After downplaying the rumors for years, it appears that expansion is back on the horizon in the NHL. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the Board of Governors meeting that the league is planning to explore Houston and Austin, TX, as potential expansion cities in the future.
Despite other cities such as Atlanta, GA, or Phoenix, AZ expressing interest, Houston and Austin have seen increased interest recently. In March of last year, the NHL met with an ownership group led by Dan Friedkin, who also owns Roma of the Serie A League in Italy and Everton of the English Premier League. Later last year, in June, Frank Seravalli of Victory+ shared that Austin was becoming a popular candidate for future expansion.
Pursuit Sports, the group dedicated to overseeing Friedkin’s professional sports properties, released a statement to Pro Hockey Rumors, saying:
“Pursuit Sports, our family’s global sports ownership and operating platform, has reached an agreement with the NHL that provides us with the exclusive rights to bring an expansion NHL team to the state of Texas, with a primary focus on both Austin and Houston as potential markets. Each city brings unique attributes that would make a new team a huge success – both have an infrastructure, passionate fan bases, and economic strength needed to support a championship-caliber franchise for years to come. We have wanted for some time to bring an NHL team to Texas, and we are excited that the process has now begun. Selecting a new market for an NHL franchise is a special and important responsibility, and we are grateful to the league for their faith in us and their support. Working with Commissioner Bettman and the NHL, we will undertake a principled, disciplined, and methodical process to ensure we find the right long-term home for this new franchise.“
Regardless, it illustrates that the NHL is focused on continuing its expansion westward. Houston or Austin would be in the Central Time Zone, but it would help alleviate the density of teams in the Eastern Time Zone. Despite the league being split evenly between East and West, the NHL has 16 teams in the Eastern Time Zone, with the remaining 16 (all in the Western Conference) being spread out across the Pacific, Mountain, and Central Time Zones.
Should the NHL find a suitable ownership group, it won’t come cheaply. In October, Friedman announced that the next NHL expansion fee could reach $2B, more than double what the Seattle Kraken ($650MM) paid and four times the amount the Vegas Golden Knights ($500MM) paid.
If the NHL adds one in the near future, it would become the largest league in North America, besting the NFL by one additional team. It’s unlikely the league would reallocate teams into new divisions if they were to add only one. However, anything is possible if the NHL adds both Houston and Austin in the same season. In this scenario, the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators would likely move to the Eastern Conference.
