Ramble’s of Rob

Well its an off-day before the Rangers take on the Panthers Friday night in Florida, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the situation for the NHL Winer Classic in 2009 and the constant rumblings and opinions of relocation and expansion of franchises. So here goes!

- The biggest rumbling and evidence about the NHL Winter Classic this week came out of New York involving the Rangers. The Daily News of NY went as far to say that the Rangers have all but locked up to be the host, but with only the task of finding the right opponent. The game would be at Yankee Stadium, and it would be the last event in its history. And here is more evidence of this:

That photo was taken by a man who was touring the stadium and happen to stumble upon this evidence. Its an interesting placement for the rink. The picture is courtesy of the website NHL Tournament of Logo’s, and you can read the whole story here. I am all for NYR getting an outdoor game as I have said before, but I have a few problems with this idea and situation.

Baseball stadiums are unique venues. As you can see from the photo, the first rows near the dugouts will be closer than a football stadium but will they be high enough to see all of the action? I like how it will be a closer feeling to the rink, but I would rather have the NHL stick to keeping the Winer Classic in football stadiums. Another thing with this photo is that they would almost certainly build makeshift stands in the outfield, bringing the fans even closer. Wikipedia says that the stadium holds just under 58,000 for a baseball game. So an accurate guess with the layout above would be around 60-65,000 due to the fact that most of the outfield seats wouldn’t be used because of the makeshift stands that would have to be created in the outfield. I do not think that is enough people, which is why the Winter classic should stay in Football stadiums, where more people can get through the gate ($$$) and where putting the rink up wouldn’t be a logistical problem. If the Rangers have truly locked up the ‘09 classic, they should attempt to play it in Giants Stadium, which fits 80,000 no problem. I see a couple of advantages and disadvantages.

For one, filling Giants stadium wouldn’t be a problem. 40,000 tickets sold out in Buffalo in 37 minutes, which is a testament to the loyalty to the fans and what a fantastic event this is. Another advantage and disadvantage at the same time is that Giants Stadium is located in New Jersey. Its an advantage because the event wouldn’t be in the Bronx, but its a disadvantage because it might turn away the average fan FROM the Bronx who doesn’t want to travel. Regardless, I’m glad to see that the Rangers are heavily in the talks for the ‘09 classic. Rumored teams to play the Rangers are the Islanders, Bruins, and Red Wings. I believe the best choice would be the Bruins. The media would play off the Boston-NY rivalry heavily. If you chose the Islanders the Buzz might not grow as big because of the game being so local. If you chose the Red Wings it might become to bland. The Bruins play hard and have given NYR great games this season, and all I want is to see a hockey fight outdoors in the Bronx on National TV.

- Moving on to Franchise relocation. Being an old-tyme (get it, with a y!) Hockey-ist, I’ve never liked the rapid expansion into the Southern part of the US by the NHL. And to begin, if the NHL decides to expand past 30 teams they will surely regret it. The NHL has planted the seeds of the “New” NHL, now they need to water it from time to time and let it grow. I feel like the NHL is trying to “grow” hockey upon markets instead of trying to find Hockey markets and place teams there. There are many rumbles of possible cities for relocation above the Mason-Dixon line involving Kansas City, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, and moving into Canada with Hamilton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Teams that are involved in moving rumors are Florida, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Nashville, Atlanta, and Phoenix. First I will Rank each team in my opinion on who should move ASAP from 1 through 6.

1. Nashville. As much as Business is reportedly coming back, the franchise is in trouble. Bettman did now allow Basile to buy the franchise because of his intentions to move it to Hamilton in Ontario. I have a feeling this franchise will be on the move in the next five years though. The following isn’t enough to support a franchise with greater market opportunities out there.
2. Florida. Florida for this season so far is ranked last in % filled in total attendance. (ESPN) Although you don’t hear about many problems from Florida, you don’t hear much of anything either. When your home city is named Sunrise, your just not a hockey town. Its bad enough Florida has two teams, and at least one has to go. Sorry Panthers, but you don’t have a cup unlike your in-state foes on the west coast.
3. Next up would be Columbus, who edges out Florida in total attendance by 1.2%. The same goes here. As much as there aren’t many problems, there also aren’t many positives coming out of Ohio.
4. Phoenix. A move back to Winnipeg could be in the cards for the former-Jets. Winnipeg is pressing hard for a franchise and Phoenix hasn’t enjoyed much success in the desert since its move. There are two problems though. First, Jobing.com arena is almsot brand new and in sparkling condition. Second, Winnipeg needs a new arena. Don’t look for this to happen anytime soon.
5. Atlanta. The All-Star game might not have been a big hit on TV, but fans packed Phillips Arena all weekend. Phillips arena is another obstacle as it too like Jobing.com is in fantastic shape. Atlanta will still be around past 2015 but if its still below the 90% mark after that, they could be moving.
6. Last is Tampa Bay. Again, hockey and Florida don’t really mix, but the league will be reluctant to move Tampa as it in its short history the already have a ring on their fingers. Plus as I watched the Islanders visit them, there was a good show in the stands, especially in the 100 seats.

So basically I want to obliterate the South-eastern division, but its just a clear fact that Hockey isn’t America’s sport, so why should the NHL try to force it in area’s where Ice doesn’t even form once a year? Hopefully in the next ten years we see a northern migration. My top US cities would be Salt Lake and Las Vegas. My top Canadian cities would be Winnipeg and Quebec/Hamilton. I just worry about the affect of putting a team in Quebec city due to the strong Montreal following.

There’s a little rant for you. I’ll be doing more of this over the summer. Rangers at Panthers, Friday night at 7:30, let’s go Rangers. – Rob