NEW YORK — Bill Foley has put his money down on an NHL expansion team in Las Vegas. And Quebec City is getting a second chance at being a pro hockey market. The two cities moved one step closer to joining the NHL as expansion teams after the league announced Tuesday it has received applications from prospective ownership groups in both markets, a day after a deadline for submissions. The Las Vegas bid was submitted by Foley, a billionaire businessman who has spent the past seven months exploring the level of interest for professional hockey in the gambling mecca. Montreal-based Quebecor, a Canadian media and telecommunications giant, submitted the bid for Quebec City, which previously served home to the NHL's Nordiques. Quebecor also has ties to the NHL after its cable network, TVA Sports, won the rights to become the league's official French-language broadcaster last year. As part of their application, bidders were required to submit a $10 million down payment, $2 million of which was nonrefundable. There are at least two more steps in the expansion process, and the bids require approval from the NHL's Board of Governors. The league doesn't anticipate expanding before the 2017-18 season and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has proposed an expansion fee of at least $500 million. That's a significant jump from the $80 million fee paid by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, when the NHL last expanded to 30 teams in 2000. Without going into specifics, the NHL said it received and responded to application requests from 16 separate groups since the process opened July 6. The league placed an emphasis on groups having the financial capacity to establish a franchise, as well as an arena either in place or under construction. “Our purpose in initiating the expansion process in the manner we did was not only to explore the possibility of admitting new members to the NHL but also to set out realistic guideposts to distinguish between bona fide expressions of interest from those indications of potential interests which were, at best, merely hopes or aspirations,” the league said. “Apparently only Foley and Quebecor have the confidence in their ability to secure an arena and suitable ownership capability to move forward with this process,” the league added. Several separate Seattle groups have expressed interest in establishing an NHL team in the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon, and Kansas City were also mentioned as potential markets. With the application process closed, the league intends to “focus exclusively” on the two applications that were submitted. — AP
