On August 26, rumors started circulating that Las Vegas had been selected, along with Seattle, Quebec City, and Toronto (second team), as one of the markets under consideration by the National Hockey League, which is reportedly considering three to four new expansion teams. The Province daily newspaper (Vancouver, B.C.) reported, "Sources close to the [NHL expansion] situation have indicated Las Vegas is a done deal."
The next day, two NHL officials denied it, in fairly strong language. One said that there was no credibility whatsoever to the report. The other said that nothing new had happened.
Rumors, "done deals," and league denials are par for the course when it comes to Las Vegas and professional sports, so as far as we know, Las Vegas won’t be hosting an NHL team anytime soon.
But let’s take a closer look.
First, the NHL has a fairly cozy relationship with Las Vegas. For example, the 2014 NHL Awards show was broadcast live from Las Vegas on June 24; reportedly, the venue attracts not only fans, but players as well. In addition, the L.A. Kings play an annual "Frozen Fury" pre-season game, generally against the Colorado Avalanche, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (this year’s game is on Saturday October 4). In fact, pre-season games in Las Vegas date all the way back to 1991, when the first-ever official outdoor NHL game, between the New York Rangers and L.A. Kings, was held on September 27 on a rink built over the Caesars parking lot; the air temperature at the start of the game was 85° F and went as high as 95 during the course of the game, with the ice holding up well. (The Kings won, 5-2.)
Second, a suitable arena is currently under construction. MGM and AEG are building a 20,000-seat sports and entertainment venue behind New York-New York and Monte Carlo. It’s scheduled to be finished in spring 2016.
Third, conventional wisdom has it that Las Vegas is wide open for professional sports and it’s believed, at least in some circles, that the first team to locate here will have a big edge when it comes to the local sports-fan market. In addition, the thinking goes, Las Vegas home games will also attract fans of the visiting team, who’ll combine a Vegas vacation with tickets to see their team play.
Fourth, Las Vegas would like a professional hockey team to locate here. In late 2007, the city was one of four to propose a franchise to the NHL’s executive committee.
In the minus column, the buy-in is pretty steep. The expansion fee per team will run, in today’s dollars, around $300 million, and no ownership group has come forward to publicize any ambition to launch a team.
Many people also question the suitability of the Vegas market. It’s not like this city doesn’t have a hundred other options vying for local and tourist entertainment dollars (unlike, perhaps, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and St. Paul). Also, a large percentage of the Vegas-area workforce works the swing shift, when games take place. The casinos prefer to keep customers in their own buildings, rather than buy up large blocks of tickets to send their players off-site.
Also, even a cursory glance at hockey history in Las Vegas would probably argue against the odds of an expansion team making it here:
The Las Vegas Gamblers Senior Amateur hockey team lasted two seasons in the late 1960s.
The Las Vegas Outlaws played as an Independent Team for two seasons in the early 1970s.
The Las Vegas Thunder were a minor-league International League team for six seasons (1993 to 1999).
The Las Vegas Aces, were a Senior Amateur team in the Pacific Southwest League that lasted one season (1993-1994).
The Las Vegas Ice Dice were a minor-league in the North American League for one season (1995-1996).
The Nevada Gamblers and Nevada Rattlers were junior hockey teams that each lasted two seasons.
The longest-lived minor-league hockey team was the Las Vegas Wranglers in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), which lasted 11 seasons from 2003 to 2013-2014, playing in the Orleans Arena. When the Orleans opted not to renew the Wranglers’ lease, that was that. The last we heard, the team is still seeking a permanent venue and hoping to play in the 2015-2016 season.
All in all, we’re not holding our breath for an NHL hockey team to play in Las Vegas.
