Houston Xarbits
 | |
| Nickname | Xarbits |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Association | IIHF |
| League | NHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central |
| Team history | Houston Xarbits 2024-present (NHL) |
| Based in | Houston, Texas |
| Arena | Toyota Centre |
| Colors | Teal, Orange, Pink, Axinite, Snow, Black |
| Anthem | TBC |
| Owner | Texas Sports Partners |
| President | TBC |
| CEO | TBC |
| Head Coach | TBC |
| General manager | TBC |
| Captain | TBC |
| League titles | 0 |
| Conference titles | 0 |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
| Playoff berths | 0 |
| Cheerleaders | TBC |
| Dancers | TBC |
| Mascot | TBC |
| Official fan club | TBC |
| Broadcasters | TBC |
| Local media | TBC |
| Partners | TBC |
| Main sponsor | TBC |
The Houston Xarbits are a professional American ice hockey team based within Houston. The Xarbits will compete within the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division within the Western Conference. The team was founded after the NHL approved a proposal by Texas Hockey Partners to grant an expansion franchise to the city of Texas, and the team began play during the league's 2026–27 season. They play their home games at Toyota Centre.
History
Greater Houston is the largest market in terms of both city proper and metro population in the US or Canada without an NHL franchise; since 2016, Houston is also now the largest metropolitan area without a complete set of teams in the major professional sports leagues.[1]
Professional ice hockey dates back to 1946 in Houston with the establishment of the Houston Skippers. This was followed by the Houston Apollos, the Houston Aeros of the WHA and the Houston Aeros of the AHL. The WHA Houston Aeros were an original member of the World Hockey Association. From 1972 to 1978, the Aeros twice won the AVCO World Trophy and featured the first father/son combination to play together in professional hockey, Gordie Howe and his two sons Mark and Marty. The Aeros, despite being a successful franchise, were left out of the NHL–WHA merger and were forced to fold in 1978. Another team also named the Aeros, of the American Hockey League (AHL), played at The Summit (renamed the Compaq Center in 1998 and converted to a megachurch after the Aeros' departure), and moved to the Toyota Center in 2003; the Aeros were unable to negotiate a lease extension, leading to the team's departure from Houston in 2013.[2] Beginning in 2012, as the NHL's interest in Houston as a market rose, the city was considered a potential site for expansion or the relocation of a team, pending a viable arena. Multiple reports suggested that the owner of the Chicago Wolves, businessman Don Levin, had expressed interest in building a new arena in nearby Bellevue that could host an NHL team.
The Minnesota North Stars briefly considered Houston when applying for relocation in 1993, but ultimately chose Dallas (and became the Stars) instead due to frosty reception from the Houston Rockets towards the idea of sharing The Summit.[3] As part of the lease agreement between Toyota Center (which has NHL capacity, with 17,800 seats in its hockey configuration) and the Rockets, only an NHL team owned by the owner of the Rockets is allowed to play at the arena. The Rockets have twice explored the purchase of an NHL team for the building, with the closest being then-owner Les Alexander's attempt to purchase the Edmonton Oilers in 1998[4] which was thwarted when a local ownership group came together and matched his offer.
In 2017, the Toyota Center and Houston Rockets were purchased by Tilman Fertitta. In a press conference, Fertitta expressed his interest in bringing an NHL team to the Toyota Center[5] and he had reportedly met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Fertitta has stated his intentions of possibly finding a tenant that could help fill the building throughout the year, including the mention of attracting an NHL franchise.[6] In 2023, it was reported that the Toyota Center was beginning a staged $30M renovation of the facility, which notably included the installation of permanent ice-making equipment.[7] In 2024, reports indicated that discussions between Fertitta and the NHL were "turning more serious," and that Fertitta hoped an ice hockey franchise could boost activity in Downtown Houston.[8][9] In March 2025, it was reported that Dan Friedkin and the NHL met to discuss placing an expansion team in Houston.[10]
Establishment
On December 4, 2017, the Houston City Council voted 7–1 to approve a memorandum of understanding between the City of Houston and Oakview Group, a sports company co-founded by Tim Leiweke, for renovations of KeyArena. On December 7, the NHL Board of Governors agreed to consider an expansion application from Seattle with an expansion fee set at US$650 million. The Seattle ownership group was represented by Cody Taylor.
References
- ↑ "NHL Cities - Ranked by Population - Stats Hockey". Statshockey.homestead.com. May 24, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ Fisher, Josh (April 18, 2013). "Wild statement on AHL affiliate". aeros.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
- ↑ Rajan, Greg (March 2, 2018). "Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites: 'I would love' the NHL in Houston". Texas Sports Nation. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Canadian reports say Oilers sold to Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander". Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2013. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Del Barrio, Alex (October 10, 2017). "New Rockets Owner Open To Possibility of the NHL in Houston". CBS News Houston. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ↑ "Bettman meets with owner of NBA's Rockets, who's 'very interested' in bringing NHL to Houston". November 16, 2017.
- ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (2023-10-06). "NHL in Houston? Rockets plan to make sure Toyota Center is ready". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ↑ Criswell, Josh. "Tilman Fertitta says NHL-to-Houston talks are getting 'more serious'". Chron. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ↑ Hagan, Shelly; Wethe, David (February 21, 2024). "Billionaire Fertitta Wants NHL Team to Boost Houston Growth". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024.
- ↑ "U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin eyeing Houston NHL expansion team". Sportsnet.ca. March 20, 2025. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
