freebuddy Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 With a solid ownership group and rink, Las Vegas clearly at front of expansion line By: Ken Campbell on November 11, 2014 For Bill Daly, what happened in Vegas most certainly didnt stay in Vegas, but after giving the most concrete evidence ever that the league is already down the road to either expanding or relocating a team to Sin City, the NHL commissioner poured cold water on the notion. But this is clearly more than just doing due diligence and kicking tires. In an interview with Michael Russo of the Minneapolis-Star Tribune, Daly acknowledged he was in Las Vegas on other business this past weekend, where he had a tour of the 20,000-seat rink that is being built by MGM Resorts and he met with a potential ownership group that has expressed an interest in owning a franchise. That ownership group is reportedly led by billionaire William P. Foley, who made his fortune in title insurance and owns 14 wineries on the west coast, and includes the Maloof family, which owns several hotels in Las Vegas and once owned the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. In fact, George Maloof Jr., was the one who did the deal with the NHL to bring its awards show to Las Vegas. Nobody knows exactly where the NHL is when it comes to Las Vegas as a landing spot, but its clear the league is further down the road there than it is with any other potential cities. In fact, one of my sources who has knowledge of the inner workings of the NHL board of governors said the board secretly and very quietly at its last meeting approved Foley and Maloof as owners of a Las Vegas expansion franchise that will begin play in 2017-18. But Daly said in an email to thn.com that people are getting too far ahead of themselves when it comes to assuming Las Vegas will be playing in the Western Conference anytime soon. There was virtually no discussion about Las Vegas (or expansion for that matter) at the last Board meeting, Daly wrote in his email. Far from a done deal. Still have to deal with the foundational question of whether we want to expand at all and if so how do we want to do it. And that hasnt really been broached with the BOG yet. After that, we will have to tackle whether Las Vegas is the right market, and specifically, whether we think it can support an NHL franchise long term. I think more work needs to be done on that issue as well. Clearly, though, the league is beginning to do that work. Daly told the Star-Tribune that he spoke with a number of people in the service industry in Las Vegas about whether they felt an NHL team could do well there. One of the things the league clearly has to determine is whether or not the population of the area would support hockey because it would be too risky to hedge your bets on the transient tourist population making up the fan base for 41 home dates per year. Clearly we think that for a Las Vegas market to support a professional sports franchise, you need the support of the locals, Daly told the Star-Tribune. Whats difficult on making a call on Vegas is its such a unique market. Its really hard to know. The owners are going to have to be satisfied that the prospects of putting a franchise there are good and the fundamentals are solid. Does that sound like a league that has had virtually no discussion about Las Vegas? It doesnt to me. Daly even offered comment on how, if the NHL ended up in Las Vegas, it would request Nevadas legislature to take the franchises games down in the local sports books, the way UNLV did with its college basketball team. Its really more a visceral rationale than anything else, Daly told Russo. You dont want guys in the stands with bet tickets in their hands the only reason theyre watching the game is so they can cash in on a bet afterwards. Thats not an environment you want to foster or create as a professional sports league. So is the NHL simply looking into Las Vegas as an expansion site as it would any other city that seriously expressed an interest or is it, as some have suggested, already a fait-accompli? Or is it somewhere in between? Perhaps the NHL is setting out trial balloons to see how the concept would be accepted. We do know there is an ownership led by Foley that has significantly deep pockets. That checks off one box for the NHL. We also know that an arena is being built. That checks off another box. All the league now has to do is be convinced that Las Vegas is a viable market and it looks like it is well on the way to making that determination right now. NHL players might be well advised to start preparing their livers and their wallets for road trips to Las Vegas, or at least get accustomed to playing with a guilty conscience, which some players claim is when they play best. As Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo tweeted recently: Gonna be unreal when Las Vegas goes undefeated at home every year.http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/with-a-solid-ownership-group-and-rink-las-vegas-clearly-at-front-of-expansion-line/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sikes Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toews Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Why not? Its a relatively untapped market and it might even be a big success for the NHL. Although I am not too sure if the NHL should be the first ones to open shop. I think it would have been better if a more successful league could test the waters first. All in all I won't be too opposed to this. My pride as a Canadian does dictate that if the NHL does this then they add another team in Canada, another team in Quebec would be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible.dee Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Bad idea, I'm actually there right now. no none wold it seriously, Would just be anther attraction. And not very competitive one. NJ Devils vs, NAS Preds or cirque du solie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Bad idea, I'm actually there right now. no none wold it seriously, Would just be anther attraction. And not very competitive one. NJ Devils vs, NAS Preds or cirque du solie? Were you drunk when you typed this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Mentioned in another thread. Vegas is a shift work town. So at any given time 1/3 of the city is asleep. Tourists go to Vegas for the shows, gambling, clubs. Is hockey really on peoples tourist list. The city has had lukewarm response to the Wranglers an ECHL team. Worse yet the team didn't have support to have an arena to play in, so they've suspended operations. Doesn't sound like a very viable option. Thus it must be a destination in Bettman's insane plan of putting hockey into markets that don't support it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NexusRift Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Please........No! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Posse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngould21 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 How is it that the NHL attracts these folks with all kinds of money, that think that hockey will work in deserts, sun belts, and snow bird country? Florida should be moved, period. Arizona, Glendale, Phoenix or whatever they are called today, should be moved period. Anaheim should be moved, period, they draw 3/4 capacity. Las Vegas should never be mentioned along with the word hockey, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Hell yah, I will be there every time the Canucks play there! Almost cheaper to go there than to see them in Vancouver. Expansion Las Vegas and Seattle Relocation Arizona to Hamilton and Florida to Q.C.! Viva Las Vegas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amish Rake Fighter Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Look on the bright side, if they get a team in Vegas, they'll need more Canadian teams to subsidize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson-JH Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 That's good news for me! I'll be watching many Canucks games when they come in town! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson-JH Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 How is it that the NHL attracts these folks with all kinds of money, that think that hockey will work in deserts, sun belts, and snow bird country? Florida should be moved, period. Arizona, Glendale, Phoenix or whatever they are called today, should be moved period. Anaheim should be moved, period, they draw 3/4 capacity. Las Vegas should never be mentioned along with the word hockey, period. Well Vegas is about 10-20 degrees cooler than Phoenix in the Summer and 20-30 degrees cooler in the winter we get snow surrounding the mountains and in the valley (rare moment). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theminister Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 As mentioned in all of the other threads…. it's a lock and always has been since they got approval to break ground on the stadium. What I hadn't considered at the time was that it might be the solution to the league cap crunch for the upcoming seasons, vis a vis an expansion draft. Quebecor stadium will be ready in Sept 2015 and LV will be ready 6 months after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngould21 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Well Vegas is about 10-20 degrees cooler than Phoenix in the Summer and 20-30 degrees cooler in the winter we get snow surrounding the mountains and in the valley (rare moment). We get very little snow here in Vancouver, I scraped my driveway last winter that had about an inch of the white stuff. It's called being a hockey market, not the pattern that this current commissioner has for expansion. I'll bet you the amount of money its going to take to get that franchise in Vega$ up and running, that it will depend on the Canadian franchises to keep it afloat, and several ownership changes will take place. Plus it will still lose money. People go to Vega$ for boxing, mma, truck and tractor pulls, NASCAR, rodeos, and certainly not hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Bad idea, I'm actually there right now. no none wold it seriously, Would just be anther attraction. And not very competitive one. NJ Devils vs, NAS Preds or cirque du solie? If you're there right now, why aren't you taking in the sights rather than being here? Go! Enjoy the sights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerrDrFunk Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Horrible idea all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 As far as LV as a market goes, it really is questionable to me. There are only 650,000 people in LV. If Phoenix, with 5 milliion people, has trouble keeping seats full, what is going to make LV a better market? Unless if they are a hockey crazed market like Winnipeg (who also has a similar population to LV), they WILL be relying on visitors outside of the city to fill the seats. However, it's really going to be up to the potential ownership. A lot of billionaires buy into sports teams as more of a passion than to make money. If this is the case, then LV might end up with a team no matter what. It's not necessarily a business decision then as it is a passion for the ownership. There are a lot of rich people in LV with real estate: casinos, resorts, etc. Even if this ownership backs out, it would likely be a lot easier to find new ownership to fill the gap. My prediction is this goes through: it will be a franchise that loses money in general (unless they really win games), but will have enough wealth locally to keep it going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sikes Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Why not? Its a relatively untapped market and it might even be a big success for the NHL. Although I am not too sure if the NHL should be the first ones to open shop. I think it would have been better if a more successful league could test the waters first. All in all I won't be too opposed to this. My pride as a Canadian does dictate that if the NHL does this then they add another team in Canada, another team in Quebec would be good. You could say the same for Honalulu, doens't mean its a good idea to put a hockey team there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngould21 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Do any of you folks here want the Maloofs' to play any part in the NHL?? I for one sure don't. The SacKings almost left that city because of those sleazebags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACanuck Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Horrible idea. LV has a different demographics. Even in socal we have success with our teams because we have plenty of displaced folks form hockey towns and Canada that support the teams which helps with the success. LV doesn't have that. People don't move to vegas to hang out in the cold... they go to hang out in the desert heat. I just don't see it succeeding... Seattle or Quebec deserve a team more than LV. You ever notice how many license plates are from Socal in LV? Those people sure aren't going to go to vegas to watch a game when they can do it locally... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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