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Vegas Golden Knights

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Las Vegas NHL team
ConferenceWestern
DivisionPacific
Founded2016
Home arenaT-Mobile Arena
CityLas Vegas, Nevada
Owner(s)Bill Foley (85%)
Maloof family (15%)[1]
General managerGeorge McPhee
Official websiteVegasIsHockey.com

The Las Vegas NHL team is a professional ice hockey expansion team that will be based in Las Vegas, Nevada and will begin play in the 2017–18 NHL season. The team will be a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team is owned by Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley,[2] and will play its home games at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.[3] The team name, logo, colors and uniforms are expected to be unveiled in September 2016.[4] It will be the first major professional sports team to be based in Las Vegas. The franchise will be the first NHL expansion team since 2000.

Background

Past NHL events in Las Vegas

The NHL's interest in Las Vegas dates back to 1991, when an outdoor game was held in Las Vegas, with the Los Angeles Kings facing the New York Rangers outside Caesars Palace in a preseason exhibition game. The minor league Las Vegas Thunder operated out of the Thomas & Mack Center from 1993 until 1999, when the team's lease of the facility expired; the Las Vegas Wranglers of the third-tier ECHL played at Orleans Arena from 2003 until 2014, when that team's lease also expired. Every year since 1997 (except the lockout years of 2004 and 2012), Las Vegas has hosted Frozen Fury, a pre-season competition between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche at the 16,800-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena.[5] Although the NHL Awards ceremonies are held in Las Vegas, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman denied that it had anything to do with being a potential relocation or expansion spot.[6] In 2009, the media speculated about a plan involving the Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer to move the team then known as the Phoenix Coyotes to Nevada.[7]

Development

Rumors of a Las Vegas expansion team surfaced again in August 2014, prospecting a new indoor arena on the Strip (built as a joint venture between Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the Los Angeles Kings, and MGM Resorts International) as the potential home arena. The Vancouver newspaper The Province reported that a Las Vegas team was a "done deal", but deputy commissioner Bill Daly denied claims that the NHL had plans to expand.[8][9][10] On November 12, 2014, it was reported by the New York Post that the league had selected the Maloof family—former owners of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings, and a minority owner of the Palms Casino Resort—along with Bill Foley, to lead the ownership group for a Las Vegas expansion team. However, neither Foley, the Maloofs, AEG, or MGM commented on the speculation. Daly was reportedly in Las Vegas for a meeting, and had checked on the progress on the new arena; Daly again denied that the NHL had any plans to expand, and that the league had "not discussed or identified potential ownership groups publicly."[11][12]

On December 8, 2014, following a meeting with the NHL's board of governors, commissioner Gary Bettman announced that he would not object to Foley holding a season ticket drive to gauge interest in a Las Vegas team, indicating the possibility that the league may actually consider a Las Vegas team. However, Bettman also warned the media to "[not] make more out of this than it is."[13][14] During an interview with Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman aired on December 13, 2014, Foley revealed that Wayne Gretzky was acting as an "unofficial" advisor to the proposed team, and that, although there would most likely be a vote to determine its name, his preferred name for the proposed team was the "Las Vegas Black Knights"—named in tribute to the Army Black Knights.[15][16]

On February 10, 2015, the season ticket drive began, with interested parties placing ten percent deposits on season tickets for a prospective team at the new arena by the 2016-17 season. 5,000 season ticket deposits were collected by Hockey Vision Las Vegas, an organization representing the Bill Foley and the Maloof families as owners of the potential franchise, bringing the ticket drive 50 percent of the way to the self-determined goal of 10,000 deposits.[17] By April 2015, the drive had met its goal; Hockey Vision Las Vegas then began to solicit corporate and casino ticket sales to reach a supplemental goal of 13,000 total season ticket sales for the team's inaugural season.[18]

On June 24, 2015, the league officially opened up the window for prospective owners to bid on expansion teams. By this point, Foley had secured more than 13,200 season-ticket deposits for the arena. Bettman expressed the league's intrigue of expanding into such a non-traditional market, especially in the wake of Foley's ticket drive, but warned that the NHL wanted to "take a deep dive and look at what there is in terms of the interest that's being expressed."[19] On July 21, 2015, the NHL confirmed it had received an application for an expansion team from Bill Foley for a Las Vegas team; it was one of two bids to have been submitted, the other being a bid from Quebecor to revive the Quebec Nordiques at a new arena in Quebec City. On August 5, 2015, the NHL announced it had invited both Las Vegas and Quebec to move into Phase II of the league expansion bid.[20] The bid subsequently advanced to Phase III, which ended on September 4. On September 29, Bill Foley and Quebecor met the NHL's executive committee in New York City to present their respective bids.[21] Bettman also said that expansion requires a three-quarters affirmative vote from the Board of Governors, but the members of the executive committee would first have to make a recommendation to the group, and that no deadline had been set for a final decision.[22]

Approval and establishment

Leading into the league owners' meetings and NHL Awards held on June 22, 2016, the Associated Press reported that Las Vegas had won an expansion bid and that terms for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft were being finalized.[23] During a press conference later that day, Gary Bettman officially announced that the expansion franchise had been awarded to Las Vegas, and would begin play in the 2017–18 NHL season. It was the only expansion bid approved, with its Quebec rival "deferred" to a later date.[2] The league also confirmed that an expansion draft would be held to populate the roster of the new team; Bettman stated that due to the larger number of players that would be potentially available to the team in comparison to that of the previous expansion draft in 2000, the team "will have a roster that will be competitive more quickly than prior expansions".[24]

With the official approval of the Las Vegas expansion bid, Foley has committed to give $500 million dollars to help fund the team[25] and stated that the public would begin to "see a lot of action in the next 30 to 45 days", as the team begins the process of hiring its principal staff (as assisted by Murray Craven) and determining its official identity, among other developments. Foley announced that former Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee would become the franchise's GM.[26][27] Foley stated that he was working with the league to determine a suitable brand for the team, but that "it may not be until September that we have our name and logo. But when we do, that's when we'll have our big public celebration. We want to sell a lot of jerseys that day." He also admitted that his preferred name of "Las Vegas Black Knights" is unlikely due to various legal issues with trademarks, copyrights and domain names.[28] Foley has also begun the process of pursuing a regional television rights holder for the team, but has also considered starting a dedicated regional sports network for it.[24]

Name Suggestions

Scorpions, Gold, Fury, Onslaught, Scavengers, Hellfire, Enforcers, Slayers, Troopers, Comrades.

References

  1. ^ Carp, Steve (June 22, 2016). "Maloofs stay in background as minority owners of Las Vegas NHL team". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Rosen, Dan (June 22, 2016). "Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Mitanis, Marcus (February 19, 2016). "T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to Open Spring 2016". Skyrisecities. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Marrazza, Dan (June 22, 2016). "WHEN WILL OUR TEAM BE NAMED?". Black Knight Sports & Entertainment. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "SAVE THE DATE - FROZEN FURY XIII - OCT. 2, 2010" (Press release). Los Angeles Kings. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "NHL head says league no closer to team in Vegas". CNNSI. April 6, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  7. ^ "Hollywood aspirations for NHL". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
  8. ^ "NHL says no credibility to report of Las Vegas expansion team". Las Vegas Sun. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "NHL denies expansion report, including a second team in Toronto". Toronto Star. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  10. ^ "Gallagher: Bettman has changed his tune on NHL expansion". The Province. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  11. ^ "NHL picks owners for likely Vegas team". New York Post. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  12. ^ "Maloof family joins effort to land Las Vegas NHL team". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  13. ^ "NHL gets serious about Las Vegas; can Canadiens redefine themselves?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "NHL allows Las Vegas to explore expansion interest". Canadian Press. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  15. ^ "Will Las Vegas be called the Black Knights?". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  16. ^ "Gretzky an 'unofficial' advisor to NHL in Vegas". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  17. ^ Snellas, Alan (February 12, 2015). "NHL ticket drive already halfway to goal". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  18. ^ Snellas, Alan (April 11, 2015). "Businessman behind NHL drive has blue-jeans, relaxed approach". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  19. ^ "NHL announces start of expansion process". CBC Sports. June 24, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  20. ^ McLaren, Ian (August 5, 2015). "Las Vegas group invited to participate in Phase 2 of NHL expansion application process - NHL on The Score - Scores, standings, news, leaders". TheScore.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  21. ^ "Quebecor makes pitch to NHL in hopes of landing franchise". National Hockey League. The Canadian Press. September 30, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  22. ^ Rosen, Dan (September 29, 2015). "Commissioner: No timetable for NHL expansion". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  23. ^ Beacham, Greg (June 14, 2016). "NHL rolls the dice on Las Vegas expansion". Associated Press. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Las Vegas NHL franchise now faces many tough hockey decisions — VIDEO". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  25. ^ Heitner, Darren (June 22, 2016). "The NHL Leads the Way in Bringing Pro Sports to Las Vegas". Inc.com. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  26. ^ "GEORGE MCPHEE HIRED AS LAS VEGAS GM". July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  27. ^ "McPhee named GM of Las Vegas expansion team". July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  28. ^ "Bill Foley's frustration grows over lack of name for Las Vegas NHL team". July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.

External links

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