The Hockey News: Jason Kay's blog: THN at the NHL Awards: Is Vegas a viable hockey market?

THN at the NHL Awards: Is Vegas a viable hockey market?

Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference discussing the 2009 NHL Awards at the Ghostbar at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Jason Kay
2009-06-18 10:13:00

LAS VEGAS – Palm trees, poker, poolside piña coladas and…pucks?

When the NHL announced its 2009 awards gala would be moved from traditional Toronto to exotic Las Vegas, it begged and pleaded the question: “Why?”

Why hold one of your marquee events in a town saturated with marquees? A town that is firmly surrounded by desert, about 300 miles from your closest franchise location? A town in which NHL hockey barely registers on the radar screen, let alone the gambling board.

Does this make any sense?

We endeavored to find out upon our arrival in Nevada.

It didn’t start well. When we asked the cab driver who picked us up at the airport if he was aware the NHL awards were in town he said, “NHL? Is that hockey?”

We proceeded to the strip to get reaction from people on the street, both residents and tourists. Most professed they were sports fans, though nearly all were oblivious to the presence of the NHL just down the road.

“I had no idea about that,” said Ron, a Seahawks fan from Seattle, in town for the World Series of Poker. “I can tell you the Penguins won it (all)…they beat the Red Wings.”

Duane, a teacher in Las Vegas who enjoys football, basketball and the occasional hockey fight was also unaware the league was in town. “Absolutely no idea (about the awards). I don’t know if anybody knows much about hockey over here.”

That said, many were of the belief an NHL franchise would do well here, a novelty ice diversion from the blazing heat of the desert.

Whether that’s on the NHL’s agenda isn’t clear. They’re saying the reasons they’re here are multifold.

“We’ve made this another destination event, not unlike opening the season in Europe or the Winter Classic,” said commissioner Gary Bettman. “We’ve created a large-scale event that is good for our business partners, the players are here in record numbers and it’s great for our fans. We have lots of fans who have come from all over.”

At the same time, there was a sense the gala was growing stale in Toronto and a shift was required to lend it new life and attract more attention and attendance from all involved. In recent years, more and more finalists were declining invites and that trend started to spread to award winners.

Vegas, it was thought, would give players added incentive to be part of the program. That the NHLPA is holding its meetings in town helps, but Calgary’s Jarome Iginla believes there’s more to it than a union conference.

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“When I heard the awards were going to be here I was hoping I get a chance to come and be part of it,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of the guys here. A lot of guys come here for vacation anyway once the season ends. It’s different. It’s a nice way to cap the year.”

And what about a team being here one day?

“I think it sounds exciting,” Iginla said. “Obviously it’s a very alive city.

“There has been a lot of talk about it among the players and usually it has been positive. There’s always the joke the home team would sure have a nice advantage and there’s probably some truth there. It might be difficult to be focused (as a visiting player), but it would be fun. I’d be all for it.”

Man On The Street: Vegas a hockey town?

PRODUCER: TED COOPER

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Jason Kay is the editor in chief of The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears every Friday.

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COMMENTS (6)

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duff_man Posted
(2009-06-18 17:23:12)

Jesus Christ almighty, if you're going to move a team then move it to a place where people actually care about hockey. Move it to a place where people actually WANT hockey. It's not that difficult to understand. Las Fricking Vegas? Hey, how about a team in Flagstaff while we're at it? Or what about Amarillo, Texas? Jeez this is just getting ridiculous. Start moving these struggling teams back up north where they belong. You're not going to turn desert towns into hockey towns. Not gonna happen. Ever. Vote Bettman off the Island and lobby Gretz or Messier to be Commisioner.

cameltoeblake Posted
(2009-06-18 17:07:05)

I think there's potential in Vegas but I have concerns about long term viability. Compared to other teams, the season ticket fan base would be smaller and they would have to rely heavily on tourists for single game tickets to sellout. Although there are no NFL, NBA or MLB teams, there would still be lots of competition for the entertainment dollar from shows, concerts, boxing, gambling, etc. It would require tremendous marketing efforts to make it successful. Perhaps some of the casinos could purchase a large quantity of tickets and hand them out as promotions or to their preferred high rollers. There is also the question of atmosphere. If the crowd is mainly tourists and there is no loyal fan base, how much support would there be for the home team? Also, if some people received free tickets, would they actually attend the game? You could see lots of empty seats even though there's an "announced" sellout.

johnz96 Posted
(2009-06-18 12:54:44)

if baseball players used goalie gloves instead runs scored would be down and results of games would be closer. hitters are lucky bettman isn't commish of baseball. can we persuade bettman to give baseball a try. doubt iyt he is very stubborn. maybe we should boycott nhl. minor and junior hockey are great and best of all no bettman

matvei_fairlarov Posted
(2009-06-18 12:07:51)

I see Vegas akin to New York City, with respect to the Rangers. Fundamental fact: there is always something to do in Vegas. As such, people will be roaming around until the early hours of the morning. An NHL franchise, with the proper arena on The Strip, would be successful, compared to Phoenix or Atlanta. Also, we shouldn't forget about the burgeoning suburbs of Las Vegas, NV. As it grows, the people are going to want an alternative to the racey entertainment and other various shows that they are accustomed to. An NHL franchise would certainly aide said people in finding a different form of entertainment. Regardless, the Las Vegas market has tremendous potential. I am still a proponent in saying the NHL should put teams in Seattle or Portland or Winnipeg or Hamilton or in the suburbs of Toronto. But, if the NHL beats the NBA to this market, it would surely give them an upper-hand in the "rivalry" between the two leagues.

scubasteve Posted
(2009-06-18 11:51:14)

Kodos for the awards being in Las Vegas, but an NHL team in Sin City??? You'd have to be mentally retarded to think that it would work and/or be a smart move by the NHL. The team would just turn into a tourist attraction with little to non loyalty and I don't think any of the players would want to raise their family their. Notice how no other Major League sport has a team there. At least the majority of the people who live and visit their like baseball or football or basketball. Why the NHL continues to try to expand their market and teams to places that don't have the fans (yes I understand there are some hockey fans but not enough to support the team at this time) in an attempt to create more hockey fans. If the NHL is going to consider relocation or expansion they will show how terrible the board of governors and Bettman are if they even consider moving a team to Las Vegas and Kansas City before BOTH Hamilton/KW (I'm from the Hammer but KW is a much better place for the team) and Winipeg get a team.

robr_ducky Posted
(2009-06-18 11:28:39)

Vegas is one of the top "convention" cities in North America and is a great place for an awards show. It's not quite the desert cowboy ghost town with sage brush rolling across the dirt road area that some of the writers would lead you to believe. The golf is phenomenal, shopping and dining is top tier, and there is night life of all sorts (all sorts). As for hockey, yes there are a lot of skaters in the area (we have tournaments there) and the Las Vegas Thunder fun to visit when we were in the area.