Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, a new Atlanta-based ownership group named Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, led by former NHL player Anson Carter, has formally requested the NHL begin an expansion process that would bring the league back to Atlanta, GA. Aside from Carter, the group is also composed of Neil Leibman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, and Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Automotive Group.
Mentioning that discussions for an Atlanta-area expansion have been ongoing since 2019 with Commissioner Gary Bettman, the ownership group has also created a partnership with New York Life in the hopes of using the North Point location in Alpharetta, GA. The location would be around 30 miles north of central Atlanta, and about 20 miles northeast of the recently built Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves of the MLB.
Atlanta has not seen an NHL team since the 2010-11 season when the team was purchased by True North Sports & Entertainment for a reported $170MM and subsequently moved to Winnipeg to create the second version of the Winnipeg Jets. Before the Thrashers began play in the 1999-00 NHL season, Atlanta had not seen an NHL team since the 1979-80 season, with the Atlanta Flames becoming the Calgary Flames only a year later.
If the NHL Board of Governors is not warm to the idea of expansion, the new ownership group could also look to relocate a current NHL organization, namely the Arizona Coyotes. After reportedly securing a land parcel in the Phoenix area, the Coyotes organization has been extremely quiet about their future home in Arizona. Given that the Seattle Kraken paid a reported $650MM to become the 32nd team in the league, it may be more financially prudent for the Atlanta-based ownership group to relocate.
Please no.
NO MORE EXPANSION!!! Don’t be like the idiots and morons in MLB! Plus ATLANTA?! A third time? Pure idiocy. Expand the NHL and the league is ruined like stupid MLB.
The only pro sports league who should even consider expansion is NBA since they only need 5 players and two draft rounds! Still, more expansion will continue to water down the talent and destroy what’s good.
NHL has more teams than the MLB and there is enough talent to go around the 30 teams what are you on about
I would love to see how you come to the point of MLB being ruined by expansion, when they haven’t even done any expansion teams since 1998.
Where do you come up with this stuff? MLB had record revenue in 2023 after having record revenue in 2022. Doesn’t seem like the sport is ruined. The talent pool has continued to grow in the major sports as the leagues have expanded so that worn out argument holds no water either. Are you anti-job creation? Sports franchises create a bunch of employment opportunities. Don’t know why anyone would be angry about that.
Enough talent to go around? Most teams have trouble putting out a 2nd line that can put up good offensive numbers.
Atlanta I think could work this time, but not this dumb plan of Alpharetta. Either put it in Marietta near Truist or put it in State Farm Arena where the Hawks play. Outside of concerts at Lakewood no one is driving regularly to Alpharetta for hockey. Truist works because the Braves are the Braves and that whole area is now a destination to hang out at whether you like baseball or not.
NO WAY. Couldn’t support teams in the past so why do they think they can now? It is NOT a hockey town & have NO hockey fans there. If you decide to expand, I wish they wouldn’t, there are other cities that will/could support. VOTE NO !!!
Vegas is very Fairweather, the second their bad contracts age poorly with no prospect pipeline at all, they’ll struggle to even get 13K in their arena
Nice try. You and your clan yapped that Vegas would never support a team, that the hometown fans would consistently be outnumbered by visiting fans, and that attendance would dwindle after the initial fun wore off. Wrong on all counts. No evidence to support you being correct this time. However, if you have proof I am opening to seeing it.
What are you opening?
Mickey Mouse cups only clown
I won’t assume Vegas attendance will collapse when the team finally stinks.
But OKC got an almost immediately good NBA team, and sold out for years. When they hit the skids, they plummeted to last in attendance. So we’ll see.
Atlanta already flamed out and flew away twice! 32 teams is more than enough. Move the Coyotes to Houston and be done with it.
I feel like expansion shouldn’t be in the south east usa but in Canada where the sport has more pull there than anywhere in the states plus it snows there regularly. Bring back Quebec Nordiques before Atlanta gets another shot. If you really need to stay state side then Hartford but the bruins wouldn’t have that and would complain.
It’s such a shame when there’s so many more deserving cities out there.
While I’m not completely against an expansion for the league. I’m completely against anything happening in Atlanta. It’s a great city with plenty of sports fans but they have shown time and time again that they have zero interest in being a hockey town. Maybe one day but not the next expansion.
Let’s think about unexplored locations before going back to Atlanta.
Just move the Coyotes. Move them to the Atlantic division and move Detroit back to the western conference in the central division
The Coyotes are moving but to north Scottsdale. NHL will want all that expansion fee, so relocating is not on their agenda.
It’s very clear that most people don’t understand how much bigger and how much more money is available in top ten markets.
The Coyotes aren’t going anywhere. Houston might get a team. Atlanta might get a team.
Quebec and Salt Lake aren’t getting teams (SLC might if one of the others doesn’t pan out and they want their cash, but…otherwise). KC isn’t getting a team. Portland isn’t getting a team.
if they’re moving teams Canada should be number one, it’s their sport. Atlanta has crashed and burned more than once but everyone there cares so much. never seen a city in any sport get so many chances to fail
Regina, Whitehorse, or St. John’s to balance out the provinces
It’s very clear that people understand that it doesn’t matter a good goddamn how large the market is if the locals *do not support hockey.* Atlanta’s failed at it twice. Arizona’s been failing at it for nearly a generation now. That “available” money is going to other entertainment options, and it’s not hockey.
None of those places can support NHL teams. The entire population of Whitehorse is ~25K; 80% of residents would have to go to the game to fill an NHL-sized rink.
Is it very clear that the people who run the NHL understand that?
Because it’s fairly clear they do not.
The ONLY reason Atlanta moved to Winnipeg is because they couldn’t find an owner at that time not because Gary and Co. wanted to move it.
If Houston and Atlanta have owners willing to pay the expansion fee, they are getting teams, whether it makes sense or not.
I don’t see Atlanta as deserving of a third shot — not when Quebec City sitting with a perfect NHL-ready rink. But being that an offspring’s university studies takes me to the area I’m not going to stamp my feet against it…
Have said for years. Gary will have a team in Atlanta Before he retires. Whether it is happily making Winnipeg move back or expansion of another 4,6 12 teams. Gary thinks about his expansion teams first.
People in Canada should be happy about this, as it will be the 3rd time you get a team that moved from Atlanta to the great white north, lol!
People get too hung up on the size of a specific city when considering expansion (which the league should definately not do!). There has to first be a fanbase that will go and sell out an arena to watch the game. Atlanta and Phoenix are big markets with small fanbases. Houston is a better option, Salt Lake likely the best at being a hockey market.
Honestly I think kansas city would love and support a hockey team. I think they made a bid many(like within the last 12) years ago
KC is interesting for sure. Their support of the Chiefs is a model for all of sports, but they do surprisingly well with the Royals too, considering what a train wreck that franchise has been for most of the last 30 years. There’s also a minor league hockey team that draws really, really well and has a loyal fanbase. I think it would be a better option than most people realize.
And they have a big rink ready for a team to play in.
Atlanta a third time? Pathetic.
Why? It failed twice their before and will again. Probably a money grab the NHL. Team will fail and move a third time
Atlanta would support a team now. Massive young black middle class that wasn’t there 20+ years ago.
… And putting an expansion team that will likely start with no star players is going to get their attention over NBA, MLB, college sports, NFL, NASCAR, WWE and other sports that already have a strong footprint in Atlanta?
Sure okay dere bud
Atlanta wants to be big time and you do this by flashy new buildings and new multi billion dollar businesses. It’s as simple as. The business community is now large enough and diverse enough to support any big four sport.
Isn’t Atlanta a huge media hub these days? That seems like that would be a huge factor for putting an NHL team there.
If they want to grow the league, they need to target major markets with young and affluent populations. We will see a second team in Miami before we see a team in Quebec.
I grew up in Atlanta. Never went to a Thrashers game but did go to a few Knights games. I think the “money talks” perspective is probably the most salient ie if owners can afford it, it’ll happen again. That said, I don’t think that city seems like a tenable market, even in the affluent north suburb of Alpharetta (which would spare people the commute into the city proper where the thrashers played). I now live in Seattle so I’ve seen the kraken’s work first hand. When they got here, they built out the existing arena downtown, and also built a multimillion dollar facility in the north part of the city where the team practices, but in addition to that they bought an adult league that had existed here for 20+ years (which basically “includes” everyone who plays in that), and basically did the same thing the other NHL teams did and created a youth program for all the kids that play hockey in the area. So aside from the NHL team, you’re talking about a hockey enterprise for all ages and skill levels, and multiple sheets of new ice that are booked to capacity 365 days a year. Is that likely in Atlanta? Perhaps not at the same scale. Would a franchise work there anyway? Hard to predict. I can see why they would want to try though. If they’re willing to do a lot of work for many years, it might eventually turn a profit. If it’s just a play for quick cash, probably not. Course they can probably get some tax breaks and accolades along the way and pass the potato before they have to declare bankruptcy.
The Thrashers Jersey’s were sick, i don’t know if they’d be called that again but i liked the logo
Maybe try Jackson, Mississippi next….? ~O_o~
Atlanta expansion FTL!
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
Move the Jets back to Atlanta.