I have previously spoken of the growing internationalism of profesional sports wherein the ellusion was made to the difficult positions of national hockey league franchises in the southern United States. Nashville, Tennessee is an illustration of the difficulties and errors in southern expansion; as are the teams located Tampa Bay, Florida (Lightning); Sunrise, Florida (Panthers); Raleigh, Carolina (Hurricanes); Phoenix, Arizona (Coyotes) and to a degree the various California teams and the Dallas Stars.
These teams have all struggled in markets oversaturated with proffesional sports. The concept of two hockey teams in Florida is mind boggling – one can’t imagine how these teams survive in a climate where the majority of the locals have probably never seen ice (the Epcot Center aside) or played ice hockey.
The success of these teams speak for themselves. These teams have suffered from financial weakness for years and are often under threat of being moved to more traditional hockey markets. Only last year the Nashville Predators were nearly purchased by a Canadian businessman and were to be moved to Canada, most likely Hamilton, Ontario. Only the meddling of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman “saved” this franchise from a move. I use the term ’saved’ hesitantly, because the much criticized Gary Bettman have doomed this team to years of financial problems instead of moving it where it may have resolved them.
I draw your attention to Forbes’ magasine’s annual valuation of NHL franchises. This analysis reveals that the Phoenix Coyotes, for example, lost $9.7 million US last year and lost value – in a year the NHL’s profitability was an all time high. Nashville, Atlanta, Florida, Phoenix, and Carolina all had negative operating incomes last year. These teams show up again as some of the least valuable teams in the NHL, financially wise. Of course some northern teams are not in great shape either – but most are on better footing and some like New Jersey are weakened by short term expenses (New Jersey opened a brand new multi million dollar arena last year). Attendence averages according to ESPN show that these teams can’t fill their arenas night to night either.
Clearly, these teams are suffering major problems. The simple realities speak for themselves. These teams are not in good places. They’ve had years to develop fan support and financial backing, and have failed because people just aren’t interested in watching hockey there. If they continue as they are, they are going to contribute little to the league and inhibit the whole organization. Except for Tampa Bay, it seems that most of the Southern NHL teams just aren’t working. Gary Bettman has invested so much time and energy of the league in pursuing these teams, yet they have not panned out. One can’t help but feel that Hamilton, Winnipeg, Halifax, or a second team in Toronto would pay dividens in comparison. Hockey in Nashville just doesn’t make good business sense.
If these teams moved to better markets fans would fill the seats and the finances would improve, allowing them to consistently be more competetive. This makes the game more interesting for everyone, even fans of other teams. Stronger teams means better competition with less predictable results. Right now teams discount tickets when Nashville or Phoenix comes to town because you can usually expect the Predators to be blown out. Imagine if the Winnipeg Jets came back to replace one of these failing teams?
Of course some Nashville fans would be disappointed – if you can find any.
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