Bettman willing to rewrite history in Winnipeg, Quebec...

I am going to keep following this story and I will link up any news I see pertaining to this story. I believe the NHL is failing miserably in non-traditional hockey markets and I believe the NHL needs to correct these mistakes. I find it interesting that Bettman is now open to going back to markets in Canada that had teams previously.

CHICAGO — Gary Bettman seems more open than ever to bringing NHL franchises back to Winnipeg and Quebec City.

The NHL commissioner has been open about the league’s interest in the two cities recently. He says it has more to do with the economics of the sport than a change in his point of view.

“I think people tend to rewrite history,” Bettman said Sunday night in an interview with The Canadian Press. “When the Nordiques and the Jets left, there was no building and no possibility of a building. And there was no one who wanted to own a team there any more. You can’t maintain a team in those circumstances.

“Those two factors have apparently (changed). In one case it’s been reversed and in another case they’re trying to reverse it.”

Bettman is confident Winnipeg’s MTS Centre is capable of housing an NHL team and has heard from key officials in Quebec about their desire to build a new arena there.

Just as importantly, he has received serious interest from prospective owners. Mark Chipman and David Thomson of True North Sports and Entertainment made a serious pitch to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and return them to Winnipeg, and Bettman says he’s heard from more than one “substantial” group in Quebec.

Interestingly, a painful year for hockey fans could wind up being a major factor in the rebirth of big league hockey in the two cities. Bettman credits the salary cap system that came out of the 2004-05 lockout for making it possible.

“I don’t think you would have found owners interested in those markets without the current economic system,” he said.

The most likely scenario that would see the number of Canadian NHL franchises increase is through.

MTS Centre has NHL capacity

The past week there have been a few people that said that the MTS centre is too small for the NHL, the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made a statement contrary to that opinion shooting holes in that theory. Translation: MTS centre is big enough for an NHL team.

Bettman runs this show and the lesson that emerged from a Phoenix courtroom this year for the backers of an NHL bid in Winnipeg was this: Whatever else you do, follow the rules as they are made and interpreted by Bettman. Want a team for Winnipeg? Maybe he's got one for you -- but it will be at the commissioner's whim, at the time of his choosing and entirely on Bettman's terms.

And there was very good news this week on one of those fronts for the folks who want the NHL back in Winnipeg. One of Bettman's inviolable terms for an NHL team -- indeed, the one that cost us the Winnipeg Jets in the first place -- is the suitability of our city's arena.

And what Bettman made clear this week is this: For all the wringing of hands by NHL backers and opponents alike that Winnipeg's MTS Centre is too small for the NHL, the only opinion that matters in the end says our arena is big enough for him.

Here's what Bettman told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday: "While we play to 93 to 94 per cent capacity, we'd like to play to 100 per cent capacity," Bettman said. "A 15,000-16,000 seat arena might work better in some markets than a 19,000-seat arena."

A 15,000- to 16,000-seat arena? Funny thing -- Winnipeg just happens to have one of those sitting on Portage Avenue, a shiny new building with loads of luxury boxes and precisely 15,002 seats for hockey.

Is it on the small end? Yes, it is. But does it disqualify us for consideration? No, not after that pronouncement. [Read the whole article]

Bettman coolly exploits both Winnipeg and Glendale

Here is an interesting story on the Phoenix Coyotes situation. Really no shock here, NHL butt head Gary Bettman exploiting both citys to further his failing agenda. My question is how long does the NHL go one with this charade? When does the NHL decide to pull the pin and move the club to Winnipeg?

If there was any doubt about the shamelessness of the NHL when it comes to the Phoenix Coyotes, it was erased last Thursday when commissioner Gary Bettman had an ultimatum delivered to the city officials of Glendale, Ariz.

Show us proof you have $25-million (all currency U.S.) available to cover the Coyotes’ operating losses next season, the suburban Phoenix community was told, or we will sell the team immediately to someone who will move it. Glendale city council member Phil Lieberman said Tuesday they were not told who was buying the Coyotes or where they were going, but he found out the destination was Winnipeg.

The ultimatum was made one week after Bettman dismissed reports he had a backup plan to sell the Coyotes to True North Sports and Entertainment of Winnipeg. “Rampant speculation that has no foundation,” Bettman said in one interview.

But there was Bettman’s henchman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly, dropping a Winnipeg grenade into the lap of Glendale city manager Ed Beasley. Cough up $25-million or we’re out of here.

Officials from the city of 250,000 were given until 5 p.m. Friday to produce the $25-million guarantee, according to one source. They caved at 4:45, with 15 minutes to spare. [Read the rest of the story]

NHL could cash in on return to its roots

This is a good article and it does cause one to ask the question why the hell is the NHL in markets like Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Miami? I mean seriously. Hockey is a niche sport that is failing miserably in these southern markets. Hello! Hockey is played on ice, I don’t think unless there is an ice age people are going to be playing shinny on the frozen pond in any of these southern locations. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that hockey is more popular in northern markets and is a northern game.

If the National Hockey League relocated three of its weakest Southern U.S. franchises to Canada, their individual franchise values would increase by more than 50 per cent and the league's average team valuation would jump by $11 million US.

The combined revenues of the three relocated franchises would rise by $100 million per year, jacked up largely by average attendance of 6,000 more fans per game -or a total of 738,000 more per season -and regional television audiences at least 20 times larger than what they are now in the U.S. Sun Belt.

Those are the blue sky conclusions of a study comparing major financial and sport business indicators for NHL clubs in Canada and the United States. Released today by The Vancouver Sun and TheSportMarket.biz,it paints a picture of lucrative franchises north of the border and money-bleeding teams in the Southern U.S., mainly in the troubled Sun Belt markets of Phoenix, Atlanta and Miami. [read the rest of the story]