Make no mistake, the NHL is headed back to Texas.
Several weeks ago the world’s premier shinny circuit announced that a six-month feasibility study would identify one of two Texas markets — Houston or Austin — as the potential landing spot for a 33rd NHL franchise. The Dallas Stars are currently the lone NHL club in the Lone Star State, having relocated from Minnesota in 1993.
Conventional wisdom would suggest Houston as the frontrunner in any battle with Austin. It’s a much larger U.S. TV market — No. 6 vs. No. 34 — and already boasts successful big-league franchises in the NFL (Texans), MLB (Astros) and NBA (Rockets). Houston has a hockey history too, most memorably with the Gordie Howe-led Aeros in the former World Hockey Association.
But don’t count out Austin.
Forbes magazine recently placed Austin FC at No. 30 on its list of most valuable professional soccer franchises in the world. Only five other MLS clubs occupied positions higher than Austin FC, which has a franchise value of $855 million.
(NOTE: Real Madrid, $9.5 billion; Barcelona, $7.5 billion; and Manchester United, $7.2 billion, are ranked 1-2-3.)
Austin FC has been in the MLS for six seasons and has sold out every single home game at Q2 Stadium which seats approximately 21,000. There’s a waiting list for season tickets. And, FC is the only major-league game in town, which means a prospective NHL team would have zero competition for crowds during the winter months.
Austin is currently home to the NHL Stars’ American Hockey League farm club and finished 14th among the 32 AHL clubs in attendance last season, drawing an average home crowd of 6,186 in a rink that seats 6,778.
The NBA has shown that smaller U.S. markets like Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Memphis, Portland and San Antonio can thrive, especially with little or no competition from other big-league sports in their respective cities. In the NHL itself, teams in sub-30 U.S. TV markets are doing OK in Columbus, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Buffalo.
According to Stephen Whyno, reporting for the Associated Press last month, Austin’s population has doubled since the mid-1990s and only eight current NHL markets are larger than the Texas capital, a tech-driven city which is also home to the University of Texas.
Yes, I miss the former Quebec Nordiques and wish the NHL would consider going back to the capital of La Belle Province for another crack at big-league hockey. But, if the league has its heart set on slapping another team deep in the heart of Texas, Austin could come up smelling like a rose. A yellow rose, that is.
