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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMar 12, 2024, 04:08 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, fronted by former NHL player Anson Carter, has formally requested that the NHL commence with an expansion process aimed at bringing a franchise to the greater Atlanta area for a third time.
Atlanta was previously home to the Flames (1972-1980), who relocated to Calgary, and the Thrashers (1999-2011), who moved to Winnipeg.
The announcement, published on Tuesday by Sportsnet, states that the group is seeking an NHL team for a new arena designed by architect Frank Gehry that will be part of a larger development at the North Point Mall site in Alpharetta, located around 30 minutes from where the Thrashers used to play.
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“I have no doubt that the best league in the world will thrive in its return to Metro Atlanta,” said Carter, who is currently an analyst for TNT broadcast, in a statement. “I have been in dialogue with NHL commissioner [Gary] Bettman since 2019 about an expansion team returning to the Fulton County Metro Atlanta market, knowing that franchise decisions are exclusively decided by the NHL Board of Governors.”
Among the partners mentioned in the announcement are Neil Leibman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Automotive Group and New York Life Real Estate investors, who is a partner in the mixed-use land development.
Calls to Simon, Zeigler and Alpharetta mayor Jim Gilvin were not returned. The NHL declined comment.
Carter is a part owner of the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators hockey team. Carter previously attempted to purchase the Atlanta Hawks, Thrashers and their arena in 2011 with a group called “Atlanta Sports and Entertainment” but were declined by Atlanta Spirit, which owned the teams.
There are other groups interested in bringing the NHL back to Atlanta. Vernon Krause, a businessman who has proposed a building an 18,000-seat arena in a mixed use development in Forsyth…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39716818/atlanta-group-formally-requests-nhl-expansion-franchise
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-03-12 21:21:21
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