Advertisement

Hockey Vision Las Vegas set to begin season-ticket drive Feb. 10

Hockey Vision Las Vegas set to begin season-ticket drive Feb. 10

There is so much momentum behind the NHL to Las Vegas movement that it’s quickly becoming not a question of “if,” but “when.” It could be expansion. It could be relocation. But at some point in the near future, Sin City will have professional hockey again.

There was even a local Super Bowl commercial:

The man behind Hockey Vision Las Vegas, LLC, Bill Foley, is committed to bringing a team there and a ticket drive is set to begin next Monday, Feb. 10. Here’s the email that was sent to those who signed up at VegasWantsHockey.com:

Thank you for your continued interest in bringing NHL Hockey to Las Vegas!

We would like to share some of the exciting progress we’ve made in our drive to make NHL Hockey in Las Vegas a reality.  In mid-January, our group met with some of the most influential people in the Las Vegas community.  This group – The Las Vegas Founding 75 – have agreed to help us sell 60 season ticket deposits each. The energy, passion and excitement we witnessed during these meetings - and in the community since these meetings - has further cemented our commitment to bringing an NHL team to Las Vegas. In addition to their commitment, we need your help to bring NHL Hockey to Las Vegas.

We will be kicking off our official season ticket deposit drive on February 10. In the coming days, we will be sending you updates with the specifics on how you can make a deposit for your season tickets, along with more information about the season ticket drive.

Please share this email with your friends and family – and ask them to sign up at www.VegasWantsHockey.com to receive updates.

We have hired a Ticket Sales & Service team to assist with any questions you have on the season ticket deposit campaign and process. While all fans are encouraged to secure their deposits online on February 10, this staff is available today to answer any questions you have on the process! Please contact them directly at 702-NHL-HCKY (645-4259) for more information. Thanks again for sharing our excitement about bringing the fastest game on ice to Las Vegas!

Bill Foley

Hockey Vision Las Vegas, LLC

The goal is reach 10,000 season ticket deposits.

This is the first step. One of the next steps will be coming up with a team name. While it'll likely be determined by a fan contest, Foley told Elliotte Friedman in December that he loves “Black Knights,” dating back to his days at West Point. But what comes before “Black Knights” might not be what you expect if the billionaire has his way.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Foley loves him some Nevada Black Knights, not Las Vegas.

But Foley, partnering with the Maloof brothers of Las Vegas on the NHL team deal, said that before he commits to the geography of his franchise’s official name, he wants to consult with his public relations and social media agencies, R&R Partners of Las Vegas and Digital Royalty in downtown Las Vegas.

Nevada “has a good catch to it. It’s more inclusive,” Foley said.

“I’ll follow up on that. It has a lot of merit. I prefer it. We want to include everyone,” Foley said. “All we need now is to sell the tickets and get the team.”

During All-Star Weekend, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league did not set any sort of "deadline or timeline" to determine the success of the Vegas ticket drive. But how quickly they reach 10,000 sold will give the league a better idea of how hungry the market is for hockey.

"If he’s still running it in next October, my guess is tickets didn’t sell so quickly," Bettman said. "If he’s able to get to a number that makes a lot of sense and shows a great deal of enthusiasm in 2-3 weeks, we’ll have a better sense of the market.”

- - - - - - -

Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY: