Forsyth finalizes hockey arena terms, trying to woo NHL expansion team
Forsyth County says the net is empty — all NHL leadership has to do is take another shot on metro Atlanta as a pro hockey market.
County commissioners, economic development leaders and Forsyth board of education officials approved a litany of agreements Wednesday to finalize terms with an ambitious development group trying to woo an NHL expansion franchise to the northern burb. The agreements center on an 18,500-seat “NHL-ready” arena, which has been proposed to anchor a $3 billion mixed-use project called The Gathering at South Forsyth. But the deal only commits taxpayer funds to the arena if the NHL green-lights a team.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has not said the 32-team league is in expansion mode or that Atlanta — which has had two failed franchises in the past — could get another team. A NHL spokesman has told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution repeatedly the league will not comment on potential expansions or franchise locations.
“We are very wary of prematurely raising or dashing hopes of any market or fan base,” league spokesman John Dellapina told the AJC on Wednesday evening.
That hasn’t dissuaded Vernon Krause, owner of a chain of car dealerships and head of the Gathering project. He said Wednesday he spoke with Bettman on Monday and will meet with the commissioner after the Stanley Cup Finals, which will wrap in the coming days, to try to sell his project’s pro hockey bona fides.
Krause and his team believe they can be successful where the owners of the former Atlanta Flames and Thrashers were not. The Thrashers left to become the Winnipeg Jets in 2011.
Instead of in an arena in downtown Atlanta, where the Flames and Thrashers roamed the ice, Krause has placed his bet on a site up Ga. 400 in fast-growing Forsyth County.
When asked, Krause said Bettman “has not” committed to expanding to his project, but he’s optimistic.
“We feel very, very good,” Krause said after Wednesday’s special called government meeting. “ … A lot of people in this state believe that we should have a hockey team. I believe we’re going to have one.”
First revealed in 2022, the Gathering at South Forsyth is one of the largest mixed-use projects proposed in metro Atlanta. Its NHL ambitions have also garnered it national headlines.
County leaders have spent the past three years refining the details of the development, which is slated for an 84-acre project site along Union Hill Road near Ga. 400.
What’s included in the plan?
Development plan and schedule for the Gathering at South Forsyth:
- Phase 1: 600 multifamily units, 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space, 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of retail space, a hotel with 120 to 150 rooms, a sheriff’s office precinct and fire station, two parking decks and a 1.2-mile segment of the Big Creek Greenway
- Phase 2: 600 multifamily units, 250,000 to 350,000 square feet of office space, 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of retail space, two hotels with 250 to 350 rooms, an 18,500-seat arena and practice arena
- Phase 3: 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space
- Phase 4: 600 multifamily units
Wednesday’s agreements set in stone the framework for how the arena will be built if the NHL awards the project a franchise.
Forsyth leaders agreed to provide $225 million in taxpayer-backed bond financing to the arena but only upon the NHL’s commitment.
“No NHL, no bond,” Forsyth County Manager David McKee said.
The agreements also bind the Gathering group to connect the mixed-use project to the Big Creek Greenway and spend $4.5 million on a new on-site fire station and sheriff’s office precinct.
If the arena is built, the Gathering team will pay $1 million annual in rent as part of a 49-year lease. The county will also get $2.50 per ticket sold at arena events.
“We’re at the 22-mile mark of a 26.2-mile marathon,” County Commissioner Alfred John said. “So just a little more to go.”
Krause’s group is one of two in metro Atlanta that have proposed arena and entertainment district plans anchored by an expansion NHL franchise. In Alpharetta, a group led by former NHL player Anson Carter has proposed a similar project at North Point Mall.
Alpharetta leaders last month greenlit an $150,000 study to determine the feasibility of building an NHL arena. Even though Alpharetta is closer to Atlanta than exurban Forsyth County, Krause said his project has a speed advantage.
“There’s no question that we have the best project in Atlanta,” he said. “We have definitive documents that we can take to the commissioner. No one else has that.”
Krause added that he hopes “one way or another” to get an answer this year on whether the Gathering will get an NHL franchise.
In hockey parlance, the puck is on the commissioner’s stick. Forsyth County and Krause are waiting to see if he’ll take the shot.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
