UPDATE: Return of the Quebec Nordiques? "Possible", say RDS, Corus Sports, other sources

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:With the recent news about serious money backing the return of Nordiques, we now add news of interest in bringing back the Jets...could we see eight Canadian teams in the NHL before long?

Define long?

5 years? Doubt it.

20 years? Maybe.

You're just sore because your pal BlackBerry Jim couldn't get his team, aren'tcha? Say, that would have been in your backyard too.

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Meanwhile, this from the New York Times today:

Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume confirms that he and former Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut met with N.H.L. commissioner Gary Bettman about the possibility of re-establishing a team in la capitale. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly later says the chances of placing teams in Quebec and Winnipeg have “real potential.”

The news comes amid reports of an impending announcement that a new, N.H.L.-standard rink will be built to replace Le Colisée, the Nordiques’ home from their founding in the W.H.A. in 1972 until they left for Denver in 1995, where the next season they won the Stanley Cup as the Colorado Avalanche.

Story here:
http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/

The momentum around the possible return of Les Nordiques becoming reality, appears to be building.

Quebecor's Pierre Peladeau, former suitor for Le Canadien, came out in an interview this week saying he is actively looking to purchase an existing NHL franchise, and is monitoring the situation closely in co-operation with the league. Peladeau is one the key potential investors in support of the bid.

Now NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, in an interview with Quebec City radio station CJMF 93.3 FM, says that "Quebec is at the top of list" of cities to be in line for an NHL team, contingent on the building of the new stadium proceeding as envisioned.

Daly states that certain franchises currently experiencing financial difficulty could be candidates for relocation to Quebec. He further emphasized that Quebec City, while a smaller market, has a significant, passionate fanbase that would ensure the support of the team.

Excerpt from the article by RDS' Nicolas Chéné today:

L’équipe du FM 93,3, une radio de Québec, a diffusé ce matin les extraits d'une entrevue avec Bill Daly, le numéro 2 de la Ligue nationale de hockey, sur le dossier du retour de la LNH à Québec.

Si monsieur Daly a tenu à marteler que la Ligue « n’avait pris aucun engagement envers Québec », il a toutefois ajouté qu’à New York, on suivait attentivement le dossier et que l’on connaissait la teneur de l’annonce qui sera faite par le maire Régis Labeaume d’ici la fin de la semaine. Il a même, à deux reprises, mentionné que « Québec est en haut de liste » pour ravoir une concession dans l’éventualité où un nouvel amphithéâtre serait construit.

Se montrant encourageant, il a même spécifié deux scénarios possibles à la venue d’une équipe dans la Vieille Capitale. D’abord, et c’est ce que souhaite la Ligue, c’est que toutes les concessions actuelles se mettent à bien fonctionner, ce qui rendrait des plans d’expansion plus qu’envisageable. Puis, admettant que « certaines franchises sont présentement en difficultés », il a avoué que si leur situation ne s’améliorait pas, un déménagement serait possible.

Questionné à savoir si la ville de Québec comptait suffisamment d’habitants pour faire vivre une concession de la LNH, monsieur Daly a reconnu que la ville est petite, mais que ce qui compte le plus « c’est la grande base de partisans et la riche tradition de hockey qu’il y a à Québec.»

Full text here:

http://www.rds.ca/hockey/chroniques/284166.html

The plan to bring back Les Nordiques continues to progress, with Quebec City Mayor Régis Labaume announcing plans for a new area, starting with a site study by industry heavyweights SNC Lavallin. Several reports have appeared on the subject from a variety of major media sources including Canwest and ESPN. This excerpt from Canwest News Services today:

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume on Friday announced plans to build a $400-million NHL-sized arena in the hope of bringing back a professional hockey team to the city that was home to the Nordiques until 1995.

The mayor laid out plans to build the modern 18,000-seat arena, which will be used as a concert venue and a hockey arena.

He also noted the amphitheatre would be part of an eventual bid for hosting the Winter Olympics.

Link to Canwest article here:
http://www.faceoff.com/story.html?id=fca87bc8-c022-43ce-a73f-51d2e691ee61&add_feed_url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.faceoff.com%2ftopstories.atom

The provincial and federal governments are seen as contributing $350MM in subsidies as a baseline investment.

One key to this bid is the participation of Pierre Péladeau and Quebecor; and the TQS broadcast network. Apparently TV revenues in from Canadian networks contribute significantly to the NHL's bottom line, these being estimated at around $800MM per year (CBC, TSN, and RDS combined).

Peladeau and TQS being able to leverage the Quebec and francophone fan base, the revenue from ticket sales would be augmented sufficiently to make the operation viable.

Based on the information provided to date, it would seem that the elements may now be in place for the second edition of Les Nordiques to succeed.

Timing appears to be forecast as early as the 2012-13 season.

It will interesting to see if and when an existing franchise is considered for relocation to Quebec; and if 'special consideration' sees a team moving to Le Colisée in the interim.