NHL in Las Vegas? Columnist Says Don’t Bet On It
By Phil Watson
There were rumblings this week that a group looking to put an NHL team in Las Vegas was talking to officials at MGM Resorts International, but could it actually happen?
MGM Resorts International is reportedly in preliminary talks to bring the NHL to Las Vegas, but is it something that could become a reality?
MGM Resorts is partnering with Anschutz Entertainment Group in the construction of a 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas and is looking for a major-league tenant to put in the new building, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Anschutz Entertainment Group is led by Los Angeles Kings owner Philip Anschultz, adding some meat to the rumors.
The NHL has denied reports that a team is headed to Las Vegas when the building opens in 2016. But according to Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, the odds aren’t good for Vegas landing a team.
Proteau points out failed NHL ventures in cities where hockey is not a native sport and the league currently has some problem markets in non-traditional hockey towns such as Phoenix and Miami.
"“There will be a certain amount of hype and happiness in Vegas if the NHL became the first professional sports league to operate there, but once that giddiness fades after a few years, there is next to no grassroots/amateur hockey scene in the area through which to reach young kids and cultivate them as players and fans.“Absent that pipeline of support, what is going to grab the casual sports fan by the scruff of the neck and make them care about hockey?”"
Proteau also points out that—and this may be news to some—there are other things to do in Las Vegas besides going to hockey games. Who knew?
He is willing to admit there is a chance it could work … just not a very good one.
"“Is there a chance the NHL could deft expectations and make hockey work in Las Vegas? Sure, just like there was a chance in Atlanta and Kansas City and Cleveland and Hartford. All those places seemed like good ideas at the time, but for a variety of reasons, it didn’t take long for best-laid plans to be laid to rest.“And a Las Vegas NHL team would come out of the gate with all sorts of challenges reducing the odds of their long-term survival.”"
Hockey in Vegas doesn’t seem like a natural fit. Heck, it doesn’t even seem like a quirky, unnatural fit. It seems like a good way to throw good money after bad and not much more than that.
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