Viva Las Vegas: NHL Expansion Team Rolls into Sin City

Get ready for some ice hockey in the desert.

FOX’s Chris Hoenig reports:

The NHL is expanding to Las Vegas. Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing that the new team will start play in the 2017-2018 season:

(Bettman) “This expansion comes at a time when our game is more competitive than ever, ownership is stronger than ever, the player base is more talented than ever and the business and the future opportunities for the business are greater than ever.”

Billionaire businessman Bill Foley, the chairman of Fidelity National Financial, is heading the Vegas effort. They’ll pay a $500-million expansion fee and play in the new T-Mobile arena at the south end of the Vegas strip.

14,000 season ticket deposits have already been secured at the facility, which can seat about 17,500 for hockey. The team name will be announced in the future.

Chris Hoenig, FOX News.

Follow FOX’s Chris Hoenig on Twitter: @Chris_Hoenig