I have recently came up with a Lopez article regarding on the possibility of landing one of the faulty NHL franchises in the Toyota Center once the lockout is over: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3055092 I know Les Alexander is definitely interested in having an NHL team. This leads me to start a thread and ask if there is indeed a possibility of Houston being the recipient of a relocated NHL team in a few years? How is attendance to Aeros games? Are there many Houstonians cheering for the Dallas Stars? How about the number of grassroots initiatives for hockey not just in Houston, but in the entire state of Texas? My fellow Houstonians, please enlighten me with your comments.
Aeros games are so-so. Usually you can get about 50% of the lower bowl filled on a good night. I go often-ish, and have a great time. I'd rather not see an NHL franchise here though. Lots of reasons for it. I can't see it "working" here unless the team was totally awesome every year, and even then I don't know how well it'd survive. Also, having an NHL team would force the Aeros out, which would totally suck for all of their die-hard fans. Besides, if we did get an NHL franchise here, all the good seats would cost a fortune. But now, I can get a really awesome seat for ten, fifteen bucks. It's the best sports value in Houston. IMO the NHL really needs to contract, and any team that would've come to Houston should just up and be eliminated.
I don't watch the NHL, or MLS. but if Houston does get a team in either sport, I might start watching and attending. (I am a huge Homer)
Good luck on that. I don't expect the NHL to survive as is. If it comes back its going to come back as a smaller league concentrated in Canada and Northern states. T he days of expansion of the NHL to the sunbelt is over.
NHL would bomb bigtime in Houston. We have fairweather Hockey fans... I myself think the sport is lousy.
Well I think there is a large enough contingency in Houston for hockey to work.Sure there aren't huge amounts of people at Aeros games, but back when they were in the Turner Cup playoffs and finals ('99 for instance), they were PACKED, filling all 17,242 or so seats. Yes, they were a winning team, but it's also minor-league hockey. If the NHL were to prevail through labor disputes, ticket prices will HAVE to be low(er). I'd imagine (at least for a few years) that the "newness" of an NHL franchise would be self-sufficient. Considering no one misses hockey now, the NHL has bigger issues than just getting back to playing. Maybe they will have to contract some teams and maybe they will even have to "combine" some (sort of have teams with multiple homes; for example the Rockets playing in Houston and San Antonio way back when). I'm all for it, but only if they rename a possible NHL team the...Aeros! There's a 0% chance that Houston could support both a major and minor league team (like Chicago, where the minor league team has actually gotten better attendance than the Blackhawks the past few years). So if this were to all happen, I say move the "to be unwanted" AHL Aeros to places like: Austin, Galveston, Birmingham, or even Miami (old Miami Arena (cheaper than AmericanAirlines Arena), especially since the Panthers are up in Sunrise). Just an interesting topic. Oh, and I forgot the most interesting idea: Whenever professional hockey does make its way down to Houston, it'll be around the same time that John Weisbrod will be out of a job. The Rockets have Dawson. The Texans have Casserly. The Astros have Purpura. The Houston NHL team should get Weisbrod. Why not?
Sura will still faint in this case... Anyways, I expect a few teams to be relocated once the owners and players reach a deal by the end of summer... and yes the team has to be successful initially (a la Dallas and Colorado) in order to draw fan interest... this is no different in Houston... In my opinion, in order to lure the sunbelt into hockey, the first things is to get roller hockey going, since ice is not as easily as available in the South than in Canada and the Northern States
... and Kam, once the salary cap is in place, Canadian teams will be harder to relocate since it is cheaper to run them back north... and expect Carolina, Florida, Phoenix, and maybe Atlanta to either fold or move to somewhere else... if Les is pitching hard enough, you guys might get a team
I used to watch the WHA Aeros with Gordie,Mark,and Marty Howe over at the Summit.The team was good enough to win the AVCO cup.It's my recollection that the turnout was pretty good,but I was fairly young,and can't recall the specifics behind them folding.Ever since,I've waited for the NHL to come to town.(haven't seen an IHL game)Houston has the fans to support a team and it wouldn't surprise me if we get a franchise via expansion or buyout in the next 5 - 7 years. BTW..Does anyone else remember Jerry Trupiano doing Aeros games?..fond memories Isn't he the announcer for the Red Sox now?
Do people go see the Nashville Predators? Always wondered if people gave a crap about NHL there. When I was at Vandy we used to go see minor league games but it was so empty you could byob or byop.
There is certainly a handful of NHL teams which are on the ropes and will likley fold or move (Nashville, Atlanta, Florida, Anaheim). The NHL has not had a lot of success with expansion lately. Both Minnesota and Columbus are doing well, but keep in mind Minny was doing well before they moved to Dallas). Other than that Atlanta, Nashville and Florida are all expansion franchises which are in trouble. I would think if they moved a franchise to another non-traditional market they would want a solid team (like the Avs in Colorado). It's much easier to draw fans if the team is succesful. That being said Atlanta is an interesting prospect. They have 2 great young players (Heatley and Kovalchuk). They would be a great team to watch. Nashville was a playoff team the last season but they don't seem to have teh horses to be a perennial playoff team in the West. So I would guess if a team went to Houston it may be Atlanta, possibly Nashville. Atalanta is also under new Management and are hosting an All-Star game sometime soon (assuming there is a NHL) so I wouldn't think they would want to move a team that is hosting that.
If I was revamping hockey, I would probably keep it out of the south, and get the Canadians back in the game.
I tend to agree with you. There will be interest and ticket sales for the first year or two, but if it isn't a successful team, that interest will disappear ridiculously fast. Houston has fairweather fans for every sport but football. I've never lived anywhere with an NHL team (I was born in Philadelphia but moved to Houston at an early age and never saw a game). I am not nearly enough of a hockey fan to enjoy minor league hockey.
Yes, I forgot to add Nashville and Anaheim into the list... Well in addition to the Mavs-Rockets-Spurs and Cowboys-Texans rivalries, are there any interests in a NHL rivalry between Dallas and Houston?
which team was Les putting a down payment on a few years back? Wasn't Calgary? Which ended up staying by a group of investors that included Todd McFarlene? Hockey is an ok sport. I would think it would do well here since ice skating/hockey for the kids has been more popular than it was before. I went to Memeorial City Mall a few weeks back and saw so much support to watch a little league team. I wonder if they had an NHL time, if the whole city would support them as much. I have been to a few Aeros games and I was entertained somewhat. Just sucks that I dont know a single player and who the hell I am routing for. My sister and I were into Hockey about 10 years ago because my sister had a crush on Eric Lindros. I remember those days he was considered to be the next "Great One" but has been crap the past few years and hell the Rangers have like an allstar lineup of 10 yrs ago that still cant win championships....
I believe it was Edmonton, which would've been cool to have the Houston Oilers back. I'd love the NHL in Houston.
Yeah it was the Oilers. Itd be nice to have a Houston Oilers without the terrible owner or worst blue in the universe.
Not in 2003. That year the aeros won the Calder cup, and I went to every home game. In the Compaq Center, maybe there were 8,000 people. Enough to spill into the upper seats, but not even CLOSE to filling it up. And then when they had the trophy presentation, there probably were about 3,000 folks there. Let's not forget that a lot of the people who are fans of the Aeros wouldn't be able to afford the much higher ticket prices of the NHL team, and probably wouldn't be big fans any more.
