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Would an NHL team reduce Seattle’s NBA chances? Some experts say yes
Seattle appears primed to secure an NHL team, should the sale of thousands of season-ticket deposits on Thursday go as predicted.
For those who think that a rebuilt sports arena and a professional hockey franchise set the table for an eventual return of the NBA to the Emerald City, some sports economists are prepared to rain a little on that parade.
Rodney Fort, a professor of sports management and economics at the University of Michigan, said professional teams calculate the pool of entertainment dollars before relocating or expanding to a city. And while the NHL and NBA see Seattle as an under-tapped market, both know that the pool is deeper for the team that jumps in first.
“The other thing that matters (for pro teams) is what else could fans be doing with their money,” Fort said. “What’s going to be the value of having a team in a particular location?”
Fort said it isn’t simply a calculation of median income, available arenas, and market size. Teams look at what else people and businesses might do with their entertainment budgets. It’s easier to make money with pro football in Houston, he said, than in Los Angeles given both cities’ options of alternative entertainment.
“It matters how large the place is. It matters how much money,” Fort said, adding that money given to one pro sport might not be available for a second one. “How much discretionary money (do) people have in their entertainment budget?”
Read the full article in MyNorthwest.com by Mike Lewis here: http://mynorthwest.com/910941/nhl-team-reduce-nba-chances/