Yes, another NHL team in Canada, and - in particular - another team in Southern Ontario would be successful. Right now - thanks to Jim Balsillie - everyone is talking about placing a team in Hamilton, and playing out of Copps Coliseum. Lets have a look at some of the problems with that idea.
First of all, the location of Hamilton is itself a problem - 40 miles from Toronto, and 70 miles from Buffalo. Hamilton is within the "territory" of both cities; and for that reason, and for the fact that an NHL team in Hamilton might attract spectators who might otherwise have watched the teams in those cities, there would need to be compensation paid to the owners of those two teams.
Copps Coliseum is another problem. Completed in 1985, "modernization costs" are estimated at $150,000,000. Located in downtown Hamilton, reaching it - by car - on a weeknight would not be fun, or easy.
My idea is this: place an NHL team in the Woodstock area. Rather than pay $50-100,000,000 in compensation to Toronto and Buffalo, and another $150,000,000 to renovate Copps Coliseum, spend $200-250,000,000 to build a brand new arena in the Woodstock area.
Woodstock is almost 90 miles from Toronto, and more than 110 miles from Buffalo - placing it outside the territory of either the Leafs or the Sabres. Woodstock is less than an hour's drive from Hamilton, London and Kitchener - representing more than enough population to fill the arena. Highways 2, 401 and 403 connect Woodstock with the neighbouring communities.
If the idea is to create jobs - which is what a lot of people are now saying in support of the idea of renovating Copps Coliseum - we will create far more jobs (for a longer time) if we build an arena from scratch. In fact, I'd go further and suggest that both an arena and a stadium be built in the Woodstock area. That stadium could be home to both a CFL team and a professional soccer team.
