Bettman gives list of six possible NHL expansion cities
The NHL could be growing sooner rather than later. In a press conference earlier today, league commissioner Gary Bettman revealed a laundry list of new cities that could be home to an NHL team.
“There seems to be an increasing and vibrant expression of interest in having an NHL team in places there aren’t,” he explained while speaking at NHL All-Star Weekend.
The 71-year-old said they’d had expressions of interest from groups in Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and even Omaha, Nebraska.
While some of those cities have been rumoured, others were complete surprises, including Cincinnati, although he admitted that those talks were “very preliminary.”
Perhaps the most solid proposal is from a group led by Utah-based billionaire Ryan Smith. He also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
“They’re very enthused about the possibility of getting an NHL team. They’ve made it clear they’d like one, and the government leaders in Utah have expressed to us a similar level of enthusiasm,” said Bettman.
“I think it’s fair to say that the Utah expression of interest has been the most aggressive and has carried a lot of energy with it, including from the governor and leaders of the legislature.”
While there are a lot of cities interested in adding an NHL team, some of these places have already tried hosting a franchise already.
When asked about Quebec City, a place that was not mentioned but already has an NHL rink and deep hockey roots, the commissioner had the following to say.
“If we decide to expand, and Quebec City expresses the type of interests necessary to make it happen, then we’ll review.”
Atlanta is one city that was mentioned by Bettman and caught people’s attention, as the NHL has already relocated teams away from the area twice. Despite those past failures, there is still interest in trying again.
“My guess is the people who are expressing an interest will tell you that the Atlanta of the last two incarnations isn’t the same Atlanta, and they’re also talking about building in a different place,” explained the commissioner. “You know what they point to? The baseball team is doing much better since it moved to the northern suburbs. I’m only repeating; I’m not laying out their case. I’m only telling you what they’ve said.”
The NHL has added two teams since 2017 in the Vegas Golden Knights ($500 million expansion fee) and the Seattle Kraken ($650 million expansion fee).
Before that, the last expansion happened in 2000 when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined with an expansion fee of $80 million apiece.