Could the NHL work in Seattle?
Posted January 10, 2013 8:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SEATTLE (NEWS1130) – How would you feel about a cross border rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and a team in the Emerald City?
Businessman Chris Hansen is reportedly close to deal to buy the Sacramento Kings NBA team and move it to Seattle.
Hansen has secured funding to build an arena near Safeco Field in the Sodo area and it has also been reported that his group is interested in a National Hockey League franchise.
Brad Humphries, an economics professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in sports, says it’s a possibility.
“It passes the smell test and [Seattle is] big enough, but it’s not a traditional hockey hotbed like Canada,” says Brad Humphries, an economics professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in sports. “I don’t know whether it’s a viable hockey market, but it’s probably more viable than Phoenix, Florida or Nashville.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was quick to dismiss to the idea yesterday.
<a href=”http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/”>The Phoenix Business Journal</a> is reporting Bettman isn’t focused on putting a team in Seattle right now.
Humphries points out there are several places, such as Quebec City, that may be more attractive if a struggling franchise, such as Phoenix, relocates.
“The question becomes where do you move them, and that becomes a really complicated issue,” Humphries says. “The country is divided up into areas where teams have exclusive territorial rights and teams are reluctant to give that up because then they lose some of the power in their market.”
Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie tried to buy the Coyotes and move them to Ontario in 2009 after the team went bankrupt, but the NHL assumed ownership instead.
Ice Edge Holdings was working on a deal to buy the team and move it to Saskatoon, but that fell through a few years ago.
Former San Jose Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison is currently heading up a group that wants to keep the team in Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Sacramento Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson says he will fight to keep the Kings in his city.
The Seattle Sonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 and the team has been without an NBA franchise ever since.
