The city says it has more than 13,000 season-ticket commitments for a team that would play in recently opened T-Mobile Arena, a 20,000-seat facility located just off the famous Las Vegas Strip. A two-third’s majority of the league’s 30 teams is required for final approval and the vote is expected June 22 at the NHL board of governors meeting.
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The Yahoo report also states that the Las Vegas expansion team is a “done deal”.
This is the first time the league has expanded since the 2000 season, when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets joined.
Las Vegas appears headed for the big leagues.
The days when sports leagues were wary of the potential corruption in Vegas’ massive sports betting scene are apparently finished, making the city an attractive candidate for sports looking to get in on a growing market. The Oakland Raiders and owner Mark Davis have expressed interest in moving there, and David Beckham has suggested the MLS could move there as well.
Las Vegas is finally getting a serious shot at major professional sports.
The bid from Quebec City, which lost its beloved Nordiques to Denver in 1995, now looks like it will be put on hold due largely to concerns about the strength of the Canadian dollar. In the fall of 1996 and early 1997, Raleigh made a bid for an National Hockey League expansion team, but the ownership group headed by Charlotte businessman Felix Sabates later withdrew the bid.
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.
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In terms of marketing, Foley is said to be partial to naming the team the Black Knights-the same moniker as his financial services group. Foley also graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, aka the Army Black Knights.
