Recent reports have indicated that The Friedkin Group\u2014 led by chairman and CEO Dan Friedkin who has been\u00a0identified\u00a0as the prospective owner of the NHL’s 33rd possible franchise \u2014have signed\u00a0an office lease in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
Friedkin’s\u00a0local multi-club ownership and management company, Pursuit Sports, has a CEO of\u00a0David Beeston. He’s the one expected to\u00a0spend significant time in Austin evaluating the city as expansion considerations continue to develop. This news was originally reported by the Chron<\/a> and Austin Business Journal<\/a>; the development follows Houston or Austin being named by League\u00a0Commissioner Gary Bettman as the two cities currently being considered for the League’s next expansion city.\u00a0<\/p>\n The office space being leased will likely be used as a workspace as\u00a0market viability and arena possibilities are assessed in Austin. The Friedkin Group’s primary location is already based in Houston per the business’s LinkedIn<\/a> \u2014 so an office lease in Houston would not be required given the company is already primarily based there and familiar with the city.<\/p>\n Bettman has previously revealed that the NHL has already\u00a0entered into an agreement with\u00a0The Friedkin Group for a\u00a0$3.5 billion investment to include\u00a0the expansion fee that goes to the League and the cost of building a new arena \u2014 a NHL requirement for the expansion team whether it is in either Houston or Austin.<\/p>\n Texas already has a pre-existing League franchise in the Dallas Stars<\/a>. These developments surrounding Houston or Austin resulted from a June 23 Board of Governors meeting, which officially marked the beginning of a six-month process to analyze\u00a0the possibility of expanding to either of these two cities in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n Houston identified as having larger hockey audience over Austin<\/p>\n Previous reporting has also already indicated that Houston does indeed have a solid leg up over Austin in terms of\u00a0media-market data (Houston is the No.6 media market compared to Austin coming in at No. 32) and\u00a0Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly’s own words.<\/p>\n Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly breaks down the latest developments for upcoming @NHL<\/a> expansion plans! \ud83d\udc47#thesickpodcast<\/a> @MurphysLaw74<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/VFWtSHiqIz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test (@sickpodnhl) July 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n “We\u2019re primarily interested in and our owners are primarily interested in a potential expansion franchise in Houston. We left open the possibility that we may examine and consider and evaluate Austin, TX as well,” Daly said on The Sick Podcast with NHL reporter Jimmy Murphy. “The hope and to some extent the expectation is that we will have a team in play in time for the 2029-30 season.”<\/p>\n However, the lease signing does indicate that Austin is to not be counted out \u2014 and some sources are stating that the race between Houston and Austin for a NHL team is closer than most think.<\/p>\n However, a new data dataset provided to The Sporting News now also indicates that Houston not only has a leg up in terms of media market, but also with hockey audiences and a broader organized hockey footprint.<\/p>\n Per\u00a0CanadaSportsBetting.ca<\/a>,\u00a0Houston has three TAHA-sanctioned hockey organizations compared to Austin with only one. In addition, the\u00a0Houston Junior Aeros Hockey Association lists 10 THL travel teams for 2026\u201327 versus nine for the Austin Capitals \u2014 giving Houston 11.1% more teams at that directly comparable level.<\/p>\n Also across\u00a0the four matching 2025\u201326 AA age groups, Houston\u2019s teams combined for a 55.4% win rate over 42.3% for Austin, with Houston carrying the higher rating in three of the four age groups.<\/p>\n Finally \u2014 USA Hockey numbers indicate that Houston has\u00a02,404 registered USA Hockey players compared to only 2,047 in Austin, giving Houston a 17.4% larger player base.<\/p>\n Austin does have the AHL Affiliate of the Dallas Stars (the Texas Stars) in their backyard, but the city of Houston will also be launching the inaugural season of the NAHL’s Houston Bulls in 2026-27. In addition, there are also a number of hockey related organizations throughout Houston who have been advocating for NHL expansion efforts and whose primary mission is to grow the sport throughout the city \u2014 such as the Houston Girls Hockey Association (the HTX Storm),\u00a0the Women’s Hockey Outreach Association of Houston (WHOAH),\u00a0Hockey Day in Houston and Rice University and the University of Houston’s club programs.<\/p>\n Season tickets for the Bulls are already sold out, with interest seeing numbers of over 4,000 from Houston hockey fans ahead of the Bulls’\u00a0home opener\u00a0at the Deep South Ice Sports Plex in Richmond, Texas on Oct. 2.<\/p>\n The six-month evaluation period for the NHL deciding between Houston and\/or Austin began in late June, and is expected to come to a decision around Dec. if the timeline holds out.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0NAHL Houston Bulls sell out season tickets ahead of inaugural season<\/a><\/p>\n