The northern suburbs now has a second group looking to bring NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, despite professional league leadership saying they aren’t looking to expand at this time.
This week, former NHL player Anson Carter said he and partners want to land an expansion franchise and build an arena at North Point Mall in Alpharetta. Carter said his organization, the Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group, submitted a formal request to the NHL and has been talking to Commissioner Gary Bettman since 2019 about bringing an expansion team back to metro Atlanta to replace the short-lived Thrashers and Flames franchises that never took hold in the city.
“I have no doubt that the best league in the world will thrive in its return to metro Atlanta,” Carter said in a Tuesday news release.
The eight-year NHL veteran, who now is a NBC Sports analyst, moved to Atlanta in 2009 and says his ASE ownership group would include Neil Liebman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports and Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Automotive Group.
The ASE Group is partnering with New York Life to potentially redevelop North Point Mall. The insurance company owns the 100-acre property and wants to base the new hockey team at the site, Alan Rubenstein, a senior director with New York Life Real Estate Investors, said in a statement.
“We fully support ASE Group’s efforts to secure entitlements to redevelop the North Point property,” Rubenstein said. “We recognize and appreciate the support of many stakeholders in the City of Alpharetta (and) Fulton County.”
In 2022, Trademark Property Company, the builder hired to redevelop 83 acres of the mall property, was denied rezoning by Alpharetta City Council after weeks of friction over plans for apartments on the site. Trademark is no longer involved in the redevelopment project, said Kathi Cook, director of Alpharetta Economic and Community Development.
Cook confirmed that the city has had several meetings with Anson Carter and his team to review possible plans for the site, but no proposals have been submitted for the public hearing process.
Credit: Kimberly Smith/AJC 1994
Credit: Kimberly Smith/AJC 1994
Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin says he believes his city is an ideal geographic location for the fan base of a professional hockey team, citing nearby Ga. 400 and the planned expansion of MARTA in north Fulton.
“I think it’s exciting,” Gilvin said. “The North Point corridor here in Alpharetta really is the perfect location. Hockey attending fans typically live on the northern arc.
“Atlanta has shown that it’s a big sports city and ... it only makes sense when you see the success that mixed-use developments around the sporting and entertainment environment have had.”
Carter’s proposal faces competition from car dealership owner Vernon Krause who has pitched a site further north along Ga. 400 in Forsyth County for a huge mixed-use development centered around a professional sports arena. His project named The Gathering at South Forsyth is also aiming to snag a NHL expansion team.
Credit: The Gathering at South Forsyth
Credit: The Gathering at South Forsyth
The Gathering plans to include a $700 million arena near Cumming surrounded by rows of apartments, retail, offices, hotels and parking decks. The project will likely cost more than $2 billion, including the arena.
But that doesn’t include the substantial cost to the developer to establish a pro hockey franchise, assuming the NHL looks to expand. The cost of even landing an expansion team is likely at least $1 billion.
Forsyth leaders have signaled they’re prepared to chip in $390 million of public funds to help finance The Gathering project on one condition — landing an expansion franchise before getting any taxpayer money.
The Gathering team has previously said an 18,000-plus seat arena would be viable even without an anchoring sports team, but it would have to compete with other large venues for concerts and events. ASM Global was recently hired to operate the Gathering’s proposed arena.
Bettman, the NHL commissioner, recently said: “We don’t have expansion on the agenda right now,” but Atlanta is on the short-list of cities seen as contenders if the league chooses to add teams beyond its current 32-franchise roster. Other top options include Houston, Salt Lake City and Quebec City, Canada.
“The League appreciates Anson’s passion for bringing NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, and he has certainly kept the subject on our radar screen for several years running,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said this week. “While, as we have made clear, we have no expansion oriented process in place currently, it’s always good to know there is bona fide interest.”
