Friday roundup: The minor-league stadium shakedown will continue unabated into our glorious future (plus: FIRE!)

This was a short week but it felt long to me, though at least nobody interrogated my cat about whether I would be resigning, so there’s that. Anyway, we have a big stack of Other News ahead of us, so let’s dive in:

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11 comments on “Friday roundup: The minor-league stadium shakedown will continue unabated into our glorious future (plus: FIRE!)

  1. I abhor vacuums. Since I really like the Friday roundups but this one has NO comments. I want to say…

    Great job Neil.
    Keep up the great work

    1. Thanks, will do my best to!

      After posting this item, I went to the post office and mailed a whole lot more Vaportecture prints and magnets, so those of you abhorring vacuums on your walls and fridges should have something to fill them shortly.

  2. The Arizona Coyotes situation is a complete embarrassment, not that the Coyotes and NHL care. Would like to see the magic trick of Arizona not losing even more money playing in a small arena without “gouging the fans”.

  3. Glad to see the Arizona Coyotes’ clown car continue.

    Not sure of the end game, but I’m still hoping for a collapse of AZ hockey and the team to sold to a Houston owner to resurrect the Aeros.

    1. That would probably be the best outcome all round… (I have nothing against another team in Canada, but I struggle to see the NHL or Montreal welcoming a return of the Nordiques. IMO, it could only happen if the alternative was folding the franchise and I don’t see that on the horizon).

      …still…. Oakland has an arena just sitting there and I would love to see someone with money and energy #bringbacktheSeals…

      1. Houston may be a top-10 TV market in the US, yet the region’s ethnic and economic make-up signals a no-go for the NHL. It would be a reprise of the league’s two spectacular failures in Atlanta.
        Quebec City makes more sense for the league as far as geography, economics, and cultural relevance.

        1. Taking a western team and moving it to an eastern city does not make geographic sense for the NHL. Houston (or another western/midwestern city) could simply take Glendale/Tempe’s place in the same division.

          As for economics, well, Houston is a much wealthier and larger city than QC (which is small, and a government town). Demographics may be against Houston, but they have 8-10 times the population to generate fans/support from.

          I agree with you on the cultural front though… but that doesn’t seem to matter to the NHL.

          1. You would have the NHL pandering to Murica at the expense of a more sustainable audience.
            The NHL is very sensitive to charges that it favors the US over Canada. When the league chases TV markets in the States, its overall image suffers. When the league goes for sustainable audiences, it thrives.

          2. If there were an owner and/or arena in Houston that wanted an NHL team, Houston would have an NHL team already.

            Houston is bigger than all of cities that have gained NHL teams since Dallas got the Stars, and yet it has been bypassed by all of those relocations and expansions.

            No doubt, an NHL team will never *matter* in Houston as much as it would in Quebec or Hamilton or Providence, but TV advertisers don’t care about that.

            Money ruins everything.

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