Study Finds Las Vegas, Houston to Be Among Top Relocation Markets for NHL Franchises

by Jacob Burg on Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 12:37AM

True diehard sports fans hate to hear it, but professional sports are all about business. And for a business, it's all about following the money.

Recently, the NHL has been a particularly good example of a league in which teams up and move for greener pastures — see: the Atlanta Thrashers closing up shop and moving north to Winnipeg.

While it remains to be seen if the new Winnipeg Jets will fare better than the old ones, The Business Journals have run the numbers to see what other major cities could sustain a franchise, since certain ailing clubs — the Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets and even the New York Islanders — might be looking to move in the near future.

The study, featured on The Business Journals' On Numbers blog, showed that 22 markets have the necessary income bases to support an NHL team. Among the prominent candidates are Las Vegas, Houston, Seattle and Orlando.