NHL Expansion

[SeattleKraken 0]

On 11/20/2017 at 6:41 AM, 215BroadStBullies610 said:

I agree. Having pro sports downtown makes it easier for people to make it to the game. I don't see Houston doing any worse than most non-traditional hockey markets. I do think relocation makes more sense though.

 

On 11/20/2017 at 10:34 AM, IPv6Freely said:

I just wonder about what’d happen if the Coyotes were in Phoenix, or if the Panthers were in Miami.

The Coyotes originally started playing in what was then called America West Arena, I think it was in 1996. However the arena is one of those setups built for hoops, and it can only accommodate hockey if the portion of the stands were removed on one end, with that goofy obstructed view cavern thingadingaling. I know because I went to a game when they first arrived in town, and I was up from Tucson several weekends and thought I'd get a cheap ticket to a game....and, umm, realized why it was so cheap as I couldn't see the game on one end with the obstructed view.

Are there any current NHL arenas featuring the "cavern" at one end? That was a huge sticking point in Seattle not getting the NHL w/o a hockey-friendly facility, until we figured out how to get out of our own way and got a venue in place last month with the MOU with Oak View Group and the KeyArena upgrade that's scheduled to start later this year.

[IPv6Freely 2094]

Assuming Seattle gets an expansion team (which seems very likely at this point), the only way I see Houston getting one is relocation. 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

19 hours ago, SeattleKraken said:

 

The Coyotes originally started playing in what was then called America West Arena, I think it was in 1996. However the arena is one of those setups built for hoops, and it can only accommodate hockey if the portion of the stands were removed on one end, with that goofy obstructed view cavern thingadingaling. I know because I went to a game when they first arrived in town, and I was up from Tucson several weekends and thought I'd get a cheap ticket to a game....and, umm, realized why it was so cheap as I couldn't see the game on one end with the obstructed view.

Are there any current NHL arenas featuring the "cavern" at one end? That was a huge sticking point in Seattle not getting the NHL w/o a hockey-friendly facility, until we figured out how to get out of our own way and got a venue in place last month with the MOU with Oak View Group and the KeyArena upgrade that's scheduled to start later this year.

I think Brooklyn has something similar at the current moment. Fortunately, the Islanders got Belmont Park and should have something much more appropriate on the Island.

[Jamarquan 201]

5 hours ago, 215BroadStBullies610 said:

I think Brooklyn has something similar at the current moment. Fortunately, the Islanders got Belmont Park and should have something much more appropriate on the Island.

Can confirm, Barclays Center has about 2000 obstructed seats on one side of the arena, and the team might go back to the Coliseum while the Belmont rink is getting built.

[SeattleKraken 0]

On 1/7/2018 at 5:20 PM, Jamarquan said:

Can confirm, Barclays Center has about 2000 obstructed seats on one side of the arena, and the team might go back to the Coliseum while the Belmont rink is getting built.

This really drives home the emphasis on hockey-friendly sight lines and minimal obstructions for seating in NHL venues, which adds validation to the lengthy waiting period Seattle has been through to get the league in town (which can be traced back to the big NHL expansion wave through the 1970s). We just haven't had a hockey-friendly building in town before. It really seems like things are looking up to secure an expansion team in Seattle....it's obviously not a done deal at this juncture, but after sitting in on OGV's design charette the other night with the uptown neighborhood group, they're going about it the right way partnering with the local community and giving everyone a voice in the process. It also helps that they're redeveloping and improving a current site, opposed to breaking ground on a new arena location, so the environmental study in play right now should be a no-brainer. OGV seems to know what they're doing and have clearly been in this rodeo before. 

As I understand it, the Islanders landed in Barclays essentially in desperation due to an unexpected eviction from Nassau, although I don't know what prompted the situation....but you're saying Nassau might have them back temporarily despite the prior severing of relationship?

[Jamarquan 201]

1 hour ago, SeattleKraken said:

As I understand it, the Islanders landed in Barclays essentially in desperation due to an unexpected eviction from Nassau, although I don't know what prompted the situation....but you're saying Nassau might have them back temporarily despite the prior severing of relationship?

Disclaimer: Never been a Nassau County resident, but I live in the area, follow the Islanders, and have family who lived there for almost 50 years. If anyone on here did live in Nassau County during the relocation process, correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

The Islanders had a period in the mid 2000s where people were fairly willing to pay up to give Charles Wang and the Islanders a new arena, but a few botched proposals, the fact that the team was awful, and the rapid downturn of the economy pushed most people to the other side of the fence, not to mention that the Lighthouse Project, the original plan to replace the Coliseum, was rejected. The team's lease for the NVMC went up in 2015, so there was a vote about what to do with the team in 2012, and options included renovating the Coliseum, or building a new rink, both using (at least, in part) taxpayer dollars. Few people wanted to shell out for another project out of their own pockets, since so many proposals for all manner of things were approved in the years before the Islanders vote, and the Barclays Center was already being built, so people voted (57% to 43%) for the Islanders to pack their bags and move out of the dump that was the Nassau Coliseum.

 

The NVMC was eventually given a renovation by the same group that did the Barclays Center, and with the Islanders having a few years before the Belmont arena is ready, the team will need a place to call home. Bettman has been a huge proponent of keeping the Islanders where they are, especially during speculation about the team moving to Kansas or Quebec or wherever, and Islanders fans want their team back home for a while, especially since the team and Barclays management don't get along terribly well about the issues in the arena (management is more focused on basketball), so the temporary move back makes some sense. The glaring issue with the renovated Coliseum is that the seating capacity is only 13,000, but the Barclays Center is pretty close to that if you take out the obstructed seats, and Nassau Coliseum has excellent sightlines anyway. Nothing is set in stone yet, so we'll see.

 

 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan kicks off a campaign for NHL expansion

March 1, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. PST marks the beginning of the collection of season ticket deposits.

[IPv6Freely 2094]

Seattle Totems?

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/did-washingtons-governor-leak-the-name-of-seattles-expansion-nhl-team/

[IPv6Freely 2094]

(I also renamed the thread because we seem to be discussing all things expansion in here, not just Houston)

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

1 hour ago, IPv6Freely said:

Seattle Totems?

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/did-washingtons-governor-leak-the-name-of-seattles-expansion-nhl-team/

I saw that this morning. I know that the Native American presence is significant in hockey (Seattle Thunderbirds' logo). Not to mention that the Duwamish is one of those tribes that haven't been forced from the view of us "normal" citizens. I guess this is an attempt to provide uniformity. I can dig it. 

[IPv6Freely 2094]

Looks like it's going to happen. 

Quote

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday the league’s executive committee unanimously recommended to proceed with Seattle’s franchise bid in the form of a full Board of Governors vote on Dec. 3 with the plan to have a team in place for an October 2020 puck drop.

https://www.tsn.ca/seattle-one-vote-away-from-becoming-nhl-s-32nd-home-1.1184804 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/10/09/seattle-nhl-group-unveils-70-million-training-center-plans/

[chippa13 1844]

One of the keys to winning is the money spent off the ice.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Its official..

https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl-set-vote-seattle-expansion-2021-22-season-070525975--nhl.html

 

And some interesting sweater colorways...

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25440967/uni-watch-delivers-winning-entries-seattle-nhl-design-contest

[IPv6Freely 2094]

Some of those are brutal. But I do like this one.

[IPv6Freely 2094]

Actually, these are even better.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Pains me to say it but I do like the uniformity of Pittsburgh and their major league teams' colors. Playing off of the Seattle Seahawks' colors would be nice. And hopefully the city can get the (Super) Sonics back.

[IPv6Freely 2094]

9 hours ago, 215BroadStBullies610 said:

Pains me to say it but I do like the uniformity of Pittsburgh and their major league teams' colors. Playing off of the Seattle Seahawks' colors would be nice. And hopefully the city can get the (Super) Sonics back.

Agreed, I too like when that happens. I wish the Raptors would rebrand as the Huskies so they can go back to blue and white to join the Leafs and Jays.