If Nashville can get an NHL team, Jacksonville can too. Shad Khan should consider it, now that he has a stake in downtown. An NHL team will bring a minimum of 41 downtown events every year.
Having been a Lizard Kings fan and now an Icemen fan, I think Jax *might* be able to support an NHL team but it's not a certainty. It still seems to be a bit of a niche market. Even with the fan and corporate support though, there's a lack of an adequate facility. The Vystar arena although decent, only seats about 12K or so for hockey so you're going to need a new facility or some major renovations to the current one to attract the NHL. That won't come easy especially with a major retrofit on the stadium coming due in a few years.
I don't see it.
Nashville at least has tourists in all the time that will go to the games.
Jacksonville has a bunch of people that hate the cold... you have to go further south to find enough snowbirds to like hockey.
I lived in Nashville when they got the team. Tourist weren't buying the season ticket deposits required to get a team--residents and corporations were. And I don't agree about cold weather = fan support.
(06-29-2021, 04:45 PM)TrivialPursuit Wrote: [ -> ]I don't see it.
Nashville at least has tourists in all the time that will go to the games.
Jacksonville has a bunch of people that hate the cold... you have to go further south to find enough snowbirds to like hockey.
Nearly all my friends from Jacksonville grew up in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsyvlannia, and New England. I know it is not a representative sample, but there are plenty of hockey fans in the area. The issue is whether they would buy season tickets, attend games, or forsake teams they rooted for as kids. Though that was probably the same argument used against the NFL coming to Jacksonville.
I became an NHL fan when the Lighting moved in. Building a fan base takes investment, and I would love to see it here.
(06-30-2021, 10:41 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote: [ -> ]I became an NHL fan when the Lighting moved in. Building a fan base takes investment, and I would love to see it here.
I'm going to try to get back into hockey now that I have a 'home team' with the Stars.
I moved to Jax from Philly in 1991. I pretty much lived on the couch year round with all four 'major' sports from 1970-1990.
Then after moving to Jax I pretty much lost track of everything until the Jags came to town.
I do know one thing for sure, I will never EVER root for the Cowboys. I have a deep seeded hatred for the Pokes.
(06-30-2021, 04:44 PM)RicoTx Wrote: [ -> ] (06-30-2021, 10:41 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote: [ -> ]I became an NHL fan when the Lighting moved in. Building a fan base takes investment, and I would love to see it here.
I'm going to try to get back into hockey now that I have a 'home team' with the Stars.
I moved to Jax from Philly in 1991. I pretty much lived on the couch year round with all four 'major' sports from 1970-1990.
Then after moving to Jax I pretty much lost track of everything until the Jags came to town.
I do know one thing for sure, I will never EVER root for the Cowboys. I have a deep seeded hatred for the Pokes.
The Caps always have room for more fans. It’s really funny rooting for Ovi!
Being a purest, NHL belongs in the northern states. Florida should get a permanent golf major and should get the US Open Tennis. I hate that NY get the US Open when all of the tennis players live here and great academies are here.
(06-29-2021, 03:04 PM)JagFanFirst Wrote: [ -> ]If Nashville can get an NHL team, Jacksonville can too. Shad Khan should consider it, now that he has a stake in downtown. An NHL team will bring a minimum of 41 downtown events every year.
If the regular season overlaps with his other franchise, do you really think that's a good idea?
The city is not big enough to spread the sport-spectating dollars across two sports simultaneously.
Orlando might be a candidate, but like Vegas, I have a feeling a lot of the tickets will end up in the hands of visiting fans looking to see their favorite team play while they are on a vacation.
A very cold almost totally frozen; "Yeah, right!"
I see Jacksonville being more of an NBA town than an NHL town. I'd only really go to see the Pens and also to to root against the Capitols and especially the hated Flyers.
(07-16-2021, 04:17 AM)captivating Wrote: [ -> ]Being a purest, NHL belongs in the northern states. Florida should get a permanent golf major and should get the US Open Tennis. I hate that NY get the US Open when all of the tennis players live here and great academies are here.
A permanent golf major? What course would that be at? South Hampton?
(07-21-2021, 04:05 PM)HURRICANE!!! Wrote: [ -> ]I see Jacksonville being more of an NBA town than an NHL town. I'd only really go to see the Pens and also to to root against the Capitols and especially the hated Flyers.
The NBA is a dying league. No real star power and exceptionally awful ratings.
(07-21-2021, 08:23 PM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: [ -> ] (07-16-2021, 04:17 AM)captivating Wrote: [ -> ]Being a purest, NHL belongs in the northern states. Florida should get a permanent golf major and should get the US Open Tennis. I hate that NY get the US Open when all of the tennis players live here and great academies are here.
A permanent golf major? What course would that be at? South Hampton?
The TPC is already effectively the 5th major. Yeah, I know it's not technically in Jacksonville but it's identified with the greater Jax area.
(07-16-2021, 08:37 AM)Mikey Wrote: [ -> ] (06-29-2021, 03:04 PM)JagFanFirst Wrote: [ -> ]If Nashville can get an NHL team, Jacksonville can too. Shad Khan should consider it, now that he has a stake in downtown. An NHL team will bring a minimum of 41 downtown events every year.
If the regular season overlaps with his other franchise, do you really think that's a good idea?
The city is not big enough to spread the sport-spectating dollars across two sports simultaneously.
Orlando might be a candidate, but like Vegas, I have a feeling a lot of the tickets will end up in the hands of visiting fans looking to see their favorite team play while they are on a vacation.
It's a great idea. In fact, it makes for a stronger argument to bring an NHL team to Jax. Shad could use cross-promotions as incentives to bolster the attendance of both franchises. And i don't believe Jax is too small to support two pro teams. Buffalo does it. So does New Orleans. Jax is bigger than both and growing much faster.
Shad is sinking a lot of money (with the city's help) into renovating part of downtown. People aren't going to want to live or go downtown unless there's something to attract them there. An NHL team isn't a fix-all solution, but it's a good start. It brings 15,000 people into the area 41 nights a year -- more if they go to the playoffs. A lot of those people are going to want to stop off at bars or restaurants. And if the team does bring in a lot of opponents' fans, well, that's fantastic. They're going to need to stay in a hotel, right?
The only serious hitch to this is the arena. Will the city build an NHL-size arena, when they already built a smaller one recently?
It really doesn't though.