Prospective NHL Las Vegas Owner Bill Foley said he expects his group to "submit a very robust application" to the league to bring a franchise there when the process opens, according to Scott Burnside of ESPN.com. Las Vegas is the "runaway leader" in the race to land an expansion franchise, as Foley's season-ticket drive has already seen 13,200 "down payments made." Foley said that about 40 more deposits "have come in after the NHL's announcement Wednesday, even though the drive isn't being fully staffed as it was when it began in February this year." Foley: "While not a traditional hockey market, the citizens of Las Vegas are ready to support a NHL team if we are fortunate enough to be awarded a franchise" (ESPN.com, 6/25). SPORTS ON EARTH's Joe Delessio wrote an NHL team in Las Vegas "seems almost inevitable at this point, but it remains, appropriately, a gamble." Las Vegas ranks 41st "in size among U.S. TV markets, with only one current NHL city (Buffalo) behind it." Vegas is "actually bigger than Quebec -- but in Quebec, hockey is part of the cultural fabric." Fans in Vegas will "have to prove they'll embrace the sport, since the tourist crowd alone won't be able to keep the team going" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 6/25).
NOT SO FAST: In Toronto, Kevin McGran wrote before fans "get all crazy" about another team placing its roots in the city, it is "not going to happen for a whole bunch of reasons." NHL expansion is "never about putting a team where it will succeed," but instead "about money." If the "good folks in Las Vegas, and maybe Seattle, pony up" $500M each, well, that is $1B to the "league's coffers, divided up by the 30 current owners, without a cent going to the players." If the teams succeed, "everybody wins and it's on to another round of pocket-lining expansion." But if they fail, the league "won't contract." The league will "move them." McGran: "Where? Oh I know, Toronto. Or Quebec. And it takes a relocation fee out of it. Then you get some double dipping action" (THESTAR.com, 6/25).
NOW OR NEVER: In Seattle, Larry Stone writes to the city's prospective arena builders, "Get your act together. This is it, the moment in time we’ve been waiting for." Chances are, the NHL "will add two franchises, perhaps as early" as the '17-18 season. The NHL has "given strong indication it would love to move into the Seattle market, which it sees as an untapped gold mine, as well as a perfect geographic fit." So it is "time to make this happen, both to bring a great, vibrant sport into our market, and to grease the skids for the return by the NBA." Stone: "Just get the arena act together" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/26).
