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Post by Y2Jets on Jan 1, 2006 13:23:05 GMT -5
Well i cant tell you.. who i got this from.. but seems like if hartford gets a new 16,000 seat arena they are def. in the nhl. They are almost a forsure if they get a 16,000 seat arena. Remeber they were not that bad in attendance through there years.
Im proud for them. They got my support.
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Post by Pitbull on Jan 1, 2006 13:56:36 GMT -5
And Bettman would like a team there because it's in a US market. Now I'm betting that he's trying to think of a way to move Edmonton or Calgary to Hartford. LOL
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Post by hawker14 on Jan 1, 2006 14:16:24 GMT -5
unless the city/state pony up $ 225 million of the $ 250 million cost, it's not going to happen.
i'd love to see the whale in hartford again, though.
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Post by Ducky on Jan 1, 2006 14:33:17 GMT -5
unless they are guaranteed a team like ottawa was but I don't see them build a big arena and gamble like hamilton did. Smart money would to get a franchise first then build the arena like ottawa did. OMG I hope we don't lose a gamble by building the MTSC.
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Post by KillerBrew on Jan 2, 2006 0:43:36 GMT -5
Also, ESPN is based in Connecticut. I think that would guarantee a TV deal. Not that I care, just sayin'.
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Post by jason on Jan 2, 2006 1:53:08 GMT -5
*snoring*
BOR-RING BOR-RING
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Post by jetbloodisback on Jan 2, 2006 2:09:38 GMT -5
Boring for sure Quebec doesn't even have an arena built and even if they started building the arena it wouldn't be ready by like 2009. One or two teams will have relocated by then. But the point is we are the next Canadian city to get an NHL franchise period.
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nickscorner
Veteran Member
i am the master of F5 poundage
Posts: 237
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Post by nickscorner on Jan 6, 2006 16:42:46 GMT -5
Boring for sure Quebec doesn't even have an arena built and even if they started building the arena it wouldn't be ready by like 2009. One or two teams will have relocated by then. But the point is we are the next Canadian city to get an NHL franchise period. its looking pretty good for winnipeg right now...
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sburke
Veteran Member
Posts: 209
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Post by sburke on Jan 7, 2006 9:35:58 GMT -5
so, we get the first team, and then after that, they do whatever they want, if they want hartford or quebec city, it would all be great
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Post by White-Out on Jan 12, 2006 20:14:04 GMT -5
Dream come true for Hockey fans.
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Post by greatzamboni on Jan 12, 2006 21:07:38 GMT -5
There is a big buzz in Hartford right now about getting an NHL team back. Play in the Civic Center for a few years while a new arena is being built ala Greensboro, NC (except w/o the 5,000 crowds!). The problem is Hartford is surronded by NHL teams and Bettman does not like the ex-WHA cities. He was on W-FAN in NYC today(Mike & Mad Dog Show) prior to the NYR Messier retire ceremony and said all NHL teams were stable and not moving in the near future. He has also mentioned that the NHL would be interested in ANY city that could get 10-11K solid season ticket base. I think a new commis. would help WPG and HFD chances.
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Post by joelzillmanwpg on Jan 12, 2006 21:09:12 GMT -5
I would love to see Hartford get a team back!
GO WHALE!!!
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Post by jason on Jan 12, 2006 21:09:57 GMT -5
Who CARES about Hartford? NOT ME!
Why should me, a sports fan of Winnipeg, care? Seriously?
Why should any of us?
they're TALKING about an arena. Big. Freakin'. Deal.
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Post by joelzillmanwpg on Jan 12, 2006 21:14:29 GMT -5
LONG LIVE THE WHALE!!!
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Post by joelzillmanwpg on Jan 12, 2006 21:22:27 GMT -5
Could the NHL Make a Return to Hartford? HARTFORD -- New details on an effort to bring a major league sports team back to Connecticut. And if it happens, it would have a familiar and cherished name. The whole deal centers around the Civic Center. The state is about to do a study to figure out the best uses for the building because the company that manages it -- Madison Square Garden -- may lose the contract. Whalers fans say the time is right for a comeback. Step inside Marty Evtusheks Whalers' memorabilia room and you don't doubt for a second that he holds a leadership position in the Whalers Booster Club. Brass Bonanza would sound a lot sweeter to Marty if it were played once again inside the Civic Center he says. Marty is the booster club's vice president. Al Victor is the president. The men say the whalers departure in 1997 hurt more than just the fans. "When the Whalers were here, we took them for granted," he says. "But when they left it devastated the Hartford economy. It was our identity. "There are published reports that the Whalers former general manager says he'd like to bring the team and the NHL back to Hartford. "It's perfect for Hartford," Victor says. "It fits with what the city's trying to do. source: www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?s=4277221
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Post by joelzillmanwpg on Jan 15, 2006 20:39:11 GMT -5
Town man may hold power in play for NHL’s return Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer Published January 15 2006 L. Scott Frantz can't name the player who holds the Hartford Whalers franchise record for most goals -- see Ron Francis. But the Riverside man may hold the answers to much more consequential questions for those who want the National Hockey League to return to Connecticut. Frantz, 45, is chairman of the Connecticut Development Authority, the state economic incentive agency that oversees the operation of the Hartford Civic Center. The agency is entertaining proposals of what to do with the 16,500-seat arena, the former home of the Hartford Whalers for 22 years before the franchise relocated to North Carolina in 1997. The arena is currently losing about $4 million per year, according to Frantz. "We want to make sure if there is an opportunity out there for any significant change in the operation," Frantz said. While the arena continues to be a venue for minor league hockey, University of Connecticut basketball games and concerts, Whalers holdovers are pressing the state to initiate a renaissance of the NHL in Hartford."We know for a fact that NHL hockey is difficult," said Frantz, a venture capitalist who also serves as chairman of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. "They're just coming off their long strike." But Frantz said the agency's board of directors wants to do what is best for the city and state and remains open-minded about the future prospects for the arena. The arena is currently managed by Madison Square Garden and home to the New York Rangers American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. The state has a lease with MSG to manage the facility until 2013, but that contract can be terminated by either party.The Connecticut Development Authority voted 8-2 on Wednesday to solicit proposals from private investors on the future of the 30-year-old arena, which Frantz said will also be the focus of a study that his agency will commission. The study's scope is expected to gauge local support for an NHL franchise, something that Whalers hold-overs say remains solid nine years after the club's relocation."The Whalers put Hartford and Connecticut on the map," said Al Victor, a former Whalers season-ticket holder and New Britain resident who is president of the Hartford Whalers Booster Club, a fan group comprising about 30 Whalers holdovers. "Other than the Whalers, Connecticut is just a drive-thru between New York and Boston."In a poll taken on the group's Web site, 684 of 688 people surveyed said they would like to see the NHL return to Hartford, with a vast majority of respondents supporting the Whalers as the team's name.Bryan Avroch, 27, a teacher from Stamford who grew up in Hartford and attended the Whalers final home game in April 1997, responded to the survey. "At first, I tried to convince myself that I would become a fan of another team, but that hasn't happened," said Avroch, who still owns several of the team's jerseys and plays hockey himself. Bob Grande, a lawyer in his 30s from Stamford who also responded to the survey, said he was optimistic that the state could support the highest level of professional team but had mixed feelings about the use of taxpayer money to subsidize the venture. "If they're going to waste my money, I prefer they'd do it on a professional sports franchise than on half the crackpot schemes that they devise," said Grande, a former East Hartford resident.Frantz's initial assessment may be accurate for now, however. "At the moment, we don't have any teams to go anywhere," NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. "We have no plans to expand and have no current expectation that any of our incumbent clubs is going to move." Still, diehard fans such as Victor are encouraging the state agency led by Frantz to give credence to a proposal by Howard Baldwin, who started the Whalers as a World Hockey Association team in 1971 and sold his share of the team in 1988. A film producer whose company's credits include the Ray Charles biopic "Ray," Howard said he would be willing to stake his reputation and money on a new minor league team in Hartford that could be used as a steppingstone for drawing a NHL franchise to the city. "Do I think it's a terrific market? Yes, but we've got to show them," Baldwin said from his Los Angeles office. "Actions speak louder than words. I'll do anything, whether it be work with them or come in as a partner."As optimistic as fans said they were about the NHL's return to their beloved Connecticut, some raised doubts about the state's commitment to achieving that outcome and called for it to be a bolder player in the process. "I don't think a state that is trying to gain vitality economically can sit back and be conservative," Victor said. Frantz said he understood the frustrations of some of those who want the NHL to return, and that his agency was working hard to expedite the matter. As for his own hockey interests, Frantz, whose wife's name is Icy, said he follows the sport through his children's involvement in it. From the state's capital city to his corner of the state, Frantz said winning will ultimately decide how successful any occupant is at the Hartford Civic Center. "I suppose if you had a team as exciting as the New England Patriots playing in Hartford, I think you probably could convince some people from Fairfield County to come up to the games," Frantz said. source: www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-nhl,0,1617644.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines
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Post by jetbloodisback on Jan 16, 2006 0:36:12 GMT -5
As we also see Hartford is miles behind us. We will be the first place a hockey team relocates to.
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