Groups in the Atlanta area, Houston and Phoenix want an NHL team.
For National Hockey League fans who live in the Atlanta metropolitan region and those in the Houston market, Commissioner Gary Bettman had some bad news. The league is not in an expansion mode but is willing to listen to expansion pitches. “There is, and continues to be, interest from lots of places,” Bettman said. “But none of it has reached the level that we need to focus on at this point. If somebody knocks on the door, we’ll peek around to see who’s knocking and then decide what to do with it.” There are competing groups who would like to place a team about 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta. There apparently is an expression of interest from one group in Houston and in Phoenix, there is an effort underway to try and get an expansion franchise to replace the departed Arizona Coyotes franchise.
There are two groups who would like to join the NHL with arena plans in the northern Atlanta suburbs but the league has not gotten enough information to seriously consider a return to the market. In Forsyth County, Krause Sports and Entertainment has plans for a $3 billion arena-village development called The Gathering at South Forsyth. Forsyth County has greenlighted the project. The Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group wants to build an arena-village at the North Point Mall site in Alpharetta. Both areas are around 30 miles away from downtown Atlanta. Both groups have talked to league officials but the proposals are not fully complete. In Houston Dan Friedkin, who is the Owner and CEO of Gulf States Toyota as well as being a film producer and owner of the Liverpool, England-based Everton football club and AS Roma in Rome, Italy, may be interested in buying an NHL franchise. In Phoenix, there is no potential owner or a suitable hockey building, just a group pushing for a franchise.
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