Ok, so not only are the Stars getting a new arena in a few years, but they also might be getting a new in-state rival.
The NHL has reportedly launched the formal expansion process to bring a new franchise to Texas, expanding to either Houston or Austin.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Tuesday following a meeting of the Board of Governors that the six-month process has officially opened, and identified the Friedkin family, led by Dan Friedkin, the CEO of The Friedkin Group, as the prospective owner of the Texas expansion franchise.
The new team would be the league’s 33rd.
Bettman said that the Friedkin family would have to invest approximately $3.5 billion for the expansion fee that goes to the NHL, as well as the cost of building a new arena.
Bettman said during a press conference, “We have been in discussions for the better part of two years with the Friedkin family, principally for the last two years about Houston as an expansion opportunity, but as we continued to focus with them, particularly on the need for a new arena in Houston, the discussions morphed into also a discussion about Austin, which would also need a new building.
“But we are going to work together under the terms, a term sheet that we were able to agree upon, in terms of a framework to consider what makes the most sense moving forward."
The Friedkin family also owns Italian soccer club AS Roma and Everton in the English Premier League.
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