| Potential next expansion team Huston or Austin TX [message #852663] |
Tue, 23 June 2026 14:29  |
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 Kr55
Messages: 12986
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton
6 Cups
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Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
At NHL Board of Governors, Commissioner Gary Bettman informed the Board they will be opening a process to investigate Houston or Austin TX for an expansion franchise
Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Friedkin Family — a prominent Texas family — has signed a term sheet to investigate the possibility of an expansion team in Dallas or Austin, TX (typo, I think he means Huston or Austin)
Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Both cities would need a new arena
Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Bettman: this is going to require an investment of $3.5B (arena included)
Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Atlanta and Arizona were also discussed. But neither as far along as Houston
[Updated on: Tue, 23 June 2026 14:56]
"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013
"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015
5 x $5,000,000
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mightyreasoner
Messages: 581
Registered: October 2005
Location: Edmonton
No Cups
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I know that Houston has been rumoured for years and probably is the leading candidate for many, but I've long been pumping Austin as an NHL destination.
For me, it's the best choice for NHL expansion, and a no-brainer.
The main problem with Houston, as I see it, is the competition for sport entertainment dollars (both for the public and corporate money). They have the Astros, Rockets, Texans, Dynamic FC, Comets, Dash, Cougars. It's a big population but a crowded space.
Austin has no Big-4 sports teams. They are a young, affluent, fast-growing, emerging city, with lots of corporate money and much less competition (Austin FC, Longhorns).
For me, it is an opportunity for the NHL to do what they did in Las Vegas and Nashville - get in a market early, put down roots, and build a fanbase before other major sports leagues move in. A chance to be the biggest Top-4 sports team instead of the fourth biggest in the market.
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Kr55
Messages: 12986
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton
6 Cups
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| mightyreasoner wrote on Tue, 23 June 2026 14:34 |
I know that Houston has been rumoured for years and probably is the leading candidate for many, but I've long been pumping Austin as an NHL destination.
For me, it's the best choice for NHL expansion, and a no-brainer.
The main problem with Houston, as I see it, is the competition for sport entertainment dollars (both for the public and corporate money). They have the Astros, Rockets, Texans, Dynamic FC, Comets, Dash, Cougars. It's a big population but a crowded space.
Austin has no Big-4 sports teams. They are a young, affluent, fast-growing, emerging city, with lots of corporate money and much less competition (Austin FC, Longhorns).
For me, it is an opportunity for the NHL to do what they did in Las Vegas and Nashville - get in a market early, put down roots, and build a fanbase before other major sports leagues move in. A chance to be the biggest Top-4 sports team instead of the fourth biggest in the market.
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dang, Friedman had a typo, and so did I.
So this should be Huston or Austin as the 2 cities being debated. I carried Friedman's mistake saying Dallas, but I subbed Austin for Huston :)
Good points about Austin. If a new arena has to be built either way, makes sense to go there.
[Updated on: Tue, 23 June 2026 15:00]
"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013
"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015
5 x $5,000,000
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