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Report of NHL expansion eyeing two new expansion teams at a hefty price tag
According to Alan Walsh of Octagon hockey, the NHL appears to be gearing up for two new expansion teams that will be in Houston TX and Atlanta GA.
The price tag for the new expansion teams in the NHL has now been set to $1.5 billion per team and it appears that a billionaire owner has been working to locate a team in Houston for some time.
Houston being coveted as new home of NHL expansion
Dan Friedkin, an American billionaire has been pegged as the potential new owner of the new ownership group that would bring an NHL team to Houston.
NHL deputy commissioner bill daily confirmed through e-mail that the league and Friedkin's group have been discussing on several occasions the potential of bringing a team to Houston.
Friedkin is CEO of The Freidkin Group, which is based in Houston, and has begun his foray into professional sports ownership over the past several years. In 2020, the company bought the Italian Serie A club AS Roma. In 2024, TFG became majority owners of the English Premier League club Everton. Earlier this month, TFG helped secure £350 million in funding for a new stadium for Everton. Emily Kaplan
Friedkin's group has had an appetite for acquiring sports franchises as they were also considering putting a bid in for the Boston Celtics who were sold on Thursday for $6.1 billion.
Atlanta may try a third time to get and hold an NHL franchise
It's also been reported that Atlanta may be also on the radar for another expansion team after the city has had two teams in its history, the Atlanta Flames who moved to Calgary and the Atlanta Thrashers who had moved to Winnipeg.
Losing Atlanta, the second time always was a sore spot for Gary Bettman as he had felt that Atlanta was a proper market for hockey team but unfortunately could not find an owner to keep the franchise going.
Many fans across the league feel that Atlanta has been tried and failed and other cities including Quebec City and Kansas City are also locations that would support a team and remain viable.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has tried to cool off expansion rumors recently, telling reporters in October that the topic never came up at this fall's board of governors meeting and that expansion was not a "front-burner topic."
But expansion will always be a topic of conversation as it's clear with the last two expansions and the relocation of the Arizona Coyotes, that the league has a winning formula and would be happy to see two more teams added and give $3 billion to the owners coffers.
| POLL | ||
MARS 21 | 403 ANSWERS Report of NHL expansion eyeing two new expansion teams at a hefty price tag Which city should receive a new NHL franchise in the next few years? | ||
| Houston | 76 | 18.9 % |
| Atlanta | 15 | 3.7 % |
| Quebec City | 270 | 67 % |
| Kansas City | 42 | 10.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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