The potential ownership group for a NHL expansion team in Las Vegas is making steps to prove a team belongs in sin city. Hockey Vision LLC is a group led by William Foley that is looking to bring a new NHL franchise to Las Vegas. The NHL has approved a plan to explore a season ticket drive, and has given Hockey Vision LLC. the permission to explore interest. The group is planning to start a season ticket drive in February of 2015. The group has now launched a website to help spark interest, and obtain fan information, lasvegas-hockey.com. The website will allow fans to enter their name, address, and email information.

A state of the art arena, with a $370 million dollar price tag, is currently being built on the Las Vegas strip. The facility will be set, but will the fan base be solid enough to support a professional hockey team? There are many people in favor of the NHL in Las Vegas, and many critics. Las Vegas definitely has enough visitors to fill an arena, but is the local community supportive enough to sustain season ticket sales. The NHL must also take into consideration a few other topics. Will legal gambling in the city influence or affect a professional sports team? Are visitors going to go to a hockey game or a show? Las Vegas has hundreds of entertainment opportunities nightly. Will hockey be able to compete with the competition?

I question if Las Vegas is what the league needs right now. Especially in the aspect of expansion. The NHL’s popularity is at an all time high. Although the league is as strong as ever, there are a few markets that are having difficulties. Maybe relocation should be the topic of discussion instead of expansion. I also wish that potential fans in Las Vegas were asked to make some sort of a financial commitment to judge interest. It is easy to say that you would buy season tickets, but when it comes to actually writing the check, how many will run?

Interest is definitely there, and the Hockey Vision LLC group believes it will work. There is a good chance that hockey in Las Vegas will someday become a reality.