Bad news from downtown this morning: the St. Louis Blues are up for sale. And, as icing on the cake, Savvis wants to drop their name from the arena the Blues play in.

So, can you attract someone to sponsor the arena, when there’s doubt as to whether the (presumably) biggest moneymaker may not even be in town? I doubt it.

My view? Well, in order for the center-formerly-known-as-Kiel-Center (a nice, succinct name proposal after Savvis abandons the arena, and before new sponsorship is found) to attract a new patron, the sale of the Blues has to be complete, and it has to be clear whether the team will move or not. If the Blues leave town, I have to think the pricetag for “Your Name Here” on the side of the arena would be much, much less than if they are still skating inside.

Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them leave. It be a shame after 30+ years, but in this age of mobile franchises, it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question. However, the sports fans in St. Louis have long memories, and I’m sure that adopting a new team would be tough, even after a long dry spell with no hockey to break up the winter. That’s assuming, of course, that St. Louis could attract another team. This is a big hockey town, with a good potential fan base, so the right elements are there. I guess it just depends on whether there will be any Canadian teams left to move south! 🙂