jdobbin Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTV...505?hub=Toronto Balsillie wants to move NHL's Coyotes to Ontario Canadian billionaire technology magnate Jim Balsillie is continuing his pursuit of an NHL team, offering to buy the financially ailing Phoenix Coyotes if he can move the team to Southern Ontario.Balsillie said Tuesday that his US$212.5-million offer is conditional on moving the National Hockey League team north of the border. The Coyotes franchise was formerly the Winnipeg Jets between 1979 and 1996. Don't know if Buffalo, Toronto or NHL brass will ever let a team locate to the Toronto area which includes all of southern Ontario. I think Bettman would rather have the team shut down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANADIEN Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTV...505?hub=TorontoBalsillie wants to move NHL's Coyotes to Ontario Don't know if Buffalo, Toronto or NHL brass will ever let a team locate to the Toronto area which includes all of southern Ontario. I think Bettman would rather have the team shut down. He'd rather have it moved to Kansas City (remember the Scouts) of that winter capital, Las Vegas. he is fixated on the faulty notion that hockey will become about as popular as the big three in the USA if only there are teams in major U.S. markets such as Phoenix and no team in "no-name" markets like Kitchener, Hamilton or Winnipeg (although Columbus is mighty fine). Add to that his ego and his dislike for Balsillie's methods (granted, they are a bit on the heavy-handed side). Hope you won't mind if I hijack the thread with my opinion on potential Canadian llcations for NHL teams. I'll start with the fact that all those markets have a lot of fans ready to welcome an NHL team, and that teams in those markets would likely make money or at least lose less than Phoenix and half a dozen other teams in the league. Winnipeg: For:had a team until the mid-1990's, have an arena Against: Not a lot of big corporate sponsors. Is the arena big enough? Southern Ontario (either London or Kitchener): For: Huge potential market within one hour drive, outside of the Toronto and Buffalo restricted zones, a few big corporate sponsors possibly. rivalry with Toronto Against: No arena, no name recognition in the U.S. Hamilton: For: Big market, corporate sponsorship, rivalry with Buffalo and Toronto, Copps Coliseum Against: Copps Coliseum, right in the Toronto and Buffalo restricted zones GTA: For: It's Toronto... lots of corporate sponsors, huge market Against: It's Toronto. MLSE will never accept it, and if there are two teams in the GTA the weakest team will always suffer Quebec City: For: had z team until the mid-1990's, would resurrect the mother of all hockey rivalries Against: the Colisée is way obsolete, few potential corporate sponsors Edited May 11, 2009 by CANADIEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lictor616 Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTV...505?hub=TorontoBalsillie wants to move NHL's Coyotes to Ontario Don't know if Buffalo, Toronto or NHL brass will ever let a team locate to the Toronto area which includes all of southern Ontario. I think Bettman would rather have the team shut down. Ballsy Ballsillie mentioned financing a new arena in Québec... Hopefully this will come to fruition... I'd love for Hamilton and (especially Québec city) to have teams... support there would be an automatic sellout for like... forever.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 He'd rather have it moved to Kansas City (remember the Scouts) of that winter capital, Las Vegas. he is fixated on the faulty notion that hockey will become about as popular as the big three in the USA if only there are teams in major U.S. markets such as Phoenix and no team in "no-name" markets like Kitchener, Hamilton or Winnipeg (although Columbus is mighty fine). Add to that his ego and his dislike for Balsillie's methods (granted, they are a bit on the heavy-handed side). No professional sports really excel in Las Vegas. They have no major league teams and need a new arena to attract one fast as in the case of a folding team like Phoenix. Kansas City has a new 18,500 seat arena but they are in the middle of a downturn. At present, they have no hockey team at all so it is hard to determine support for a franchise. Moreover, it is hard to determine who want to be owner there. Hope you won't mind if I hijack the thread with my opinion on potential Canadian llcations for NHL teams. Winnipeg: For:had a team until the mid-1990's, have an arenaAgainst: Not a lot of big corporate sponsors. Is the arena big enough? The new arena can seat 15,000. At present, it is the 19th busiest venue for entertainment in the world. They have had the Moose hockey team since 1996 and among the highest attendance in the league for a minor league team. The arena can be expanded from its present configuration. It has a stable and profitable ownership group at the center of its Moose and arena operations. There are large corporations such as Investors Group, Great West Life, Wawanesa, Northwest Company but no one knows if they will come forward if the league doesn't have better control of its spending. Southern Ontario (either London or Kitchener): For: Huge potential market within one hour drive, outside of the Toronto and Buffalo restricted zones, a few big corporate sponsors possibly. rivalry with TorontoAgainst: No arena, no name recognition in the U.S. I think the big thing is no arena. Hamilton: For: Big market, corporate sponsorship, rivalry with Buffalo and Toronto, Copps ColiseumAgainst: Copps Coliseum, right in the Toronto and Buffalo restricted zones The arena is the right size. The Hamilton Bulldogs get enough attendance to support an AHL team but average attendance is 5000 a night and they rank 13th in the league. By contrast, the Moose get 8000 and rank 2nd. Neither would appear good enough for NHL numbers. The lowest for the NHL is 14,000 average. However, every sports writer, business writer and others will tell you what they report as attendance is not what is actually the true number going to game. GTA: For: It's Toronto... lots of corporate sponsors, huge marketAgainst: It's Toronto. MLSE will never accept it, and if there are two teams in the GTA the weakest team will always suffer I have to agree. Also, no new arena. Or if they intend to play both teams in the same arena, no formula to make it work as they do with basketball in Los Angeles. Quebec City: For: had z team until the mid-1990's, would resurrect the mother of all hockey rivalriesAgainst: the Colisée is way obsolete, few potential corporate sponsors I agree on the arena. The most likely city and venue in Canada is Winnipeg and the MTS Center. No major obstructions in terms of teams protecting their territory. They have a good local AHL organization in place and steady numbers in terms of fans. What they need is a wealthy owner and good corporate support. We'll see though. In the battle of the billionaires, Hamilton might win a team finally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Ballsy Ballsillie mentioned financing a new arena in Québec... Hopefully this will come to fruition... I'd love for Hamilton and (especially Québec city) to have teams... support there would be an automatic sellout for like... forever.. Still have to wonder about Quebec. In terms of moving a team, the arena stands an issue. It is why the only places in Canada ready to go for this fall are probably Hamilton and Winnipeg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lictor616 Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Still have to wonder about Quebec. In terms of moving a team, the arena stands an issue. It is why the only places in Canada ready to go for this fall are probably Hamilton and Winnipeg. arena is already for all practicall purposes taken care of: ballsillie is ready to build one in Québec AND Hamilton. And the dude who owns cirque du soleil also pledged to build a super arena in Quebec if a team could be moved there. i,d love to see hamilton and Québec AND Winnipeg though... Bettman and his policy of moving teams to ludicrous US markets (to try and rival the big 3 are so self defeating) ... Las Vegas and Oakland are rumored buyers ... how much of a joke is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted May 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 arena is already for all practicall purposes taken care of: ballsillie is ready to build one in Québec AND Hamilton. Built before this fall? Don't know about that. Quebec has their old arena but Ballsillie might not get permission for anything in Quebec unless plans and money are on the table. It can't just be a promise. And the dude who owns cirque du soleil also pledged to build a super arena in Quebec if a team could be moved there. The NHL generally won't move a team unless there is an arena already built. They might award an expansion franchise with an arena plan but not move a team before one is in place. i,d love to see hamilton and Québec AND Winnipeg though... Bettman and his policy of moving teams to ludicrous US markets (to try and rival the big 3 are so self defeating) ... Las Vegas and Oakland are rumored buyers ... how much of a joke is that? Las Vegas can't support any pro team. As for Oakland, I don't know if they even have a base for hockey although they do have an arena. Last team they has was back in 1976. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 ...... Bettman and his policy of moving teams to ludicrous US markets (to try and rival the big 3 are so self defeating) ... Las Vegas and Oakland are rumored buyers ... how much of a joke is that? He might as well move the Coyotes to Tombstone and try to capture the Mexican market. If the Coyotes go to auction, I hear that there might be another bidder to try to keep them in Phoenix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 (edited) Winnipeg: For:had a team until the mid-1990's, have an arenaAgainst: Not a lot of big corporate sponsors. Is the arena big enough? Wikipedia lists 17 large private corporations (as well as six Crown Corporations)) with headquarters (or Canadians headquarters at least in Winnipeg, although one of the largest of those corporations is in pretty rough shape (Canwest). There are probably a few missing from that list, such as Cabela's Canada. Actually, here is larger list for Winnipeg and surrounding area for companies with corporate or at least divisional headquarters in the area.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporations_based_in_Winnipeg Edited May 22, 2009 by Smallc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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