Houston Moves Forward as Potential NHL Central Division Expansion Team
The Sept. 22 NHL board of governors meeting resulted in consideration for the city of Houston as the potential 33rd team in the League continuing forward.
This development comes following a June 23 BOG meeting that marked the beginning of a six-month explanatory period for the NHL to put a second team in Texas in either Houston or Austin. The Friedkin family, led by Dan Friedkin — the CEO of The Friedkin Group (with a professional sports subsidiary of Pursuit Sports) — had been identified as the prospective ownership group. Following the meeting, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed that arena location efforts are ongoing throughout Houston.
The development comes as the Friedkin Group's headquarters are based in Houston; the press conference following the Sept. BOG meeting wrapped up just before 5:30 p.m. CST.
"They've done a number of sites," Daly said in the press conference following the meeting in specific reference to arena sites in Houston. "They've selected a number of sites they're focused on."
This follows Houston Mayor John Whitmire officially backing bringing the NHL to the major Texas city.
"I think [the NHL] would never regret it if they gave a franchise to Houston. They'd never regret it," Mayor Whitmire said in an exclusive with On SI, part of Sports Illustrated . "Austin is a great city, but it's not Houston ... If you talk to the sports franchises in town, I think they'd tell you we're great partners."
Houston is also the No. 6 media market in the United States — greatly surpassing Austin which clocks in at No. 32 on the current 2025-26 TVB/Nielsen table
Bettman disclosed back in June that both Texas cities, whether it be Houston or Austin, would require a new arena. Houston does not have traditional land-use zoning, making it the largest city in the United States without a formal zoning code.
This would likely expedite construction of both a NHL practice facility and arena.
The Friedkin's have agreed to pay an approximate $3.5 billion investment — which is said to include both the expansion fee that goes to the League in addition to the cost covering the building of the new state-of-the-art arena.
Sources have confirmed that BOG Chairman Jeremy M. Jacobs (also of the Boston Bruins) and potentially Governor Geoff Hoffman have been big advocates for Houston throughout BOG meetings, while Governor Ryan Smith of the Utah Mammoth was said to have preferred Austin.
The Sept. 22 meeting also marked the retirement of Jacobs as the chairman of the Board of Governors. He retired after 19 years in the position and is replaced by Washington Capitals' Ted Leonsis.
Washington’s Ted Leonsis is new chairman of the Board of Governors.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 22, 2026
Jeremy Jacobs retired after 19 years in that position
The previously mentioned six month evaluation period is slated to end in Dec., which is when Friedkin is expected to present his official expansion plan to the BOG — December is the league’s bigger Board of Governors meeting which is where traditionally owners have voted on expansion previously, per The Athletic.
It's worth mentioning the scouting of potential arena locations in Houston does not automatically eliminate Austin from contention, but potential arena sites for the greater-Austin area were not mentioned.
Colorado Avalanche, Central Division Could See New Rival
A Houston expansion team would expect to play within the Central Division.
The Central Division currently consists of the Colorado Avalanche in addition to the Dallas Stars (the pre-existing Texas NHL team which relocated from Minnesota for the 1993-94 season), Minnesota Wild, Utah Mammoth, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly previously went on The Sick Podcast with colleague Jimmy Murphy and stated there is an expectation that the Houston expansion team will be playing come the 2029-30 season.
The hope and to some extent the expectation is that we will have a team in play in time for the 2029-30 season." Daly had said.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly breaks down the latest developments for upcoming @NHL expansion plans! 👇#thesickpodcast @MurphysLaw74 pic.twitter.com/VFWtSHiqIz
— The Sick Podcast - The Eye Test (@sickpodnhl) July 29, 2026
How Would Central Division Schedule Be Impacted by Expansion?
Should the NHL add a 33rd team in the Central Division for 2029-30, the Avalanche's schedule would almost certainly have to be reworked substantially — but the formula in which it would be reworked is not yet known.
The League is currently moving from an 82-game regular-season schedule to 84 games for the upcoming 2026-27 season. If a new team were placed in the Central Division, the division would grow from the previously mentioned eight teams to nine.
Colorado is to play 28 games against Central Division opponents in the approaching year and will meet all division opponents on four occasions (two home and two away).
If the NHL does add a 33rd team to the Central Division for the 2029-30 season, the Avs would gain a new divisional opponent and could potentially face the expansion club four times per season under the league's current scheduling model.
Jennifer Streeter graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M and received her Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. At both schools, she focused on an emphasis of sports reporting. A former athlete herself, "Jenny" was a varsity soccer player and comes from a family who participated in NCAA athletics. She has covered hockey since 2023 and is credentialed for the Seattle Kraken, New Jersey Devils and PWHL in addition to having covered the 2026 Frozen Four.