Bill Foley has his hockey team.
National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman announced at a televised news conference Wednesday afternoon that Foley’s ownership group has been granted an expansion franchise for Las Vegas that will begin play in the 2017-18 season.
Foley, chairman of Jacksonville-based Fidelity National Financial Inc., is the principal owner of the team that will play in a $375 million arena that opened in April near the Las Vegas Strip.
“We think the franchise will be in great shape with Bill Foley as the owner. I applaud his passion for hockey and for hockey in Las Vegas. I appreciate his persistence and his patience in pursuit of a franchise,” Bettman said.
He believes Foley will be successful.
“It takes time, it takes effort, it takes commitment and Bill Foley has what it takes to do that,” he said.
When Foley started the process of applying for the franchise in December 2014, he told the Daily Record that while he had homes in several cities, he considered Jacksonville his primary residence.
However, at the NHL’s news conference Wednesday, Foley indicated he has moved. “Las Vegas is my home along with 2.3 million other people. We want everybody to be a fan,” he said.
“My obligation is to hold this team in trust for the community,” Foley said.
In addition to his position as Fidelity’s chairman, Foley serves as executive chairman of Black Knight Financial Services Inc. and vice chairman of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS.
Both of those Jacksonville-based companies were spun off from Fidelity National Financial.
Fidelity Chief Financial Officer Anthony Park said last week he doesn’t think Foley’s role with the company will change because of the hockey team.
“If you know Bill, he is the master of juggling as many things as he needs to and he’s done that for years,” Park said.
In addition to his duties at the three Jacksonville companies, Foley is involved in several other business ventures, including a winery in California.
Last month, he started a “blank check” acquisition company with a former Blackstone Group dealmaker that raised $600 million in an initial public offering. That company, which established its offices in Las Vegas, has not yet made any acquisitions.
Foley’s group — which includes the Maloof family, former owners of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings — will pay a $500 million fee for the NHL franchise.
The hockey team will be called the Black Knights, using the same name as the Jacksonville-based mortgage technology company that was spun off from Fidelity.
Foley is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which uses the nickname Black Knights for its sports teams.
Bettman said the NHL’s executive committee’s approval of the franchise application was unanimous.
However, the league decided to defer action on a second application for a franchise by a group in Quebec City, Canada.
Bettman said the weakness of the Canadian dollar, which would make it difficult for a new Canadian franchise to succeed, was a major reason for deferring action on the Quebec application.