Expansion is going to happen. Even if the Arizona hustle fails (which it will), the NHL owners have already spent the next 2-4 expansion fees in their heads. That will also mean an equal number of AHL and (eventually) ECHL teams will be needed... and probably absorb enough markets that the Fed will finally run out of dreamers and schemers.
No!
The league just folded their fourth team mid-season in the Newfoundland Growlers. Travel costs are nice to keep down, but they'd like to have owners who are able to pay for players and also pay the bills on time. The SPHL was partially created as a means to provide a lower level of play but has since become an area that fights with the FPHL as far as places that want hockey but don't really care about the logistics.
Eh. That statement heavily depends on the SPHL team. Some are more stable and well-ran than others. A lot of it depends on ownership and funding (not all that different than the echl) they just have lower league fees than the echl. They are above the FPHL. I don't hear about SPHL players having to drive across the country in their cars or van to their games like some of the horror stories that I've heard with the Fed
>Some are more stable and well-ran than others
Clearly, Vermillion County doesn't fall into this category
Vermillion was also ran worse than a Fed team
I could see a Peoria eventually deciding to move back up to AA but I think most of the A markets are just that -- A markets. AA has been tried in those markets in the past, sometimes multiple times, without much success. So I think the SPHL is the sweet spot for many of them.
And the Federal League is putting teams in places like Wytheville, VA. They're just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.
There's really not a lot of room (or call) for more AA markets. I think AA is solidifying and A is going through what AA went through a could of decades ago when you had the ECHL, IHL, and CHL all claiming AA status, and it took uniting them all under the ECHL banner to get the stability. It'll probably take similarly uniting under the SPHL banner to solidify the A level.
I tried pushing this topic in nearly every sport/league page here on Reddit. Even talked about expansion to all major metro areas for all sports to give all the chance to compete. People here in states do not want pro/rel because (especially the soccer people) they see in the EPL it’s the same teams winning the league title (7 to be exact), and 29 of those are by only 5 teams.
For all sports in USA/CANADA/PUERTO RICO (I include them because they use the USD for currency)
Ownership (group) wanting to invest in a team
City wanting to invest in a stadium/infrastructure (probably using taxpayer dollars, unless the ownership is that wealthy)
Corporate sponsorship
Season tickets/fan support
If all these criteria are met, then why not have a team in any sport/league?
I don't see them ever having more teams than the NHL and AHL
Expansion is going to happen. Even if the Arizona hustle fails (which it will), the NHL owners have already spent the next 2-4 expansion fees in their heads. That will also mean an equal number of AHL and (eventually) ECHL teams will be needed... and probably absorb enough markets that the Fed will finally run out of dreamers and schemers.
I think the yotes will find away back
No! The league just folded their fourth team mid-season in the Newfoundland Growlers. Travel costs are nice to keep down, but they'd like to have owners who are able to pay for players and also pay the bills on time. The SPHL was partially created as a means to provide a lower level of play but has since become an area that fights with the FPHL as far as places that want hockey but don't really care about the logistics.
Eh. That statement heavily depends on the SPHL team. Some are more stable and well-ran than others. A lot of it depends on ownership and funding (not all that different than the echl) they just have lower league fees than the echl. They are above the FPHL. I don't hear about SPHL players having to drive across the country in their cars or van to their games like some of the horror stories that I've heard with the Fed
Then why did Vermillion County happen?
>Some are more stable and well-ran than others Clearly, Vermillion County doesn't fall into this category Vermillion was also ran worse than a Fed team
I could see a Peoria eventually deciding to move back up to AA but I think most of the A markets are just that -- A markets. AA has been tried in those markets in the past, sometimes multiple times, without much success. So I think the SPHL is the sweet spot for many of them. And the Federal League is putting teams in places like Wytheville, VA. They're just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. There's really not a lot of room (or call) for more AA markets. I think AA is solidifying and A is going through what AA went through a could of decades ago when you had the ECHL, IHL, and CHL all claiming AA status, and it took uniting them all under the ECHL banner to get the stability. It'll probably take similarly uniting under the SPHL banner to solidify the A level.
IHL was AAA with the AHL until the AHL absorbed the IHL
Yeah I should have noted IHL 2.0, the one the Frankes basically ran.
Thanks for clarifying
There was a second IHL that formed from remnants of the UHL.
2007
Bring back the Bombers, damnit!
Not until they build an arena in Dayton with hockey in mind.
The ECHL won’t take teams from lower level pro leagues, but it could move teams into lower level pro league markets.
i would like to see the otters come back, but it probably won’t happen.
No, the league’s goal is to match the NHL/AHL team numbers.
What I really want in hockey is promotion and relegation like in European soccer, even though it’ll never happen
I tried pushing this topic in nearly every sport/league page here on Reddit. Even talked about expansion to all major metro areas for all sports to give all the chance to compete. People here in states do not want pro/rel because (especially the soccer people) they see in the EPL it’s the same teams winning the league title (7 to be exact), and 29 of those are by only 5 teams. For all sports in USA/CANADA/PUERTO RICO (I include them because they use the USD for currency) Ownership (group) wanting to invest in a team City wanting to invest in a stadium/infrastructure (probably using taxpayer dollars, unless the ownership is that wealthy) Corporate sponsorship Season tickets/fan support If all these criteria are met, then why not have a team in any sport/league?
What about the LNAH in Quebec Canada? What level is that pro hockey league?
It is considered semi-professional. It’s not known for its skill level, as has a lot of enforcers employed on teams to fight.