Is Indy ready for an NHL expansion team?

They are one of five cities being considered by the league's Board of Governors. It's a long-shot, come-from-nowhere bid, but it's still a possibility.

Is Indianapolis ready for an NHL expansion team?

I’ve had these conversations with the small but hearty hockey enthusiasts in our town, but they usually don’t go anywhere. Indy had its chance to establish a World Hockey Association foothold with the Indianapolis Racers from 1974-78 but, due to poor ownership, the franchise folded almost as quickly as it was established. Once then-owner Nelson Skalbania traded away Wayne Gretzky, a 17-year-old wunderkind who began his pro career in Indy, the die was cast.

Since then, we haven’t heard much of anything about Indy and the NHL.

Until Sunday.

That’s when I began seeing news that Indy was among five cities being considered by the NHL Board of Governors for an expansion team. The others are Houston, Atlanta (again), New Orleans and Austin, Texas. I’ll be honest: I was shocked beyond words. I’m pretty hooked into the local hockey scene, but I hadn’t heard a single word about Indianapolis vying for a National Hockey League franchise.

Who’s the money behind this bid? Who’s organizing it? Where did this come from?

I’ve made several phone calls and sent out several messages trying to get the answers to these questions, but so far, no response. (I’ll keep you up to date.)

Let me make a couple of things clear:

I want a hockey team in Indianapolis. I want one badly. I would be a season ticket holder, for sure. Of all the sports, it’s the one I count as a passion.

The question is, could Indy support an expansion hockey team? As much as I would love to have a team, I’ve got some hesitation. True, we’re big enough – we’re bigger than a number of current NHL cities – but do we have the demographics necessary to support a team? Do we have the corporate infrastructure a team needs to be successful? Can a hockey team be successful here with an already-crowded field?

We’ve already got the Colts, who sell out.

We’ve already got the Pacers, whose crowds were ordinary until recently, when the team went on two deep playoff runs.

We’ve got the Fever, who mostly sell out.

And there’s talk that Major League Soccer is on the way to Indianapolis in the next few years.

Is there room for an NHL franchise? I’d need to see the numbers behind the Indy bid. I WANT to get fully behind it, just as I often wrote about how Denver deserved a team long before the Quebec Nordiques moved south to become the Colorado Avalanche. (They were almost named the Rocky Mountain Extreme, but that’s another story for another time). But based on my observations, I don’t know if there’s room in our crowded market. Again, I could be talked into making the case for a team, but it’s going to take some very deep pockets and a significant fan commitment. The expansion fee is $2 billion and an arena – which the new team would need because Gainbridge is not hockey-friendly – would cost several hundred million, if not a billion.

Anybody got a Rolodex of local Indianapolis billionaires?

It's not like Indianapolis has been clamoring for an NHL franchise, best I can tell.