Tilman Fertitta is not the only one to express interest

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has company when it comes to bringing a professional hockey franchise to Houston.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Tuesday that the league has received interest from other parties about a team in Houston.

“Tilman is not the only one expressing interest in Houston,” Bettman said during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors in New York. “Houston is a great market, but there’s nothing right now to say we’re going to do it.”

Fertitta said he was interested in bringing an NHL team to the Toyota Center when he purchased the Rockets in October 2017 and has expressed more interest of late, recently revealing he was partnering with the promoter real estate agent Ira Mitzner, CEO of Houston-based RIDA Development. Corporation, to bring a team to the largest city in the country currently without professional hockey.

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Bettman, as he has been wont to do in recent months, said again Tuesday that the NHL “is not currently planning expansion.” In addition to Houston, he said the league has received “numerous inbound, unsolicited expressions of interest” from markets like Quebec, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Omaha.

The NHL currently has 32 teams and, for the first time since 2011, transferred a franchise in a complex transaction after moving the Coyotes’ hockey assets from Arizona to Utah, negotiating a sale to Ryan and Ashley Smith, owners of the NBA’s Jazz franchise. , while rendering the commercial operation of the Coyotes inactive.

With the prospects of a new arena in the Phoenix area uncertain, it became clear that the Coyotes could no longer play at Mullett Arena, the 4,600-capacity arena at Arizona State University in Tempe. people. This accelerated the timeline of finding a new move for the team.

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Ryan Smith, who has been outspoken and aggressive about building a team in Salt Lake City, including a public request for an expansion process in January, followed by a recent investigation into the team’s name on social media, provided the timeline with what he was prepared to do. do to land a team. This includes a planned renovation of the Delta Center over the next two years to increase its hockey capacity to approximately 17,000 empty seats.

“When the project gets to that level, we take a closer look at it,” Bettman said of Smith’s interest. “We look at the market, the property and the arena. And whether or not it will improve the league’s footprint. Utah is clearly a winter sports environment. Hockey, I think, has a 55-year history of professional sports, even at the minor league level.

“The property is great when you look at Ashley and Ryan Smith and their partners and their involvement and commitment to the community. You saw the turnout both in terms of registrations (for tickets) and people who showed up to the rally. It’s going to be awesome.”

As for Arizona, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has the right to reactivate the franchise if he can build a new arena that meets NHL standards within five years, with 18 months’ notice required.

“We wouldn’t have done this if we didn’t believe in the market,” Bettman said.

While a resurgent Coyotes franchise would give the NHL 33 teams, Bettman downplayed the need to expand to reach an even number of franchises.

“I don’t believe symmetry is essential,” he said. “And actually, when we expanded to Las Vegas (in 2017), we were at 31. It’s just a matter of numbers and how to plan, but it’s not essential.”

Chronicle Sports Editor Reid Laymance contributed to this report.