Tilman Fertitta, the proprietor of the Golden Nugget on line casino empire, is curious about bringing NHL and WNBA franchises to Houston the place he already owns the NBA’s Rockets.
Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta. The proprietor of Golden Nugget casinos is curious about bringing NHL and WNBA groups to Houston. (Picture: Bloomberg)
In a February interview with Bloomberg, Fertitta stated he’s been in talks with the NHL about the potential for bringing a crew to the fourth-largest US metropolis, noting that discussions had just lately turned extra severe.
We want to work to get an NHL crew in Houston — I’m engaged on it,” he stated in a Wednesday interview with CNBC.
Fertitta’s curiosity in bringing an NHL franchise to Houston dates again to 2017 when he acquired the Rockets for $2.2 billion. The Houston Aeros, a minor league hockey crew that sporadically referred to as town house, performed on the Toyota Heart. That’s the Rockets’ house courtroom. The world seats 19,000 for basketball video games and when fitted for a hockey rink, it could actually accommodate 17,800 followers.
The billionaire businessman stated he’s open to both an growth NHL crew or to shifting an current franchise from one other metropolis to Houston, which is at present the biggest US metropolis with out an NHL crew. The league doesn’t have imminent growth plans, however the destiny of the Arizona Coyotes in Phoenix is up within the air as a result of controversies in getting the crew a brand new area. Nevertheless, the Coyotes may transfer to Salt Lake Metropolis as quickly as subsequent season.
Not Fertitta’s First Effort to Add to Sports activities Holdings
Efforts to probably deliver NHL and WNBA groups to Houston aren’t Fertitta’s first by way of increasing his sports activities possession portfolio past the Rockets.
Final yr, he bid $5.6 billion for the NFL’s Washington Commanders, however dropped out of competition for the crew when a bidding conflict took the worth tag to $6 billion. At the moment, he stated he supplied $5.6 billion as a result of that’s the worth Forbes assigned to the crew, including that he didn’t $6 billion as an applicable value.
NHL groups carry considerably lower cost tags than their NFL counterparts. The worth of the Seattle Kraken, the NHL’s latest crew, was $1.22 billion on the finish of final yr, in accordance with Forbes. The defending Stanley Cup champion Las Vegas Golden Knights, the second-youngest crew within the league, are value an estimated $1.12 billion.
Probably the most beneficial NHL franchise, in accordance with Forbes, is the Toronto Maple Leafs at $2.8 billion.
WNBA Curiosity
Fertitta additionally expressed curiosity in returning the WNBA to Houston. From 1997 by 2008, town was house to the Comets — the WNBA’s first dynasty — earlier than the league disbanded the crew.
“I’d take into account, positively, I feel it’s an awesome subject with ladies’s sports activities to speak a few WNBA crew in Houston additionally,” stated Fertitta within the CNBC interview.
Fertitta Leisure Inc. (FEI) controls the Landry’s restaurant empire and the Golden Nugget casinos. The group owns greater than 600 eating places throughout the Bubba Gump’s, Chart Home, Del Frisco’s, Mastro’s, and Morton’s manufacturers, amongst others.
