- Bill Daly says a third group fronted by Anson Carter is in talks about an Atlanta expansion team
- Carter has split from the Alpharetta bid he used to champion and is hunting for land north of the city
- Read below for the angry phone call Daly made to one of the rival Atlanta groups
Atlanta’s expansion race just picked up a third entry.
Bill Daly told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Wednesday that the NHL is talking with a group headed by Anson Carter, the former NHL forward who now works as a hockey analyst for TNT.
The deputy commissioner was asked where Carter fits next to the two bids already on the board.
“Anson still has an interest in having a franchise in Atlanta. He’s kind of broken with the Alpharetta group, which he was championing before. He has indicated he has adequate financing, which he showed some evidence of, but he hasn’t chosen a location,” Daly said at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas.
Carter is shopping for land north of the city, and he has already made Daly a promise. “He’s committed it’s going to be a better location than either Alpharetta or The Gathering,” Daly said.
Both of those rivals have buildings drawn up. The Alpharetta City Council signed off on zoning for a redevelopment of North Point Mall that includes a 20,000-seat, NHL-ready arena.
Take a look at the project the council cleared 4-3:
Krause Sports & Entertainment wants to build about seven miles away at The Gathering in South Forsyth. Neither shovel goes in the ground until the league hands somebody a team.
That group also handed the NHL a headache last week. Word got out that Krause had filed a completed package with the league, and Vernon Krause later said the information was “premature and incomplete.”
Here’s the FOX 5 Atlanta report on the leaked email that started it:
Daly did not soften what happened next.
“They claimed that people associated with their efforts and initiative got over their skis a little bit. They received an angry call from me when it was all coming down and I didn’t know anything about it.”
Georgia has lost two teams already. The Flames left for Calgary in 1980 and the Thrashers turned into the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, so Daly wants whoever wins this to explain what is different now.
“A full market analysis in the Atlanta region is going to be important,” he said. “I would argue that Atlanta has changed dramatically and significantly over time. I think building location is going to be very, very important.”
Texas is much further down the road. The Friedkin family signed a $3.5 billion agreement covering Houston or Austin, and Daly says the board of governors gets an update in New York on Sept. 22.
Carter, meanwhile, still needs an address.
