FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors plans to meet next month, and the possibility of expanding the league is on the table.
The news comes as a $2 billion development in Forsyth County hinges its future on landing a pro-hockey team.
Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was at the future site of what developers call The Gathering, where getting county money to help fund the project will depend on pro-hockey coming to Forsyth County.
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Right now, the site is covered with brush and trees, but it could grow into an entertainment hub for North Georgia, with a hockey arena as its centerpiece.
But first, the NHL needs to expand and put a team in Georgia. The county is just waiting for the word “go.”
Channel 2 Action News was the first to report on the proposal to create a mixed-use development in South Forsyth County called the Gathering, with plans calling for an 18,700-seat arena surrounded by restaurants, shops, hotels, apartments and offices just off of GA-400.
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Forsyth County agreed to issue $225 million in bonds to pay for the project, but it has conditions.
“The development currently hinges upon the awarding of an NHL franchise to the development, at least from the county side,” Russell Brown, a Forsyth County spokesman, said.
Brown said county taxpayers would have to approve a tax allocation district, or TAD, in a November referendum.
If passed, the TAD would cover the roughly 100-acre site for the Gathering, and revenue from the tax district would pay back the bonds from the county.
Brown told Channel 2 Action News that the project already had widespread support from residents.
“The economic impact that could have on Forsyth County could be generational, should it come to fruition,” Brown said.
Still, the NHL has not officially discussed expansion. Vernon Krause, the developer behind the Gathering, spoke with Channel 2 Action News exclusively in March, saying that if the league expands, they’re “very interested in Atlanta.”
Sources on the development team said they’re hopeful expansion will be discussed in the NHL Board of Governor’s meeting in September.
In the meantime, Forsyth County is waiting.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to Krause for comment Friday but have not heard back.
In March, Krause said if the NHL does expand and picks Atlanta, the puck could drop at the Gathering in the 2027-2028 season.
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