Many news outlets are reporting on the National Hockey League’s plan to expand. Here’s ABC News:
The NHL is ready to roll the dice on Las Vegas.
A person with direct knowledge of the NHL’s decision says the league has settled on Las Vegas as the home for its next expansion franchise, provided organizers can come up with a $500 million fee.
That’s right. $500,000,000 to start a new franchise in what is arguably a struggling sport. Consider: the State of Hockey, Minnesota itself, is losing high school teams, as reported by CBS local station WCCO:
State-wide, participation in boys hockey is down 12 percent from where it was 10 years ago. Girls hockey is down 7 percent. Over that same period of time, total participation in Minnesota high school sports is up.
That means the kids aren’t leaving sports. They’re just leaving hockey.
In a state where the sport is so important to our identity – what high school football is to Texas, and high school basketball is to Indiana – it begs the question: Can we still call Minnesota the State of Hockey?
Perhaps I’m just a little old, but this sounds insane. Of course, they may just be taking advantage of a businessman’s pecadillo. But if they truly expect to make that much money from every expansion, they’d better be able to show incredible potential viewership numbers. And maybe have a plan for that little windfall.
