Houston Coyotes?

Not gonna happen....

#1 Only Les Alexander can own an NHL team under the lease agreement with Toyota Center. They way the $$$ breaks down, it would be impossible for anyone besides Les to buy the team.

#2 NHL tickets are pretty steep $$$. In this economy, you're not going to get the corporate support for a sport that people in the south don't follow.

#3 If there was general interest in the sport, I would think the Aeros would draw better than they do right now.

 

Matt, why do you always argue incessantly on the radio? It's not very conducive to gaining listeners.

 

You're right. Shows where everyone agrees with one another are very riveting. You're entitled to your opinion, just like I am. Thanks for listening nonetheless. Now on the NHL, next caller...

 

You seem to be listening...

 

Yeah, the only difference is your wrong

 

As others have said though, there's just no market for hockey in houston. Plus, Les would be the likely owner and I don't see Les shelling out money for a hockey team that ""might"" pan out at best.

 

sadly, i agree with matt here.

if you want hockey, here are your choices:

or

 

You should have reached over and b**** slapped Rich this afternoon. How the hell did CP put up with him over the years.

 

You have no idea. Between Rich hating on Ron and trying to unneccessarily bury Albert Pujols for steroids. I was ready to go Michael Douglas "Falling Down".

 

how could you roll in here and suggest something from freaking dallas? what's next, are you going ask us to support the J*zz?

 

Honestly, you don't have to get past #1 on that list. The other 2 are subjective...you could argue either way.

#1 is just fact. The only alternative would be someone building a facility in Katy or SugarLand, outside of Harris County. And I don't see that happening, frankly.

I don't think Les was ever as interested in owning a hockey team as he let on....I think his little attempt with Edmonton was solely to throw a wrench into the works to keep Chuck Watson from getting was seemed like a certain and imminent new franchise from expansion. And I still don't think he's interested in bringing an NHL team to Houston.

Frankly, if I were him, I don't think I would at this point either. I've enjoyed NHL hockey since I was a kid...but it's never been more of an after-thought than it is now. The strike/lockout/whatever-it-was absolutely killed that sport's golden goose: the programming agreement with ESPN and, thus, it's relevance in markets where it doesn't have a franchise.

I think if that had not happened there is no reason to think the NHL couldn't stick around in Houston for every bit as long as it has in places like Dallas, Tampa and San Jose. It's a corporate game. But I think the league isn't healthy enough to justify someone in the Sunbelt taking that chance today.

 

they're going to find steroids in pujols someday. it will happen.

 

i think hockey will be back on espn soon madmax.

 

I have a great image in my head of a lunatic in a Rocket's jersey on the field at Minute Maid Park chasing Pujols around with a syringe.

 

Rich Lord is still on the radio in Houston? I moved away in 2005 and thought for sure he'd be done by now. Does he at least admit how wrong he was about Vince Young? Or does he still insist that VY is going to revolutionalize the QB position in the NFL?

 

i don't think these are the same.


i see it like this:

people in SA like the astros, and cowboys because they don't have professional teams to follow.

you want NHL hockey? support the only texas team... houston, and texas for that matter, won't get another NHL team until interest in the sport increases... so support the somewhat local team, even if it is in dallas.

 

Why haven't the Aeroes ever been absorbed into the NHL?

Just like the Toronto Argonauts, they seem like the best fit to leap into the big leagues of their respective sports.

 

This is a problem throughout the NHL. There's been talk in recent years about the team in Nashville struggling--and they're an expansion franchise. The Penguins only a few years ago was on the verge of moving. So were the Edmonton Oilers.

And so on.

When the Versus Network is your primary carrier in terms of national television coverage, you aren't raking in a lot of dough, so you're going to need to charge a premium for tickets, and as Matt said, it ain't gonna fly in this economy unless you're in a region where interest is very high.

That said, a team in Houston couldn't possibly do any worse monetarily than a team in a much smaller market like Columbus or Buffalo (or Nashville or Carolina). Even if only 25% of people in the Houston area gave a damn about hockey, it would still be equal to or greater than 100% interest in those markets.

 

Buffalo is a rabid Hockey Town. In hockey season, everything there is Sabres, etc. The Sabres do fairly well there.

Columbus is a fairly large city, also. I'm sure it is quite the hockey town, too. The reason why other pro sports markets have stayed out of Columbus is because it is a college town. It is bigger than Cleveland and Cincinnati though.

I would compare Houston getting a hockey team more to an Atlanta, Nashville, or Phoenix. Not typically your hockey place, but with enough people that are transplanted hockey fans to have a fan base. I think Houston would be a better town that Nashville or Phoenix for a hockey team, and would probably be on the level of a Carolina or Atlanta.


I see why you used those other two cities though.