It will only be a matter of time before Houston will have their moment in the NHL. They have been a hot topic of location now for quite some time. Relocation or Expansion? Time will tell but just as I mentioned in 2012 that Las Vegas was a good bet to place as a future city for expansion into the NHL, I would also place my cards down on Houston getting a team very soon. To be an expansion franchise, it would mean the rumour of the NHL possibly expanding to 34 teams would have to be legit. If it was an expansion vote, Houston would sit at #1. Now, if you’re looking at relocation either by bringing in an existing owner or purchasing a team and relocating, that becomes a much more complicated matter. Obviously I have coined the name of the article ‘Howdy Houston’ in reference to the ongoing situation happening in Phoenix/Glendale/Scottsdale/Tempe/Messa with the Arizona Coyotes. IMO and what would make most sense would be for the current owners of the Coyotes to just sell the team to NBA Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta who expressed interest in bringing an NHL team to Houston.
Obviously the easiest team to bring to mention for them would be the Coyotes as they have been an Ownership/Attendance mess for almost their entire existence. Not to mention hockey fans would love it. See, Arizona is the lowest valued team in the NHL sitting last year in 2022 at $450 Million dollars. The next worst team value in the NHL was Florida with a value of $100 million more at $550 Million dollars. With the 2023 playoffs having been such a success for the Panthers, I expect to see the value of the team jump a large sum. Now to get a NHL team that is struggling does not mean it will be cheap but here is the thing. The Coyotes do not own their own building which drastically changes the landscape for price. Should Tilman put an offer out there to a club that has never turned a profit in their 28 years of existence of say $800 Million, you can’t think that current owner Alex Meruelo who is the Majority Owner, Chairman, and Governor of the Arizona Coyotes would turn a deal like that down, could you? Almost double the value without a building and ending the losses of 10-30 Million a year. Alex Meruelo bought the team for $300 Million in 2019, so that’s a pretty penny, should Tilman be willing to pay the price.
Now before you say, that’s too high of a price to pay for a NHL franchise that is struggling, remember this is a franchise with lots of salary cap room and a good handful of excellent players and good management already in place. If you do not pay a higher price, it is more unlikely Alex Meruelo will sell you their team. You need to make it appealing and considering how much an Expansion franchise will cost them, it’s a fair deal and maybe the only way for Houston to be able to convince ownership of the Coyotes and the NHL that they mean business. We know that the NHL is very bullish on Television markets but Houston is the 8th largest television market in the United States while Phoenix has been sitting as 12th largest so it does make sense for the NHL to market their game in a large televised market. The Phoenix metro area is considered to have just under a population of 5 million while Houston metro is looking at 7.34 million.
Now the NHL and hockey is not unfamiliar with Houston. The late great Gordie Howe once played for the Houston Aeros of the WHA for 4 seasons. They even won the league championship 2x , the AVCO Cup. Unfortunately for the city of Houston, the Aeros weren’t one of the four teams in the WHA that joined the NHL after the merger in 1979. They did return in 1994 but with the IHL at the time but when the IHL folded, they joined the AHL as the affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. In 2013, the team relocated to Iowa and the Aeros haven’t been back since, but with the latest news, fans now have some hope once again of another Aeros return one day. Or should I say the return of hockey but this time at the highest possible level out there. The NHL. To be even more specific, could they simply bring in an existing NHL team and become the new and permanent home of the HOUSTON COYOTES? Can you say Howdy Houston?
Keep on Keeping on!
Evan ‘REV’ Renaerts
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