With its bustling strip of hotels, casinos, restaurants and bars – and booming tourist industry, which welcomes about 50,000 visitors every three days – Las Vegas is unlike any other city in North America.
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So, it’s true: the National Hockey League is adding a 31st franchise in Las Vegas starting in the 2017-18 season.
While this is the only team that will be added right now, there is talk of future expansion in other cities.
The NHL board of governors has voted to expand to Las Vegas, starting in the 2017-18 season.
Las Vegas is known for gambling, but the NHL board of governors passed on a sure thing Wednesday when they rubber-stamped an expansion franchise for Sin City while leaving Quebec City with the world’s best junior hockey arena. It will be the first time that the league has expanded since 1997, when they added teams to Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Minnesota. That company, which established its offices in Las Vegas, has not yet made any acquisitions. “It wasn’t easy, was it?” I love Black Knights, Foley said. The delay was a mere trifle in a city that had waited so long for a major professional sports franchise.
My obligation is to hold this team in trust for the community..
Bettman said there were a number of factors that led them to deferring the expansion to Las Vegas, including the fluctuation of the Canadian dollar.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ended months of speculation Wednesday by officially announcing Las Vegas as home of the league’s 31st franchise.
Bettman pointed to the successful season ticket drive as a driving point behind the league’s openness to a Vegas franchise, but don’t forget the $500 million expansion fee that comes with it.
“Bring the Nordiques back to Quebec City remains a priority for Quebecor”, said Dion. Players in their first and second years and unsigned draft choices will be exempt from selection. The club will select one player from each of the existing 30 teams – at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.
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The league’s announcement brings a almost two-year journey one step closer to reality for William Foley, the chairman of Fidelity National Financial and Black Knight Financial Services, who will lead the Las Vegas team as its owner.
“The Las Vegas market was intriguing”, said Bettman. “It seems like the excitement is there and it should be fun”. Foley has already accepted more than 14,000 season ticket deposits and sold out all 44 suites in the rink. “The success that it had really got everybody’s attention”.
Bettman said fans shouldn’t count on Quebec City being a landing spot for a relocation because he has no expectation of any team moving.
The Las Vegas area had almost 2.2 million people in the 2010 census, making it the largest population centre in the US without a major pro sports franchise. “I think you can create a connection with the community that can be long-lasting and be important”.
LAS VEGAS (AP) The NHL is making a big bet on Las Vegas. The ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers previously operated from 2003 until 2014.
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“With all of the hype and buzz and electricity towards us getting a team, we wanted to pounce right away”, said Chuck Esposito, sports book director at Sunset Station.
