Atlanta could be hot stuff for third try at NHL expansion with new arena deal
Three times could be the charm for the National Hockey League to put another team in Atlanta.
Failed history won't be a deterrent, listening to backers of a proposed new arena in Forsyth County.
After the Flames and Thrashers failed to draw consistently at two downtown facilities — the Omni and Philips Arena, respectively — the county, about a 45-minute drive northeast of Atlanta and business partners went through numerous procedural hoops this week to clear a $3 billion US project called The Gathering, which would feature an 18,500-seat rink.
The deal only commits to using taxpayer funds if the NHL grants an expansion team.
The NHL has been coy on expansion, but has carried a torch for the highly populated, TV-ratings-rich region since the Flames first arrived in 1972. If this project makes the rink the crown jewel of a new entertainment district, where the other two didn't, it will be worth the trip out of town.
In Atlanta's favour, despite calls in Canada to give Quebec City or a second Toronto franchise a shot, is the impressive winning streak that two Deep South teams have been on. The Florida Panthers are chasing a second straight Stanley Cup in their third appearance in the final after the Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.
The league's two most-recent additions, Las Vegas and Seattle, have been a success with the Golden Knights bringing the Cup to the desert in 2023.
Vernon Krause, who owns a chain of car dealerships and fronts The Gathering, told local media he spoke with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday and they'll meet again in the early summer.
Former Maple Leafs GM reveals why team passed on drafting Joe Sakic
Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar wins second Norris Trophy as NHL's top defenceman
Atlanta, or another entry, would alter the balance of the 32-team league's two conferences, thus another would eventually be needed in the West.
A city long thought to be an expansion favourite is Houston, with its natural sports rivalry with Dallas and a long hockey history with minor pro teams and the World Hockey Association's Aeros.
The league already has met with a group headed by Houston billionaire Dan Friedkin, who owns a share of the English Premier League club Everton. The Toyota Center in Houston, home of the NBA Rockets, can seat 17,800 for hockey.
lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Chase Elliott's Atlanta win takes away chance to earn a playoff spot for some drivers
HAMPTON, Ga. — On a night when opportunity opened for so many drivers outside a playoff spot, hope faded away in the blur of Chase Elliott's car. And so goes one less chance to make the playoffs for Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Zane Smith. Nate Ryan, All entered Saturday night's race at EchoPark Speedway outside a playoff spot. Jones was the closest to the cutline and he was more than one race's worth of points back. While there's a chance those drivers can point their way into the playoffs with eight races left in the regular season, the reality is they need to win. Saturday night was set to be that chance. Until it wasn't. Smith led with eight laps left. Stenhouse passed him and led with seven laps to go. Keselowski got by him and led the next five laps. Chase Elliott passed him for the victory on the final lap. 'Every loss sucks,' Keselowski said after finishing second. Keselowski is so far back in the points that he needs to win to make the playoffs. But he didn't have much of a chance on that last lap. Elliott's teammate, Alex Bowman — who entered the night on the playoff cutline — was in third place and gave Elliott a push down the frontstretch as the field took the white flag. 'If he and I did anything but push one another in that situation, we were handing the race to Brad,' Elliott said. That momentum helped Elliott dive to the inside of Keselowski's car and pass him in Turn 1. Bowman challenged Keselowski for second as Elliott pulled away for the popular win at his home track. 'There's races where you can do things different and there's races where you can't,' Keselowski said. There was not much he could do going against the two Hendrick Motorsports teammates. A key moment in the race came when Keselowksi's teammate, Chris Buescher, who had been running second to his boss, lost second to Smith at Lap 237 of the 260-lap race. Buescher then fell to fourth two laps later. He soon fell out of the top five and could not provide Keselowski any help the rest of the race. Without a teammate, Keselowski was exposed to the big moves that cars could make on the 1.54-mile speedway. When Smith took the lead, he felt comfortable with the situation only a few miles from a potential first Cup victory. 'I felt like I had a good idea of how it was going to be, controlling the guy in second, how big of a run he was going to get and just trying to stall him out the best I could and pick up help,' Smith said after finishing seventh. 'I just let two guys by.' Stenhouse made a big move to go three-wide, diving down low to take the lead. 'Just didn't feel like I had enough speed to stay there,' Stenhouse said after placing sixth. 'It was going to take some massive blocks to do that.' With the big runs, that would have led to a big crash, similar to the 22-car crash that brought out the caution at Lap 70 that eliminated points leader William Byron, pole-sitter Joey Logano, Pocono winner Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. Keselowski took control and with two laps to go, he was in good shape. He had Tyler Reddick behind him, followed by Elliott, Stenhouse, Jones, who would finish fifth, and Bowman. That was a Toyota, two Chevrolets, a Toyota and another Chevrolet behind Keselowski's Ford. Had it stayed that jumbled, Keselowski might have been able to hold off his foes but Bowman went from sixth to third and Elliott went from third to second by the final lap, setting up Elliott's move. 'Honestly,' Elliott said, 'all the cards fell on the right places there those last couple laps.' And left Keselowski, Jones, Stenhouse and Smith still searching for that victory that gets them into the playoffs.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rangers Sign Adam Edström To Contract Extension
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The New York Rangers have agreed on a two-year contract extension with forward Adam Edström. The deal comes in at a total of $1.95 million and an average annual value of $975,000. This contract comes at the same exact value as Matt Rempe's extension that was made official just a few days ago. Advertisement Edström burst onto the scene after having a strong performance at both rookie camp and training camp as he made the Rangers' opening night roster. The 24-year-old found a consistent role on the team's fourth line and made an impact for a large part of the 2024-25 campaign. However, Edström sustained a lower-body injury on Feb. 1, which required surgery and kept him out for the remainder of the season. In 51 games, Edström recorded five goals, four assists, and nine points while averaging 9:16 minutes.
NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Cup results, points after Atlanta as the playoffs add Chase Elliott
Chase Elliott became the 12th winner of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, ending a 44-race winless streak by outdueling Brad Keselowski at EchoPark Speedway south of Atlanta. Elliott, who most recently had won on April 14, 2024 at Texas Motor Speedway, became the 44th driver to reach the 20-win mark in his Cup career. It's the second win at Atlanta for the Dawsonville, Georgia, native. Keselowski, who led seven times for 46 laps, finished second by 0.168 seconds, followed by Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones, who rebounded after getting caught in two wrecks. MORE: Click here for Atlanta results l Click here for the cumulative report l Click here for the penalty report l Click here for race notes The top 10 finishers also advanced to the second round of the In-Season Challenge. Bowman is on the playoff cutline with the 16th and final provisional spot, 16 points ahead of Bubba Wallace. William Byron remains the regular-season championship leader by 37 points over Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Here's the finishing order at Atlanta: 1. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet 2. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford 3. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet 4. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota 5. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota 6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet 7. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford 8. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet 9. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford 10. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet 11. Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Chevrolet 12. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet 13. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford 14. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota 15. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford 16. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Chevrolet 17. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet 18. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet 19. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford 20. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet 21. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet 22. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota 23. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet 24. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet 25. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford 26. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota 27. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford 28. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota 29. David Starr, No. 66 Ford 30. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota 31. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota 32. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford 33. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet 34. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet 35. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota 36. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford 37. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet 38. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford 39. Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Ford 40. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
