The AP is reporting that the NHL has chose to expand and has settled on Vegas as the city that will host an expansion team-as long as organizers of that team can come up with a $500 million fee to get into the league.
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According to the AP, the earliest the league would expand to Sin City will be the 2017-18 season.
Owner Mark Davis’ apparent desire to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas has led to hockey’s potential expansion there falling to the background a bit.
The NHL hasn’t expanded since 2000, when Minnesota and Columbus paid $80 million each to join the league. With Las Vegas considered the frontrunner for an expansion franchise, there was a growing belief in Quebec City that Quebecor, the media company backing the city’s expansion bid, might make a play for the Canes.
Foley, a West Point grad, is believed to want to pick a team name around that theme and Vegas.
The new team likely will play at the lovely new T-Mobile Arena.
Foley’s group must pay the league a $500 million fee if the other team owners approve the bid. In 2013, Las Vegas was ranked the sixth most visited US city from travelers around the world.
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The NHL will be expanding and according to Associated Press, the team will call Las Vegas home. The arena can seat 17,500 people and 13,200 have already signed up for season tickets. The drinking age might only be 18 in Quebec, but the average hockey fan would likely have a more fun time and spend more money while visiting Las Vegas than they would when visiting QC. The Las Vegas 51’s, a Triple-A affiliate for the New York Mets (MLB), have been in Las Vegas since moving from Spokane, Washington to Las Vegas in 1983. Foley graduated from the U.S. military academy at West Point.
