The NHL is set to award expansion rights by year’s end to Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports, which has committed a $2 billion fee for the new franchise. The franchise will be located in either Houston or Austin, and could hit the ice in the 2029-30 season. This would mark Texas’s second NHL squad alongside the Dallas Stars, and the league eyes further expansion possibilities in Phoenix and Atlanta. Local fans in Houston, long dreaming of the team’s return since the WHA’s Aeros departed, are rallying strong support amid the competition.
This prospective expansion is subject to both a new arena build and Board of Governors approval.
