Sources: Austin, Texas throws its hat into NHL expansion ring as franchise fee hits $2 billion
LOS ANGELES — Four markets were already jockeying in the quest for the next NHL expansion franchise, but a fifth has recently entered the chat.
The conversation on NHL expansion beyond 32 clubs is expected to grow in the coming months with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement announced on Friday, pending expected ratification. The NHL will continue to field expressions of interest from potential markets.
The League, which informed interested parties that the expansion fee is a tidy $2 billion, updated the Board of Governors at their annual June meeting on Wednesday prior to the Draft. The four cities shared with the BOG are Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis and New Orleans.
The fifth one is Austin, Texas, according to sources, and that entry has generated buzz. Not only is it an exploding, affluent market full of transplants with a built-in geographic rival – but it’s also the only one where the NHL can be the first major pro sports league in town, which has been a huge part of their success beating others to the punch in Vegas.
“We have no pending applications and we’re not seeking to initiate a formal process at this point,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.
To date, most of the industry focus has been on Atlanta’s third bid for NHL hockey. The Gathering at South Forsyth was recently approved by the county for a $3 billion mixed-use, NHL-sized arena, which allows the project to advance to the next phase to bring hockey back to Georgia.
Sources indicated Hockey Hall of Fame legend Bobby Orr has been connected to the Forsyth group, led by developer Vernon Krause, as an advisor and entree into the larger hockey world. It is unclear if Orr would be a partner in the project.
The prospective entries from Houston, New Orleans and Indianapolis have been far less public-facing, which is exactly how the NHL likes it. Theoretically, if the NHL were to eventually expand to 34 teams, geographical alignment would be maintained by placing one team in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. Atlanta seems like a solid bet; Austin would make a ton of sense as the West counterweight – though there will likely also be an eventual applicant in Arizona once an arena is secured.
Austin is one of the fastest growing major metro areas in the U.S., more than four times as large as Salt Lake City, where the NHL placed the Utah Mammoth in 2024. The population is slated to soon crest 1 million within Austin city limits itself. It’s a booming tech hub and dollars have flowed in from California and beyond.
Austin is approximately 195 miles from Dallas, roughly the same distance by drive as Edmonton is from Calgary. There is a current hockey presence as the Texas Stars have had lots of success in the AHL playing at H-E-B Center in nearby Cedar Park. Right now, the MLS’ Austin FC is the only other pro game in town, joining the Texas Longhorns on the sports scene.
So far, the expressions of interest are just that. Bettman reiterated on Friday that any successful expansion bid must check all four boxes to earn consideration: cohesive and well-heeled ownership, an NHL-ready arena, a burgeoning market and to answer the question if it makes the NHL better. Only then, when all four boxes are checked, will the NHL present it to the Board to vote yea or nay on whether to admit a new club.
The $2 billion price tag may make it difficult to refuse. The NHL divided up $500 million for Vegas and $650 million from Seattle – and that 4x growth from 2017 to now is indicative of the exploding franchise values in the league spurred on by Bettman’s cost-certain comfort provided in the CBA.
Sources say the NHLPA twice asked for a cut of expansion fees for players in this latest negotiation but were told it was a nonstarter.
“That’s not something that’s in the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” Bettman said on Friday.
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