(02-07-2018 10:25 PM)NoDak Wrote: (02-07-2018 09:31 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote: (02-07-2018 09:20 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: (02-07-2018 04:32 PM)_C2_ Wrote: (02-07-2018 11:40 AM)bluesox Wrote: If San Diego built a new arena they could work to snag the coyotes.
I think that'd be one too many teams in an area of the country not big on hockey. No area of San Diego or thereabouts is far from Anaheim or at the very least, anyone that wants to be a season ticket holder of the Mighty Ducks bad enough can be. That's right, I said the Mighty Ducks, not the Ducks. That's what I grew up on.
I think it's a general rule that beaches and hockey don't really mix.
LA works because the market is massive. I guess Tampa is fine, but there are tons of snowbirds in Florida.
If I was an owner, I wouldn't risk it.
Not gonna say you can't have legit fan bases in non-traditional areas but I would argue that as far as hockey goes its hard to build that ground up infrastructure for fans of the sport when you don't have the outdoor weather and the facilities (read ice rink) to build that grass roots fan base for the sport. That said, with some sun belt teams, winning has helped propel the pro teams to keep up a good stable of fan support.
The areas around NHL teams are now significant hockey talent. The LA basin, Phoenix, DFW metroplex, Columbus, Pittsburgh etc all produce high end talent when essentially none previously existed. The Miami area may be the sole exception.
Miami is such a different culture in and of itself. That and you've got beaches for miles around to occupy people's free time. Pro sports, in general, in Miami don't really get the kind of support you see in other places so perhaps it's an outlier altogether.
I think the general problem is that outside of these major cities, the opportunity to engage in youth hockey is almost non-existant. And even if you have youth hockey opportunities, will the local high schools sponsor the sport..something that is generally necessary in order to guarantee community involvement? Not many do.
Small towns aren't going to bother building a rink. Some of the small cities have one, but the entire area is basically going to have to share it. For example, Birmingham is a metro of 1.1 million people and there is one rink in the entire area.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not down on hockey in the Sun Belt as a whole. The NHL has been very successful in some places and if you've got a local opportunity to play youth hockey then by all means take advantage of it, but penetration is the problem.
I always enjoy going to Bama club games for example, but I have to drive to Birmingham to see them play. That and I've discovered that watching hockey live and watching it on TV are two totally different experiences. Watching it live is so much more fun. Problem, of course, is that it's hard to take in a live game because rinks are sparse.
This is actually one of the reasons I think soccer is destined to become one of our more beloved sports in this country. It's too easy to build a field or just throw a ball out into an open area and play. It's only a matter of time before it becomes one of the major sports here.