Vegas likes odds of joining NHL

New arena one of many reasons for confidence

Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, September 22, 2007

It might not be too long before an NHL broadcaster will be able to proclaim that Elvis has entered the building.

While the NHL has no immediate plans to expand and little desire to relocate any of its 30 current teams, Las Vegas is looking more like a good bet to land a franchise.

Hockey players have been saying, "What's said in the locker room stays in the locker room" for years, so the city just might be a perfect fit.

Executives from Anschutz Entertainment Group and casino giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. seem to think so. Last month, they announced a joint venture to build a $500 million arena a slap shot from The Strip, directly behind the Bally's and Paris resorts.

The proposed 20,000-seat building is expected to open in 2010.

"Obviously, the announcement of plans for a new arena add to the city's attractiveness as a potential location for an NHL franchise," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail.

The Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings play their annual "Frozen Fury" preseason game at 8 MDT tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Tim Leiweke, AEG chief executive officer and president, is confident that Las Vegas eventually will become a permanent home for an NHL team.

"We're optimistic that the NHL or the NBA or both end up coming," Leiweke said by telephone. "We wouldn't have done this if we didn't think someone would come. For us, although there's always risk, we're pretty comfortable that this is going to work.

"I think it's a great hockey market. I know a lot of people focus on basketball, but I really do believe it'll be the NHL."

AEG, a subsidiary of Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz's Anschutz Co., owns the Staples Center in Los Angeles as well as the NHL's Kings. Among other venues, AEG oversees programming for the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas; manages the $276 million Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.; and owns and operates the O2 Arena in London, where the Kings and Anaheim Ducks will kick off the 2007-08 NHL season.

AEG has received interest from the NHL and NBA, and from potential ownership groups, to set up shop in Las Vegas, Leiweke said.

"I'm very optimistic by the time we break ground, there will be a team committed for Vegas," he said.

SportsBusiness Journal has reported that powerful film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer, an avid hockey fan, has been in discussions with the NHL about forming an ownership group for an expansion team in the Nevada gaming town.

Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman has been a vocal advocate when it comes to landing a professional sports team, and the city soon will have some tempting options. Michigan-based REI Group LLC is going forward with plans for a $9.5 billion entertainment complex that includes an arena on an 85-acre site downtown.

Leiweke said AEG plans to break ground on its facility next summer on a 10-acre plot owned by Harrah's, adding, "We're thinking through the design now."

Leiweke has no concerns about Las Vegas' ability to support an NHL team, citing its 200,000 hotel rooms, 38 million annual tourists and the metro area's booming population of about 2 million.

If the NHL elects to expand in two years, Leiweke pointed out, the league would have two "ready-made" arenas available in Las Vegas and Kansas City, where the Sprint Center is set to open next month.

"You would think that that's extremely good news for the league and extremely good news for the owners in the league," Leiweke said. "It's good news for the players, too, creating another 44 to 46 jobs."

The most significant stumbling block remains the issue of legal sports betting, which could pose a problem for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, especially in the wake of recent gambling scandals that involved former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet.

Betting on sports is every professional league's biggest nightmare.

"What seems to worry Gary, rightly so, is the game being played in the market that night," Leiweke said. "Gary seems to have a way to work through this and I don't think that's what stands in the way of expansion."

In Canada, where six NHL teams are based, the public can place bets on hockey games using government-sponsored lottery cards. The league isn't enamored of the program, but there isn't much that can be done to stop it.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com