This fine post from Mr. Edwards…..from August of 07. Do enjoy and maybe this will stay in Vegas.
The first of many contributions by Danada…welcome aboard.
Speculation about a potential arena in Las Vegas has the masses teeming with interest and conversation. Is it good for the NHL, NBA, or whoever else they decide to bring in? I am going to stick with the NHL in this piece, because frankly the other major sports have their piece of the viewer pie.
I personally question the expansion of the NHL, but with the market for players becoming more and more diverse each year, and the price tag on the quality players shooting through the roof, it won’t be too long before our free agency pool with be more than sufficient to fill a couple more rosters. With Detroit, Nashville, and Columbus easily transferable into the east, adding one or two teams into the western conference and juggling some regional matchups could give the NHL the shakeup it apparently ‘needs.’ Kansas City is a leading candidate for a new location, but then again so was Hamilton. In this case, most parties win, based on the fact that Vegas has some room in between hockey markets, and I really doubt they will pull from any of the California teams home crowds.
Vegas can produce a new brand of fan. People go to Vegas for a weekend or a week at a time. While this doesn’t really create team loyalty, this new hybrid fan can take their experiences from Vegas back to their own market. There are plenty of people in Nashville, Atlanta, California, and Florida who probably don’t know a thing about hockey. If anyone experiences hockey, I only hope it is live. The experiences at an action packed arena should be and can be more than enough to produce new fans in a game that sorely needs publicity. Corporate sponsorships would essentially be high, but why wouldn’t you expect something like that from Vegas? Ignore that there will only be so many local fans. Consider the benefits of having people go because it is hockey.
Vegas equates to money spent. People go to Vegas to spend money. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that watching some kind of circus is less appealing compared to watching a live NHL game. Sporting events are highly toted in the United States, and I honestly think that regardless of the sport it will take off in a place like Vegas. So getting past the seats being filled, let’s move to the sales inside the arena. Obviously alcohol sales would be well in contention with any other arena, because we all know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Shirts, hats, jerseys, and any other team memorabilia will take on a whole new form. The average working man going to Vegas for conventions will need souvenirs for his kids. What better than a puck from an NHL team, or a great shirt or jersey? Nothing spells love like something their friends will gawk at.
Let’s let Vegas do what Versus wishes they could do. Bring the game to the people, and watch the people once again flock to the sheer greatness of the game.
