Kansas City Islanders?
Thursday · Jul 29 · 2010 | 9:35 AM PDT
KCTV news report on NHL in KCDon't bet on it. But in the last couple of weeks, some interesting rumors have circulated out of Long Island, including the Islanders relocating to Kansas City, Missouri. I was just wondering what you guys thought about it.
One of my favorite websites for tracking sports franchise news is Dan Krieger's Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report at OurSports Central. He posted the following report last Monday (July 19):
The town of Hempstead on Long Island (NY) has limited the scope of a proposed development around Nassau Coliseum, home to the NHL's New York Islanders. This could put an end to planned renovations for the arena, so there has been speculation the Islanders' owner will consider relocating to Kansas City, Las Vegas, Seattle, or a new arena planned for Brooklyn.
This "speculation" was actually backed up by a local TV station in Kansas City, who made the graphic above. They also spoke with NYI Point Blank blogger and former Isles media relations VP Chris Botta by phone. Without hesitation, he says it's not going to happen. Not even a little bit.
Despite a "70% hack of [Charles] Wang's county-approved vision for the property surrounded the [Nassau Veterans Memorial] Coliseum," Botta writes on his blog, the owners "want to keep the Islanders in Nassau."
Of course the Islanders haven't said anything publicly about it, nor will they, but I thought it was an interesting notion to see a 38-year-old, 4-time Stanley Cup champion team at the hands of such a rumor. I think it'd be nice to see hockey back in Kansas City. I'm sure even Las Vegas would be a great draw. But what still shocks me is the lack of pro hockey in the Pacific Northwest — namely, Portland and Seattle.
And if the Islanders were to move to Brooklyn, would it come with a name change — say, to Americans? All I know is it seems there's very little chance the Isles will actually leave Long Island. But it's always interesting to think about.
Reader Comments (44)
Any Islanders fan would know that this is a tired and beat up subject that has been going on for a good year now, and know thatit will most likely not happen, so why even write about it? Nothing to se here, move along...
Botta is completely right. Kansas City will never happen. If the Islanders can't get a deal done in Nassau, they will move to Queens. Any other speculation is 100% ridiculous.
I agree, it is very shocking that there is not a cluster of NHL teams in the pacific northwest. there is a fantastic fan base for the WHL teams in the area, and a lot of healthy rivalries, it would be nice to see the NHL capitalize on these things... all that being said, I do not want to see the Isles move.
Hooray The Kansas City Landlockers.
Guys, if Gary Bettman has his way, the Islanders would need to move to some place in the deep south.
No Stanley Cup-winning team should ever movie. Period.
The league needs to look at Kansas City though. Along with Portland and obviously, Canada. I don't think Vegas would have a true fanbase. Everyone going to the games would be from out of town.
Brooklyn is part of Long Island so they wont need to change their name.
I personally think the Isles won't go anywhere, just wait, if Tavares can pull off a performance like Stamkos this year, they might live to play in a new arena soon enough. But if this team moves anywhere, I think it has to be Kansas City as the Chiefs or Seattle as the Metropolitans (or the Sounders if you want to keep the Islanders name in some form). Could be a great rivalry for the Canucks if Seattle got the Isles, imagine the rivalry that could start between former World Junior teammates John Tavares and Cody Hodgson. Wouldn't it be kind of funny if the Isles ended up in Southern Ontario? New York's 2nd team becoming Toronto's 2nd Team? (or closest thing to one...*cough Hamilton *cough)
Maybe thy'd get the deal done easier if Wang ever showed any interest in making the team any better. With the exception of the '93 playoff run this team has stunk for 20 years. Yes there's hope on the horizon with Tavares but there was hope on the horizon in '93. There was hope on the horizon in the mid-'90s with Bertuzzi, McCabe, Berard and Salo. There was hope on the horozon with DiPietro. There was hope on the horizon with Yashin... Why would any other city want them?
OKC
San Antonio
Houston
Texas
- Kansas City -
Yes they need to move an AHL franchise here.
they'll end up moving to brooklyn in the new arena that they are building. the new jersey nets (nba) are moving to brooklyn, so the islanders will probably move there too to keep them in ny.
Kansas City? honestly, didn't work out well for the scouts, why is the or owners exploring small hockey markets? Yes maybe a KC v STL rivalry can be worked out, but if any franchises are considering a relocation can we PLEASE start getting back to the roots in Canada. Im sure Winnipeg or Quebec City, or maybe Hamilton or Halifax would LOVE to have a team, and these are all markets that hockey would be the NUMBER 1 sport in, not 3 behind football and baseball!
KC is still too small of a market. Two million in the metro area, and hockey would compete with foorball, arena foorball baseball and soccer for the corporate and fan dollar. Hockey has failed there at every level from the NHL to the low minors and even juniors. Their new arena is nice, and it needs a tennant...but this is ripe for failure.
A team between Vancouver and San Jose would be a good fit...only 2.2 million, but only one other pro sports team to compete with.
Looking more like Phoenix will be heading back to Winnipeg, so that is off the list.
LV - I cant see it happening. The ECHL Wranglers have a good thing there, but still are only 13th in the league for attendance.
Seattle - great...if they get a new arena. Lost their NBA team because of the old barn.
Brooklyn Islanders sounds sick.
Yeah, the chances of them leaving Long Island are slim. It isn't called Long Island for no reason....it's BIG. There must be other areas/counties/townships that would jump at the chance to have a project like that?
And there's always Queens, which is technically on the Island. (Of course, so is Brooklyn). I'd like to see the 'Americans' name come back...it just seems right to have a New York Americans to juxtapose the Montreal Canadiens.
I know the NHL really wants Kansas City...but seriously, can they really justify to Canadian fans having the same amount of team's in Missouri as there are in Ontario? And having one more team there than in Quebec?
Hartford isn't that far from NYC and they have a movement to bring the Whalers back...maybe they make a deal with Wang?
Seattle, as some have said, needs a new arena. Well, Wang wants to build one. I think it would be the best American based market for hockey right now, followed by Portland, Milwaukee and Hartford.
It's fun to think about, but as you said Chris, the chances of them moving are as slim as Gary Bettman's hairline.
"I think it has to be Kansas City as the Chiefs" Yeah, except that whole thing of the NFL team in KC being the Chiefs...
As much as I'd love to see KC, it won't happen. KC has become the empty threat of every owner looking for a new arena in the NHL & NBA. I'm starting to wonder if AEG gets paid every time these threats come out...
Being in Des Moines, I would absolutely love to see an NHL team in KC. That's only three hours away. Plus, their goal is to bring their AHL affiliate to Des Moines. Anything that gets AHL hockey back here is fine with me. As long as the Schlegel family is NOT involved...
If they moved to Seattle, the name "Sounders" is already in use for the wildly popular MLS franchise. Metropolitans is a possibility, but I'd rather try to find something new and unique.
It's all moot because I don't see the Isles moving anytime soon, even though their rink is a dump.
They could go with something related to fishing (and try not to rip of the Mariners)...they could even bring back the old Fishsticks logo!
Okay... but they've gotta change their name.
Calgary Flames made sense, after relocation. Dallas Stars made sense. But Kansas City Islanders? Nah...
they will move to Quebec city before moving anywhere else...
Portland and Seattle would be great but they (and Hartford) have arena issues to work out. Kansas City always comes up because the Sprint Center is their shiny new arena that was built NHL ready. Don't forget how close the Penguins were to moving there a few years back. I don't think the Isles will leave Long Island due to the market viability and the possibility of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and new arena in Queens being a destination.
There are a lot of pretty good potential markets in the American midwest and Pacific northeast, like Portland, Seattle, Milwaukee, Cleveland, KC, Cincinatti. The downside is that virtually all of them have NBA teams, which would directly compete with NHL teams for winter entertainment and TV dollars, though NBA owners in those cities, if they also own their arena, may jump at the opportunity to double their concession and parking revenues. That said, there would have to be concern that those cities would suffer the same free agent aversion that cripples the Oilers
I hope the Islanders stay put.
I wouldn't mind seeing KC get a team, but they'd have to get in the queue behind Winnipeg, Quebec, Seattle, Portland, and Hamilton to pick up one of the BOG's ill-advised sunbelt busts.
Why would Kansas City not work?? The Rockies left Colorado and the North Stars left Minnesota and now the Avalanche and Wild are two of the most successful American NHL franchises of the past decade+
I'm so sick of hearing the x team to y rumors. probably because i'm a thrashers fan, but c'mon, people.
@HEADSIGH - I year ya... as a Ducks fan, that definitely got old constantly hearing that Anaheim/Orange County didn't deserve a team. Thank God the Ducks won the SC in '07 and legitimized NHL hockey in California/The West Coast.
Actually, the Kansas City Isles speculation has been going on for at least the past couple of years, especially after they held an exhibition game or two in Kansas City. With their recent troubles in trying to get a new arena financed in Nassau and the fact that Kansas City has a state-of-the-art complex capable of holding an NHL team (the 18,000 seat Sprint Center), I wouldn't be surprised if either side made a push to bring the team to Kansas City.
That being said, I have a hard time imagining that KC's the best open hockey market available. You've got to think that locations like Seattle (though KeyArena would need an expansion, as their facility can only hold like 15,000 for a hockey game) would be ideal for a team that wanted to stay in the United States in a hockey-rich environment. Additionally, if they wanted to test the waters in more densely populated regions with less of a hockey following, you'd think that the much larger Houston would be viewed as a more ideal site than little KC (plus, they could play in the Rockets' Toyota Center, which can seat almost 18,000 for hockey games). Or maybe even a wild card location, like Salt Lake City (the colder environment would seemingly be a plus, as would it's relatively wealthier population that has shown itself to be fanatics with their only top tier team, the Jazz, and which has been growing at an impressive pace..... though questions about if it's big enough would dog them if they moved to Utah) or Las Vegas (it might be large enough, but do they really want to be that close to sports gambling and discover if a team can hold the city's attention span long enough given the number of other distractions in that town?).
All that being said, what I'm really surprised is that we haven't hear about the Islanders teaming up with the Nets, as you've gotta think that the new Russian owner would be interested in hosting hockey games at his new arena. That seems like an ideal fix for them, as they'd remain on Long Island, be able to attach themselves to the Brooklyn moniker (Brooklyn Islanders sounds good to me), and have a brand-spanking new arena to boot. Win-win, if you asked me.
An Nhl team in Seattle? Fuck yeah!
If that happened I wonder if they would resurrect the Totems franchise,
Trevor, We've got nothing against you guys, it's just that we feel like you jumped the line. And we'll remind you about it until we get our team too. Not only did you jum,p the line, you did it in the worst way possible. The Mighty Ducks? Naming a team like that was a disgrace to hockey.
If the Islanders will move .... its going to be in Canada .... where the 6 teams are making 30-40% of the revenus of the NHL ...
Think about that !
Olivier, its not like Trevor PERSONALLY created the franchise!
As for the Islanders, i think they're 99% going to stay in the NY area, whether it be Long Island, Brooklyn, or Queens. The definitely need this new arena, though.
Ok. Let's put this to bed now. The Isles will not move for 1 reason alone...they have the best tv contract in hockey. They signed a 50 year deal in 1981. This year I belive they got over 20 million. In year 2031 they will get 36 mil. Look it up if you don't belive me. I didn't belive I at first myself. But it's true. There is more money to be made being the third most popular team in the ny metro area than the only team in kc. Any rumors are by writers who don't know what they are talking about. One thing for sure this team will be in the ny area until 2031
Will is right; the Islanders make a ton of cash from Cablevision, yes the group that owns the Rangers. The Town of Hempstead is pull a very Robert Moses move in trying to force Charles Wang (Isles owner) to accept there proposed Lighthouse project. Being a Long Islander, traffic be damned. The area is a wasteland and the Lighthouse project will build new energy in the area. As far as Brooklyn goes, I doubt that will happen due to the fact that the new area being built would not meet the NHL guidelines in terms of width. There is a tight footprint to work on there.
Good luck K.C. for as far as I know, in the two of exibition games held there the past few years, neither were close to selling out. In any case the Islanders can't move until 2015. There is an iron clad lease currently in place where that if broken, Wang could face jail time. Is K.C. ready to wait that long?
All I kow is if the Town of Hempstead does not work this out (and it had been a 10 year delay on there part), Suffolk County would be more than happy to take them. Also next to CitiField would be the next option.
If you want to relocate teams get move Pheonix, Atlanta, and one of the Florida teams.
i wouldn't mind seeing the isles going to brooklyn or next to Citi. sure its an extra 30 minute drive but i just want a decent stadium. The only good thing about the NVMC is no health violations. Besides the Lighthouse project is so unnecessary. Lets develop our team not our property
Move the Bolts to Canada, but only if they bring Chris with them. We can show him what real hockey is.
If another NHL team ever comes to the Pacific Northwest I think that Portland would get it before Seattle. They have a rink ready to go unlike Seattle, who are stuck with the awful KeyArena that was the prime reason the Supersonics left for Oklahoma City.
Glen, I've seen hockey in Canada. And yes, I was very impressed. I wrote about it on the blog a couple years ago when I visited Vancouver with my wife. Lightning games don't compare to Canucks games — obviously.
Anyway, there's no reason to move the Bolts right now, especially given what Stevie Y has done with them. But if it ever happened, I would be forced to follow them wherever they go. When does hockey season start?!
Chris: I know. Just messin with you/ trying to get you up here to Canada. If you're ever in the Hamilton area, hit me up with an email.
Seattle whalers makes perfect sense they still whale and it sounds asowme
I'm from Southern California and as a name the "Kansas City Islanders" makes about as much sense as the.....Los Angeles Lakers....
It worked when they were in Minneapolis, why not LA? The big difference is that when Minneapolis moved they were a winning team and had a brand associated with their name. The Isles haven't been as successful of a team in recent years/decades and thus by that narrow definition have less of a brand (vs. what they would've had had they moved in like the mid '80s after their Cup runs)
I've always though Seattle was a market the NHL should have entered early in the expansion cycles. In fact, there was a plan to move the Penguins there in 1975, but it fell through. With the Supersonics gone, the winter is open - the time has never been better. 15,000 capacity is plenty - the NHL doesn't need 18-21,000 seat arenas in most US markets.
I would like to see a team in Seattle, too. I think the issue is more about luxury boxes that seating capacity. It wouldn't make sense to spend hundreds of millions just for 3,000 extra seats that won't sell if the team isn't winning. Now selling luxury boxes for 10 yr. commitments ... that's where the money is (sadly).
The Islanders should probably move to Queens. They can still be the New York Islanders there.
And then the Devils can join the Nets in Brooklynn and become the New York Americans.
Attendance numbers are pretty sad for New Jersey consdering the success they've had. Sure they play a boring style, but still. At least in Brooklynn they'd still be close enough for fans in Newark to continue seeing the games, but they'd be more accessible to the rest of the NY metro area.
Oh and I absolutely love the idea of the Seattle Totems!
Kansas City will get a team. When the economy finally bounces back, the NHL will announce expansion. Kansas City and Hamilton will be the lucky recipients.