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Professor Maureen Weston, "2023's Best Cities for Hockey Fans - Ask the Experts" -- WalletHub

Professor Maureen A. Weston provided commentary on an "Ask the Experts" sports panel to share insights on key indicators that make for the best cities for hockey fans. Professor Weston commented on the biggest challenges facing the NHL and business of professional hockey today; tips for how hockey fans can enjoy the sport affordably; and the impact of sports betting on the Stanley Cup finals and sports in general.

In preparation, Professor Weston called upon for consultation her hockey fan and sports law alum Niko Tsiouvaras (SOL 2021) who represented Pepperdine Caruso Law in the University of Toronto Hockey Arbitration Competition. Tsiouvaras also introduced then NHLPA executive director Don Fehr when Fehr spoke to Professor Weston's Sports Dispute Resolution course.

Excerpt from "2023's Best Cities for Hockey Fans - Ask the Experts"

What are the biggest challenges facing the business of professional hockey today?

It seems one of the biggest issues is the lack of international best-on-best play. It’s now been two Winter Olympics Games since the NHL has participated, and the World Cup of Hockey has been shelved because of the Russia war in Ukraine. This  results in a big missed opportunity to grow the game, especially with the emergence of young, marketable stars from the US as well as other countries like Germany that have not traditionally been hockey powerhouses. The Bally Sports and other RSN bankruptcies are also potentially troubling for the NHL. Although the NHL is more gate-dependent than other major sports leagues, teams still depend on that revenue. The Vegas Golden Knights are planning to bring  TV production in-house and stream it for free to their market (similar to the Suns), but it’s unlikely that every team will be able to do that (Vegas is one of the biggest revenue generators in the league). Hopefully, the long-term play of growing the game will come to fruition.

The compete article may be found at WalletHub