It was announced last week that the City of Glendale will be opting out of their lease agreement with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
The decision has fans of the team and the league wondering where they will play following the upcoming season. A not so talked about, but very intriguing location would be Wisconsin. What makes Wisconsin an attractive spot if Arizona decides to relocate?
There’s Already Places to Play
Wisconsin already has places where a hockey team would be able to play.
Milwaukee is already home to AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, an affiliate of NHL’s Nashville Predators. It would be very likely that if the Coyotes moved to Milwaukee, the AHL Admirals would be out in exchange for the new team. I’m sure that’s a trade-off that people of Wisconsin would take to get a NHL team in the state. The Admirals currently play at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. However, with a capacity of 12,700, the team might need to add more seats to play their games in the same arena.
Another option would be to play in Fiserv Forum, home of the Milwaukee Bucks. There are already examples of NBA and NHL teams sharing arenas, such as the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings both playing at Little Caesars Arena. If the Bucks are willing to share their state of the art arena, Fiserv Forum would be a great hockey venue.
Deer District
One of the biggest attractions for a move to Wisconsin would be the Deer District.
Throughout the Milwaukee Bucks championship run in 2021, fans in Wisconsin packed the area outside Fiserv Forum. So many fans came to support the team, that more screens and extra area for viewing parties were created. For the championship clinching Game 6, accommodations were made to fit as many as 65,000 people into the area. Wisconsin’s love for their sports teams would have fans flocking to support a new hockey team if they were to get one.
Final Thoughts
Even if a move to Wisconsin isn’t ultimately what happens, it should at the very least be considered. Some fans of other Wisconsin sports teams on Twitter have been asking for a hockey team. The Bucks championship and Brewers 2018 NLCS runs show the intensity that Wisconsin fans can bring. It is an energy that can be matched by very few other fan bases. The great people of the state would fall in love with a new team instantly. If the Arizona Coyotes come, we will give them love.
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