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HOCKEY
N.H.L. Names 4 Cities For Its New Franchises
The National Hockey League announced tentative plans yesterday to expand to four cities, including two new sites and two where league franchises have already failed.
The new sites are Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, and the old ones are Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Each new franchise will cost $80 million. The plan must be approved by the league's board of governors a week from today. A three-fourths majority of 26 votes is required, but the ballot is considered little more than a formality.
Nashville is the only city of the four with an arena currently considered suitable for major league hockey, and its team would begin play in the 1998-99 season. Atlanta would start the following season, and Columbus and Minneapolis-St. Paul would join in 2000. The league decided against franchise bids from groups in Houston and Oklahoma City.
The expansion would give the league 30 franchises by the year 2000, matching the number currently held by the National Football League and major league baseball. The National Basketball Association has 29 franchises.
''I am confident that the strength of each of the recommended markets and ownership groups will lead to a successful conclusion of this process,'' said Gary Bettman, the N.H.L. commissioner.
As part of the plan, the league and the players' union agreed to a four-year extension of the current collective bargaining agreement, through Sept. 15, 2004. That provision is also subject to ratification by the governors and the union.
By adding four American cities, the league continued the trend away from its Canadian roots. Only 6 of the 30 current cities are in Canada, and in two recent franchise shifts, the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche and the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix. Now the Edmonton Oilers are looking to relocate with apparently no prospects of remaining in Canada.
''This has been a very long and, at times, a very difficult process,'' said Craig Leipold, majority owner of the Nashville team. Leipold and his partner, Gaylord Entertainment, were adamant that they start playing in 1998. They are seeking a marketing edge over the N.F.L.'s Tennessee Oilers, scheduled to play in a new Nashville stadium in 1999 after two seasons in Memphis.
Atlanta will begin building a $213 million arena on the site of the Omni as soon as the Omni has been demolished. St. Paul has arranged financing for a $130 million arena, and a new building is about to be erected in Columbus.
The expansion would mean realignment of existing divisions and the addition of two new ones.
The addition of Nashville for the 1998-99 season would mean that the Eastern and Western conferences divide their two divisions into three. In the East, the Atlantic Division would consist of the Devils, the Islanders, the Rangers, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. A new Southeast Division would include Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay and Carolina. The Northeast would keep Boston, Buffalo, Montreal and Ottawa.
The Western Conference would add a Northwest Division consisting of Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton and Vancouver. The Pacific would consist of Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas and Phoenix. The Central would have Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Toronto and Nashville.
In the 1999-2000 season, Atlanta would join the Southeast Division. In the 2000-2001 season, the Northeast Division would get Columbus while the Northwest would receive Minneapolis-St. Paul.
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