Fansided

Las Vegas, Quebec City make cases for NHL expansion

By John Buhler

Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the crowd before the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the crowd before the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Las Vegas and Quebec City are both inching closer in the process to apply for expansion teams in the National Hockey League. Approval expansion to those two markets would give the NHL 32 teams.

According to the Associated Press, the Cities of Las Vegas, NV and Quebec City, QC are accelerating their push to obtain expansion National Hockey League franchises. Las Vegas has never had a professional team in the four major sports. Many cite Nevada’s gambling laws and tourism as distractions in the past for a professional team to headquarter in this massive AAA city.

Quebec lost its NHL team to Denver before the start of the 1995-96 NHL season. Fate would have it that the what become of the Quebec Nordiques would go on to win the Stanley Cup their first year in Denver as the newly-named Colorado Avalanche.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has previously stated that he “is not feeling any timeline pressure” with regards to the League expanding to 32 teams. The league has grown rapidly since the last time the NHL expanded to 30 teams, as noted by the exponential leap in projected expansion fee.

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In 2000, both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild paid $80 million to join the NHL. Bettman projects that presumably Las Vegas and Quebec City would have to pay upwards of $500 Million to get their expansion teams.

Both cities were the two chosen from a pool of 16 metro areas the NHL believed could support an expansion franchise. Las Vegas and Quebec City have strong potential backing owners with Bill Foley in Vegas and Montreal communications juggernaut Quebecor.

The NHL is still evaluating both media markets and plans for a suitable arena. Las Vegas is the 42nd biggest in the United States. Quebec City is the 11th-biggest in Canada. After a strike cost the NHL the entire 2004-05 Season, the league appears to have adjusted through rampant expansion in the 1990’s to potentially consider entering two unoccupied markets.

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