Potential Atlanta NHL Expansion Team Thread
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nhlfan79
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My understanding is that's the date for a county commission vote to approve the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the public financing aspect of the development.
GreenHornet
Registered User
Welp, here is what is known in journalism circles as the nut graph. While he gives the caveat that the ball is in the NHL’s court (or more appropriately, the puck is in the NHL’s zone), Vernon Krause now gives a timeline that he’d like to see the NHL to return to metro Atlanta.
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BKIslandersFan
F*** off
Where is the money coming from to fund expansion fee, let alone the arena?
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Why, his magic bag, of course!
But no seriously, probably getting help from investors.
GreenHornet
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The Hobgoblin
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As I have mentioned on here before I was told back in late 2023 from sources I trust that the NHL has already told Mr. Krause that Atlanta will get an expansion team soon and it will be called the Thrashers.
This interview pretty much confirms it. 2027-28 is a little further out than I wanted to hear but just having the NHL back in Atlanta is enough for this crusty goblin to shed some tears.
This interview pretty much confirms it. 2027-28 is a little further out than I wanted to hear but just having the NHL back in Atlanta is enough for this crusty goblin to shed some tears.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
If we assume this much is true, 2027-2028 sounds reasonable to me. Things on the league level, and with other league business, is fairly unpredictable. Will Meruelo and The Coyotes win the land auction? Will Bettman do anything if they don't? If they don't, do they have any near-term plans to play in a bigger barn? Then we also have to consider the formal expansion process. There's really a lot going on, and I think we'll all find out more details after free agency.
With that said, I sincerely hope you're correct. The construction of the arena itself should take about two years, give or take, based on the timeline of similar projects. Using UBS Arena as an example (Forsyth County officials toured this facility when they met with Bettman, after all), they officially broke ground on it at the end of September 2019, and it was completed at the end of November 2021. Groundbreaking for Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit started at the end of September 2014, and the construction completed at the beginning of September 2017. This took a little longer, I think, because their practice rink (among other features) is under the main arena. So even if something isn't announced officially this summer, they still have time to get stuff going.
No sense on an accelerated timeframe if there's still league business to conduct, after all. I do want to stress that it's not that I don't believe there's already confirmation (I've heard from a few others the league has said as much, though I'm skeptical of them as well), I'm just not trying to get my heart broken if our hope and dream here doesn't happen.
GreenHornet
Registered User
I’m with you. Let’s give Krause and Co. (and the NHL, of course) time to get things right this time. We’ve seen how easily things can get screwed up when they get rushed, like the so-called vetting process for the Atlanta $pirit Septocluster™ and the slapdash move of the Winnipeg Jets v1.0 to Arizona, which has dogged the Coyotes pretty much their entire existence in the desert.
sneakytitz
Registered User
Yesssss, please let them go by the Thrashers again and bring back the exact same three uniforms we used between 03-06.
He's likely not the only one involved in this project, but is the face. I think there was a rumor, which may have been nothing more than hearsay, that Joe Rogers Jr. (Waffle House chairman) is involved too. JLL has someone involved with The Gathering development team already, so they're likely contributing somehow, although that may not be physical dollars. Krause has a lot of money though - he just bought 3 dealerships in Florida for $110 million - and tons of collateral to secure big loans if he needed them.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
It wouldn't surprise me if there's some deep pocketed individuals like Rogers contributing funds towards the project and acquiring a franchise. It also wouldn't surprise me if business leaders in Forsyth, north Fulton, northwest Gwinnett, west Hall and east Cobb counties are also contributing to either or both. It would, after all, stand to benefit the entire region to have a development like this in the area.
AtlantaWhaler
Thrash/Preds/Sabres
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I was looking in those renderings for a Gorans. I want my $7 big-cup pre-game beer!!
Yukon Joe
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As a Winnipeg fan (who don't get me wrong, would have stolen your first born child if it meant we got a team back) it pleases me that Atlanta fans look like they will get their own team back. 
It was never personal.
It was never personal.
KevFu
Registered User
That's what drives me bonkers... the only cases of "they have a team so you can't have one" are like extremely adjacent markets where territory rights come into play, or even if they wouldn't, it's not as significant of an addition because of the existing team.
It's not a competition between say, Quebec and Atlanta, Houston, or Salt Lake. Atlanta, Houston and Salt Lake HELP Quebec get a team.
Because, hello, there'd be nine teams in three divisions, and the only division without a new team would be the one with Boston, Montreal and Ottawa in it, where Quebec slots in perfectly.
It's not a competition between say, Quebec and Atlanta, Houston, or Salt Lake. Atlanta, Houston and Salt Lake HELP Quebec get a team.
Because, hello, there'd be nine teams in three divisions, and the only division without a new team would be the one with Boston, Montreal and Ottawa in it, where Quebec slots in perfectly.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
As a Winnipeg fan (who don't get me wrong, would have stolen your first born child if it meant we got a team back) it pleases me that Atlanta fans look like they will get their own team back.
It was never personal.
While some folks did their best to make it personal, there were always some good ones too who simply wanted the league back in their town no matter what. Those fans were (and are) good people.
Here's hoping the only rivalry moving forwardi is on the ice!
I also kinda see Atlanta sliding into the Metro division nicely. Rekindle those rivalries with Carolina and Washington. QC would definitely fit nicely into the Atlantic,
Yukon Joe
Registered User
Maybe this is just me, but I loved that season and a half (lockout) when Winnipeg played in the SE Division. All those 5pm (since I live in Mountain time) starts... And quite honestly, the travel was probably easier going from Winnipeg to the SE then it was Winnipeg to all the teams in the Central.
It's just a shame the team never managed to get a "South East Division Champs" banner to incongruously hang in the CLC.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Part of me wishes the Coyotes had a Avco Cup banner to hang in Phoenix! That kinda makes me wonder, if the Aeros eventually come back in Houston, if they'll embrace that history?
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Yukon Joe
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Well I mean it's up to them - the Coyotes could totally hand a "three time AVCO Cup Champ" banner. To this day I still don't think the Jets 2.0 have, even though they have otherwise totally embraced the Jets 1.0 history.
But that always seems a little bit silly also. I remember when the Winnipeg Jets 1.0 raised a banned for the Winnipeg Victorias Stanley Cup championships (1896, 1901, 1902). That's a really cool part of Winnipeg sports history. But it also had nothing to do with the Jets team.
All of that being said - I hope a Houston team is called the Aeros, and I hope they embrace that WHA history. Jets 2.0 haven't put up a AVCO Cup banner (as far as I know) but they've put a bunch of WHA players in their "ring of honour" including Bobby Hull. Although having read about the era my favourite player (and also in the ring of honour) was Swede Lars-Erik Sjoberg, first ever Jets captain.
I would pay good money to buy an authentic Thrashers Byfuglien jersey.
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Avco Cup trophys mean more than nba in season tournament.
The first two regular season home games for the Kraken included raising a banner for a retired # and raising a Stanley Cup Champions banner. Tough to beat that.
BEFORE their 2nd ever home game in franchise history they were already legendary enough to have a retired number AND a Stanley Cup Champions banner.
The Hobgoblin
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I was told the plan is Atlanta, Houston, SLC and QC for the 4 expansion teams probably in that order. What is hurting Quebec City is the lack of corporate sponsors. I still root for the Thrashers/Jets and I know how tough the Peg has it with only 15% of season ticket sales being corporate. The average is 35-40 percent and some teams are even as high as FIFTY percent of season ticket sales are corporate block seating.
The NHL is not the NBA or NFL where house gate is nice but not essential. It is absolutely essential for the NHL and its teams.
KevFu
Registered User
You just point out the "Central problem" that all the leagues face. If you take the width of Vancouver/San Jose to Boston... we had 10 Western teams and 22 Eastern teams.
That's the #1 reason we have H/A with the other conference: The Central wanted 8 more road games vs the ETZ instead of 8 more vs the PTZ/MTZ.
cowboy82nd
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