You know, we’ve heard over and over again that Kansas City can support a NHL team. We’ve heard it from AEG and we’ve heard it from NHL21.
I do not doubt that our city and our wonderful arena are a passable fit for a NHL team. There are hockey fans here. They’re quiet, they don’t have a lot of opportunities to be visible, but they are here. I see them all the time at local rinks, the preseason games and hanging around “other” sports since we don’t have a NHL team to galvanize us.
The question is — Is Kansas City really any better than the other medium-sized NHL markets that are struggling? Are we really a better market than Columbus or Nashville or Miami or Atlanta (wait, of course we’re a better sports market than Atlanta, the city with possibly the worst fair-weather fans in the country…).
Think about it. Would a franchise generate a bunch of revenue with a cable TV deal, like the Avs have with Altitude? No. Which radio station would carry the games? 810WHB is the 400 lb. gorilla, they carry K-State hoops in the winter. 610 is the 200 lb. and growing gorilla, they carry one of the top 5 college basketball programs in the country in the winter. It’s not going to be either one of those stations.
And, finally, if St. Louis is struggling because they don’t have New York/Toronto-priced tickets, would any owner REALLY see KC as a desirable market?
The only way for the Blues to seriously come out ahead is to bankroll at the gate. The problem is the Blues can’t compete with major NHL markets when it comes to ticket prices. It becomes a struggle to generate the necessary revenue to obtain optimum financial health, playing a few rounds in the playoffs can go a long way for an organization.
A high ranking Blues official recently put it this way, “We had to raise ticket prices just so we could breathe.”
Perhaps my shtick is getting just as old as NHL21′s, but an AHL team brings great hockey without these headaches…
I think Kansas City is in an undesirable limbo. Unless the arena in Independence is expanded to 8,000 seats, I can’t see an AHL team in the area. Remember that the Blades had headaches with Kemper because it was too big. But, the market is too crowded for an NHL to be viable. Either way, we’re screwed.
Only eight AHL teams had average attendance that exceeded the Independence Events Center’s capacity.
2009-2010 AHL attendance
Sprint Center may be too big for an AHL franchise, however an AHL team would be an anchor tenant. The team’s 41 home games would draw more than 200,000 additional bodies to the P&L district, including at least 5,000 on a weeknight. Ever been to P&L on a Tuesday? I’m sure the businesses would appreciate the additional traffic.
AEG was willing to have an indoor football team in Sprint Center before the league folded and indoor football is minor league.
And, on the issue of radio stations, I think if an AHL/NHL team were to come here, I think games would be broadcast on FM. Probably 98.9. Just my 2 cents.
As much as I would love to have an NHL team here in KC it won’t and shouldn’t be any time soon. Hockey has to grow here first, and it is. The Mavericks had 3rd best attendance in the CHL behind two of the top teams in the league. There are high school and pee-wee hockey teams here now. We’re moving in the right direction, but slowly. The best thing you can do as an individual is go out and support the hockey that’s here now.