Nebraska Knight Owls
| Nebraska Knight Owls | |
|---|---|
 2024-25 Nebraska Knight Owls season | |
| City | Omaha, Nebraska |
| League | NHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Operated | Nebraska Knight Owls 2024–present |
| Home arena | Baxter Arena |
| Colours | Eggplant, Jade, Orange |
| Owner(s) | NS&E Inc. |
| General manager | (TBA) |
| Head coach | (TBA) |
| Captain | (TBA) |
| Media | NPM-TV |
| Championships | |
| Division Championships | 0 |
| Conference Championships | 0 |
| Kelly Cups | 0 |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
The Nebraska Knight Owls are a (proposed) professional ice hockey team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The Owls will compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as members of the Central Division within the Western Conference and play their home games at Baxter Arena should their franchise be awarded officially. The ownership group is Nebraska Sports & Entertainment.
History
In February 2024, Gary Bettman announced six cities that would get NHL expansion franchises within future plans.[1] Among the list of cities was Omaha, which was controversial as nobody knew who sent that expansion request;[2] It was eventually revealed that Rodney Yates sent the application, and eventually travelled to New York City to meet the commissioner, discussing their plans for their NHL team.[3] During that meeting, the name for their expansion plans was revealed to be the Nebraska Knight Owls, an unofficial homage to the Omaha Knights.[4][3][5] Although the league initially wasn't considering expansion past 32 teams, they did state their interest in his proposal and that further expansion would be put onto the NHL Board of Governors for approval. On March 30, 2024, it was subsequently announced that NHL franchises were awarded for Omaha and Atlanta.
References
- ↑ "Bettman gives list of six possible NHL expansion cities | Offside". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ↑ Columnist, Tom Shatel World-Herald (2024-02-05). "Shatel: Who emailed the NHL about an expansion team in Omaha?". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 World-Herald, Joe Dejka Omaha (2024-03-03). "Jim Pillen, Gretna developer wanted Nebraska in 'conversation' for NHL team". Wahoo-Ashland-Waverly.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ↑ "Nebraska Group Pitches National Hockey League Team to NHL". NewsRadio 1110 KFAB. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ↑ World-Herald, Joe Dejka Omaha (2024-03-03). "Jim Pillen, Gretna developer wanted Nebraska in 'conversation' for NHL team". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
