Talk of NHL expansion is quickly gaining momentum once again, as the league looks to capitalize on the ever-growing fees for new franchises.
That said, the addition of the league’s 33rd team seems inevitable. The proposed timeline is for said franchise to join the NHL in about the 2030-31 season.
The only question that remains is where the team will be located. The certainty seems to lie in the fact that the club will be based in Texas. The thing that remains up in the air is the precise city. The location is down to two cities: Austin and Houston.
Both cities are beautiful in their own right. But as a recent study pointed out, Houston has a clear edge over Austin. The folks at Canada Sports Betting pointed out the sizeable differences that make Houston a far better choice than Austin for NHL expansion.
In particular, the study drilled down on the fact that Houston is a much larger market. As such, it is more capable of supporting an NHL franchise.
- Houston ranks No. 6 in the current 2025-26 TV market table, compared with Austin at No. 32.
- Houston has around 2.8 million TV households, roughly 2.7 times Austin’s 1.03 million.
- Houston’s metro population and radio audience are approximately three times larger, while its 2024 metro GDP is $758 billion compared with Austin’s $268 billion.
The study did highlight the fact that Austin lacks a local pro sports team. That situation reduces the amount of potential competition for NHL expansion.
NHL Expansion Could Face Tough Competition in Houston
Because Houston is the sixth-largest market in the United States, NHL expansion could find tough competition. For starters, several pro sports teams call Houston home. The MLB Astros, NBA Rockets, and NFL Texans all take up their fair share of the 2.8 million households in the city.
So, it’s fair to ask if the market can support another pro sports franchise. On the surface, the answer would be yes. But there’s no real telling how much the club could thrive in Houston.
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Austin Has One Major Thing Going for It
Austin has one major thing going for it. And it’s something that NHL expansion would like to capitalize on. The relative lack of competition in the Austin-metro area could allow its relatively small population to embrace and support the team.
It’s also worth pointing out that geographically, there are no other teams close by beyond the Dallas Stars. The erstwhile Arizona Coyotes would have been the closest team to Austin. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche are three states away. The St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators are way too far for Austin-based fans to call home.
Plus, hockey has had moderate success with the AHL’s Texas Stars. The club is the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, and plays out of the H-E-B Center. And that may be the sticking point. The arena has just 8,700 seats. So, the NHL might want to secure a larger, more NHL-type arena before going ahead with Austin.
That’s something to keep in mind as NHL expansion talk continues to move forward.
NHL Expansion Looking to Tap Into Value of Major Market