Connect with us

Published

on

The Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, fronted by former NHL player Anson Carter, has formally requested that the NHL commence with an expansion process aimed at bringing a franchise to the greater Atlanta area for a third time.

Atlanta was previously home to the Flames (1972-1980), who relocated to Calgary, and the Thrashers (1999-2011), who moved to Winnipeg.

The announcement, published on Tuesday by Sportsnet, states that the group is seeking an NHL team for a new arena designed by architect Frank Gehry that will be part of a larger development at the North Point Mall site in Alpharetta, located around 30 minutes from where the Thrashers used to play.

“I have no doubt that the best league in the world will thrive in its return to Metro Atlanta,” said Carter, currently an analyst for TNT broadcast, in a statement. “I have been in dialogue with NHL commissioner [Gary] Bettman since 2019 about an expansion team returning to the Fulton County Metro Atlanta market, knowing that franchise decisions are exclusively decided by the NHL Board of Governors.”

Among the partners mentioned in the announcement are Neil Leibman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Automotive Group and New York Life Real Estate investors, who is a partner in the mixed-use land development.

In a statement on Tuesday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league appreciated the enthusiasm from Carter’s group.

“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,” Daly said. “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.”

Calls to Simon, Zeigler and Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin were not returned.

Carter is a part owner of the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators hockey team. Carter previously attempted to purchase the Atlanta Hawks, Thrashers and their arena in 2011 with a group called Atlanta Sports and Entertainment, but they were declined by Atlanta Spirit, which owned the teams.

There are other groups interested in bringing the NHL to Atlanta. Vernon Krause, a businessman who has proposed building an 18,000-seat arena in a mixed use development in Forsyth County, told WSB-TV that he met with Bettman in New York. Krause says he believes that if the NHL approves expansion, a team could play in its arena beginning in the 2027-28 season.

Daly told ESPN last September that he was optimistic the third time could be the charm for Atlanta.

“I think some of the challenges that we’ve seen in the past in Atlanta can be overcome,” he said.

“I think times have changed pretty dramatically and the market demographics have changed pretty dramatically since the first time we went there and then again in 1999,” he said. “I think a lot of bigger businesses are in Atlanta [now].”

Daly said the location of the rink will be a key to the success of any potential Atlanta franchise. The Thrashers played in what’s now known as State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Hawks, which is located in the city of Atlanta.

“I also think that rink location will be important with any decision to locate a franchise in Atlanta,” Daly said. “I think if you use the Braves as an example, they struggled, as I understand it, attendance-wise for years, even though they had a very successful team on the field. Their latest stadium is in a perfect location and sells out regularly.”

Bettman has said that expanding beyond 32 teams isn’t a priority for the NHL. But cities continue to show interest in joining the league.

Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and The Smith Entertainment Group announced in January that it has formally requested the NHL to start an expansion process for a potential Utah franchise.

“We have no formal expansion process set up. We’re listening to the expressions of interest and I think it’s fair to say that the Utah expression of interest has been the most aggressive and has carried a lot of energy with it,” Bettman said at the NHL All-Star Game last month.

Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, said he’s had discussions with the NHL about bringing a team there.

“We are talking to the NHL, but it’s got to be good for both of us,” Fertitta said during an interview with Bloomberg News last month.

Continue Reading

Sports

Journalism rallies in $1M Haskell Invitational win

Published

on

By

Journalism rallies in M Haskell Invitational win

OCEANPORT, N.J. — Journalism launched a dramatic rally to win the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

It was Journalism’s first race since the Triple Crown. He was the only colt to contest all three legs, winning the Preakness while finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Heavily favored at 2-5 odds, Journalism broke poorly under jockey Umberto Rispoli and wound up trailing the early leaders. He kicked into gear rounding the final turn to find Gosger and Goal Oriented locked in a dogfight for the lead. It appeared one of them would be the winner until Journalism roared down the center of the track to win by a half-length.

“You feel like you’re on a diesel,” Rispoli said. “He’s motoring and motoring. You never know when he’s going to take off. To do what he did today again, it’s unbelievable.”

Gosger held on for second, a neck ahead of Goal Oriented.

The Haskell victory was Journalism’s sixth in nine starts for Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy, and earned the colt a berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

Journalism paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.

Continue Reading

Sports

Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

Published

on

By

Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott took advantage of heavy rain at Dover Motor Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Elliott and the rest of the field never got to turn a scheduled practice or qualifying lap on Saturday because of rain that pounded the concrete mile track. Dover is scheduled to hold its first July race since the track’s first one in 1969.

Elliott has two wins and 10 top-five finishes in 14 career races at Dover.

Chase Briscoe starts second, followed by Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Shane van Gisbergen, last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch complete the top 10.

Logano is set to become the youngest driver in NASCAR history with 600 career starts.

Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He will top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months.

The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Reddick vs. Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.

The winners face off next week at Indianapolis. Reddick is the betting favorite to win it all, according to Sportsbook.

All four drivers are winless this season.

Continue Reading

Sports

Hamlin on 23XI trial: ‘All will be exposed’

Published

on

By

Hamlin on 23XI trial: 'All will be exposed'

DOVER, Del. — NASCAR race team owner Denny Hamlin remained undeterred in the wake of another setback in court, vowing “all will be exposed” in the scheduled December trial as part of 23XI Racing’s federal antitrust suit against the auto racing series.

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams’ bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they won’t lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.

Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.

After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed – a possibility now that starting spots have opened.

The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.

“If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “All will be exposed.”

23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s extension offer on charters.

Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put “plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.

“Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar,” Hamlin said. “I’d love to be doing other things. I’ve got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I’m 100% committed.”

Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing.

Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCAR’s $1 million In-season Challenge, was last year’s regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this year’s playoffs.

Making the field won’t be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.

“Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop,” Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. “There’s not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.”

Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.

“I leave all that up to them,” Smith said, “but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.”

Continue Reading

Trending