Houston has never had an NHL team. Nevertheless, it by no means lacks hockey legacy.
The city once hosted “Mr. Hockey” for four seasons as Gordie Howe played with the World Hockey Association’s Houston Aeros from 1973 to 1977, one of three hockey franchises with whom played with during his illustrious career. The others, of course, were Detroit and Hartford.
The original Aeros made hockey history. The team signed Gordie out of retirement to play with his sons Mark and Marty. At the time, future Hall of Famer Mark Howe was too young to be eligible for the NHL Draft. The WHA later became the initial landing spot for other high-skill underage players including Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
Two Houston Aeros incarnations
Two versions of the Aeros played hockey in the city. World Hockey Association’s Aeros skating from 1972 to 1978. The franchise folded when it became clear unlike four other WHA teams the city wouldn’t be included in the NHL’s expansion plan. The second version of the Aeros returned in 1994 in International Hockey League, eventually merging into the American Hockey League in 2001 before leaving in 2013.
The two incarnations of the team brought four titles to Houston. The teams won a pair of Avco Cups in the WHA, along with a Turner in the IHL and a Calder Cup in the AHL. Houston isthe only city to have won titles in all three leagues.
Despite their on-ice success and strong attendance, professional hockey in the city ended in 2013 when the team and owner of the city’s major arena, the Toyota Center, got in a rent dispute which eventually caused relocation of the team to Iowa in 2013, where they remain to this day as the current Iowa Wild.
Houston is currently the largest market in the United States without an NHL team (ranked sixth, just ahead of another NHL hopeful in Atlanta). The city has entrants in the other three major sports. Moreover, it is also the largest market never to have an NHL franchise. In fact, it’s one of only two Metro areas in the nation’s Top 15 markets never to house NHL hockey. Orlando is the other.
Relocation failed but an expansion bid may succeed
The city was recently mentioned as a possible location for the Arizona Coyotes two seasons ago. However, that club relocated to Salt Lake City. The NHL opted to sell the franchise to Utah native Ryan Smith. Nonetheless, Houston remains near the top of the league’s wish list for a $2 billion expansion team. Atlanta being the other city with a good likelihood of landing a team.
Meanwhile the NHL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement is now in the books. The league can turn its attention to formally vetting potential ownership candidates for its potential 33rd and 34th franchises, which would begin play over the next few seasons.
Friedkin leads the charge for Houston expansion team
With the reported $2 billion price tag for an expansion club, the NHL has reportedly identified a potential owner for a new chapter of Houston hockey, as ESPN in March reported billionaire Dan Friedkin had met with the league numerous times about potentially landing a franchise in Houston.
Friedkin, who made his money distributing Toyotas in Texas as CEO of Gulf States Toyota, also branched out into hospitality and film producing. In 2019, he made the leap into professional soccer, purchasing AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A for $591 million. Last summer, he added an English Premier League team to his portfolio, purchasing Everton for around $670 million, and recently has shown interest into bringing hockey to his hometown.
While Friedkin is a viable option for potential expansion, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is another candidate that has been tied to efforts to bring the NHL to Houston. Fertitta changed Houston’s outlook for professional hockey in 2017 when he purchased the Rockets and the Toyota Center.
The Rockets’ former owner Les Alexander had disputes with both the IHL and AHL versions of the Aeros over rent, and after the team’s lease expired in 2013, Alexander wanted to use the Aeros’ home dates for concerts and other events. Despite already paying one of the highest rents in the league, Alexander demanded a 550 percent increase if the team wanted to remain at the Toyota Center, causing the franchise to leave town and leaving a hockey-unfriendly enviroment in the arena best suited for the NHL.
After the Rockets’ sale, however, the outlook changed markedly for either adding a team to Toyota Center – or potentially a new arena altogether.
The arena issue
The Toyota Center could be a complicating aspect in which ownership group takes control, as any NHL team’s franchise value would be more under the umbrella of an arena than having to rent. Friedkin’s bid likely would mean eventually constructing their own venue for the team to justify the hefty expansion fee, while a team under Fertitta would be wrapped into the valuable assets of the existing building and an NBA franchise, with the Rockets being valued at $4.9 billion in 2024 by Forbes in no small part thanks to controlling the building they play in.
The Toyota Center seats 17,800 for hockey, which would rank tied for 13th in terms of capacity with the Carolina Hurricanes’ home, the Lenovo Center, and was completed in 2003, which would be ninth newest in the league before the Calgary Flames’ new arena, Scotia Place, opens in 2027 – likely before a potential Houston franchise would begin play.
Attendance wasn’t the problem
Attendance was never a problem for the Aeros, as they were seventh among AHL teams in their final season in Houston with an average of 6,793, and were fifth in the league the year before with the AHL franchise high of 7,324, trailing only league mainstays Hershey, Chicago, Lake Erie and Providence, all markets with lengthy hockey history and 31 Calder Cups between them.
The IHL’s version of the Aeros peaked in their first year in 1994, averaging 11,695 per game, but they did slide every season in the league down to a 5,673 per game total in the league’s final year before the merger with the AHL, although attendance rebounded in the team’s American League chapter and move from The Summit to the Toyota Center in 2003.
Certainly one of the key aspects of the NHL’s expansion hunt is ownership. After years of not having the welcome mat out for the NHL after the Aeros were priced out of town, there are now two viable ownership groups capable of satisfying the high price tag as well as the money to run a competitive team, although certainly which group potentially that gets picked could dictate the team’s long-term home in the city.
Houston: A proven pro sports city
Houston certainly also comes out to support its other major league teams, as the Astros, Texans and Rockets are all currently among the Top 10 in attendance in each of their respective leagues. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars have shown a competitive NHL team can be in Texas given stable ownership.
A second Texas team would give the Stars a natural geographic rival. Right now, the closest NHL market to Dallas is St. Louis, which is 550 miles by air from the city. Nashville is roughly 630 mile away.
And while Houston doesn’t have an NHL history outside one of its greatest players calling it home for four years, it certainly has a very good hockey resume for potential future success and has a good shot at adding to its hockey history in the near future.
