Golden Knights owner says ticket revenues on par with Canadiens’

The general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights, George McPhee joins Prime Time Sports to discuss a hectic week behind the scenes with the expansion draft and NHL entry draft.

Las Vegas as an NHL market was seen by some as a gamble. Based on projected ticket revenues, however, Bill Foley is confident he’s hit the jackpot.

The Vegas Golden Knights owner told Forbes that his new team will be among the league’s top money generators at the gate in its inaugural 2017-18 season, ahead of such stalwart franchises as the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Foley said the Golden Knights should be “number five, six or seven in terms of ticket revenue in the league.”

“Edmonton has more revenue in their brand-new arena,” Foley told the business outlet. “The Rangers, Toronto, Chicago Blackhawks, they’re all ahead of us. Montreal is right with us.

“We have more revenue than the Flyers, Penguins, the Boston Bruins. Most of our tickets are multi-year. The lower bowl is three to 10 years.”

In September 2016, Vegas announced it had received deposits on all 16,000 season tickets. The team’s goal was 10,000 deposits, set in February 2015. Foley also told Forbes all of the suites have been sold for this season.

Pro hockey is returning to Las Vegas for the first time since 2014 when the ECHL’s Wranglers ceased operations.

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