LAS VEGAS – Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league’s board of governors has accepted an expansion bid from Las Vegas with the new team to begin play in the 2017-18 season.
He says the vote was unanimous.
The decision means Quebec City is left out in the cold despite having a brand new arena as part of its application to become the 31st NHL franchise.
Joining the word’s top hockey league doesn’t come cheap _ prospective Las Vegas owner Bill Foley will need to pay a US$500-million expansion fee to the NHL, which hasn’t added a team since 2000.
Back then, Minnesota and Columbus paid $80 million each to join the league.
Las Vegas officials secured more than 14,000 season-ticket deposits for the new team, which will play in T-Mobile Arena, the sparkling new multipurpose building on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
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The Associated Press reported last week that the league’s executive committee will recommend to the board to accept the Las Vegas bid.
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The arena, which seats 17,500 for hockey, was built entirely with private money by MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owners of the Los Angeles Kings.
“I think the potential is great here,” Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said Tuesday in Vegas, where the league will hold its board meeting and hand out the annual player awards. “It’s time for our league to expand. I think our game’s going in the right direction. We’ve got labour peace, the salary cap’s working well. All the positives are there for a chance for our game to grow.”
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The Las Vegas area had nearly 2.2 million people in the 2010 census, making it the largest population centre in the U.S. without a major pro sports franchise. Public support for Foley’s bid has been robust, and the NHL has noticed the appeal of being the only major sports show in a town that loves a big event.
With its own brand new arena, Quebec City presented a strong bid for expansion, but NHL owners have expressed concerns about the strength of the Canadian dollar and a geographical imbalance if they add another team to the Eastern Conference, which currently has 16 teams to the West’s 14.
“Quebec City’s a great market for hockey – anywhere in Canada for that matter,” said Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, a Quebec native. “At the same time I also understand it’s a business.”
Vegas is in the middle of the Mojave Desert, but it has grown as a hockey town over the past 20 years since local youngsters like Jason Zucker, now with the Minnesota Wild, had to practise on one of the three rinks in town.
“It’ll be an exciting place to come and play,” said Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. “It’s obviously good for the league, good for the players – more jobs.”
The IHL’s Las Vegas Thunder attracted large crowds in the 1990s when they played at the Thomas and Mack Center, and the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers took the Thunder’s place until 2014 while playing at the Orleans Arena.
Foley hasn’t said what he will call his new team, but the bid is run by a company named Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, the same name as his financial services company.