With today the deadline for submitting bids to the National Hockey League in order to try and obtain an expansion franchise, two bids have been publicly revealed in Las Vegas and Quebec City.
It was reported by the Toronto Sun that the price for simply making a bid was $10 million, with $2 million non-refundable. It has been said by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the league entry fee would be around $500 million.
The first official bid today came from media conglomerate Quebecor, who made their announcement official on Twitter.
We confirm that we submitted our candidacy for the #NHL expansion process in order to bring the #Nordiques back to #Québec City.
— Québecor (@Quebecor) July 20, 2015
A new arena in Quebec City is said to be completed in September, named the Videotron Centre. The hope would be for the city of Quebec to get its first NHL franchise since the Nordiques moved to Denver, Colorado in 1995. It’s expected they would try to play in the Atlantic division with provincial rival Montreal Canadiens, but the division is already packed with eight clubs. Las Vegas was next to submit their bid, led by Bill Foley’s Black Knight Sports and Entertainment. Their bid was confirmed by Scott Burnside on Twitter. Foley is the chairman of Fidelity National Financial.
Can confirm Bill Foley’s application for expansion team in Las Vegas has been filed under Black Knight Sports and Entertainment LLC. — Scott Burnside (@ESPN_Burnside) July 20, 2015
It would be the first NHL franchise in Las Vegas, Nevada and the first of the major North American sports teams. Las Vegas is a common location for start up leagues like the Las Vegas Outlaws of the defunct XFL or the Las Vegas Flash of Roller Hockey International. Despite a popular location for tourists and a large population surrounding Paradise, Nevada (where most of the famous Las Vegas strip is contained), the thread of gambling has always scared off pro sports owners. The NBA, MLB and NFL have all now discussed the possibilities of a Las Vegas franchise along with the NHL.
While “hockey in the desert” has always been a stigma for NHL fans, with criticisms of the Arizona Coyotes since the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996, the Pacific division is currently sitting with seven teams and would welcome an eighth team in Las Vegas to create balance.
Rumours for bids in the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City and Milwaukee all have seemed to just be wishful thinking at this point. To balance the current divisions without moving a team, the NHL would have to place teams in the Pacific division and the Central division. There has been no set timeline for when teams would begin entering the NHL or how many teams the NHL wishes to have (though belief is 32).
Photo of Videotron Centre by @SarcasmWinnipeg on Twitter
