports had just been denied the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes, the former Winnipeg Jets, given Glendale agreeing to fund the Coyotes, they then looked to Atlanta and took advantage of the situation, a situation not brought on by the fans but a crooked ownership group.
Had nothing to do with fan support. Neither of those teams left on account of fan support. In 8 seasons in Atlanta, the Atlanta Flames: -Outsold the Pittsburgh Penguins 6 times. -Outsold the Detroit Red Wings 4 times. -Outsold the Los Angeles Kings 4 times. -Outsold the Chicago Blackhawks 6 times. In 11 seasons in Atlanta, the Atlanta Thrashers: -Outsold the Chicago Blackhawks 5 times. -Outsold the Phoenix Coyotes 8 times. -Outsold the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 times. -Outsold the Washington Capitals 5 times. -Outsold the Nashville Predators 6 times. -Outsold the New York Islanders 8 times. -Outsold the New Jersey Devils 5 times. Both teams left on account of ownership issues.
@@willp.8120 no one is saying it was lack of fan support. It is just if you are from another city and you want an professional team (NHL/NBA/NFL/MLB) and you hope your city gets a chance but then you hear that the league is intrested in doing a location they have tried multiple times to work before (NFL: LA/ MLB: DC (also kinda Florida teams fall under that)/ NHL: Atlanta). It just gets annoying to those people and many feel that they should get in the back of the line and allow other cities a chance before they are considered again.
@@Josh-ut4wv You must understand that the league is in the business of making money. They want large markets. Salt Lake City, Quebec City, Kansas City, etc. are small markets. They cannot earn as much television revenue. Atlanta is the sixth largest metro in the country these days. It has leap-frogged Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. in metro area population just in the past three years. Atlanta is also the fourth largest expanse of developed land in the world. Atlanta also has great support with its other teams. You shouldn't hold a city accountable for unfortunate circumstances. There's a lot of people in Georgia who want the NHL to come back to the Atlanta area. A lot. I'll go out on a limb and say that bringing the NHL to the northern suburbs of Atlanta will be a smashing success and they'll be in the top 5 in attendance, no doubt in my mind.
@@willp.8120 yes i understand that part but guess what there is a city that hasnt had a go with more people and there is a good chance it would work. That is Houston honestly if it wasnt for some of the NHL bull Houston would have still have the former WHA Houston Aeros as in the original merger the plan was to have the Aeros. But looking at the two Houston has never had a proper shot since then sure there was an AHL Aeros for a time but due to their ownership and the rockets ownership not getting alone they eventually left. Meanwhile Atlanta gets two NHL teams sure they lost them due to reasons out of their control but getting a third chance possibly over Houston again. By your reasoning Houston should be given a chance.
I really hope Atlanta gets a NHL team back into their city. The third time could be the charm if that happens. Also, Atlanta needs a new NHL team: they already lost the Thrashers and the Flames! How about going for the ATLANTA REDHAWKS
If somehow Omaha gets picked for the next expansion team, my team name for Omaha, if it gets picked, which is highly unlikely….. the tomahawks the reason I’d say to tomahawks is because Of Omaha tribe that was in Omaha before Omaha was the city, also fun fact that tomahawks has Omaha in the name now the downside about that is there’s Chicago Blackhawks a original 6 team but I mean the MLB used to have two tribe names like the Cleveland Indians Atlanta Braves so I mean it’s possible
Atlanta doesn't deserve another try. NHL just keeps trying to break into markets that clearly have rejected the product over and over again. Give it up.
Why do you think Atlanta lost its previous two teams? It had nothing to do with a fan base or lack thereof. All of your arguments against Atlanta are absurd, and the same for anyone else speaking out against Atlanta.
@@willp.8120 The only thing that is absurd is your redundant excuses as to why your city should get yet another chance to screw up in the NHL. The hockey world does NOT revolve SIX INCHES AROUND YOU!!
@@FischerFan Funny, if you watch the video I have provided you, "Atlanta Thrashers, 2006-2007 home goals", you will see that the arena is packed with people. You can believe what you want, but that is how it was, as I went to many games.
The thing I always find funny is how everyone looks at attendance numbers. Try and get a ticket in a Canadian market, and you might have to take a loan out. How low do tickets have to be to get people in seats in some of these struggling American markets? You can fill the house in some of these arenas for the same price as the front row in Toronto. Oilers fans were flying to Anaheim to see there team play in the playoffs a couple years back, because it was so much easier to get seats down there. They could create a market anywhere in Canada, charge twice as much to come in the door, and sell out without even trying, yet we want more American teams, not because of ticket sales, but marketing shares in advertising. I’m not putting a ton of faith in the NHL making too many more successful franchises. Sure it can happen, but I think they should hold for a while.
in my opinion the growth of us soccer is gonna expose so many cities in the country to see who can host a pro sports team nfl, nba, nhl, nll, pll, mlb, mlr, are all paying very close attention
The fact that Quebec keeps getting ignored when they have had an NHL sized building ready for at least a decade is still insane to me. Yes, I'm very well aware that the Canadian dollar is very weak but Quebec should still be at the top of the list. Even Kansas City has a beautiful arena that's NHL sized too.
A new NHL arena was just approved by public officials. It will receive public and private funding, and it has already been settled. Construction of the arena begins in September.
I know it’s a big market that the NHL would like to have, but how many teams must Atlanta lose before the league realizes the good folks of Atlanta, GA just don’t dig ice hockey?
@@dannythunder3180 State Farm Arena (Once known as Philips Arena) had a complete makeover just about five years ago. There's no reason for them to leave, especially with the gulch being converted into its own "Battery" with shops and restaurants. The reason hockey is not a good fit for downtown Atlanta is because the hockey fanbase is heavily on the northside of the city, whereas the Hawks pulls from all directions in almost equal amounts. Similar to the hockey fanbase, the Braves fan base is more heavily populated on the northside, though it does have widespread all over the metro. Much of the Hawks fanbase wouldn't make the trek to Forsyth County. Totally different clientele and demographic. The Braves, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Gwinnett Stripers, Georgia Storm, and Atlanta Gladiators team support overlap. The Falcons to some extent, too. However, the Hawks' fanbase is heavily in the black areas of the metro, whereas the United are heavily in the intown liberal areas inside I-285.
@@dannythunder3180 Not going to be a problem as State Farm Arena was completely renovated five years ago. The Hawks are not leaving State Farm Arena, nor do they have any intention to do so. The Hawks fanbase, well the majority of it, is nowhere around the bulk of the hockey fanbase in the Atlanta area.
So much to unpack. First the Hawks arena just got a really nice renovation and the NBA likes being in the heart of Atlanta right across from Turner Sports and the NBA on TNT set. NBA fans don’t want to travel an hour north to see the Hawks
Milwaukee would be a good NHL city considering how cold it is. And Lambeau Field can host an outdoor game.
Instant rivals with Minnesota, Chicago.
We need an NHL team in MKE💯
Blackhawks wont allow expansion there
@@monexpo86they’ll have to get over it
Wisconsin deserves a team more than anybody
If Atlanta gets a team, Canada will celebrate! After all, we end up with their teams eventually!
Unusual circumstances happened.
I love it. Yes, Quebec City's future team would be there.
@@robinchase2141
Not a chance.
Well said, and very true.
If Quebec City doesn't get a team at some point it's a shame! Very rich hockey roots, already have a new arena ready to go and would bring back one of the NHL's great rivalries between Quebec and Montreal!
If the team is put in Atlanta just give it like 5 years and they'll relocate
Only french speaking players, anglo players don't want to play there, also only French speaking management, again not enough people qualify
@@richardrogers7479 thats funny imagine if euro players said the same thing about having to play in only english speaking management
@@Habebandebardownyeah, i am sure @RichardRogers was referring to players like Dale Hunter, Joe Sakic, Paul Gillis, Randy Moller, etc… 🙄🙄
@@richardrogers7479 Players don't want to be in Omaha either lol
Quebec City should be an nhl expansion team because they have a arena in Quebec called Videotrom centre and make it Quebec home arena so let’s bring back the Quebec Nordiques
beauty arena too
I agree absolutely, yet Bettman and the US based NHL admin have turned their back on Canada.
Atlanta has lost an NHL franchise TWICE. They really hoping third time is the charm?
So it would appear 😂
Give Hartford a 2nd chance before giving Atlanta a 3rd.
@@rayspooner1982 I would like to agree, however, growing up in Boston we all knew that Hartford had 18,000 of the most loyal fans. Unfortunately, there were only 18,000 of them
With the right ownership Atlanta can work
Atlanta wasn't the problem, they were ahead of a lot of teams in attendance even though they sucked. Their ownership screwed up big time, that's why they moved.
In SLC, just let them stay at the Delta Center until the new arena is ready. Don't rush it, do it right
The Maverick Center might be a better option.
They’d be better sight-lines for sure but there would still be less fans than the delta center hockey configuration
2034 Olympics are probably in SLC ...
Wtf is slc??????
@@dudelove69 Salt Lake City
People tend to under estimate the size of Omaha. Its a metro area of around 950k people. And Lincoln is less than an hour drive from the 17,000 CHI arena and has another 400k people.
950,000 is small. Even combining Omaha and Lincoln, you don't even have 1.5 million people. Buffalo is only slightly larger than Omaha, but they've had a team there for generations, and they are in an area where hockey has greater support. I just don't think that Omaha can handle anything other than an NBA team, and that's realistically twenty years off. I know they shared the Kings with Kansas City in the 70s.
Edmonton is 1.5 mill, and Calgary is 1.6. They both have voracious fans that are very well invested. Omaha might get something rolling, but unless the team is as good as Vegas, I feel people may lose interest fast.
I mean the University hockey team is not a blue blood hockey program but they draw close to 8,000 fans a game. Plus I think it’s time for Omaha to show they’re more than just a city for minor league and college teams
@@brianschryver8314 the hockey leagues we have in the city attract thousands. Plus it will be the only Major League team in the state. You can see how Nebraska supports the Huskers which is a loosing club, that has been nothing but a bottom feeder since I have lived here, and yet has massive hold here and sells out every game.
@@willp.8120 hockey has incredible support here. Its one of the few parts of the US that you can find plentiful hockey finder pick up games and leagues for every age and skill level. There are 5 major ice arenas in the city alone.
The last time Cincinnati had a major hockey franchise was when the city had The WHA's Cincinnati Stingers, and they lasted until The WHA folded.
If the NHL expands it should be to 36 teams that should include 2 in Canada: One in Quebec and one based somewhere in the Golden Horseshoe outside of Toronto.
Hamilton would be a viable option.
@@Chris-dz3rs ..as long as the ownership does not include Jim Balsillie.
Not a chance that happens. 1 for sure but if the NHL only goes to 36 it wont get 2. Its all about markets and the NHL's desire to go to places to spread the game. I am not hating here, just being real. Quebec for sure gets the 1 team when it goes to 36... But I foresee 40 eventually. Then we are talking a different story.
Never going to happen as long as Bettman is running the NHL
But will Buffalo and Toronto allow that to happen? Didn't someone try to get a franchise into Hamilton quite some years ago and both neighbors said no way????
There is also talks of a sports district being built in Gretna, NE, which is just outside of omaha. The purpose of the district is to try to draw the relocation of the USA national volleyball team training center as well as a new hockey arena for an NHL team.
Hartford getting a team would be an incredible experience. Open a new rivalry between Boston and nyc teams and Hartford would be hilarious
And bring back 'Brass Bonanza' as their goal song!!
@@higgy04 Aahhh, a man of culture, i see!
YES! GO WHALE
NHL will never bring back Hartford team already failed there
@@justinalley3399 probably true, but it would be a ton of fun!
Omaha native here. Baxter Arena (where UNO plays) is a purely college hockey arena and the potential NHL team in Omaha wouldn’t play there. Rather they’d play at the 17-18K seat CHI Health Center. Much more fit for the NHL. However, I don’t expect it to happen. Honored to have been mentioned by Gary Bettman as an option though
hard to imagine omaha because it wouldn't be like a regional team, KC and east kansas would probably still be considered blues fans, all you would have is nebraska, it makes no sense.
yeah omaha is not the place lol maybe 10-15 years down the line lol but they have a lot more to develop @@zackkorth2410
@@zackkorth2410Kansas City would be its own place. Honestly I think they make more sense than Omaha.
There was an announcement today by Grow Omaha about a new 18,000 seat arena to host USA Volleyball and an NHL team in the suburban city of Gretna Ne. This is on the edge if the Omaha metro and about 40 minutes away from Lincoln.
@@kevinkrupski246 I don’t see it happening. I’m definitely not opposed to the idea of an NHL team in our area I just don’t think our market is big enough and I don’t see a billionaire that could fund it for us. Plus a new arena would be unnecessary when we have the CHI
One of them BETTER BE IN CANADA!!
relax if Atlanta gets it wait 10 years then canada will get it
Only way that’s happening is if bettman dies and honestly I can’t wait!
if they go up to 36 then I believe Quebec city gets one. And then in 10 years Canada gets another if Atlanta fails again.
I would LOVE for my city of Cincinnati to get a team, we need to upgrade heritage bank center or get a new arena first though most def!
Hartford and Quebec need teams
They shouldn't have lost the ones they had in the first place, shame on them
@@michaelleroy9281 So then double shame on Atlanta then!
no Hartford too small of A market already failed there
5:30 We need NBA, WNBA, and NHL teams for Cleveland and Cincinnati
That's what Columbus is for.
Distance from downtown Cincinnati to downtown Columbus. 105 miles (1 hour, 30 minutes)
Distance from downtown Cincinnati to downtown Detroit. 255 miles (3 hours, 38 minutes)
Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Columbus. 140 miles (2 hours)
Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Pittsburgh. 127 miles (1 hour, 47 minutes)
Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Buffalo. 184 miles (2 hours, 35 minutes)
Distance from downtown Cleveland to downtown Detroit. 164 miles (2 hours, 17 minutes)
Cincinnati is really close to Columbus.
From the edge of the suburbs (northeast for Cincinnati, southwest for Columbus), it is even closer: 68 miles (South Lebanon to Pleasant Corner/Grove City)
Similarly the distance between the Cleveland/Akron/Canton area is very close to the Beaver Valley area northwest of Pittsburgh, which for all intensive purposes are the far northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. Only around 70 miles from Akron to Beaver Falls. Even closer to Beaver Falls from Canton, Ohio.
The issue with both Cleveland and Cincinnati is that they are mid-sized metropolitan areas. Even Charlotte and Orlando are larger than them. With Columbus being in the middle of the state, both of them can be considered the same territory. Cleveland especially is surrounded by NHL cities. There are other regions of the country where teams are far more spread out who need a team.
Cincinnati would be a great NBA venue
@@dreamcage1801 I do agree with that. If not Cincinnati, Louisville.
@@willp.8120 those two would be great divisional rivals including Cleveland
Even a WNBA venue
I don't see the point in going back to Atlanta a 3rd time and you won't go back to Quebec City.
Part of me would love to see an NHL team in Milwaukee, but I have my doubts whether it is a big enough market to support an NBA and NHL team at the same time. The same could be said of Salt Lake City.
NBA is falling off and BOTH those cities could support them and would.
The rivalry with Minnesota in Chicago would make Milwaukee a definitely better market
The Omaha team would likely play at the chi health center downtown. It has a capacity for hockey of 17,100 and was built in 2003
Quebec City would be a better choice for the NHL and maybe Hartford as well.
Omaha has a 17,500 seat arena downtown where Creighton plays basketball, think it was built in 2003ish. I’d imagine the NHL team would play there instead of at UNO’s stadium.
ATLANTA lets Gooooooo!!!!! ATL!!!!!!!! Im ready. We will show that we can support a team. It just needs to be run correctly.
I'm ready.
Are you going to Thrashers night with the Gladiators?
Cincinnati has a great downtown on the river, it would be a good market
Put a NBA team there and named them the beavers 🦫 or lions 🦁
@@dreamcage1801if its nba name them the royals
@@dreamcage1801lions is basically FC Cincinnati
@@owenherndon3794 oh I forgot. How about the royals?
If Omaha gets one, I will literally buy all there merch (I'm from Lincoln, next to Omaha)
One thing to consider for Salt Lake City is local attitudes regarding sporting events on Sunday. They don't schedule the Jazz to play home games on Sundays during the regular season.
The Braves play in Cobb County, not Cumberland.
The Blue Jackets would likely object to another NHL team in Cincinnati; the Blue Jackets and Penguins would likely object to Cleveland.
I think San Jose should be on the list too. That way they can finally have a "professional" team there.
It would be interesting to see if the NHL looks back to Canada again for expansion. It is still hard for those teams to make a profit for a number of reasons but with the new labor agreement it seems they have solved some of the issues. Anchorage could be really interesting. Hard travel for sure but a state with no other pro sports and an indoor winter culture I think it could work. Problem with teams in Florida in general is there is too many outdoor activities all year around.
You do realize it’s Toronto, & Montreal that generate the most revenue for the NHL 🙄
Canada will not get an expansion team.
Canada will likely get another one day, probably inherited failed US franchises again, but they will likely be located somewhere that they will split advertising revenue with Toronto or Montreal. It would be the case with Hamilton or Quebec City at least anyway.
I think Atlanta would be a waste of time, they'd fold after a couple of years, Quebec City would be a flourishing stable market
And you base this on what? Let's look at reality, shall we.
Atlanta:
6.4 million metropolitan area population
6th largest metropolitan area in USA by population.
6th largest media market.
8th largest GDP
Huge media hub with CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, TCM, Boomerang, The Weather Channel, and the "New Hollywood" catching up with LA in movie production.
Great attendance in sports/sports history.
1st(of 30 teams) in MLS attendance. (United)
5th (of 30 teams) in MLB attendance. (Braves)
15th (of 32 teams) in NFL attendance (Falcons)
Over 99% filled capacity in NBA attendance (Hawks)
Hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games
Annual host of the SEC football Championship game.
What does Quebec have?
875,000 metropolitan area population.
If it were in the USA, it'd place as the 66th largest metropolitan area, comparable to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Quebec City is not a media hub, and has relatively little corporate presence compared to Atlanta.
The NHL is in the business of making money, and there isn't much money to be made in Quebec City, given its small media market.
That you claim that a new Atlanta team would fold, when the others that left had nothing to do with attendance, speaks volumes.
The Atlanta Flames had 8 seasons.
In those eight seasons, they outmatched in attendance:
-Higher attendance than the Pittsburgh Penguins 6 times.
-Higher attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks 6 times.
-Higher attendance than the Los Angeles Kings 4 times.
-Higher attendance than the Detroit Redwings 4 times.
The Atlanta Thrashers had 11 seasons.
In those eleven seasons, they outmatched in attendance
-Higher than the New York Islanders 8 times.
-Higher than the Nashville Predators 6 times.
-Higher than the Phoenix Coyotes 8 times.
-Higher than the Chicago Blackhawks 5 times.
-Higher than the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 times.
-Higher than the Washington Capitals 5 times.
-Higher than the New Jersey Devils 5 times.
They also bested the Boston Bruins like 3 times.
Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum has a stigma from what happened in the 70s (The Who concert deaths in 1979 and the literal file cabinet full of building security issues from 1975 up until the 1979 Who concert). Cincinnati Cyclones drew great when they played in Cincinnati Gardens 1990-1996.
Wouldn't Portland, Kansas City, Quebec City, and Hamilton make more sense than these?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cleveland, Ohio instead of Cincinnati
fun fact:
Omaha is smaller than Winnipeg
Omaha is also smaller than Quebec city
So what is going on here? I HONESTLY think Bettman is trolling Canadians. I think he is 71 and has been in charge since 1993 and needs to go away FOREVER
A team would thrive in Hamilton but the Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres would never allow that encroachment on their markets.
@@eriklakeland3857 I mean...two teams in New York one in Newark, two teams in LA.....
They are talking about expanding into Texas - Dallas Stars territory and Missouri - St. Louis Blues territory.
Give your head a shake...why would territorial rights only apply to Toronto/buffalo...but not New Jersey, NYR, NYI, Dallas, Los Angeles, Anaheim, or St. Louis.
Maybe those territorial rights are not set in stone? Otherwise wouldn't expansion be....impossible?
Kansas City would be nice but i’m doubtful.
Portland, Quebec City and Hamilton are considered to small of a markets.
State Farm Arena can't host hockey anymore due to the renovations done after the Thrashers moved, a new team would either have to play in the Gwinnett Arena as a temporary home or wait until the Forsyth arena is built before entering the league.
It just goes to prove Bettman is only looking at the USA and not Canadian cities such as Quebec, Halifax, Hamilton.
Not to mention eyeballing cities that hockey doesn't belong. Too many sun belt teams as it is.
The problem with adding Canadian teams is Canada. Ridiculous rules/regulations and taxes. Socialism should not be enhanced/rewarded
There is no good reason to another team in Canada
@@jamiehomewood7733you mean beside the fact that Canada has the most passionate hockey fans?
That's the point. Whether there is a team there or not, the fans will stay passionate. Putting a team in a new market and creating new fans is a good reason. Putting a team in an old market with no growth... is bad @@NolzySZN
Hartford or New Haven absolutely deserve a team
Adding more NHL teams to the south is not a bad idea, even if they have little or no winter, and they are: Houston and San Diego as of couple of expansion teams. Recently, team of the south and southwest did won the Stanley Cup, such as Tampa Bay Lightning did it in 2021, Las Vegas did it in 2023, and now, Florida Panthers might win the Stanley Cup for 2024, and they are the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference of the NHL. Jacksonville Florida is another city that is also seeking for the NHL team in the future, since Florida is the fastest growing state between 2020 and 2030.
It wasn't too long ago that the NHL moved Detroit and Columbus from the Western Conference to the Eastern. It wouldn't be a stretch to move Nashville to the east as well to make room for more western cities.
It will not happen.
It very well could and depending on how many teams then Nashville and then Chicago/St. Louis become teams possibly moving...
The alignment placed the demarcation between the Eastern and Western conferences on the time zone boundary.
@@RobWood-ik4pz true. It will depend if the money follows that logic on which cities are awarded a franchise.
Houston, SLC, Atlanta and Quebec
My picks for an NHL expansion city would be:
- Oklahoma City
- Houston
- San Antonio
- Cincinnati
- Baltimore
- Cleveland
- Milwaukee
- Kansas City
- Salt Lake City
- Indianapolis
Portland, Oregon would have made more sense than Omaha to be honest. Portland already has a large multipurpose arena that did host hockey games, bigger population, and bigger markets. If Portland wants an MLB team, might as well get an NHL team instead of having to build a new stadium.
1996 NCAA frozen four in Cinnci... you know the one where the freon line broke so the ice was melting during the UVM vs Colorado College semifinal.. yeah the heritage bank center is a great place for hockey... (put an ahl team in Cinnci and put its NHL team in Louisville)
The echl's Cyclones have played there for years. Definitely not a problem with the arena?
Quebec City or Hamilton deserve a team long before these places
Omaha would present some problems. Baxter Arena is a college barn. So it could be a potential Mullett Arena situation for any new team. the USHL team plays and has played in the Omaha suburbs at the MAC in Council Bluffs, IA and the Ralston Arena. There is a 17,000 seat arena in the downtown, the CHI Health Center Omaha. The issue there is that it 20 years old and will probably need a reno.
San Diego should be considered for a NHL team since the Chargers jetted
Cali has enough teams... I played in the SD Sports Arena once tho where the Gulls play, that's my claim to fame
San Diego is way better than Freaking Omaha or Cincinnati the people here in San Diego loves their hockey and also support Big Time The AHL Gulls and there's the new Midway Rising Arena planned to replace the ol sports arena.
They need to move the Ducks from Anaheim to San Diego.
@@jeffadventures1 big money big business
Forget hockey, bring back the Chargers
Omaha would LOVE a pro hockey team this city is desperate for a pro team. Look how well we show out for the Huskers, or Creighton volleyball/mbb
Omaha has a professional volleyball team already. The omaha supernovas. Which is already setting attendance records. 11,900 at the last home game, which is a pro volleyball record.
Bring back the Houston Aeros in the NHL this time, and honour Gordie Howe's memory from his playing time in Houston. Would be great.
My church has a feminine event named The Gathering. It's where women do many things on Saturday morning to replace Bible study. The Bible study group for women hasn't been at my church since the pandemic.
Western Conference: Houston & Salt Lake // Eastern Conference: Atlanta & Quebec City
It would be criminal if Quebec City didn't get first dibs.
The NHL will expand to the market that has both the most solvent ownership group as well as the strongest support from the Business community. It has nothing to do with fan support.
That new NHL arena for Atlanta just got approved if im not mistaken. And apparently was only going to pass if they were going to get an NHL team
It did. Construction begins in September. Land has been cleared and grading has begun.
The arena has been approved, but it may not get built unless Atlanta is awarded the team. It seems that we'll know something this summer. I think it's all a go.
The NHL team was not a requirement but they are making a strong push for it
If not it will be a concert venue and event center
Great, so it can fail there for a 3rd time
Bring back the Cincinnati Stingers.🐝
Quebec city is getting a team. Confirmed
it will just take 10 years and they will have some Atlanta name that will be thrown away
@@Josh-ut4wv 🤡🤡
They might not throw away the name. Calgary kept the name.
@@Josh-ut4wv
Do you people not understand that hockey works in Atlanta and that Atlanta was unfortunate to have two unfortunately bad ownership circumstances, especially the Thrashers?
Some of these cities you support over Atlanta are literally a tenth the size and developmentally are like one twentieth the size.
Atlanta is the fourth largest developed landmass in square miles on Earth. Only New York, Boston-Providence, and Tokyo are larger. In this manner, Atlanta is larger than Los Angeles developed area and Chicago.
Atlanta is literally one of the best sports markets.
@willp.8120 yeah one of the "best sports markets" the fans got screwed over by bad ownership twice but maybe they should wait in line and let other cities get a chance at it. Quebec city has been waiting for a team for some time. Houston has shown they can support a team multiple times but got screwed over multiple times one of them was the NHL itself. Giving a hockey team to Atlanta is like bringing a NFL team into LA give it enough time and they leave.
Columbus can't be happy with the idea of another team 90 minutes away from their home. Even if they do not draw many people from Cincinnati, they would be fighting for some of the same fans, such as those living in the Dayton area.
Columbus being happy or unhappy doesn't matter. The question is why put another team in Ohio when there are new areas to open up or much larger cities than Cincinnati like Houston or Atlanta.
Quebec City, Hamilton, Saskatoon, 2nd Toronto team, 2nd Montreal team, Houston and Hartford.
First Ontario centre in Hamilton is getting renovated, that could be a good location.
Pacific - Vancouver, Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas
Mountain - Calgary, Edmonton, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Winnipeg
Central - Dallas, Omaha, Saint Louis, Houston, Minnesota, Chicago
Metropolitan - NY Islanders, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus
Southeast - Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Carolina, Washington, Nashville
Atlantic - Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit, Boston
that means only two teams from each division guaranteed the playoffs. Bad idea
Forgot Quebec city
@@sst6601 2 teams and 2 wildcards... playoff race will be intense!
it is 4 wild cards. Dont think teams would be happy about only two guaranteed spots especially in the Eastern divisions where lots of storied franchises will be left out@@jeffadventures1
Atlantic division would have one team that is located on the coast of Atlantic ocean ( or area close to it). Why even call it Atlantic ?
After I think about it Omaha would be great. There’s nothing to do in Nebraska and Lincoln and Omaha have the population to support an nhl team.
Salt Lake City's Delta Center which currently houses the Jazz could do double duty and house a hockey team. An example they can look at is the Garden in Boston which houses the Celtics and Bruins
NHL does not need expansion teams. 4 Divisions on 8 is plenty. 32 is perfect for now. However if they were to expand say in 2042 on 125th Anniversary of its founding. I would pick, Houston, KC, Milwaukee, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Quebec City and Hartford as my 8 expansion teams for 8 groups of 5 teams. Omaha, SLC, Cincinnati and Peel region(Toronto) are close
Kansas City would be an excellent choice for a relocation/expansion team for the NHL!!! Kansas City vs St Louis rivalry will be epic!!! Plus the T Mobile Center basically an arena just sitting there for over 15 years now waiting for an NHL team to use that facility!!!
Will they be the Scouts again?
Hartford needs a team! There are actual hockey fans in Hartford. Its in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard metroplex from Boston to New Jersey. Kids play hockey in Hartford. Quinnipiac University is a top college hockey team and won the NCAA championship. Its a hockey hotbed. NHL should go where the hockey fans are.
I wish the NHL stayed small then the Whalers could still be around
Hartford-New Haven is the largest metro area without a pro sports team, larger than some others that have one. People actually care about and play Hockey here@@Just-Jack18
GO WHALE
And I was leaning with Cleveland for the NHL since Rocket Morgage Fieldhouse is NHL ready and add the Monsters as the 1st AHL to NHL team to expand
An Omaha franchise wouldn't play at Baxter where UNO plays.. there's an 18,000 seat arena in downtown.. although story is breaking of a dedicated arena proposed between Lincoln and Omaha.
4:16 the Braves are in Cobb County, not "Cumberland County"
Isn’t Cumberland county in Tennessee?
Yes, Cobb County, in the Cumberland district. Cumberland is not a county or a city. Truist Park has an Atlanta postal address, as its mail is out of an Atlanta post office, and it sits only like two miles from the city limits. The area Truist Park is in, the Cumberland district, all have an Atlanta postal zip code.
@@Falconforge89
There's a Cumberland County, Tennessee.
There's also one in North Carolina, Maryland, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
Baxter arena for NHL in Omaha is way too small. CHI Center can fit upwards of 18000 for basketball. It used to be the home for Omaha Maverick hockey team but it was too big for the fan base.
Don't forget the knights time here.
UNO Hockey used to play there until 2015 and did decent there, so it can definitely host a successful hockey team.
Where does the indoor football Beef play?
Omaha probably would use the arena downtown opposed to Baxter which is UNO’s, but who knows for sure
Cincinnati seems too close to the Columbus market to be a likely choice but I would love it as that's where I have lived my whole life.
That would give Columbus a geographic rival.
@@RobotShlomo Hell is Real (FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew) has become quite the rivalry in Major League Soccer.
FC Cincinnati...yawn.
Wouldn't it be great to see the return of the Cincinnati Stingers?
Cincinnati doesn't need another pro team. They don't even support the Bengals and the Reds unless they're winning. And once the honeymoon phase with FC Cincinnati wears off and THEY start losing, fans will quit going to those games as well.
I very highly doubt anyone there is going to support an expansion hockey team that will more than likely be lousy most of its first decade of existence while it builds up its roster.
Overlooked ideas:
New Orleans, Louisiana
Memphis, Tennessee
San Diego, California
note: Quebec City can have a team again ONLY if they accept the terms. The terms are simple: one, Youppi stays in Montreal. Two, no Nordiques. The name stays dead. The name of the temple will be the Lions largely because it is the same damn word in English as it is in French and thus hissy fits on either side can be avoided.
Atlanta - no arena
Houston - Toyota center needs renovations
Omaha - no arena
Cincinnati - no arena
Salt Lake City - Delta center needs renovations
LMFAOOOOOOOO Was this list made by my little brother?
This list was made by somebody who does not watch NHL hockey. 100%
It would be like suggesting Edmonton as the next NFL team...anybody who watches football would just be in shock...what a dumb sugggestion
edit:
omaha does have an arena...OMAHA IS SMALLER THAN QUEBEC CITY
Omaha has a 17k seat arena
@@samelmudir that is true
if the NHL expanded to 36 teams....I still wouldn't choose Nebraska....
that's one of the worst locations I have EVER heard EVER
I would prefer Atlanta, and I HATE ATLANTA as an NHL market.
What's worse than Omaha? Cincinnati....these are REALLY BAD options.
Like Milwaukee has FISERV FORUM, more people than Omaha, one of the most popular teams in the NCAA, and it Madison Wisconsin is right next door...
Atlanta has State Farm Arena though the former Thrashers (current Winnipeg Jets) played there.
@@Cerby1979 No State Farm Arena cannot host hockey.
It des not have refrigerator systems anymore. It converted to basketball exclusively.
@@sampicano Portland larger than all of them by quite a bit except Atlanta and Houston and it regularly for important games has 17,000+ fans for a JUNIOR LEAGUE hockey game, they would be hanging from the rafters for NHL. This list is terrible.
Nashville and a few other really eastern western conference teams could easily be shifted to the eastern conference if they add more to the western side of the western conference (SLC, Houston, KC)
Didn't Hartford petition to have a new NHL franchise since they lost the Whalers to Carolina and became the Hurricanes? I know Quebec City is demanding a franchise.
Omaha over Milwaukee is an interesting choice...
omaha is smaller than quebec city and winnipeg...
@@sampicano uh....not even close. The Omaha metro is now at 1.1 million.
@@briansmith2125 you are including the combined statistical areas - like oak bluffs and fremont in those numbers
I could also include Levis Queebc in my overall numbers.
According to the US Census in 2020 Omaha-Fremont, NE-IA Combined Statistical Areas (967,604 ) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS
According to the 2021 Canadian census Quebec City's Combined Statistical Area is (1,191,262) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS
so again OMAHA is smaller than Winnipeg AND smaller than Quebec City
Omaha CSA - 967,604
Quebec City CSA - 1,191,262
Don't take my word for it, the census exists and lists population data (census.gov and statscan)
@@briansmith2125 you are including the combined statistical areas - like oak bluffs and fremont in those numbers
I could also include Levis Queebc in my overall numbers.
According to the US Census in 2020 Omaha-Fremont, NE-IA Combined Statistical Areas (967,604 ) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS
According to the 2021 Canadian census Quebec City's Combined Statistical Area is (1,191,262) ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS
so again OMAHA is smaller than Winnipeg AND smaller than Quebec City
Omaha CSA - 967,604
Quebec City CSA - 1,191,262
Don't take my word for it, the census exists and lists population data.
@@sampicano ...and those are the radii in ANY city where the NHL resides. The fan base is not located within only 20 miles of any arena.
Area: 4,407 mi²
Population: 1.058 million (2019)
State(s): Nebraska; Iowa
Other cities: Council Bluffs; Bellevue; Papillion; La Vista
Largest city: Omaha
Population rank: 58th-largest
That number has climbed to over 1.1 million in 2023. These were the numbers presented to the NHL committee.
Omaha would be a prime spot for the nhl trust me
Corn country, not!
@@richardrogers7479you’ve probably never been to Nebraska
@richardrogers7479 corn country is a problem but beach front rinks are fine? I'm confused.
Yes Cleveland has a AHL team but they should also possibly get a NHL Team.
Why not the Monsters become the very 1st AHL team to move to the NHL since the Q is NHL ready
But Cleveland is so close to four other teams: Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit.
@@willp.8120 start the Ohio rivalry just
They already got too many pro teams out there they needa focus on cleaning up that shit hole of a city before they worry bout more pro sports just being honest
Shit I'd just make Columbus swap cities with its AHL affiliate in Cleveland and call it a day
Quebec City Needs & Deserves a team !
Milwaukee a cold city should have a team .
And maybe Utah due to there new arena build .
The Atlanta Braves play in Cobb County, Mr depressed. Cumberland is the unincorporated "town" where the Battery is located.
Omaha’s not a good option. Nebraskans would support the team but there’s only 1.6 to 1.8 million people in Nebraska. Even if you combine Iowa it’s still not enough. Honestly a MLB team would do better, but it’s in Royals territory so that will never happen.
Nebraska would support an nhl team better than an mlb team. Too many games, not to mention the cws is already in Nebraska every year so people get sick of baseball. An nba or nhl team would make a lot more sense.
Before the Omaha Mavericks played in their current arena, they did play in the CHI Healt Center (about 17-18,000 capacity) that could also serve as a good arena. Hope NHL comes to Omaha we love this sport! 🏒🏒🏒
It be nice of Portland got a team.
Portland Oregon My Hometown Should of Had a NHL Team a Long Time ago . Moda Center was Built 29 Years ago.
😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨
Why wouldnt we need a green roof? Hell put a mini forest up there.
How about Sacramento, the Golden 1 Center would housed a NHL team and it has a beam
San Diego and midway rising
Atlanta can get a team, but getting the people to come to the games is a different story.
They can get em to the games, but how cheap do the seats have to be?
Do you honestly think that was an issue?
The Atlanta teams outdrew the Chicago Blackhawks 12 of 19 seasons. That means that Chicago only beat Atlanta in attendance 7 years out of 19 seasons.
Where did you hear this?
Like...Cleveland is a FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR BETTER hockey market than Cincinnati.
This is a bad video.
The best NHL markets are:
- Portland, Oregon
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Houston, Texas,
- Quebec City
And on a second Tier:
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Cleveland, Ohio
- San Diego, California
They ALL HAVE ARENAS.
Your choices are EXTRAORDINARILY BAD.
I dont think any Canadian markets are getting one, except maybe Hamilton, just due to the Canadian dollar being weaker it puts those franchises at an instant disadvantage and Quebec city is far too small a market.
@@br8745 Atlanta had 5.5 million people
Lost 130 million - valued at $135 million in 2010
Then moved to Winnipeg - 731,000 in 2011...and instantly generated value (went from $135 to $164 million in ONE YEAR) then went to $200 million by 2012.
Winnipeg soldout EVERY home game from 2011 to 2020 (until covid 19) 41 games a year, for 10 years straight...something Atlanta could never do.
So if you had to choose 839,000 in Quebec City or 4.8 million in Arizona it is a no brainer.
@@br8745 Bro...HE JUST SAID OMAHA NEBRASKA!
Omaha, Nebraska 819,508 people
Quebec City, Quebec 839,311 people
Omaha = 819,508
Quebec City = 839,311
So, Omaha is smaller than Quebec City.
Quebec City is LARGER than Winnipeg (834,678 )
@@sampicanoyour numbers are old. Omaha metro has well over 1 million now.
These aren’t his Gary Bettman literally said this at the all star press conference last week
29th largest TV market and the largest one without NFL(IIRC). They likely get both MLB and NHL and football remains the realm of Utah and BYU.
Relocating the Yotes would be the first priority. Likely to Utah.
Omaha resident here and no way the NHL will come here. First Baxter arena, referenced in the video, is a college stadium. Why would you want to have a team play in a college stadium like the Coyotes? The scheduling would not work as this is also the location for the Mav's winter sporting areas. If they have to go into town the Chi arena, where current Creighton Bluejays men's basketball plays, is a better option. This is where UNO Mavs played before they built their own stadium. Also have people forgot what happened with the AHL Aksarben Knights here? they didn't even last 5 years. All three levels USHL, NCAA and AHL had games on the same night, and executives with the AHL commented on how empty it was. There just isn't the population to go around for three hockey leagues in this town. Will not happen. not that big of an interest to hold a team here. No idea where that letter came from. Just another talking point for the media.
The NHL is going to be a bigger draw then AHL. An NHL team is likley to draw fans to games from Lincoln regularily. The population has expanded quite a bit since the Askarben knights.
Also lessons learned, can help eliminate scheduling conflicts.
The letter itself came direct from the NHL commisioner about cities they are interested in.
You cannot compare an AHL team to the NHL.
At least on Sportsnet today he said quebec city but still this gives me back pain
Not Atlanta. They don't deserve a third crack at this. They already failed twice.
Please educate yourself with what actually happened.
The Flames left because the owner, named Tom Cousins, who owned Cousins Properties, a local commercial real estate company, began having financial problems in the late 1970s (after the Flames had been around about five seasons) when the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates. When this happened, other companies who wanted to build things were being denied loans, given the effects of higher interest rates. Cousins Properties could not acquire enough contracts, and thus not enough capital to keep it afloat. Tom Cousins wasn't a deep pocketed owner, and his company's stability was predicated on continuous building. So, in order to save the company, Cousins decided to sell his only asset that could provide him enough cash to prevent his company's insolvency. He sold the Flames. Since he needed a lot of money to save his development business, he sold the Flames to the highest bidder, just which happened to be an interested owner whose intention was to take the team to Calgary. Ted Turner wanted to buy them team, but because he owned two other teams, the Hawks and Braves, the NHL would not allow him to buy the team. There were other interested buyers, but because they did not offer as much, none of them were chosen for sale.
The Thrashers' story is a bit more complicated. In 1997, Atlanta was awarded a franchise. The owner was Ted Turner, under Turner Sports. At the time, he had recently sold the Braves, thus allowing him to own an NHL team (because he could only own two teams). However, Turner sold the team, along with his other sports assets, the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena in earlier 1999, even before the Thrashers played their first game. He sold them to Time Warner. About a year after the sale, Time Warner merged with AOL (America Online), the largest internet service in America at the time. I don't know how old you are, but they offered dial-up Internet. Here is the issue with that. It wasn't but about two years into the sale that AOL-Time Warner were losing money because people were dropping dial-up Internet rapidly for cable Internet. AOL did not transition quick enough to outcompete competitors, such as Comcast. As a result, AOL-Time Warner became shaky as a company. In order to secure some capital to make them more profitable, as well as to mitigate losses, the company decided to sell its sports teams. Another reason they did so was because with the company's fledgling status, it threatened the stability of both the Thrashers and the Hawks at the time and their long time success. If they had sold them to about any other buyer, the Thrashers would still be in Atlanta. However, they sold them to a group who was only interested in the Atlanta Hawks. The reluctantly bought the Thrashers only because it was the only way for them to get what they wanted, the Atlanta Hawks. From the start, this ownership group, known as Atlanta Spirit Group, a group of businessmen from different cities around the country, wanted to get rid of the Thrashers. In fact, they were ready to sell the moment they acquired the team. What prevented them from doing so is that there were two owners within the group who did want the Thrashers. Mind you, these two owners represented only about a fifth of the owners, as there were at least ten of them. Atlanta Spirit Group, despite the two owners' objections were about to put the team up for sale, but the sale did not happen because the owners who wanted the Thrashers filed a lawsuit against the other owners. For the next six or seven years, the owners were suing one another. The lawsuits cost the ownership group a huge amount of money, making them unprofitable. What's more, they mismanaged their money and handed out huge, unheard of contracts for certain players on the Hawks. This made them even more unstable as an ownership group and made them lose more money. This resulted in the Thrashers selling off most of their good to decent players, and when the ownership group made it known that they did not care about the team, many of the fans lost interest. Even with all this going on, the Thrashers never finished last in attendance. Speculations regarding the owners selling the team crescendoed after the courts decreed that that the owners could sell the team. As a result, attendance plummeted in the second half of the last season, as people figured that they were trying to move the team out of Atlanta, and many realized that the owners did not care about the team. During Atlanta Spirit's tenure of owning the Thrashers, they hardly even marketed the team. You could hardly find a billboard advertising for them around the metro area, but you sure saw plenty of Atlanta Hawks billboards, hundreds in fact. This is because Atlanta Spirit wanted to tank the team by lowering the maximum amount of fans who attended games to justify a reason to sell them when they would be allowed to sell the team.
Atlanta Spirit did not take seriously any sales to interested parties who would keep the team in Atlanta. Tom Glavine wanted to own the team, but they denied him. There were other groups who came forward, but when they saw the stipulations on the sale, they balked. You see, Atlanta Spirit Group never intended to keep the team here in Atlanta. They even wanted the team out of their arena. One of the owners was later even outspoken and upset that during the Thrashers stay they outsold the Hawks most seasons and that the Thrashers tended to attract a lot of white suburbanites that the Hawks had trouble attracting. Stipulations for the sale were that the new owner could not receive any revenue on concessions or parking, and they had to pay an exorbitant arena use fee to Atlanta Spirit Group. These stipulations were so outrageous that no owner who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta, at Philips Arena, the only Atlanta arena the NHL at the time said was big enough for the team to play in. Thus, in essence, Atlanta Spirit Group forced the team out with nowhere to play. Their stipulations for sale made it where no one would risk such a situation, as that would bankrupt any team. And since the NHL said they could play nowhere else, Atlanta was left with a situation whereby if the team stayed, they'd have to play in Philips Arena and the owner would take huge losses by these sale stipulations. As a result, no one bought the team, and since True North Sports had just been denied the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes, the former Winnipeg Jets, given Glendale agreeing to fund the Coyotes, they then looked to Atlanta and took advantage of the situation, a situation not brought on by the fans but a crooked ownership group.
Had nothing to do with fan support.
Neither of those teams left on account of fan support.
In 8 seasons in Atlanta, the Atlanta Flames:
-Outsold the Pittsburgh Penguins 6 times.
-Outsold the Detroit Red Wings 4 times.
-Outsold the Los Angeles Kings 4 times.
-Outsold the Chicago Blackhawks 6 times.
In 11 seasons in Atlanta, the Atlanta Thrashers:
-Outsold the Chicago Blackhawks 5 times.
-Outsold the Phoenix Coyotes 8 times.
-Outsold the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 times.
-Outsold the Washington Capitals 5 times.
-Outsold the Nashville Predators 6 times.
-Outsold the New York Islanders 8 times.
-Outsold the New Jersey Devils 5 times.
Both teams left on account of ownership issues.
@@willp.8120 no one is saying it was lack of fan support. It is just if you are from another city and you want an professional team (NHL/NBA/NFL/MLB) and you hope your city gets a chance but then you hear that the league is intrested in doing a location they have tried multiple times to work before (NFL: LA/ MLB: DC (also kinda Florida teams fall under that)/ NHL: Atlanta). It just gets annoying to those people and many feel that they should get in the back of the line and allow other cities a chance before they are considered again.
@@Josh-ut4wv You must understand that the league is in the business of making money. They want large markets.
Salt Lake City, Quebec City, Kansas City, etc. are small markets. They cannot earn as much television revenue. Atlanta is the sixth largest metro in the country these days. It has leap-frogged Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. in metro area population just in the past three years.
Atlanta is also the fourth largest expanse of developed land in the world.
Atlanta also has great support with its other teams. You shouldn't hold a city accountable for unfortunate circumstances. There's a lot of people in Georgia who want the NHL to come back to the Atlanta area. A lot. I'll go out on a limb and say that bringing the NHL to the northern suburbs of Atlanta will be a smashing success and they'll be in the top 5 in attendance, no doubt in my mind.
@@willp.8120 yes i understand that part but guess what there is a city that hasnt had a go with more people and there is a good chance it would work. That is Houston honestly if it wasnt for some of the NHL bull Houston would have still have the former WHA Houston Aeros as in the original merger the plan was to have the Aeros. But looking at the two Houston has never had a proper shot since then sure there was an AHL Aeros for a time but due to their ownership and the rockets ownership not getting alone they eventually left. Meanwhile Atlanta gets two NHL teams sure they lost them due to reasons out of their control but getting a third chance possibly over Houston again. By your reasoning Houston should be given a chance.
Atlanta 3rd NHL Team ??
Head Coach: Patrick Kane
Team Captain: Connor Bedard
Kane? Nah, let's get Kovalchuk in here, or Hossa.
I really hope Atlanta gets a NHL team back into their city. The third time could be the charm if that happens. Also, Atlanta needs a new NHL team: they already lost the Thrashers and the Flames! How about going for the ATLANTA REDHAWKS
Just how many more chances do you give a city simply because of its size? It's getting bloody ridiculous!
It's coming back. It's going to be great.
If somehow Omaha gets picked for the next expansion team, my team name for Omaha, if it gets picked, which is highly unlikely….. the tomahawks the reason I’d say to tomahawks is because Of Omaha tribe that was in Omaha before Omaha was the city, also fun fact that tomahawks has Omaha in the name now the downside about that is there’s Chicago Blackhawks a original 6 team but I mean the MLB used to have two tribe names like the Cleveland Indians Atlanta Braves so I mean it’s possible
Atlanta doesn't deserve another try. NHL just keeps trying to break into markets that clearly have rejected the product over and over again. Give it up.
Why do you think Atlanta lost its previous two teams? It had nothing to do with a fan base or lack thereof.
All of your arguments against Atlanta are absurd, and the same for anyone else speaking out against Atlanta.
@@willp.8120 The only thing that is absurd is your redundant excuses as to why your city should get yet another chance to screw up in the NHL. The hockey world does NOT revolve SIX INCHES AROUND YOU!!
@@FischerFan
Funny, if you watch the video I have provided you, "Atlanta Thrashers, 2006-2007 home goals", you will see that the arena is packed with people. You can believe what you want, but that is how it was, as I went to many games.
The thing I always find funny is how everyone looks at attendance numbers. Try and get a ticket in a Canadian market, and you might have to take a loan out. How low do tickets have to be to get people in seats in some of these struggling American markets? You can fill the house in some of these arenas for the same price as the front row in Toronto. Oilers fans were flying to Anaheim to see there team play in the playoffs a couple years back, because it was so much easier to get seats down there. They could create a market anywhere in Canada, charge twice as much to come in the door, and sell out without even trying, yet we want more American teams, not because of ticket sales, but marketing shares in advertising. I’m not putting a ton of faith in the NHL making too many more successful franchises. Sure it can happen, but I think they should hold for a while.
in my opinion the growth of us soccer is gonna expose so many cities in the country to see who can host a pro sports team nfl, nba, nhl, nll, pll, mlb, mlr, are all paying very close attention
More teams would mean less games between teams, for example instead of the Islanders playing the Rangers 4 times a year it might be only 3
I want the Whale and Quebec back!
How can a winter sports hub like SLC not have an NHL franchise?
The fact that Quebec keeps getting ignored when they have had an NHL sized building ready for at least a decade is still insane to me. Yes, I'm very well aware that the Canadian dollar is very weak but Quebec should still be at the top of the list.
Even Kansas City has a beautiful arena that's NHL sized too.
Atlanta can’t play in the State Farm arena. When the thrashers left, the Hawks turned the arena into a basketball only configuration stadium
A new NHL arena was just approved by public officials. It will receive public and private funding, and it has already been settled. Construction of the arena begins in September.
@@willp.8120 where in Atlanta will it be built?
@@wilderac2250 It is going to be built in Alpharetta, but just across the county line in Forsyth County. It will be right off Georgia 400.
I know it’s a big market that the NHL would like to have, but how many teams must Atlanta lose before the league realizes the good folks of Atlanta, GA just don’t dig ice hockey?
Whenever expansion is mentioned, the crazies come out. No to Quebec or Hamilton. Forget it.
That’s such a bad take
Don't dig ice hockey?
Atlanta outsold the Chicago Blackhawks 12 times in 19 seasons.
In ATL, you'd have to move the Hawks to the new arena too
No you wouldn't. Different arenas for different teams.
@willp.8120 I don't think the Hawks and the NBA will be happy about the NHL team getting that nice arena and them being stuck at the current arena
@@dannythunder3180 State Farm Arena (Once known as Philips Arena) had a complete makeover just about five years ago. There's no reason for them to leave, especially with the gulch being converted into its own "Battery" with shops and restaurants.
The reason hockey is not a good fit for downtown Atlanta is because the hockey fanbase is heavily on the northside of the city, whereas the Hawks pulls from all directions in almost equal amounts. Similar to the hockey fanbase, the Braves fan base is more heavily populated on the northside, though it does have widespread all over the metro.
Much of the Hawks fanbase wouldn't make the trek to Forsyth County. Totally different clientele and demographic. The Braves, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Gwinnett Stripers, Georgia Storm, and Atlanta Gladiators team support overlap. The Falcons to some extent, too. However, the Hawks' fanbase is heavily in the black areas of the metro, whereas the United are heavily in the intown liberal areas inside I-285.
@@dannythunder3180 Not going to be a problem as State Farm Arena was completely renovated five years ago. The Hawks are not leaving State Farm Arena, nor do they have any intention to do so. The Hawks fanbase, well the majority of it, is nowhere around the bulk of the hockey fanbase in the Atlanta area.
So much to unpack. First the Hawks arena just got a really nice renovation and the NBA likes being in the heart of Atlanta right across from Turner Sports and the NBA on TNT set. NBA fans don’t want to travel an hour north to see the Hawks
Lets go Houston,!!