It is highly unlikely that the New Orleans market will get a franchise.
Business and political leaders in New Orleans and Louisiana are kicking the tires to determine if the National Hockey League could put a franchise in the city in the future. NHL brass has been listening to business and political leaders in Alpharetta, Georgia, Cincinnati, Houston, Omaha, Phoenix and Québec City about their interest in getting a franchise in their markets. New Orleans has some significant hurdles to overcome to even get an NHL real study of the market. The National Basketball Association’s New Orleans Pelicans ownership wants an arena upgrade or an entirely new arena. New Orleans is a market that is tourist driven and does not have a big corporate base. Most of the corporate money goes to the National Football League’s Saints. Government money has propped up the Saints franchise.
The NHL’s stance has not changed since Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed possible expansion in October 2024. “We feel no compulsion to do it right now. We just came off our most successful season in our history, we’ve got collective bargaining to deal with, we’ve got new media arrangements to do in Canada in the next couple of years. If something came in and checked all the boxes, and we felt that it might make sense, we might consider it. But we’re not there right now, and it seems like everybody is, on the one hand, pushing us with, ‘Why don’t you expand?’ and at the same time saying, ‘Why would you expand?’ So, it’s not a front-burner topic right now.” But the NHL has been listening to pitches from Alpharetta. Political and business leaders in Cincinnati are pushing to build a 21st century state of the art venue in town. The NHL would like to return to Phoenix but there is no plan to build an arena. New Orleans is not getting an NHL franchise anytime soon.
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Bourbon Street New Orleans
