Williams' inbox: Looking at arenas in cities Cincinnati could compete against for NHL team
Email and ask me anything − sports or non-sports − or let me know if you agree or disagree with a column. I'll pick some of your messages and respond on Cincinnati.com. Check out The Inbox typically every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Send emails to jwilliams@enquirer.com
Message: “I'd like to correct something in your column (this week) about the NHL in Cincinnati. You say, ‘Salt Lake City, Houston, Atlanta and Kansas City ... all of them already have modern, downtown arenas.’ This is not entirely true.”
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Reply: I understand you never agree with my columns, and that's fine. But what I wrote about the arenas in those cities is factual. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last week mentioned those four cities as having expressed interest in an expansion franchise, in addition to Cincinnati.
If you want to nitpick that I should’ve written “modern or modernized arena," then OK since some of the venues were built in the 1990s and have undergone massive renovations to bring them up to today’s standards.
Let’s run down the list of the main arenas in those cities, shall we?
∎ Salt Lake City: The Delta Center underwent a $125 million renovation in 2016. It’s in downtown, and it has all the modern amenities.
∎ Kansas City: The T-Mobile Center opened in October 2007. That’s 16 years, 4 months ago – not “20 years ago” as you went onto write in your email. Not only does the arena have a very modern, all-glass façade, but it has all the up-to-date amenities on the inside. The arena helps Kansas City attract the Big 12 Conference basketball tournament every year. The NCAA also regularly looks to T-Mobile Center to host the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. In addition, the Cincinnati Business Committee has looked at T-Mobile Center as a model for what could be done in Cincinnati.
∎ Atlanta: State Farm Arena, which opened in 1999, underwent a $192.5 million renovation in 2018. It has all the modern amenities, which are credited for helping the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks to continue to call the venue home. It’s located next door to CNN’s headquarters, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Centennial Olympic Park. That’s very much the heart of downtown Atlanta.
∎ Houston: The Toyota Center, which opened in 2003, is currently undergoing a $30 million renovation. Part of the renovation includes buying an ice-making machine. The arena was built during a period in which many NBA and NHL cities were building modern arenas. It is the one-time home to a minor-league hockey team and has all the suitable dimensions for an ice rink.
In some of those cities, new arenas are being discussed to potentially help lure an NHL franchise. It still doesn’t take away from the fact the NHL could move to any of those cities right now and have a modern or modernized place to play.
That’s not the case in Cincinnati.
Contact Enquirer columnist Jason Williams by email at jwilliams@enquirer.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NHL expansion: See arenas in cities Cincinnati may compete against
