The NHL's Arizona Coyotes Need an Arena. Houston Might Have One.
Les Alexander selling the Houston Rockets was not likely to be something Houston sports fans wanted. He has been a relatively good team owner who has stayed out of the way of the spotlight while giving his basketball personnel the money and power to do whatever necessary to win games. Whether his successor will do the same remains to be seen.
But in the Rockets' uncertain future, Houston hockey fans can feel a sense of optimism. With Les Alexander on his way out, a major impediment to the return of professional hockey to the city is gone.
There is no indication that that return is imminent — Alexander still controls the Toyota Center lease and there is no current talk in the NHL or the AHL about franchise expansion or relocation. But with a hockey arena opening up in one of the largest markets in North America — a market with a history of supporting hockey and which would probably already have an NHL club were it not for infighting among potential ownership groups — discussions could soon begin again.
The NHL sought expansion bids several years ago and accepted just one, the Vegas Golden Nights, which will have its inaugural season this year. This gives the league 31 teams, an odd number that is just perfect for the addition of another. The only other city to bid for a franchise at that time was Quebec City, and the NHL chose to pass. Seattle was thought to be gung-ho for a franchise, but there was no arena and dueling ownership, so that city lost out, too.
Read more: http://www.houstonpress.com/news/hope-for-hockey-in-houston-9623575
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