Could Portland support an NHL team? (good, hockey, local)

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

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If Paul Allen wants the NHL and he feels like he can get a team to the Moda Center at a fair price, he will do it and we'll have the NHL in PDX. Until then it's NBA and MLS and that's it for major pro sports.

The NBA and NHL seasons both begin in October and end in April.

Would a NHL team siphon ticket buyers away from the Blazers? Wouldn't they be competing with each other for a finite number of sports fan dollars in Portland?

Would Paul Allen want this?

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by karlsch

The NBA and NHL seasons both begin in October and end in April.

Would a NHL team siphon ticket buyers away from the Blazers? Wouldn't they be competing with each other for a finite number of sports fan dollars in Portland?

Would Paul Allen want this?

I agree, this is definitely an issue, I like that with the NBA and MLS, there is very little overlap and it makes it easier to be fans of both teams.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Paul Allen owns the arena so yes he would like it to have 40-50 more events there per year.

[tifoso]

Seattle is surely the NHL's first choice for another team in the PNW if they can get an arena built. But that's a big if. The downtown arena proposal has significant political and perhaps legal hurdles to clear before the promoter can even break ground. The recently-unveiled competing proposal south of town may be a better option, but like all such initiatives, it too is "fragile."

So if Seattle falls by the wayside or the NHL gets impatient, Portland could well be in line to pick up the pieces. There's a nice building all ready to go. And while the competition with the Blazers for the winter sports dollar would be a concern, the catchment area is sufficient. According to hockeydb.com, the Florida Panthers drew less than 11,300 per game this past season. It's hard to to believe that Portland wouldn't do much better than that.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by tifoso

According to hockeydb.com, the Florida Panthers drew less than 11,300 per game this past season. It's hard to to believe that Portland wouldn't do much better than that.

The Panthers also report losses of $30 million a year and accumulated debt close to $300M, so they're not really a good yardstick for what you need to beat just to make it.

They're one of the teams most likely to come up for relocation whenever their lease expires or the owner wants to make a case for breaking it.

[tifoso]

Originally Posted by bler144

The Panthers also report losses of $30 million a year and accumulated debt close to $300M, so they're not really a good yardstick for what you need to beat just to make it.

They're one of the teams most likely to come up for relocation whenever their lease expires or the owner wants to make a case for breaking it.

Although the numbers I found from Forbes are a bit less dire than what you mentioned, your point is valid. The Panthers in their current location are a financial basket case. Whether they could turn that around in Portland is the question. Portland would be a small-market team in a league where six teams (Toronto, NY, Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Boston) account for 76% of the operating income for the entire league. Every one of those teams enjoys substantial TV revenue by either being in a major market, in Canada (where a new, much more lucrative TV deal was signed a year ago) or both.

The resultant disparity in financial resources between the those six and the rest of the league suggests that the only way for a Portland (or Seattle, for that matter) franchise to be competitive on a regular basis is to have a deep-pocketed owner who'd be willing subsidize operating losses during the inevitable down years.

[Rob Allen]

It's just a matter of time before the NHL is here. I lived in New Jersey when the Devils arrived, and I lived in Orange County CA when the Ducks started up. Now I live in Portland. Clearly the NHL is following me.

[bostonguy1960]

Originally Posted by karlsch

The NBA and NHL seasons both begin in October and end in April.

Would a NHL team siphon ticket buyers away from the Blazers? Wouldn't they be competing with each other for a finite number of sports fan dollars in Portland?

Would Paul Allen want this?

Seems most studies have demonstrated there is very little overlap between NBA and NHL fans in most/all markets. Yes, they compete with each other in their respective markets...but when the NHL had a couple of lockouts, I don't recall inflated tv numbers for the NBA (and vice versa). It's hard to follow both sports closely as a fan since many of the games are on tv head-to head, thus the distinct audiences.

In many NHL/NBA regions or cities, the hockey team's TV ratings surpass the NBA in certain years, or are reasonably close. In Florida, though, their tv ratings are abysmal and get crushed by the Heat. Another reason they could consider PDX. And of course other cities have the NBA team blowing the NHL team away in TV ratings. But it's encouraging that hockey can compete in certain markets.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I don't give a fig one way or the other whether or not there is a NHL team based in Portland as long as the tax payers don't have to build or support an arena for them.

They can be here, they can not be here, I don't care as long as I don't have to pay for them.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I don't give a fig one way or the other whether or not there is a NHL team based in Portland as long as the tax payers don't have to build or support an arena for them.

They can be here, they can not be here, I don't care as long as I don't have to pay for them.

Seeing we have the Moda Center, that wouldn't be an issue.