A Curious Expansion Location

I'll be fully honest and tell you that my knowledge of the southwestern United States comes entirely from what I read. I've been as far south as Galveston, Texas, but I have never gone further southwest than Newport, Oregon in my travels. Yes, that region is on the bucket list of places I need to see before I'm permanently horizontal simply due to the number of attractions and great food found there, but I simply haven't gotten there yet. The key, though, is that I might be encouraged to go sooner rather than later after the ECHL made a major announcement on Monday that it would be setting up shop in the southwest US in 2024-25 with a new expansion franchise! Where? The image above should give you a clue, but the location is rather curious considering some of the other locations that could have been chosen.

The ECHL announced today that it would be expanding to its 29th location on the North American map with a new franchise setting up shop in the soon-to-be-opened Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada! How exciting is that news?

Ok, if you hit the speed bump on that location like I did, Stateline is legitimately five minutes northwest of South Lake Tahoe, California on the southern tip of Lake Tahoe along the border of California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is nestled among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the area is known for its beaches and ski resorts along the lake's shorelines. We know the NHL played two outdoor games at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada during the 2020-21 season, but there were no fans in attendance at those games to give an indication of what the hockey market is like in Stateline.

According to research, South Lake Tahoe has a population of nearly 21,500 people based on 2021 census data, and Stateline adds another 1000 people to that total. Being that Reno is just over an hour away to the north and has just short of 270,000 people as of 2021 data, there's a possibility of a large local fanbase that could easily support an ECHL franchise. The question is whether those 270,000 make the trip to watch ECHL games. Otherwise, it's a 22,500-person fanbase with which this new Lake Tahoe franchise will work.

However, and this may be the catch, Lake Tahoe is a region built on tourism. In the Stateline area, according to the City of South Lake Tahoe website, there was an increase in hotel occupancy by 2% when comparing December 2021 and December 2022. Now that doesn't seem like much when phrased as "a two percent increase", but it was an increase of 3233 people to the Stateline area. On top of that, the entire South Lake Tahoe area saw a 2% increase in hotel occupancy as well - an increase of 5496 rooms rented when comparing the same months one year apart.

The other tourism factor is from where people are visiting, and the trends show that 68.3% of visitors were planning an overnight trip when visiting South Lake Tahoe. That's good news for ECHL hockey as most games happening in the evening, so there's a chance they could see some of those visitors come to a game. When you consider that 66% of visitors come from three main regions - Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, and Reno - there's a chance you're going to have hockey fans visiting with former Stockton Thunder fans, current San Jose NHL and AHL fans, and other casual fans coming for a ski trip.

Will it be enough to sell out the 4200-seat Tahoe Blue Event Center? We'll find out, but that will also depend on the marketing and management of ownership. David Hodges, CEO of Hodges Management Group LLC, seems to be the money in the equation as Hodges Management Group owns three auto dealerships and real estate investment firms in Georgia. Hodges also owns commercial insurance agency 925 Partners where it seems he met his partner in this Lake Tahoe venture in former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow most recently appeared in preseason games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.

If you're asking where the hockey background is, it seems Tebow is the man with the most experience as he's a minority owner in both the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen and Savannah Ghost Pirates, and it seems he's bringing Zawyer Sports & Entertainment with him as that group operates both ECHL franchises along with a number of arenas.

"Tim and I are excited to be able to share this new team with the community," Hodges said. "We look forward to engaging the fans as we name the team, design the logos and eventually drop the puck in October of 2024. We believe in the power of sports to bring communities together and there’s no better place than the South Lake Tahoe region. With this new ECHL team, we're committed to delivering unforgettable games, making lasting memories and impacting this community positively."

It's very likely that the San Jose Sharks will consider an affiliation with the Lake Tahoe ECHL team. San Jose is currently affiliated with the Wichita Thunder, and that agreement expires on August 25, 2023. It seems intuitive that the Sharks would renew that deal for one more year before possibly switching affiliations to the Lake Tahoe team. That would put their ECHL affiliate just four hours away from their AHL affiliate in the San Jose Barracuda. With teams keeping their affiliates closer than ever before, this would make the most sense for the Sharks. And that affiliation may drive a few more fans to make the trip to South Lake Tahoe to see the team play!

There's still a year's worth of work to do before the team takes the ice in Stateline, but the new facility is located right across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino as well as being down the street from Harrah's Hotel and Casino. If the Lake Tahoe group follows the same path walked by the Vegas Golden Knights, I'd expect there to be partnerships with the hotels and casinos when it comes to lodging and entertainment in the area.

On the surface, this Lake Tahoe idea sounded silly at first, but there might actually be a solid hockey operations plan hidden beneath the skiing and resorts found in the area. Again, there will need to a solid effort made in selling the team to the community and to its affiliates, but it appears that the chances of Lake Tahoe being an ECHL town are pretty good as far as first impressions go.

Will it work in the long term? The hockey world will be watching and evaluating, but one hopes that this Lake Tahoe team lasts longer than Tim Tebow's attempt to play Major League Baseball did. For those asking, Tebow has a four-year run in the New York Mets' system, but I'm going to say that this hockey venture at the south end of Lake Tahoe will certainly be around longer that that.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!