Source: NHL expected to extend evaluation period for expansion
· Yahoo Sports
According to multiple sources closely connected to expansion efforts, there is a strong likelihood that the NHL will extend the initial six-month evaluation process to determine whether a potential expansion franchise will be awarded to either Houston or Austin, Texas.
The original exploratory period was announced on June 23, 2026. This came as Commissioner Gary Bettman identified the Friedkin family, led by Dan Friedkin — the CEO of The Friedkin Group with a sporting arm of Pursuit Sports — as the prospective owner. A franchise in either Houston or Austin would be the NHL’s 33rd and would come with a $3.5 billion investment from the Friedkins. This amount is said to include the expansion fee that goes to the league and the cost of building a new arena. Pursuit Sports also currently owns AS Roma, Everton FC and AS Cannes.
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Per source, a possible extension to the ongoing evaluation process could and would be granted as long as there has been good faith in the exploration of both markets.
Bettman previously identified in the initial press release that the exploration phase (which was originally slated to end near Dec. 10 or 11, when the BOG next meets in Florida) was to determine whether the Houston or Austin market was best suited for a NHL team.
Commissioner Gary Bettman notes NHL expansion efforts are not under any time constraint
Bettman previously said in the press conference following September’s BOG meeting that the expansion process can be rather long-winded.
“Expansion is a multibillion-dollar transaction, which has an impact on all the other clubs in the league,” Bettman said in front of the media following the most recent BOG meeting. “A lot of I’s have to be dotted and T’s have to be crossed, and if there’s going to be expansion, three-quarters of the governors are going to have to be comfortable that this makes sense to them. And that’s not something you do overnight.
Should an official presentation from sporting platform Pursuit Sports be made at the Dec. BOG meeting, it is also within contention that a vote does not have to take place at that same meeting — likely providing all parties time to sincerely evaluate the potential presentation.
A three-fourths majority within the BOG is required in order for an expansion vote to pass.
The NHL’s Seattle expansion franchise was approved in 2018’s Dec. BOG meeting in unanimous approval. Las Vegas’s expansion was also approved in a unanimous vote, but at the June 22, 2016 BOG meeting.
Houston or Austin remain the only cities currently in the evaluation process with the NHL for a potential expansion franchise.
Houston ranks as the sixth-largest media market in the country, with a metropolitan-area population of nearly 8 million, while an NHL franchise would give Austin its first team among the four major professional sports leagues.
Jennifer Streeter is an Expansion Reporter for Puckpedia. This article first appeared on Puckpedia and has been republished here with permission.
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