NHL official says Las Vegas would need new arena to land team

By: Associated Press - | Friday, June 8, 2007 9:08 PM PDT ∞

LAS VEGAS -- Southern Nevada will need a new sports arena before it can attract a National Hockey League franchise, a league official said.

"We're talking a couple years away, minimum," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Friday report.

Daly said movie maker Jerry Bruckheimer and others have talked recently with NHL executives about putting an hockey team in Las Vegas.

"We've actually talked to a lot of different individuals who have interest in a franchise in Las Vegas, and Jerry is one of them," Daly said a day after the season-ending Stanley Cup championship victory by the Anaheim Ducks.

The league office did not respond Friday to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Daly said the league board of governors, which meets June 20 in New York, would be briefed on expressions of interest "from a number of individuals and entities in a number of different markets."

Meanwhile, officials in the Las Vegas area are due to receive proposals by June 28 from seven development teams seeking to build a downtown arena.

Consultant Bill Rhoda of Convention, Sports and Leisure International has been hired by the city to solicit and evaluate proposals. He said he hoped to recommend a developer to the City Council by July 18.

Rhoda said it could take up to a year to design and up to two years to build an arena that would seat between 18,000 and 20,000 fans and be capable of hosting an NHL or National Basketball Association team.

Ads by Yahoo!

Advertisement

Post your Comments[-]Go to Top

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, email addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.

Submit Comment[-]

(optional)
   

Advertisement

Videos