[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by Cambium

The fans is what makes a team great. You ever watch a Montreal game? Fans go nuts just from a simple pass. Meanwhile at MSG its like a library. Then they'll boo the players for something.. I can't see fans in CT being loud and excited at a hockey game for some reason so bringing a team here might be another failure.

You're not wrong. This phenomenon actually happens at UConn men basketball games at XL too. Fans often sit down, arms crossed and say, "Impress me". The games at Gampel tend to have a much better atmosphere because more students, maybe more of the die hard fans, not as much of a corporate crowd. The best fans are proactive, they see themselves as being part of the action and feel their job is to energize the team. Mediocre fans are reactive, they will cheer only when you give them something to cheer about.

[ryanthegoldengod]

I don't believe the proximity of the Bruins and Rangers is as much of a big deal as many here think. If Gary Bettman thought Hartford was a good option (which he probably doesn't especially considering the sorry arena situation) I think he would ignore any complaints from the Bruins and Rangers owners. Teams intrude on other teams' territory all the time. They are actually talking about putting a second team in Toronto! The Maple Leafs would obviously hate that, but if the NHL thinks a second team there would be successful, they won't care any more than they cared when they allowed the Devils to move to New Jersey in 1982, intruding on the market of the Rangers and Islanders. Or when they allowed the expansion Anaheim Ducks to intrude on the LA Kings territory or the Seattle Kraken to intrude on the Vancouver Canucks.

I also don't think Boston and NY teams would actually matter much. In fact a lot of Bruins fans I know are recovering Whalers fans who just wanted someone to root for. Teams would jump back and support a Hartford team. A team playing in your own backyard changes everything. I remember when the Patriots were pretending to consider moving here. My dad--a die hard Giants fans and Patriots hater--said he would become a Patriots fan if they moved here.

So I really think the region and market is the lesser issue. And you can't just evaluate a market based on total population. Phoenix has become a huge market--yet the Coyotes appear to be on their way out the door. Atlanta is also huge but the NHL approved a move by the Atlanta Thrashers to the much, much smaller market of Winnipeg. Lots of people in those places, just not enough hockey fans. Hartford has a much stronger hockey fan base. It is also relatively affluent. Two advantages.

But in the end......it's the building, stupid. We likely will never agree to build a brand new arena so it will never happen. In fact claiming it's a lost cause and the NHL would never want us anyway is just the excuse we make to not pony up the cash for the arena. Too many people care more about taxes than anything else in life.

[JGBigGreen]

Unless the rules governing franchise relocation have changed, Bettman isn’t the final decision maker. The move would have to be approved by the Board of Governors. And, again if the rules remain the same, I assume they are going to side with Boston and NY teams to ensure they get those team’s support in keeping future team relocations from infringing on their market areas.

Originally Posted by ryanthegoldengod

I don't believe the proximity of the Bruins and Rangers is as much of a big deal as many here think. If Gary Bettman thought Hartford was a good option (which he probably doesn't especially considering the sorry arena situation) I think he would ignore any complaints from the Bruins and Rangers owners. Teams intrude on other teams' territory all the time. They are actually talking about putting a second team in Toronto! The Maple Leafs would obviously hate that, but if the NHL thinks a second team there would be successful, they won't care any more than they cared when they allowed the Devils to move to New Jersey in 1982, intruding on the market of the Rangers and Islanders. Or when they allowed the expansion Anaheim Ducks to intrude on the LA Kings territory or the Seattle Kraken to intrude on the Vancouver Canucks.

I also don't think Boston and NY teams would actually matter much. In fact a lot of Bruins fans I know are recovering Whalers fans who just wanted someone to root for. Teams would jump back and support a Hartford team. A team playing in your own backyard changes everything. I remember when the Patriots were pretending to consider moving here. My dad--a die hard Giants fans and Patriots hater--said he would become a Patriots fan if they moved here.

So I really think the region and market is the lesser issue. And you can't just evaluate a market based on total population. Phoenix has become a huge market--yet the Coyotes appear to be on their way out the door. Atlanta is also huge but the NHL approved a move by the Atlanta Thrashers to the much, much smaller market of Winnipeg. Lots of people in those places, just not enough hockey fans. Hartford has a much stronger hockey fan base. It is also relatively affluent. Two advantages.

But in the end......it's the building, stupid. We likely will never agree to build a brand new arena so it will never happen. In fact claiming it's a lost cause and the NHL would never want us anyway is just the excuse we make to not pony up the cash for the arena. Too many people care more about taxes than anything else in life.

[JayCT]

Oh come on guys, I knew the naysayers would be screaming as usual but let’s give Governor Lamont a little credit here. He’s not stupid and he knows every single answer to the questions you all posted. And if you don’t think he already has buy in from the Democratic leadership in the General Assembly, you are fooling yourself.

Lamont will offer up the XL Center as a temporary home until a new arena is built to replace it. He will likely offer up a five year timeframe to get the arena designed and built. The details for it will be worked out but they certainly know where it will be located and how much it will cost.

He also knows how to address the attendance requirements. Given that UConn men and women often fill the XL and the Yardgoats almost always fill Dunkin Stadium AND that there are like 20 million people within a 2 hour drive of Hartford making it the most densely populated part of the country kind of proves the market is there for a team and that there’s more than enough fans to go around with New York and Boston.

The key here will be money and what the state can offer the current team owners. That could be a lot. Whether it’s a buyer from his pool of wealthy friends and neighbors or subsidies from a portion of the states massive budget surpluses, it certainly could be sizable and profitable for them. It’s all how the deal is framed and whether the team is truly open to all options or whether they are already spoken for by another location. We will see. Jay

[robr2]

Originally Posted by ryanthegoldengod

I don't believe the proximity of the Bruins and Rangers is as much of a big deal as many here think. If Gary Bettman thought Hartford was a good option (which he probably doesn't especially considering the sorry arena situation) I think he would ignore any complaints from the Bruins and Rangers owners. Teams intrude on other teams' territory all the time. They are actually talking about putting a second team in Toronto! The Maple Leafs would obviously hate that, but if the NHL thinks a second team there would be successful, they won't care any more than they cared when they allowed the Devils to move to New Jersey in 1982, intruding on the market of the Rangers and Islanders. Or when they allowed the expansion Anaheim Ducks to intrude on the LA Kings territory or the Seattle Kraken to intrude on the Vancouver Canucks.

I also don't think Boston and NY teams would actually matter much. In fact a lot of Bruins fans I know are recovering Whalers fans who just wanted someone to root for. Teams would jump back and support a Hartford team. A team playing in your own backyard changes everything. I remember when the Patriots were pretending to consider moving here. My dad--a die hard Giants fans and Patriots hater--said he would become a Patriots fan if they moved here.

So I really think the region and market is the lesser issue. And you can't just evaluate a market based on total population. Phoenix has become a huge market--yet the Coyotes appear to be on their way out the door. Atlanta is also huge but the NHL approved a move by the Atlanta Thrashers to the much, much smaller market of Winnipeg. Lots of people in those places, just not enough hockey fans. Hartford has a much stronger hockey fan base. It is also relatively affluent. Two advantages.

But in the end......it's the building, stupid. We likely will never agree to build a brand new arena so it will never happen. In fact claiming it's a lost cause and the NHL would never want us anyway is just the excuse we make to not pony up the cash for the arena. Too many people care more about taxes than anything else in life.

Note that all the cities you mention that have encroachment were expansion teams that payed a big amount of money to join the league. Money silenced many of the complaints. This would be a relocation - there wouldn't be the money to make things better.

[SteveM85]

Bob, talk some sense in to these people
I can’t believe there are some who believe this could actually happen.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by BHW2436

Getting 6,000 fans to a Yard Goats game, with much cheaper ticket prices, is no where near the same thing as getting 17,000+ to a hockey game 40 times a year

Bingo. Selling 12,000 season tickets, prepaid in advance, for several thousand per seat, is Herculean. I saw it firsthand in Nashville. W/O the full support of large corps and the music community full force for many months, The Predators would have gone elsewhere..

It's not the 80s, when having a mediocre arena like the Whalers did with a tiny season ticket fan base got you a team.

This will be like landing the 2nd Amazon hq was. Several rounds trimming the contenders out. This is simply the pre first round lets chat interview featuring Lamont.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Bob, talk some sense in to these people
I can’t believe there are some who believe this could actually happen.

I'm somewhere in the middle on this. Maybe 40/60 chance. Lamont has as good of a shot as anyone will get. I respect him for the moonshot. After so many ho-hum governors, it's refreshing to see some cojones.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Bob, talk some sense in to these people
I can’t believe there are some who believe this could actually happen.

It's fool's gold, just as Ct was in thinking it would reach first base when Amazon was scouting cities nationally for new hqs.

A five year plan for an arena btw is laughable. The Oilers played in Houston in 1996, had brand new Nashville stadium ready in 1999.

A hockey arena is smaller , and to stand a shot, Ct would need to have a new arena, likely 19,000 seats built by the start of the 2026-27 season, have 12,000 season tickets prepaid by the time a team is approved to move here years before, and heavily subsidize both the team and the NHL for being in the mediocre present arena in the years prior, as in subsidizing them for being far below league attendance averages. Tn had to subsidize the Titans during the two years they spent in smaller Tn venues, btw.

In short, as another poster stated, Houston & Salt lake City are the likeliest options. A combined NBA/NHL ownership is super attractive, as one can emulate the Cable MSG network, and that's what pays the bills in sports. Cable Team Revenue on a large scale.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I'm somewhere in the middle on this. Maybe 40/60 chance. Lamont has as good of a shot as anyone will get. I respect him for the moonshot. After so many ho-hum governors, it's refreshing to see some cojones.

A one hour meeting costs nothing, so I am not faulting Lamont. One of us could win Powerball; Lamont could get somewhere on this. Equal odds.