Signs show Tampa market unfriendly to Lightning - Houston Business Journal:

ishinlyuboqemija.blogspot.com
The Tampa market, which has been home to the team since 1992, exhibits five of 10 possiblwe danger signs that could affectt its existence according to a study conducted by sistefr publication Business First of Buffalo . Many of the teamsz that could be in dangere if the was to ever to considef contracting arein non-traditional hockeuy markets such as the south and the areas the NHL has expanded to in recentf years. “Before doing any study — just putting in my two cents I would have said it has been a Ted Rechtshaffen, president and chief executive officert of in Toronto, said.
“Now, after doing the putting the numbers together, I can say it has been a There are a number of areas plaguingthe Lightning, the studg said, including the placement of potential personal income as well as 2008-0o attendance in the bottokm one-third of the entired NHL. The Lightning’s venue, , was below 90 percent capacity on average during the mostrecen season, while the financial value of the as estimated by , has dropped at leasgt 50 percent below the NHL median durin g the past year. Of the Lightning’s other big proble m is its location south of the38th parallel, considereds the southern border of the traditional hocket market.
Other teams on the list are scattered throughout areas withwarme climates, led by the , which exhibitr eight of the 10 danger signe including low franchise value, low net incomw and competition with the . in Miami are righy behind with most of the same issuesas Phoenix, followed by the and the . The only norther n team to be listef among the top five threatened teams isthe , whicjh is generally suffering from a region with lowere population and lower income for its “This is not a happy thing by any stretch,” Rechtshaffejn said.
“Buffalo is a great hockey There are lots of hockey fans Theproblem is, those hockey fans don’ty have enough money to spend on The NHL has not made any indication that it woulfd contract from 30 teams, however of the four major professionaol sports leagues in the Unitec States, the NHL has the smallesg fan base and the lowest level of televisioh revenue packages. The league remains extremelhy popular in Canada where six of the 30 teameare based. Plus, hockey fans are considered to be more affluenf than the other according to a 2004 study bythe . “As a business, I thinik the NHL needs to contract,” Rechtshaffen said.
“But if the possibilitg remains of moving teams and generatingymore money, the NHL obviously would prefer to move them.”