Atlanta Thrashers relocation approved

The National Hockey League (NHL) unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers will be moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba next season. Atlanta has now lost two NHL teams; and both have been to Canada. Atlanta lost the Flames in 1980 to Calgary.

Winnipeg has been without NHL hockey for 15 years. Their previous team, the Jets, moved to Phoenix in 1995. Now, with a new arena, Winnipeg is ready to re-enter the league. But, a few snags exist that will require, in my opinion, a great deal of good PR and marketing strategy.

The arena in Winnipeg, the MTS Centre, only seats 15,000. It will be the smallest arena in the NHL. The NHL required the group that purchased the team, True North, to sell 13,000 season tickets, which they have done. The Thrashers were in the bottom 5 in attendance last season. There are 30 teams overall in the NHL. The Thrashers were bringing in, on average, about 13,200.

Here's a problem: that number won't change. The only difference is, 13,200 is closer to a sellout in a 15,000-seat arena. That same number equated to an arena that was about 60% full in Atlanta. My thinking is that the critics will say, "What's changed? They're still getting the same attendance, just in a different city."

Then, there's the issue of how to brand the team. Should they bring the Jets back? The mayor of Winnipeg says that won't happen. Problem there is that the Winnipeg Jets' team history, colors, logos and such moved with the team in 1995 to Phoenix. Just like what happened with the North Stars when they moved in 1993 to Dallas. For lack of a better phrase, it stinks to see Bill Goldsworthy's retired number hanging in the rafters at American Airlines Center in Dallas. He wasn't a Dallas Star, he was a Minnesota North Star. But, the franchise and its long history moved.

The Jets (we'll call them that for now) have a great deal of work ahead of them in the months ahead. A new name, logo and color scheme have to be decided upon. That's just the start. And, re-entering a market that has been without hockey for so long will be a difficult PR challenge as well.