The NHL might once again start considering expanding the league. Although the league is not officially in the relocation process, there have been notable cities that have already reached out to the NHL about the possibility. Atlanta is perhaps the most well documented example. We’ve talked about the long shot bid of New Orleans as well as what might hold up a potential Houston franchise.
Another city that has come up is Indianapolis, Indiana. The city with a metro population of over 2 million already hosts the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and NBA’s Indiana Pacers. They also have a minor league baseball team as well as the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Putting a team in Indianapolis would give the Blackhawks a geographic in-division rival, the kind they’ve lacked since the Detroit Red Wings moved over to the Eastern Conference. The city is in some ways similar to recent expansion city Seattle in that they only have teams in two of the four major professional leagues. Indianapolis is considered a “growing city”, although that growth is expected to slow down.
The main selling point for an Indianapolis team might be with their WNBA team. Since phenom Caitlin Clark joined the Indiana Fever, the already basketball-crazed state has been at the forefront of the league’s expansion in popularity (called the “Caitlin Clark effect”). More focus is being put on Indiana’s capital city than before by the local and national media. If there was ever a time for the NHL to capitalize on the hype, it would be sooner than later.
The city’s sports economy does have its downsides. First, they lack an NHL-ready arena. The Pacers home of Gainbridge Field House is not equipped for hockey and would likely require major renovations like Delta Center in Salt Lake City is getting for the Utah Mammoth. The Fuel have a brand new arena is Fisher Energy Center but its capacity is well below an NHL-sized crowd and only seats 7,500 fans. The Fuel rank in the top ten in ECHL attendance averaging over 5,600 fans per game.
Indianapolis might seem attractive, but it does seem like an unspectacular option. The Pacers, who this past season were the NBA’s Eastern Conference Champions, are middle of the pack in terms of NBA attendance. Remember, this is the basketball-crazed state. As much as the “Caitlin Clark effect” is an example of what can go right for a sports team in the area, that doesn’t take away the fact that the Fever were relatively obscure in the national media before arrival.
Would that foreshadow what would happen with an NHL team if they struggled in their first few seasons after the hoopla of an inaugural season quiets down?
The Fuel have called Indy home since 2014. Prior to that the city had a team in the IHL called “the Indianapolis Ice” from 1988-2004. The city’s main claim to sports fame remains the Indy 500 auto race, which the ECHL’s Fuel name is a reference to.