hockeytown9321 0 Report post Posted May 30, 2007 Hopefully the city steps up and buys enough tickets to make up the difference and force them to stay. I really don't care whether they live or die, but them moving doesn't result in us moving east, and if they end up in Ontario, it could put our eastern dreams out of reach. Anywhere they move in the West will just result in more travel for us, so for our benefit, I hope they stay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evilmrt 636 Report post Posted May 30, 2007 Blah blah blah, the Preds are moving....otherwise Mr. Blackberries will sell the thing. Moving it to Canada is why he bought it folks! Keeping an unprofitable team in a city that won't support it makes no business sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshy207 156 Report post Posted May 30, 2007 The sale has to be approved by the owners first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted May 30, 2007 Bettman said yesterday they wouldn't be moving. Bettman is an utter douchebag if he won't let a team move out of a horridly revenue-poor area. If he really has said no this time, he'll reconsider when he sees this coming year's revenue figures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted May 30, 2007 Bettman has never let the truth get in the way of his statements to the press. He's about as reliable a source as Eklund. One good thing about the Preds staying in Nashville is at least they're relatively close to Detroit. The last thing they need is another team moving out west to add to their already ridiculous travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingsZR2 1 Report post Posted May 30, 2007 Dear Mr Bettman, I am a resident of the state of Tennessee and am a huge Red Wings fan. I will never in my life root for the Preds, however I would attend more than 4 games a year at the GEC, Nashville Arena, Sommet Center, BlackBerry's on Ice, or whatever the hell they are calling the place this week if there was more diversity in the schedule. I would love to see Sid the Kid or AO and many more up and coming stars in the NHL but instead you give me 12 games of the Blues, Bluejackets, and Blackhawks to pick from. If you want Nashville to increase ticket sales, schedule them to play the Wings 82 times a year, otherwise you attempt to broaden the hockey spectrum has failed. Regards, A former GM kid forever tied to his Motor City roots. Dear northern transplant, Hockey is on the up and up, we're on Versus now. The purpose of the heavier divisional schedule is to create more rivalries, regardless if one team continues to beat the s*** out of the other team for years at a time. We here at the NHL think the best thing to do is drive the NHL into the ground before it can be successful. Don't forget to watch the Stanley Cup finals on Versus, its the Duck vs the Sens, you know, that Disney team. G. Bettman p.s. I came from the NBA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ZDH Report post Posted May 30, 2007 b Dear Mr Bettman, I am a resident of the state of Tennessee and am a huge Red Wings fan. I will never in my life root for the Preds, however I would attend more than 4 games a year at the GEC, Nashville Arena, Sommet Center, BlackBerry's on Ice, or whatever the hell they are calling the place this week if there was more diversity in the schedule. I would love to see Sid the Kid or AO and many more up and coming stars in the NHL but instead you give me 12 games of the Blues, Bluejackets, and Blackhawks to pick from. If you want Nashville to increase ticket sales, schedule them to play the Wings 82 times a year, otherwise you attempt to broaden the hockey spectrum has failed. Regards, A former GM kid forever tied to his Motor City roots. Dear northern transplant, Hockey is on the up and up, we're on Versus now. The purpose of the heavier divisional schedule is to create more rivalries, regardless if one team continues to beat the s*** out of the other team for years at a time. We here at the NHL think the best thing to do is drive the NHL into the ground before it can be successful. Don't forget to watch the Stanley Cup finals on Versus, its the Duck vs the Sens, you know, that Disney team. G. Bettman p.s. I came from the NBA LMAO Now that would be even funnier if that were Gary's real response... It would likely be something like... Dear Fan, The game is perfect in all 30 cities and Nashville is the most popular of the expansion teams since 1991. We fully expect the game to have higher ratings in the US than basketball, football or NASCAR by the year 2015. We are strong as a league and will only contunue to grow. Our revenues far exceeded what we thought they would and thus the Salary Cap will be increasing this summer. The Nashville Predators are the symbol of the NHL and the city of Nashville has promised me they will buy as many tickets as they possibly can. All the famous music singers from there including Billy Ray Cyrus will look forward to breaking their Achy Breaky Hearts watching their team play in the Stanley Cup Final against the Atlanta Thrashers in 2012. Thank you for your support and make sure you tune into the Cup FInals tonight as the Ottawa Senators take on the Nashville Predators in what should be an exciting hockey game! I am flying to Nashville right now to watch it. I am so excited. David Poile says he has 18,000 empty seats but I think he is exaggerating. Yours truly, Gary Bettman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacK_Attack 108 Report post Posted May 31, 2007 The City of Hamilton has re-activated an agreement with Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie giving him exclusive rights to bring an NHL team to Copps Coliseum, the Hamilton Spectator reported Thursday. "He has assured me that he wants to secure a team and he is interested in bringing it to Hamilton," Eisenberger said Wednesday night. "Certainly he has the resources to do it and we will leave it up to him to pull it together." http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp...531_001140_2400 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hank 0 Report post Posted May 31, 2007 Bettman also says the refs are fantastic and hockey is on the way up. Besides, I think it's already been stated that the Preds are staying in Nashville through next year for sure by the Leipold. This is true. The current lease the Preds have has 14 years left on that. However, if they don't average over 14,000 fans next season, there's a loophole in it that will allow the team to move. And considering that Hamilton has given Ballsillie exclusive rights to Copps Colasium and that Ballsilie has purchased 25 Hectares of land in Kitchener-Waterloo I'd say it's a very good bet that the team will move to Hamilton for at least 1 season while a new arena is built in KW where the team will land for good. Ballsillie dropped out of buying the Pens because Mario didn't want him to move the team. Surely Bettman and company know about his plans to bring a team to Southern Ontario. If they didn't want this move, they wouldn't approve the sale. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipetz22 0 Report post Posted May 31, 2007 Interesting article from our man Bucci . . . http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007...&id=2884769 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ZDH Report post Posted May 31, 2007 This is true. The current lease the Preds have has 14 years left on that. However, if they don't average over 14,000 fans next season, there's a loophole in it that will allow the team to move. And considering that Hamilton has given Ballsillie exclusive rights to Copps Colasium and that Ballsilie has purchased 25 Hectares of land in Kitchener-Waterloo I'd say it's a very good bet that the team will move to Hamilton for at least 1 season while a new arena is built in KW where the team will land for good. Ballsillie dropped out of buying the Pens because Mario didn't want him to move the team. Surely Bettman and company know about his plans to bring a team to Southern Ontario. If they didn't want this move, they wouldn't approve the sale. Copps Coliseum in Hamilton is a nice arena and can hold around 18,000 I think. That is where Team Canada beat Team USSR back in the '87 Canada Cup. The infamous Gretzky to Mario game winning goal. Gretzky to Lemiex he SCOOORREESSS! Back in the Expansion days, Ottawa was chosen over Hamilton basically because the Leafs and Sabres squashed any idea of Hamilton getting a team. I recall everyone was surprised because it seemed Hamilton had Ottawa beat in every criteria. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hank 0 Report post Posted May 31, 2007 Copps Coliseum in Hamilton is a nice arena and can hold around 18,000 I think. That is where Team Canada beat Team USSR back in the '87 Canada Cup. The infamous Gretzky to Mario game winning goal. Gretzky to Lemiex he SCOOORREESSS! Back in the Expansion days, Ottawa was chosen over Hamilton basically because the Leafs and Sabres squashed any idea of Hamilton getting a team. I recall everyone was surprised because it seemed Hamilton had Ottawa beat in every criteria. I've been there to watch a few Bulldog games. It's a nice arena but it should be updated. I'm still wondering how Hamilton will like it if he brings the team there only to leave once his arena is built in Kitchener-Waterloo. Not saying that would happen, but I can't see the NHL allowing 3 teams in Southern Ontario (even though they could probably support it). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ZDH Report post Posted May 31, 2007 I've been there to watch a few Bulldog games. It's a nice arena but it should be updated. I'm still wondering how Hamilton will like it if he brings the team there only to leave once his arena is built in Kitchener-Waterloo. Not saying that would happen, but I can't see the NHL allowing 3 teams in Southern Ontario (even though they could probably support it). That is what I am thinking too. Balsille moves the Preds to Hamilton for a few seasons until the new arena is ready in KW. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacK_Attack 108 Report post Posted May 31, 2007 Copps Coliseum is decent, but lacks the private boxes to be a permanent NHL arena. Obviously, it will make a servicable stop-gap until the RIM Arena is built in Cambridge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
