I’ve heard variations of this idea, in other cities in which their teams have threatened to move, or actually have moved away. The proponents of this say that the community ownership of the team is the answer, that then it could never move, etc.
If I recall correctly, the Green Bay Packers ownership model was grandfathered in by the NFL; the NFL no longer permits such ownership.
I don’t know if that applies to other sports, or NHL hockey specifically, but it does seem that ownership groups headed by multi millionaires and billionaires are the norm in sports ownership today.
Do the sports leagues actually prefer to have some larger than life bombastic owners, such as Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban, and the late George Steinbrenner????
I don’t follow hockey, so don’t know the back story. Why did Hartford lose the Whalers? Poor attendance, team losing money, inadequate arena?? Would any of those same factors face the team if they were back in Hartford?
Their competition in that town was rigorous - the 1972 era Boston Bruins, a powerhouse of historic proportions (Orr, Esposito, etc.). Additionally, they had to contend with a new Bruins’ farm team, the Braves, who early on in their existence were drawing 10,000 a night in the old Boston Garden.
I wouldn't call that Whalers’ team inept (remember, this was in the early days of the WHA), but the level of play was so far down from what Boston fans were used to seeing on an almost nightly basis it was ridiculous.
The Whalers, of necessity, didn't last very long in Boston, so they opted for Hartford. I don't know if anyone in the Boston area mourned the move, or even cared.
The reason, I suspect, they were founded in Boston is because the town, always hockey mad, was deemed one of the best places in North America to bring forth a new hockey franchise. Ordinarily, they'd have been right, but (1) the Braves franchise had not yet gotten of the ground, and (2) there were serious questions about the viability of the new league. Sure, they had some stars to offer - J.C. Tremblay, Ricky Ley, Johnny MacKenzie, a few others of note (including an emerging young star from the Indianapolis Racers, Wayne Gretzsky), but certainly not enough to fill houses on a regular basis.
The Whalers, in my estimation, did not make it in Hartford because it's not a Major League city. It's sandwiched between Boston and multiple New York franchises who are at once competing for that area's entertainment dollar.
That franchise moving back to Hartford from Raleigh is a non-starter. They can't afford it, will not be able to afford it in the future, and will doubtless invite bankruptcy and possible dissolution down the road.
These guys, hopeless dreamers all, yearn for a time that never was, and doubtless never will be.
Spare us all, and kill this idea before it goes any further.
CA....
The Whalers were hampered by numerous off-ice factors. Hartford was the smallest American market in the NHL and was located on the traditional dividing line between the home territories for Boston and the two New York area teams, the Rangers and Islanders. This limited the team’s marketability. Additionally, for most of the Whalers’ tenure as an NHL team, the Hartford Civic Center was one of the smallest arenas in the league. At its maximum, it seated just 15,635 for hockey. The team only averaged over 14,000 fans twice in their 15 years at the Civic Center. They averaged only 13,867 from 1980 to 1997. Most of their sellouts came when the Bruins or New York Rangers played in Hartford, which brought thousands of their fans with them.
Wikipedia