A general view of the Skyview Atlanta ferris wheel and the downtown Atlanta skylineKirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports THN’s new series on NHL expansion continues with the latest look at one of the cities that could land the 33rd or 34th NHL franchise. Yours truly is on record saying that expansion is likely to happen at some point in the next handful of years. In these articles, we’re looking at the cities most likely to acquire a new team, and exploring how compelling their cause is as they pursue a new franchise. Thursday, we kicked off the expansion evaluation process with a look at the city we see as one of the favorites to land a new team – Houston – while Friday, we turned our attention to Phoenix, Ariz. as another favorite to land an expansion franchise.
Today, we’re focusing on a city that already has had – and lost – two NHL teams in its history: Atlanta, Georgia. ATLANTA Population, Atlanta Proper: 498,715 (as of 2020 census) Population, Greater Atlanta Area: 6,144,050 The greater Atlanta area is now the sixth-most populous American metropolitan region. The area is home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, MLB’s Atlanta Braves and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. TV Market Ranking: Per ustvdb.com, Atlanta is the sixth-biggest media market in the U.S., with 2,679,850 TV households. Arena: The greater Atlanta area had an NHL-caliber arena in the State Farm Arena, which hosted the Atlanta Thrashers team from 1999-2011. But extensive renovations to the building essentially have stopped the State Farm rink from being considered NHL-worthy, and now there are not one, but two different, prominent potential ownership groups looking to build a new rink in the Atlanta area.
One group is focused on the South Forsyth area, as part of a $2-billion project that would turn the proposed spot into an entertainment hub and create an 18,500-seat rink. The other group is looking at the Alpharetta area and is led in part by former NHL star Anson Carter. That proposed rink would be designed by famous architect Frank Gehry, and the land would be a redevelopment of a shopping mall. In the cases of both potential ownership groups, a new rink would bring the NHL the attention and infrastructure it’s seeking in adding two new teams.
There isn’t yet a sense whether public funds would be used in either group’s arena plans, but regardless, getting a new rink is crucial to any hope Atlanta has of landing a new franchise. And these two groups appear ready to deliver on that front. Hockey History: Famously – or infamously – the Atlanta area has lost the Atlanta Flames to relocation in 1980, and then again when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011. Attendance for both teams proved to be a problem, as did their overall competitiveness. Since the Thrashers departed, the area has hosted an ECHL team – most recently, the Duluth, Ga.-based Atlanta Gladiators, who play in a 13,100-seat rink that would not be a fit by NHL standards. For anyone saying Atlanta doesn’t have fans, this was from Thrashers Night hosted by the Gladiators in December: pic.twitter.com/PQhBrUrnHM — NHL to Atlanta (@NHLtoAtlanta) March 4, 2023 No city other than Atlanta has been awarded and lost two different NHL franchises, so the prospect of getting a third team – and maybe losing that one, as well – would be a gigantic embarrassment for the NHL and Atlanta itself. But clearly, with these two potential ownership groups, there’s an appetite for a return by the NHL.
The league would want some type of safeguard assurances from any company they work with on a new Atlanta team, and if either Carter’s group or the Forsyth group can provide the league with such assurances, they’ll drastically improve their chances of landing an expansion franchise. Why Atlanta is Worth Considering: Although hockey hotbeds like Quebec City would likely be furious to see Atlanta get a third NHL team when they’ve had just one kick at the can, the passion of the Atlanta ownership groups are strong enough to put them firmly on the NHL’s radar. Setting up shop in the southern U.S. is part of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s long-term plan for his league, so the opportunity to re-plant roots in Atlanta may be too enticing for the NHL to resist. Gary Bettman on NHL expansion possibilities in Atlanta and Quebec City.
February 2, 2024 If the league does expand to 34 teams, having Atlanta in the Eastern Conference while, say, Houston would go to the West, it gives the conferences balance that the league and NHL Players’ Association are seeking in any expansion process. And the grassroots element of the sport would get a boost by moving into a sports-crazed town like Atlanta. Indeed, it’s not a hockey-centric locale, but Atlanta has enough positives still associated with it to be one of the leading contenders to get an expansion team.