In July 2016, the NHL Board of Governors approved the new Las Vegas franchise expanding the league from 30 to 31 teams. The city of Las Vegas has been rumored for several years as the location of the NHL’s next expansion team. Las Vegas owner Bill Foley garnered unanimous support from the Board of Governors and the new franchise is set to begin the 2017-2018 campaign in the newly-opened 17,368-seat T-Mobile Arena, which is surrounded by the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, the MGM Grand, and the Excalibur Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip.
The price of admission for the new franchise was a $500 million expansion fee that was divided equally between the other 30 franchises. Interestingly, the $500 million expansion cost is a small drop in the bucket compared to the $150 billion Americans wagered illegally on sports in 2015. The Las Vegas expansion necessarily brings up the issue of sports betting in America. Recently, the NHL, along with the other major North American sports leagues, opposed the legality of a law that would legalize sports betting in New Jersey. On February 17, 2016, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, upheld a ruling invalidating the law in a nine to three decision. Click here for more information on the New Jersey sports betting case. However, a team in Nevada does not necessarily mean that wagering will begin on the new NHL franchise because the NHL could ask Nevada sportsbooks not to accept bets on its new team. See more information here.
The new Las Vegas franchise will participate in an expansion draft at the conclusion of this season and select at least one player from each of the 30 teams. The franchise must select at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies, and the total value of player contracts for the 2017-18 season must be at least 60% of the 2016-17 salary cap, which is $73 million. See other rules regarding the expansion draft here.
In the process of awarding the city of Las Vegas an NHL franchise, the NHL Board of Governors deferred the expansion application of an ownership group in Quebec City, Canada. They are trying to bring NHL hockey back to the city, which had the Quebec Nordiques from 1979-1995 when the franchise moved to Colorado.
While there are still some analysts that question the viability of the NHL, or any major professional sport in ‘Sin City,’ the team has already sold a remarkable 14,000 season tickets. Although the franchise has yet to announce the team’s official name, Mr. Foley indicated that it would be the Silver Knights, Golden Knights, or Sand Knights. For more information, click here. When Las Vegas begins its inaugural season next fall, it will mark 20 years since the NHL last expanded with four teams in Columbus, Atlanta (now Winnipeg, Canada), Minnesota, and Nashville.
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*The views expressed herein are those solely of the author.