Bettman open to ads on World Cup jerseys

If you are someone who dislikes ads on NHL jerseys, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.
Gary Bettman also feels your pain.
During a media availability on Friday in Vancouver, the NHL commissioner ruled out putting ads on team jerseys. But the World Cup? That’s, potentially, another story.
“World Cup, international competition, I don't know,” Bettman said at a press conference at Rogers Arena. “We may take a look at it. It might be a valuable opportunity.”
However, Bettman has no desire to have his league become the first of the four major sports leagues in North America to start displaying corporate banners.
“I'm in no rush to put advertising on our sweaters,” he said. “I think we've got the best jerseys in all of sports. I like the history, the tradition. I like the way they look, and I've repeatedly said we wouldn't be the first (in North America) and you'd probably have to bring me kicking and screaming.”
The World Cup of Hockey will be held in Toronto prior to the 2016-17 NHL season and is expected to generate more than US $100 million in profits, according to NHL.com. Jersey ads could beef up that number – a point Bettman will not ignore.
“The World Cup jerseys don't have the same legacy as far as I'm concerned that our regular jerseys have,” said Bettman, who took in Vancouver’s game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. “So (advertising on jerseys) could happen in the World Cup ... might not, but it's not anything we're focused on doing for the league itself.”
Meanwhile, Bettman offered another sign that the league is interested in having a team in Seattle, noting the city posed many “intriguing opportunities” – including a regional rivalry with Vancouver. But he indicated his discussions with Seattle’s major suggest that it won’t get a new area – which is considered critical for both a new NHL and NBA team there – in the near future.
Otherwise, Bettman stressed that the NHL is not pursuing expansion. He indicated the league is taking a wait-and-see approach on the results of a season-ticket drive for a proposed club in Las Vegas. He expects the season-ticket drive to be held in a month or so.
The question of putting a team in Quebec City, where a new arena is being built, never came up.