This paper will look in depth at the power structure of expansion, as the NHL is considering expanding into two new markets in the coming years, Las Vegas, Nevada and Quebec City, Quebec. It will look at the current NHL expansion proposals and examine the roles of a number of stakeholders. Expansion in a major league sport involves many individuals and groups including: Board of Governors for the NHL, private developers, arena owners, NHL Commissioner, other NHL Executives, current NHL owners, coach and players as well as governments of the localities proposed in expansion. All these groups and individuals have some role in expansion, this paper will show the most of the power lies within the NHL as an organization, and includes the Commissioner, other Executives, and the Board of Governors. The localities of Las Vegas and Quebec City have some power as government units, but within these communities most of the power lies with the developer(s) who are looking to bring the NHL to these two cities.
6 thoughts on “NHL Expansion and the Power Structure Involved”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
As a hockey fan, I was pulled in by your title! I think the power relations between the developers in each city and the Board of Governors is really interesting- they both have a lot of money to throw around so which one will win? When it comes to the importance of player support, I am thinking back to the recent lockout… how much does the Board of Governors really weigh the NHLPA’s vote on financial matters? I also find it interesting that city officials and developers have the power in the Quebec and Las Vegas expansion plans to decide whether or not they want hockey to come to their city – I would love to see a contrast with the informal process that Seattle is going through in which they are building an arena with the idea of getting NHL and NBA teams without formal permission of the NHL. I do agree with your conclusion though, hockey is a growing sport among American audiences and where there is money to be made, professional sports will find it!
First of all, I love this topic! I’m a huge baseball nut, and was recently reading an article on how MLB is looking to expand as well. Similarly to the MLB, the power lies in the Commissioner and developers. It’s just so interesting to me how sports development goes- expanding markets is such a huge thing right now. My research paper was on RFK Stadium and redeveloping that, so it’s all about making money and drawing that sports entertainment to your city.
I think it’s interesting that you included the player’s input, because I never really thought about what they would prefer. It does make sense to expand the Canadian NHL market, since it originated in Canada. I agree that the player’s input has a huge say in what the Board of Governors will do.
But like anything in planning and development, it’s going to take a long time to decide on any solution.
-Elisa Tedesco (Section 1)
Going off of the first two, comments, I also really like this topic, and I think it’s very interesting to analyze the power levels when it comes to sports in general. I think for your next research project, you might want to think about maybe either researching all professional sports leagues or just one of them. Obviously the NFL would be an easy one to do. You mention all of the different organizations with the NHL, so it would be interesting to see how the organizations of other leagues correspond with each other. Also, the Rams are possibly going to moved out of St. Louis, despite discontent among the residents of St. Louis. You could research more on that situation and the power differences there.
I really liked how you laid out the major benefits of this expansion, as well as pointing out the social and financial benefits to this development. This kind of development reminded me of “Brooklyn Matters” in terms of the actual plan to expand. The way this expansion was gone about differs greatly than Atlantic Yards because they included inputs from the actual NHL players as well as community inputs. I think this expansion seems more community beneficial because more personal opinions and points are taken into consideration. Although it would take some time, I don’t think this would be detrimental to Vegas, because as you pointed out, Sin City aims to attract as much as possible.
Firstly, thanks for giving me an idea for my second research project. On your paper though, You did a great job laying out the steps in the expansion process and and breaking down the pros and cons for both. You make a good point on how important the players want to change scenery is crucial because the players association plays such a big role in these large scale decisions. Going off on a small tangent, but the NFL is doing the same thing with Los Angeles. They are also going global with teams in London and maybe Mexico. This is all speculation of course but this goes along with the expansion process in sports leagues. The only thing I would add to your paper is what fans would think and their impact in bringing a team in or keeping a team out. Yes “Sin City” would be a very interesting place to put a sports franchise but it is also one of the biggest gambling centers in the world. Imagine the conspiracy theories running around that city. I personally dont think bringing a sports team to Las Vegas is a good idea solely because of the gambling and the consequences on a player. There is a lot of money going into that city regardless so putting a sports team in there could amount to some controversy. Overall, this was a very interesting read because expansion usually seems like a good idea but there are underlying themes we miss like how the main power is from the top.
I was definitely pulled in by your title as I am a Caps fan and have been interested in the question of adding in Quebec City and/or Las Vegas to the NHL. I must say that I appreciate your simplification of the process as well as your explanation surrounding the pros and cons of each city. For instance, it is easy to claim that either proposed team will have tons of fans, but another feat to explain where they will come from. I agree with you that the developers hold most of the power in these situations as the League is largely concerned with where the arena will be built and how it will be paid for. However, I did enjoy your discussion of Quebec City’s push for hockey–I must admit that I am in favor of hockey returning there; my dad has a Nordiques jersey and believes that “if you put a hockey team in Canada, it will succeed.” The Canadians do love their hockey, so I would put my eggs in that basket. I’m not sure if Las Vegas is a good idea–foreclosures, water shortages, possible lack of home town appeal, hot climate, no other franchises in the city; it just seems like a bit of a leap to me.