MOSCONA: NHL in NOLA doomed to fail

By Matt Moscona

New Orleans Second Line? New Orleans Craw? Louisiana Refiners? Maybe the New Orleans Jazz can be resurrected in a different sport.

Picking a mascot for the new NHL team in New Orleans might feel a bit premature, but getting this done feels as much of a sure thing as a breakaway against an empty net, right?

Last week, NHL reporter Kevin Weekes relayed a conversation with deputy commissioner Bill Daly about an investment group looking to add an expansion team in New Orleans.

👀 In speaking to Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and other sources involved,I can confirm that there was a recent meeting in NYC with a group expressing their interest in bringing an @NHL expansion team to New Orleans. #HockeyX #NewOrleans pic.twitter.com/fAhYY5cbDH

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) February 19, 2025

Crews should start building the boards inside the Smoothie King Center now because everything heretofore is going to check this idea into the glass–hard.

Bayou State bored with hockey

Where to begin? How about the state’s total lack of interest in the sport.

According to USA Hockey data, in 2022 there were fewer than 300 people registered, the lowest number in the country. A quarter-century ago, minor league hockey had a moment when teams in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans played in the ECHL. In their heyday, the Louisiana IceGators drew just north of 11,000 fans per night. When they disbanded in 2005, the team’s final game drew just over 4,000 people.

For context, the Utah Hockey Club is dead last in average attendance at 11,131. A record crowd in the 90s would be bringing up the rear in today’s NHL.

Corporate dollars don’t exist

In most professional sports leagues, that wouldn’t be a deal-breaker because of media rights revenue. The NHL is such a dud on television, however, that their national rights deal makes up only 19 percent of the league’s revenue. Compare that to the NFL (66%), NBA (41%) and MLB (26%) and the need for local fan and sponsor support is magnified.

 

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The Pelicans are regularly in the bottom handful of NBA teams in average attendance, and the corporate dollars aren’t as plentiful as they are in more populous areas. Louisiana is home to just two Fortune 500 companies. By contrast, Dallas boasts 24 companies on the list.

If it’s not purple and gold or black and gold, fans and companies in Louisiana don’t support it.

Value of the venue

We haven’t even addressed the city’s likely venue yet. In a recent survey of ESPN’s NBA insiders, the Smoothie King Center ranked 28th out of the league’s 29 venues on five categories: accessibility/location, food/concessions, amenities, and overall fan experience.

It is hard to imagine taxpayers jumping on board with a plan to help fund a new arena for an unpopular basketball team and a new professional franchise in a sport this state doesn’t care about.

If we’re scoring at home, that’s low fan interest, not enough corporate dollars and an inadequate venue. There’s not a single reason to expect this idea to succeed.

I, like many in this state, clutch my nostalgic memories of dancing for my dinner to Cotton Eyed Joe and watching bad minor league hockey as the Louisiana ECHL teams battled for the Atchafalaya Cup. But that doesn’t mean the state can or should attempt to support an NHL franchise.

All those awful team names and this investment group need to take a seat in the penalty box.