The Star has a promotional piece described as a sports article claiming that The Nashville Predators are better than Wayne Gretzky and Kristi Yamaguchi put together . . . Ew.
Admittedly, I don't know dick about hockey but a lot of people who do say that trades and the prospect of NHL free agency have and will deplete the proven talent on the Predators roster.
Personally, I don't care because I don't like hockey and the folks in Canada are clamoring that the market for hockey in Kansas City stinks. Here's the most optimistic passage from a recent article on the subject:
To be fair, the new Sprint Center, where the Kansas City Cash Cows would lace up, is a state of the art arena, one which has blown away any NHL official who has toured it thus far. The rink is the jewel of a downtown redevelopment project and sales of private boxes have been brisk, suggesting the interest might be there.And before you get too excited, let's take into account that local coverage is a bit slanted about the topic . . . There are still a lot of people who say that deal isn't going to happen like the owner of the team for instance:
Could it flourish there? Sure. But for how long?
"When we played there, they didn't promote us at all," Wilf Paiement (owner of the expansion Scouts who played in KC from 1974-76) said. "But with the way the league sells the game now, I think it could work in Kansas City."
There's the rub.
In Canadian markets like Hamilton or Winnipeg, you don't have to worry about selling the game.
Or tickets, for that matter.
Then again, putting teams in markets where fans passionately care about the sport might just be too novel a concept for hockey's movers and shakers to grasp.
Predators owner waves off report
And here is an honest question that I don't know that answer to: If hockey didn't work in Nashville, why should it work in Kansas City?
The novelty of the Brigade and their hotass cheerleaders is wearing off and they no longer play to sold out crowds . . . Let's not forget there are so many people competing for your entertainment dollar other than pro-sports . . . X-box, porn, Playstation, your girlfriend, your mistress, IPhone, casinos and paintball in a cave are all out there and they don't involve low scoring games and the a league that stupidly worked to end the awesomeness of the hockey fight . . . Which was the only reason to go to the games as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it but I'm honestly curious as to what other people think on the subject.
Considering they actually made it to a playoff last year, they have the other teams in this town beat.
ReplyDeleteNashville hated the Predators because people from Nashville dislike anything not native to their state or city. Hockey has also been most popular in working-class cities and Nashville is old money south.
ReplyDeleteHamilton is not getting a team. The owner of the Predators wanted to sell to him but the Leafs(sp) and the league nixed it.
Winnipeg is a joke. They have only a 15,000 seat arena built (new) and nobody likes to fly in there in the middle of winter. It's 2000+ miles from some NHL teams.
It doesn't look like the NBA is coming to town. This is the next best thing. And with the Predators you don't have a team that people from Canada, America's hat, still thinks should be theirs.
If DelBiaggio wins final approval the team is moving to KC.
ReplyDeleteHe has already signed an agreement with the Sprint center to bring a team here.
He attempted to bring the Pens here last year but the owners wouldn't sell him the team (because he was going to move it).
He is a minority owner of the San Jose Sharks. He is familiar with KC since the Blades were their equivalent of AAA back in the day.
Maybe someone should let them know there is no parking for the Sprint Arena.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of parking for the arena. Don't make things up that aren't true or beleive the defeatist mantras of haters like Tony.
ReplyDelete