Alpharetta asked whether an NHL arena is feasible. Here is the report.

Could a professional hockey arena make financial sense if placed in Alpharetta, an affluent suburb 25 miles north of Atlanta?

The city is giving the idea a shot, voting last week to clear the way for North Point Mall’s redevelopment into a sports-anchored entertainment district if the NHL awards the effort an expansion team. That remains a big “if,” and it’s a question Alpharetta has been studying.

The city last year commissioned a study to test the ice, evaluating the economic viability of placing a 20,000-seat arena at North Point Mall. A summary of the study, which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request, paints an optimistic picture of nearly 1.2 million annual visitors, about 1,250 workers supported by the arena and billions of dollars in economic activity.

But economists are generally skeptical about such studies.

“That kind of puffy-chested analysis just doesn’t make sense with the dollars and cents,” said Tom Smith, an economist and professor at Emory University. “It is incredibly dependent on the set of assumptions that you put in place.”

The study was approved before the mall’s owner, insurance giant New York Life, selected developer Jamestown in February to helm the effort to transform the property into an entertainment and sports district. The study only looked at the arena aspect and not the economic feasibility of the rest of the development, which is slated to include apartments, hotels, offices and retail spaces.

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Credit: Courtesy of Jamestown

This is a rendering of a planned redevelopment of North Point Mall in Alpharetta by Jamestown and New York Life. It is centered around a 20,000-seat arena large enough to support an NHL franchise if one were announced for the Atlanta area. (Courtesy of Jamestown)

CAA Icon, the sports business consulting firm that conducted the study on Alpharetta’s behalf for $150,000, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A full version of the study, including its methodology, were not released by Alpharetta, which cited trade secret exemptions from open records law.

The study is also a completely theoretical exercise at this point.

The NHL has not awarded the Atlanta area an expansion team, which would be the region’s third attempt after the Flames and Thrashers came and went. Alpharetta also placed the North Point Mall effort on a ticking clock, applying a condition that the NHL must select the project for an expansion franchise within five years or the mall’s zoning will revert.

Tim Perry, managing director and chief investment officer at Jamestown, shakes hands with Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2025, after the City Council votes 4-3 to rezone Jamestown’s mall redevelopment, which is vying to attract an NHL franchise. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

What does it say about Alpharetta as a potential hockey market?

The CAA Icon study found the number of people living within 25 miles of North Point Mall would rank 13th among the NHL’s current markets.

Aside from Houston, Atlanta is the largest metro area in the U.S. without an NHL franchise. Houston, the second-largest metro in Texas, has never had a pro hockey franchise and appears poised to land an expansion team, according to multiple media reports.

Once the Atlanta area’s infamous traffic is taken into account, North Point Mall’s demographic prospects take a hit. The population base living within a 30-minute drive of the mall site decreases to 24th among NHL markets, according to the report.

This is an aerial photo of North Point Mall in Alpharetta. The property's ownership in February 2026 selected developer Jamestown to prepare the site for mixed-use redevelopment, with a focus on a new arena capable of hosting a NHL franchise. (Courtesy of Jamestown)

It highlights the transportation challenge for suburban sports venues, which often lack high-capacity public transit access or multiple interstate access points.

Frances Bohn, director of development and construction for Jamestown in North America, told the AJC earlier this year that an $11 billion project to add express lanes and incorporate MARTA bus-rapid transit routes to Ga. 400 should alleviate those concerns. It broke ground in April and is scheduled to be complete in early 2031.

“There’s a lot of good infrastructure improvements that they’re planning in that area,” she said. “So we’re uniquely situated for this incredible opportunity from an access standpoint of being able to get people in and out.”

What about non-NHL events?

A full event calendar is the life’s blood of an arena, and a professional sports team offers scheduling stability.

The study estimates a North Point arena would play host to 96 events annually, amassing nearly 1.2 million annual paid visitors. This includes 42 regular-season NHL contests but also concerts and other large events.

CAA Icon said an Alpharetta arena would likely act as a demand release valve for downtown Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, which was the second-busiest NBA venue in 2025 behind only Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“Promoters suggest a new major arena in Alpharetta would likely result in a reallocation of events, as State Farm Arena is currently outperforming major arenas in similar markets,” the report said.

North Point promotional items are shown at the Alpharetta City Hall Council Chamber on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, during a public hearing where the City Council is considering a master plan amendment, to allow the redevelopment of North Point Mall as a mixed-use development in hopes of securing an NHL franchise. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Bo Boland, a sports law professor at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, said it’s typically easier to fill out event calendars for smaller arenas. That’s an obstacle State Farm Arena seems to have overcome, but adding a second of similar size to the Atlanta market may prove a challenge, he said.

“Do you have the number of ancillary events? For that 10,000-seat venue, it’s almost limitless,” he said. “For that 19,000-seat one, it’s much less limitless.”

How much economic output?

The report found the arena’s economic output would be $1.7 billion for the city and $5.3 billion for Fulton County over a three-year construction period and 30-year operating period.

CAA Icon defined that as the total value of goods and services produced as part of the project, which should encompass all forms of taxes, event sales and employment.

Those estimates are often disputed by economists, who say they rarely account for the lost economic value in what consumers would have done instead if the arena didn’t exist.

What they’re saying

The cost to build a new arena will likely eclipse $1 billion.

That’s the average cost of new facilities since 2021, according to CAA Icon, and three of the last five arenas developed were fully funded privately without any taxpayer investment. Each of Atlanta’s professional sports venues were supported with taxpayer dollars.

The true barrier to cross, economists said, is the potential expansion team’s ownership. It hinges on money, especially because the NHL is requiring a $2 billion expansion fee to be considered.

“The price tag is high, and that’s really going to be the key for a successful Georgia project,” said Boland, the Seton Hall sports law professor.

But there are some people convinced hockey is returning to metro Atlanta, either in Alpharetta or at a competing effort a few miles north called The Gathering at South Forsyth.

This is a rendering of a proposed "NHL-ready" hockey arena at The Gathering at South Forsyth mixed-use project, a proposal roughly 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

John Hipes, an Alpharetta councilman who voted for the project, said he’s confident the NHL “is coming here or going to Forsyth County,” citing the size of the untapped Atlanta market.