Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Foley, after presentation to NHL owners: ‘We made it to this point because of passionate fans’

Let's Bring Hockey to Las Vegas at MGM

L.E. Baskow

(From right) Bill Foley, chairman, Fidelity National Financial, Inc., Black Knight and FIS addresses the crowd with Gary Bettman and Rossi Ralenkotter during the “Let’s Bring Hockey to Las Vegas!” press conference at the MGM Grand Ballroom on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015.

National Hockey League Presser at MGM

Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL, addresses the crowd as Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Black Knight and FIS, listens during the “Let’s Bring Hockey to Las Vegas!” press conference Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, at MGM Grand Ballroom. Launch slideshow »

Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman who is close to bringing Las Vegas a National Hockey League team, made a formal presentation today to the NHL Executive Committee in New York during the Board of Governors meeting.

It was yet another positive step in the expansion process that is expected to net the area its first professional sports franchise.

Foley’s group has completed three phases of the NHL’s expansion process, giving it a spot in front of other team owners to talk about how hockey would look in Las Vegas. The ownership group from Quebec City, which also advanced through three phases of the process, gave a similar presentation. The 30-team league hasn’t expanded since 2000, when Columbus and Minnesota joined.

“We made it to this point because of the passionate fans that helped us secure more than 13,500 season ticket deposits and commitments,” Foley said in a statement. “As we wait for a final decision, I want to thank the NHL for this opportunity and the season ticket holders who have clearly demonstrated that Vegas wants hockey.”

That decision isn’t expected until early 2016. If a franchise is awarded, and all signs point to it being a sure thing, the team would begin play in the 2017-18 season.

Past attempts to land a professional sports team in Las Vegas were derailed because there were no suitable facilities to host a team in Southern Nevada, and potential owners wanted the public’s help in building stadiums or arenas. Foley is different.

His team will be majority tenants at the $375 million MGM/AEG arena opening in April 2016 behind New York-New York. The building was privately built, costing taxpayers no money. Foley and the minority owners, Maloof brothers Gavin and Joe, would pay the estimated $500 million in expansion fees.

The area showed its appetite for a team last winter during a season-ticket drive. Foley wanted 10,000 commitments to prove to the league the area could support a team. They got 13,500, or about 4,000 fewer than the capacity at the new arena.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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