from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

The building creaks in the quiet of the hot afternoon, an eerie sound that’s entirely normal as its concrete and 7,000 tons of structural steel settle into place within the arena under construction just off the Las Vegas Strip. Soon that creaking will fade, replaced by the sounds of music and cheers at concerts, boxing matches, college basketball games and — if all continues on course — NHL contests.

The $375-million arena, owned by AEG and MGM Resorts International and operated by MGM, reached a significant milestone last Wednesday when concrete was poured to form the event floor. A few weeks earlier, the NHL acknowledged that a Las Vegas group’s application for an expansion team had advanced to the third phase, which means the league will review the business plans of the company led by Bill Foley. (Read more here).

A group hoping to bring the NHL back to Quebec City, Canada, has reached the same stage, a prelude to bringing the expansion to a vote by the league’s Board of Governors. That could happen later this month or in January. The two franchises could join the league for the 2017-18 season, which would create an interesting contrast between Quebec’s standing as a traditional hockey market and the unknown of bringing the first major professional sports team to Las Vegas. The price of an expansion franchise could be as high as $500 million.

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