Three months after announcing a formal application process for expansion, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday the league has completed its initial information gathering undertaking, but is still far from determining whether to extend invitations to a 31st or 32nd club.
"This isn't like a 60-minute game where we know at the end of two and a half hours, we're going to get a result," Bettman said. "We're going through a process. The process will lead us in many directions, lead us to questions that have to be answered, and ultimately ... the (Board of Governors) will be in a position to consider, deliberate and make a judgment."
Representatives from Quebec City and Las Vegas, the two applicants to go through all three phases, each made hour-long presentations to the league's 10-member executive committee on Tuesday morning at the league office.
Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman backing the bid from Las Vegas, described the room as "animated" during his group's presentation.
Bettman then updated the full, 30-member Board of Govenors on expansion later in the afternoon.
In all, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said discussion on expansion in the full board meeting took up only approximately 10 to 15 minutes of the four-hour meeting.
"It was a minor part of today's board meeting," Daly said. "The executive committee didn't even get a chance to discuss the presentations that were made, because we were time pressed. We started the (full) board meeting late."
"The follow up is what more do we need to know?" Daly asked.
Daly said the league would take the next few days to focus on scheduling another executive committee meeting, where the presentations can be openly discussed and dissected.
Even after three phases of the detailed application process - which included a $10 million application fee from both interested parties to the league - Bettman said he is not sure whether the league has enough information yet to make a decision.
In addition to their own due diligence and information supplied by the applicants, the league is waiting on reports back from outside consultants, which likely includes feasibility studies, economic evaluations and financial projections.
So, with three phases in the books, how many steps are left for the applicants to complete?
"As many as we need, actually," Bettman said. "So far, there have been three phases to gather the data. But we're going to continue to do whatever work is necessary to make the people who have to deliberate comfortable. This is an important business decision."
We are now entering what Daly said is an "opened-ended process." It is a dizzying change of pace for the league with regards to expansion, considering the league did not distribute the official application for expansion until July 6 and required the first phase to be complete by interested parties on Aug. 10.
Hurry up. Now wait.
"Wait," Foley said on Tuesday, when asked what the next step is to becoming the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. "Watchful waiting."
Bettman reiterated the NHL has made no guarantees as to whether the league will expand at all. The only guarantee is that if the NHL does expand, the fee to join the club will "start with a five," Bettman said again Tuesday, as in $500 million minimum.
"That's U.S. dollars," Bettman added, pointedly.
Or $670 million Canadian.
"We know," Bettman said.
Any vote to expand requires 23 affirmative votes from the league's 30 clubs. As to whether that vote will come in the next three months, by the time the Board of Governors convene again on Dec. 7 in Pebble Beach, Calif., Bettman said "anything is possible."
"Is it probable? I don't know," Bettman said. "There's much work to be done. There's no timetable. We don't have to be done at a certain point in time because, ultimately, this isn't something that the board has to do."
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