It would pretty much be a complete overlay of the greater Houston area..and then some. If you drive 30 miles from TC you likely reach undeveloped land, which is hard to do in our monument to urban sprawl. I think maybe The Woodlands area is outside 30 miles. Not being able to build in Harris county is the big roadblock, the 30 mile exclusion zone seems unnecessary since it stretches well into other counties. I know for sure that Fort Bend is less than 20 miles from Downtown.
The surrounding counties Brazoria Fort Bend Waller Montgomery Liberty Chambers Galveston have a mix of populated and not so populated areas. So a facility built in one of those counties as a hockey team as the primary tenant will need to attract patrons from other parts of Metro Houston to support the team. Sugar Land as an example There just isn't enough population in Rosenberg - Richmond (Ft Bend County) to make a team focused on Ft Bend & based in Sugar Land viable. Last Summer, I went from SW Houston to a funeral in the Woodlands. Even though I used freeways, the drive was tedious. Perhaps some hockey diehards in The Woodlands, Kingwood etc would accept the challenge of a long drive to Sugar Land to support a hockey team, but I think that a fair number would be discouraged. The Space Cowboys (Minor League Baseball) play at Constellation Field which is roughly at the intersection of Hwy 6 and Hwy 90A. Major roadways such as SW Fwy, Sam Houston Tollway, Grand Parkway etc are sort of close but not exactly adjacent to the baseball field. A NHL team will be aiming to draw larger crowds than Minor League Baseball and it would be better for a hockey facility to be near major roadways which tend to spread out like fingers on a hand as the distance increases from Central Houston. As one applies the example above to other counties in the Metro Houston area, the travel issues for fans from distant parts of Metro Houston continue. A venue in Montgomery County would be nice for hockey fans in The Woodlands, Kingwood and Cy Fair while being not so nice for hockey fans in Clear Lake, Sugar Land etc. Financing a major facility could/would be a challenge for some (all?) of the counties adjoining Harris County, but I will leave that to be discussed on another day. Just to get clarity on the 30 miles issue. If somebody with a really Fat Wallet built a facility in Harris County with their own funds and brought in a NHL team, Tilman wouldn't be able to do anything about it?
Great thoughts....I agree with you. Here's the lease: https://www.houstonsports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Toyota_Center_-_Arena_Lease.pdf Note that Exhibit E to the lease is titled "Terms and Conditions of Potential Use Agreement Between Tenant and an Unaffiliated NHL Team" ...and Article 23 talks about the possibility of an Unaffiliated NHL Team (meaning one not controlled by or owned wholly or in part with Tillman's organization that owns the Rockets) So Section 24.20 of the Lease is titled Non-Competition. It says that for 10 years from the commencement of the Lease, that the Harris County Sports Authority shall not "directly or indirectly, finance, subsidize, provide any incentives for or otherwise assist any venue within a 10 mile radius of the Arena (Toyota Center), including Compaq Center, which could compete with the Arena for events of a type appropriate for the Arena and generally targetted at audiences in excess of 5,000 persons, except for George R. Brown...MMP...Astrodomain Complex includng NRG..." There are some other exceptions but none that would allow the County to work on a new NHL arena. KEY DIFFERENCE IS THE LEASE SAYS 10 MILES FOR 10 YEARS. I've read 30 miles repeatedly in articles. I don't know if there was an amendment to this lease that made it 30 miles. Also, we'd be well past the 10 years, so I'm assuming there must have been an amendment extending that. I didn't read the lease in its entirety obviously, but that's the provision in that lease as I read it. It's in stark contrast to what I've read elsewhere relating to that non-compete provision. I billed all my time to the Underhills.
There will be some imprecision because roads were used rather than straight lines, but this gives a general idea of the distances. Toyota Center to Space Center (Clear Lake) 24.6 miles Pearland High School 21.5 milles Constellation Field (Sugar Land) 22.1 miles Merrell Center (Old Katy) 30.8 miles Cy Woods High School (Way out on Hwy 290) 28.1 miles Tomball City Hall 34.6 miles Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 30.5 miles New Caney City Hall (Municipal - Utility) 30.9 miles Crosby Municipal 23.1 miles Baytown City Hall 25.8 miles San Leon 38.2 miles Once straight lines are drawn instead of using roads for mileage, 30 miles from Toyota Center will be in relatively rural areas going South Southwest Northwest North Northeast East Going Southeast into areas around San Leon, Texas City, Galveston etc will likely satisfy the 30 miles requirement, but that is a long drive for hockey fans in Sugar Land, Katy, Cy Fair, The Woodlands, Kingwood etc and I don't think that will lead to financial success for a hockey team.
After looking at the distances involved around Metro Houston (per Buck Turgidson), I don't think that the economics/finances work for HCSA (Harris County Sports Authority) to help fund a hockey venue outside the 30 mile zone. So that leaves Tilman and the Toyota Center Somebody with a really Fat Wallet to fund/finance a hockey team AND a venue without HCSA assistance
I KNOW I’ve read 30 miles…maybe that’s not accurate. If it’s the terms of the lease I linked to, that was 10 miles for 10 years. We’re well past 10 years. But I feel like I’ve read the 30 mile thing a lot of times.
Oh, man…now I’m sending my bill to you!! Here’s an article that references the 30 miles by our own Jeff!!! https://www.houstonpress.com/news/four-reasons-the-nhl-in-houston-is-complicated-15717672
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...a-wants-an-nhl-team-to-boost-houston-s-growth Billionaire Fertitta Wants an NHL Team to Boost Houston’s Growth Houston Rockets owner sees hockey franchise as downtown boost Fertitta says Texas referendum may be key to gaming expansion I'm not a subscriber, so can't link the rest of the content...but I like the headline
I can't read the article, but here's a quote from it that I saw on another website: "We are talking to the NHL but it's got to be good for both of us...." "We just know that when there's a concert downtown, how it activates downtown, we know what the Astros do for downtown, we know what even soccer does for downtown..." What can we make of those comments?
I am not a hockey fan and I wonder if Htown could/would support an NHL team..................if you are a fan, as Buck said, "eat more shrimp"
NHL is the anti-NBA. Hockey players go all-out all game, every game. And then they ratchet it up even more for the playoffs. NHL players deserve the money that NBAers get.
It's good to watch the NHL playoffs after the NBA playoffs finish in order to wash off the stench of crybaby diva.
If Dallas can support the NHL Houston can too. Stars games are packed every night and there is no reason Houston can't do the same. The NHL is a great product if you give it a chance you might actually like it if you are on the fence about hockey. I have said for years that in person nothing beats it in terms of on field/ice entertainment. You have skill, physical play, and speed all rolled into one product.
North Texas also has a huge influx of Northerners..especially from Minnesota. This created a built in fan base for the team when they moved to Texas and helped spur the interest of native Texans. It didn't hurt to have such a successful run in the late 90's as well. NHL is definitely something that needs to be experienced in person. If you do, you will be a lifelong fan. Hockey players are literally the toughest out of the big 4 sports leagues in the U.S.
