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Originally Posted by Corndogger
If the league tells them they have to play a game in a neutral market they can't say no.
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Right, but the NHL doesn't really want to pick fights with the owners.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corndogger
Even though this is not NHL related, Texas A&M played their first home game this past season in Houston because they wanted to. Had nothing to do with their stadium not being available nor NRG being a bigger stadium which it isn't by a long shot. It was strictly a marketing/promotional exercise.
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If teams want to play games outside of their home arena they can but it devalues their franchise along with other franchises in the league. A lot of people in this thread don't seem to understand that North American sports league entirely depend on the valuation of their franchises. The implication that teams have to host games in other areas because their own market is weak is akin to asking to be relocated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corndogger
Are places like Tampa, Miami and Phoenix begging for such a game? Could they even hold one while still meeting standards?
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Not entirely, and Los Angeles did, so yes. The Stadium Series games in the US are driven by national TV numbers and the three teams you listed wouldn't draw as many as Chicago/Boston/NYR/Philadelphia etc. They're at the bottom of the list, not because they don't want to, but because NBC sees higher viewership in other markets.
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Originally Posted by Corndogger
The NFL has played dozens of games all over the place. It's overwhelmingly done to generate interest so they can cash in on merchandise and TV rights sales. Huge money involved. And according to another poster hockey is far from #1 in SK. So holding a game to boost interest would lead to further profits and those profits would likely be larger and longer lasting than if they were to hold the game in a place such as Tulsa.
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But it's about maximum growth with games in non-current markets. What growth is there to be had by the Oilers or Jets or Flames in Saskatchewan that hasn't already been maximized by preseason games?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corndogger
They would work together. This is what happened last month with the Stadium Series at Coors Field. On 2/20 the University of Denver played Colorado College and attracted over 30K. Then the next weekend the Avalanche sold out their game against the Red Wings. The Pats, Blades and the new venue would all be big winners as would the NHL. This is far from a dumb idea.
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Not a bad idea to tie in Junior Hockey, honestly, but there needs to be interest from NHL owners, a local group willing to use the stadium, and acceptance from the stadium and Rough Riders.
So far, the only people who seem to want this are people who saw Winnipeg getting one and thought Regina should have one, too, which I can't really emphasize enough. If this idea was being posited by a group in Regina interested in hosting one i'd be a bit more positive, but unfortunately this isn't the case.
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Originally Posted by Acajack
Yeah, look at how many outdoor NHL games have been played in Canada since this trend started.
Only three in about 15 years.
Though we will see Winnipeg in late 2016 and likely Ottawa in 2017.
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Hope everyone is getting excited for a Parliament Hill game.
In the event that the Nords ever come back i'd love a Habs/Nords game at Plains of Abraham, too, as floated by someone in the know years ago.