Dan Freidkin needs an arena.
In terms of publicity, Dan Friedkin and his group, Pursuit Sports, has said virtually nothing about the pursuit of a National Hockey League expansion franchise which would end up playing in Houston or in Austin if the league expands. Others have spoken about Friedkin’s pursuit of a franchise. The Commissioner, Gary Bettman, and the Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, have had a lot to say. The Washington Capitals owner, Ted Leonsis, who was recently elected chairman of the NHL’s board of governors has something to say. The mayor Houston, John Whitmire, has given his thoughts on the subject. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also expressed some thoughts. But there is a cone of silence that surrounds Friedkin and perhaps that is exactly what the NHL wants. After all, Bill Daly scolded Vernon Krause, who wants to bring the NHL back into the Atlanta market after an email suggested he had fully secured his financing and submitted a final expansion application package directly to the NHL. Krause then backtracked.
Leonsis seems to be in favor of adding a second team in Texas. “All 32 owners have to vote on whether they want to welcome it, but I have a personal positive view in that nothing but positive things happened in the NHL when we went from 30 teams to 32 teams,” he said. Whitmire said the city is fully prepared and a superior location to Austin. While the Austin mayor, Watson, said landing an NHL expansion team would be “potentially great” and that he looks forward to learning more about it. What is known is this. Friedkin has been given six months to find an arena site in Houston or Austin but that deadline, which is over in December, is not set in stone. Daly has confirmed that Friedkin has looked at some possible arena sites. That’s all folks.
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