A big welcome to all you hockey fans who may be taking a moment to jump on the Blog and take a read. First want to say thanks for considering TWO GUYS & HOCKEY TALK as a source to ‘Read, talk & Chat’ about hockey. This has been a work in progress since May 2020 when the Hockey world shut down due to the Covid19 world pandemic.
If you’re interested in the latest news around hot topics in Hockey or maybe want to catch up on top jr hockey prospects that may one day turn pro, ‘this is the place to read’. (Ok please, do take a read from some of our other bloggers writing here at TWO GUYS & HOCKEY TALK as well. Lol ) . I have been fortunate to grow up in the hockey world from a young age of 10 and be surrounded with people in hockey circles. Networking in hockey circles has provided me with opportunities to ‘chat’ with some interesting folks and has afforded me the chance to sometimes ‘know’ or ‘hear’ from people in the Hockey world about topics before they become known to everyone through the various circles. Let me say this first. I am no ‘INSIDER’ nor do I want, or intend to be. What I do want to do, is provide you with information that I hear or have gathered and share it with you right here on this Blog as things happen. Sometimes it comes to fruition and sometimes things just do not happen in spite of what we have heard or how hard people try to make it happen. Sometimes I will just be sharing my own ‘take’ on a topic and tell you why. Agree or disagree, that’s the fun of it. And other times I may be able to give you the perspective from what information I am gathering.
So as my first piece to write today here on our new site, I thought what better thing to do than take you as hockey fans to an article I wrote back on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 while blogging with ’Smoking Ray’ Brent Huska over at Oilers Jambalaya. ( For all you Edmonton Oilers fans, I am trying to get him convinced to start writing more again and get things up and running at their site. ‘Cross your fingers’ ) On that day in 2012, I wrote about the possibility of Las Vegas getting an NHL Franchise. I had people chastise me, tell me how stupid I was and I have no idea what I was talking about. Actually I did know what I was talking about but I never pressed back or argued and let hockey fans decide for themselves if they wanted to think I was off my ‘rocker’ as the young folks used to say. Anyway, let me kick off the very first Blog here at TWO GUYS & HOCKEY TALK with an article written by me back on December 12,2012 and I will let you decide if you want to follow anything I write, or for that matter say or discuss on our TWO GUYS & HOCKEY TALK ‘Live Show’ every Wednesday Night 7pm MST. (Enjoy)
The NHL in Las Vegas? (Written by revingev December 12,2012)
- Back from a week in Las Vegas and Valley really opens up the mind to a broader perspective when it comes to entertainment and sports in general. Having several conversations with locals about the now departed IHL, the current ECHL Hockey team and the NHL in general. The people of Las Vegas who are residents don’t have a specific sport they follow in the dozens of thousands other than their University Basketball. Sure they love their NFL football and they love their NBA Basketball but don’t write them off when it comes to NHL Hockey just yet. In several southern cities I have visited over the years, there can be a distaste for hockey as minor league. Not the case with the majority of locals in Las Vegas and area.
- Before you start saying, “C’mon, let’s be real here, there is not the population or $ for hockey in Las Vegas!” think again! Las Vegas and Valley has a population of approx 2 million people. That is the population of residents not with tourism. Currently with the economy being the way it is in the last few years in the States, Las Vegas is attracting approx 120,000 in visitors each day for tourism. That would mean on a daily basis, there is 2.12 million people who could consider the NHL game for entertainment.
- There is also something important for NHL hockey to survive in any city and that is called Corporate Dollars and we know there is plenty of that in droves in Las Vegas. 70% of International Flights into Las Vegas are from Canada and we know that they experience about 1500 visitors from Canada daily via WestJet alone. The approx totals are 4700 Canadians are visiting Las Vegas daily. It is estimated that about 2,000 Las Vegas Residents are french Canadians who reside as residents and then there are those who have relocated and live in Las Vegas from other parts of Canada.
- So doing some math here, let’s say 25% of Canadian visitors would take in a NHL hockey game in Las Vegas and 25% of the local Residents who are Canadian would do the same. That would bring our total to…1175 Visitors to buy a ticket to a NHL game and 500 local French Canadians who are now residents of Las Vegas as well. Add in a guess of an additional 2,000 Canadians who reside in Las Vegas and you have a additional 500 people to purchase tickets to a NHL Hockey game. That would bring a total of 2,175 Tickets guaranteed to be sold every game at a very manageable number. Even if Las Vegas Residents were at .5% that would consider to buy tickets to go to a NHL game that would amount to a further 10,000 people. While you would have to be careful with ticket prices, entertainment value is what matters in Vegas, very few places have cheap tickets for anything. It’s a place where people expect to be entertained and also expect to pay decent prices for that. In my estimate (I believe it is under estimating as well) that would mean the arena could sell easily close to 12,200 tickets per NHL game. Enough with my numbers, let’s look at some local news out of Las Vegas on this very topic…
| The current seating capacity of the MGM Grand Arena is 16,800 but likely would be slightly smaller for hockey. It is possible the MGM Grand could be a temporary home for a NHL team until a new Sports Arena could be constructed. Wait! You have not heard? Here is another article and rendering of a possible new entertainment complex in the great city of Las Vegas… Las Vegas could soon have an NHL-ready arena | |
| Quebec City is working on an arena that will be open for operation by 2015 in hopes of luring an NHL franchise back to town. Seattle continues to try and reach an agreement with investor Chris Hanson to eventually build an arena there that would be suitable for both the NHL and getting an NBA team back. The Toronto suburb of Markham is getting its own arena that would be NHL-ready. Seattle, Las Vegas would like to get an NBA team in town. There has actually been discussion of Sin City getting pro basketball after the league has had events in Vegas including the All-Star Game. That just opens the door for the possibilities of a hockey team joining for the fun. Getting a new building up in Vegas has been a conversation for some time. The latest proposal which seems to have some steam building would put a state-of-the-art building with a capacity of nearly 20,000 right on the Las Vegas strip. Imagine that arena in the rendering above being right down the street from the world-famous images of Las Vegas. Personally, I love the fact that it comes with a fountain pool out front of the main entrance … so Vegas. | |
| By Brian Stubits | Blogger |
| The Las Vegas Arena Foundation (LVAF) is proposing a 20,000-seat indoor arena to be built on the Strip on land owned by Caesars Entertainment behind Imperial Palace. The facility would be suitable for an NBA or NHL franchise, as well as other events such as concerts or the National Finals Rodeo, which has been at the Thomas & Mack Center since 1985. The LVAF is planning to fund the $500 million project by implementing a 0.9 percent sales tax for specified businesses within a three-mile radius of the proposed location. | |
| Article from the Las Vegas Sun |
- The story goes on to outline the finer details including financing as well as the hurdles said proposal faces in addition to the support it already has. Basically, it’s only in the very early stages and might not come to fruition but knowing Vegas, a new arena will be coming one way or the other and the city will likely always be mentioned as a possibility for relocation. If the league officials were to be honest with themselves, I wonder how much of an appetite they would have for putting another team in the Southwestern desert. It’s not to say there aren’t good hockey fans in Las Vegas — just like there are good fans in the Phoenix area — but the question is if there are enough. By the rendering of the plans it’s pretty clear what the main goal of the arena would be … the NBA, not the NHL. I would think at this stage there is as good of a chance of a hockey team — Coyotes, Islanders or possible expansion teams — making Vegas its home as there is of a snowball’s chance in, well, Vegas. But if you build it, they might come (sorry , Kansas City). The Foundation wants to fund building the arena thanks to a sales tax hike to help pay off the $500 million estimated cost. The Sun report says the proposed arena would have 94 luxury suites to go along with the 20,000 seats making it an ideal setup for a team to call it their home. Major professional leagues have been wary to pursue Las Vegas, however, thanks to that whole legalized gambling thing in Nevada. As for the NHL’s interests in Vegas, the annual NHL Awards call the city home as does big time hockey fan Jerry Bruckheimer who has had ownership aspirations in the past. Vegas joins Quebec City, Seattle, Brooklyn, and Kansas City as potential future landing spots for the NHL either via relocation or expansion.
| The NHL in Las Vegas? The idea is not that far fetched as you may think. With the large number of Canadians who visit Sin City, the NHL could do very well in Vegas. Las Vegas surprisingly does not have a professional sports team, so the NHL would not be in competition with other major sports although the UNLV teams might have something to say about that. The IHL previously took a test spin in Vegas with the Las Vegas Thunder, so ice hockey does work there. The annual preseason games between the Kings and Avalanche does very well in Las Vegas each September. I would love to see an NHL franchise in Las Vegas, I think a lot of other fans would like to see a team there too. A long shot but maybe not as far out as we think. | |
| Blogger HockeyFanatic (He even rates Las Vegas as #3 choice for a NHL team) |
- I know in my case, I would plan a time in Las Vegas and take in a NHL game in Sin City every time I went, I would likely go yearly as would many other Canadian hockey fans. I am not saying, but I am just saying! Just a thought…Agree? Disagree? Let us know what your thoughts are. NOTE: The Las Vegas Wranglers playing in an older, smaller arena, in a semi-minor pro league in the ECHL and average almost 5,000 fans a game. The difference of interest between the ECHL and the AHL? Quite different. The difference between the ECHL and the NHL? Monumental.
Well, if you read to the bottom of this entire article, I know you’re a hockey fan or just love reading. I posted this previous article from history to give you just a little of the type of things you may find me writing on occasionally. However if you’re on twitter, you will find much more content in little ‘tweets’ from my account on a daily basis. You can follow me on TWITTER @revingev.
Keep on Keeping on!
Evan ‘REV’ Renaerts
For news on Prospects in Jr hockey you can head over to REVS TOP 15 where I will post all my prospect watch information (not just the top 15 but prospects in several leagues around the world and anywhere from U12 and up. (Special thanks to several Scouts and agents around several Hockey leagues across North America & Europe for sending me stats and stories)
I was personally very hesitant about Vegas having a successful team but 6 years later, here we are, with the team being one of the most financially successful, and on ice successful (Stanley Cup Champions) this year. This team will continue to be competitive for a few more year and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next 6 years (and more).