NHL executives pour cold water on Atlanta expansion rumors

If you've been on hockey Twitter lately, you might have seen the buzz around a potential NHL expansion team heading to Atlanta. The posts were exciting, the momentum felt real, and for a brief moment it seemed like the league's most cursed hockey market was about to get another shot. But as is often the case when something sounds too good to be true in the NHL expansion world, the league itself stepped in to set the record straight in pretty emphatic fashion.

The NHL Shuts It Down

The whole thing kicked off when the X account "NHLtoAtlanta" posted an update on Friday claiming that the development group behind The Gathering at South Forsyth had submitted a final financing packet to the NHL for review and approval. The post gained traction quickly, and suddenly everyone was talking about Atlanta hockey again. There was just one problem: it wasn't true.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly didn't mince words when he spoke to The Athletic about the situation, saying Atlanta is "not even remotely close to an application phase." That's about as blunt as you'll ever hear a league executive get, and it tells you everything you need to know about where things actually stand.

By Saturday, Vernon Krause, the CEO of Krause Sports and Entertainment and the driving force behind the South Forsyth project, had to issue a statement walking things back. He acknowledged that information shared during a community update had been "premature and incomplete," which led to the inaccurate social media posts. To be clear, the NHL has made no decisions regarding the project, and the formal expansion application process hasn't even begun for this group.

What makes this even more interesting is that the South Forsyth group isn't the only one trying to bring hockey back to Atlanta. Just seven miles away in Alpharetta, Georgia, another group is pushing to redevelop the North Point Mall into an entertainment district featuring an NHL-caliber arena. The Alpharetta city council approved the rezoning for that project in late August by a narrow 4-3 vote. So there's essentially a local race happening between two competing bids, neither of which has received any formal nod from the league.

Where the NHL's Expansion Focus Actually Lies

While Atlanta groups jockey for position, the NHL's real expansion attention is focused squarely on Texas. The league confirmed back in June that it's evaluating a bid from The Friedkin Group, with either Houston or Austin being considered as the home for the league's 33rd franchise. That deal would involve a massive $2 billion expansion fee along with the construction of a brand new arena. Daly indicated that the league expects to bring a proposal to the Board of Governors before the end of 2026, with the new team potentially beginning play as early as the 2029-30 season.

Daly also noted that the league is engaged in conversations with groups hoping to land the 34th franchise, mentioning ongoing discussions with parties in both the Phoenix market and Atlanta. But it's the Texas bid that's clearly furthest along and closest to becoming reality.

For Atlanta, the history here speaks for itself, and not in a flattering way. The city has already lost two NHL franchises. The Atlanta Flames played there from 1972 to 1980 before packing up for Calgary, and the Atlanta Thrashers lasted from 1999 to 2011 before relocating to Winnipeg. That track record alone should give anyone pause, and it's probably a big reason why the league isn't rushing into anything.

The expansion application process is described as formal, comprehensive, and time-consuming, and nothing the Atlanta groups have provided so far constitutes an actual application. Any ultimate decision would rest with the Board of Governors, not the league office. So while the first phase of construction on The Gathering at South Forsyth reportedly began this week, hockey fans in the Atlanta area shouldn't start picking out jerseys just yet. There's a very long road ahead, and the NHL clearly isn't in any hurry to travel it.