Is Las Vegas’ New NHL Team Doomed Because Of Restaurants?

On Tuesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that the NHL had agreed to expand into Las Vegas as soon as the 2017-18 season. After months and months of speculation of possible expansion destinations – Quebec City chief among them – the league appears ready to roll the dice on Vegas.

The NHL would become the first of the country’s four major sports leagues to sink its roots into Vegas (outside of the sports books) and locate a team there. The prospect of major sports franchises succeeding while anchored in Vegas has been hotly debated for quite some time now, and there are certainly factors worthy of concern.

Obviously, the city heavily relies on tourism. It’s typically known as a getaway destination, not a great place to live. That’s not ideal for a sports franchise looking to establish a fanbase that consistently attends games, purchases merchandise, and supports the team through other financial channels. Typically, teams aim to thrive through becoming a part of the community, while a team in Vegas may have to thrive by becoming a part of the circus.

Then there’s the gambling, of course. Casinos are essentially Vegas’ lifeblood. Obviously, there’s a strong link between sports and gambling in the United States (as well as the rest of the world), but typically the major sports leagues are very hesitant to even recognize that connection. Whether they want to admit it or not, a big reason why no major teams are in Vegas currently is because of the potential hazards that come with stationing a team in that environment. It could be considered flying too close to the sun, if you will.

And speaking of the sun, Vegas’ team won’t exactly be born of a “hockey climate.”

So while there are some seriously legitimate red flags to spark doubt in the NHL’s gamble on Vegas, ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell, who has been covering the expansion news, took a very strange angle on Tuesday.  While questioning the NHL’s chances at succeeding in Vegas, he proposed that a potential downfall for the team could be…the city’s restaurants?

He is correct when saying the team will have to compete against countless other nightly entertainment attractions in the city. There are always plenty of things to do in Vegas so if you’re not a hockey fan, chances are you won’t be too compelled to attend a game. But while the argument that a strong restaurant scene could hurt a sports team may seem very stupid, maybe we just need to think a little harder.

After all, no other cities that host NHL teams have restaurants. Or, if they do, literally all of them close whenever there’s a game on. Everyone in those cities has to choose whether they want to watch sports or starve. It’s a daily struggle and a harsh reality, especially in places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

It’s a huge reason why the Rangers collapsed and failed as an organization after their short run in New York City. People just kept choosing the city’s food and entertainment over silly hockey games. If it weren’t for the Bulls’ dynasty in the ’90s, the Blackhawks’ arena would have caved in on itself from people choosing deep dish pizza over puck. The only reason that the Kings still exist is because the only thing people in L.A. love more than hockey is starving themselves.

But, in all seriousness, I get Rovell’s point that there are only so many things that a person can do, and there’s only so much money that can go around in one night in Vegas. However, that number of things is probably higher in Vegas than in most other American cities. It hasn’t exactly gained a reputation as a city that shuts the lights off early. Restaurants aren’t shutting down the grill in order to make it home in time for Game of Thrones. People who want to go to a game and get a good dinner will be able to do both of those things, because — just like everywhere else in the world — eating and watching sports are not mutually exclusive in Vegas.

In fact, the city’s budding restaurant scene may only help the sports teams that are around. If people are going to Vegas for the restaurants – which, by the way, seems a lot like “reading Playboy for the articles” – and prefer not to stick around the casinos or go to a show, that’s a crowd that may fill their time by checking out a game. Sports are good family fun, you know.

There are a good number of reasons why the NHL might be destined to fail in Vegas, but its great restaurants certainly won’t be a cause of death. The fact of the matter is, the city’s expansion team is going to need the tourists, so anything that makes Vegas a more attractive destination and brings in more people only helps their odds at the table.