Could the NHL be making a return in this major city?

On Wednesday afternoon, rumors and reports began floating around the hockey community that the NHL could be making a return to one of America's largest and most populated cities. After being without a hockey team for the past 13 seasons, hockey fans in the south could be seeing a comeback very, very soon.

In Forsyth County, Georgia, just right outside of Atlanta, The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners issued a press release that announced the county approved an 80-acre complex worth more than $2 billion called The Gathering at South Forsyth. The agreement was made with Krause Sports and Entertainment.


The center of the deal revolves around a brand-new 700,000-square-foot arena to go along with retail space, office space, and housing spaces for over a million families. The county did announce, however, the arena would only be built if an NHL expansion team is awarded to Atlanta.



Atlanta is no stranger to the NHL scene, hosting the Atlanta Flames in the 1970's and the Atlanta Thrashers from 1999-2011 before both teams ended up relocating to Canada as the Flames became the Calgary Flames and Thrashers became the Winnipeg Jets.