NHL confirms expansion to Las Vegas for 2017-18 season

The NHL is coming to Las Vegas.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday that the league's Board of Governors unanimously approved expansion to the city for the 2017-18 season, giving Las Vegas its first professional sports franchise.

Bill Foley will be principal owner of the team, which will play its home games at the recently opened T-Mobile Arena. Foley and his group will pay a $500-million expansion fee, which will be distributed equally among the 30 other clubs.

"Well, Las Vegas, we did it," Foley said at Wednesday's news conference. "It wasn't easy, was it?"

The new franchise will play in the Western Conference's Pacific Division, and there will be no other changes to the league's alignment.

"In the fall of 2017, when we celebrate the 100th birthday of the NHL, we will do so as a League of 31 teams,” Bettman said in a statement.

“We are pleased to welcome Bill Foley and the city of Las Vegas to the League and are truly excited that an NHL franchise will be the first major professional sports team in this vibrant, growing, global destination city.”

The league also announced Wednesday that expansion to Quebec City has been deferred.

Foley said his Las Vegas club doesn't yet have a name, and although he's partial to calling them the Black Knights, nothing's been decided.

The expansion draft will take place nearly one year to the day of Wednesday's announcement.

Related: Las Vegas franchise will reveal roster June 21, 2017

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the Las Vegas franchise will be a lottery team in 2017 and its future NHL Draft positions will be determined by the standings, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

This is the first time the NHL has expanded since 1997, when the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Atlanta Thrashers were added for a fee of $80 million each.