Bill Daly just poured cold water on the latest NHL expansion buzz
Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says Atlanta is nowhere near an expansion application, despite growing buzz around two rival arena projects this week.
Atlanta hockey fans got their hopes up again this weekend after reports surfaced that a group behind The Gathering at South Forsyth had sent a financing packet to the league for review.
That news spread fast on social media, with some fans assuming a formal bid was already in motion.
An internal neighborhood email obtained by a local news outlet even claimed the packet included two major capital partners.
Not so fast, according to the league office.
Daly pumps the brakes on expansion talk
Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that Daly pushed back hard on the idea that things are moving quickly, telling him Atlanta is not even remotely close to an application phase right now.
"Atlanta is not even remotely close to an application phase.”
- Bill Daly
- Bill Daly
That comment lines up with what the league has said before, that any real bid has to go through a formal, lengthy process before it lands in front of the Board of Governors.
There is also a second group chasing the same goal.
A separate development plan would turn Alpharetta's North Point Mall into an entertainment district anchored by an NHL caliber arena, setting up what looks like a race between two Atlanta area bids.
Georgia has a rocky NHL history
Atlanta has already lost two franchises.
The Flames left for Calgary in 1980 and the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011, making it the only market in league history to receive and lose two teams.
Even so, the city's massive media market, the seventh largest in the country, keeps the conversation alive year after year.
For now, the league's attention is on awarding a 33rd franchise to Houston or Austin by year's end, with Atlanta only in the mix for a 34th team down the road.
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