Quote:
Originally Posted by JHikka
For Halifax? Currently there's no owner, or suitable arena, and the fanbase size is suspect at this point.
Give it 25 years.
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Agreed.
I wish Halifax well as far as the NHL is concerned, and if you guys ever get a team I would certainly consider driving down several times per year to catch a game.
but
- The Metro Centre is a non-starter and there is no way that I could see how it could be upgraded to NHL standards. With the new WTCC under construction, you could knock down the old one (as well as the current Metro Centre) and build fresh on that site, but that would be a very expensive proposition (say $400M or so). Is this financially viable?
- Who would form the ownership group? It seems to me we would have enough trouble coming up with an ownership group for a CFL team let alone an NHL team. There is almost an order of magnitude of difference in terms of cost and risk between the CFL and NHL. Who do you think would take this on?
- Is there a fan base in Halifax large enough to buy 12,000 (or so) season's tickets at inflated NHL prices. It is the gate that drives the success of most NHL franchises and you can't rely on game day ticket sales. You need season's ticket holders filling about 80% of the seats. Are there enough interested people in HRM who are wealthy enough to purchase these tickets?
All good questions.....