Small Minnesota town wants NHL expansion team
A city councilor in Proctor, Minn., wants his town to be the next destination for an NHL expansion franchise.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
Minnesota has become known as the State of Hockey and at least one small-town city councilor believes there’s room for one more NHL team within its borders. So if they're going to put a second team there, where would it go? Proctor, Minn., duh.
With the NHL opening up the application process for markets and ownership groups interested in attracting an expansion franchise, Proctor city councilor Travis White believes his tiny hamlet just southwest of Duluth is the ideal location. Heck, he says it’s a “no-brainer.”
"Hockey is the number one sport in northern Minnesota," White told the Duluth News Tribune.
"With the window of opportunity here where the NHL is looking at expanding and the history that we have up here of hockey, it would be a no-brainer."
White proposed a resolution during the Proctor City Council meeting Monday to formally apply for an NHL expansion team.
According to a report from TSN.ca, the NHL’s fee for even applying for expansion exceeds $1 million. Then the league believes successful applicants will willingly pay at least $500 million as an expansion fee for entry into the league.
Proctor’s population according to the United States Census Bureau in 2013 was 3,072.
But attracting an NHL team is only one part of White’s plan to boost Proctor’s local economy. He proposed a resolution in May to support attracting an NFL franchise to Northern Minnesota, which gained unanimous support from the city council. He also would like to bring minor league baseball to Proctor.
More from the Duluth News Tribune:
White said he wasn't planning to introduce a resolution regarding an NHL team at this point, but the Board of Governors' application deadline pushed the issue to the forefront.
Although a lot of people were skeptical about his idea to pursue an NFL franchise, White said many of those skeptics were more accepting of the idea of an NHL team. People took issue with the NFL concept because of the size of the stadium that would be needed, while attendance at professional hockey games is less than football, White explained. The Minnesota Wild's average attendance is around 18,000.
You have to appreciate White’s passion and vision. He clearly has some belief in his small town and it never hurts to dream big.
Now they just have to get past those pesky financials, having to build a facility, the population situation, the television market scenarios and a mountain of other challenges. I think we'll have to go with Proctor as a longshot.
That region does have delicious pies if they need to literally sweeten the pot for the NHL, though. Who could turn down delicious pie?
Las Vegas, Seattle, Quebec City, Toronto, possibly others and Proctor. Gary Bettman sure has his work cut out for him.
[H/T Puck Daddy]
