The city of Alpharetta has greenlit a $150,000 study to determine the feasibility of building a hockey arena at the North Point Mall site in its latest move to lure an expansion National Hockey League team and revive the waning district.
The Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau unanimously voted Tuesday to provide $75,000 in funding for the market and financial feasibility study to be conducted by CAA Icon, a sports business consulting firm. The Alpharetta Development Authority voted Friday to fund the other half of the study’s cost.
The five-month study will determine the financial viability of a hockey arena, and economic impacts from the arena’s construction, according to CAA ICON. The city previously contracted CAA ICON in 2023 to identify which sport — ranging from soccer to cricket — would be most suitable for North Point, said Kathi Cook, director of Alpharetta Economic and Community Development.
An investor group in Alpharetta and another in Forsyth County have each proposed going after an expansion NHL team, hoping to lure top-level hockey with new arenas.
Chris Lagerbloom, Alpharetta’s city administrator, said he hopes to move quickly with the study to present a compelling proposal to the NHL as soon as possible.
“This is a path we’ve been on for several years,” he said at Tuesday’s Development Authority meeting. “It’s a natural next step and we’re going to move pretty quickly.”
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Former NHL player Anson Carter and his organization, Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group, announced plans a year ago to build a hockey arena at the North Point Mall site and woo an expansion NHL team. The ASE Group has partnered with New York Life, which owns the 100-acre mall site.
Carter’s proposal for North Point faces competition from Vernon Krause, the CEO of Krause Auto Group, who has pitched a site named The Gathering at South Forsyth just six miles north of the mall. The project is pursuing a $2 billion mixed-use campus and 18,500-seat arena with the same goal of attracting an NHL franchise.
Forsyth County leaders have agreed to support Krause’s project with taxpayer-backed financing if the group lands a franchise.
The NHL has not confirmed whether it has any interest in expanding to metro Atlanta at this time.
If metro Atlanta were to land another expansion team — and it’s a big if — it would be the third time the NHL has tried to make pro hockey work here. The Flames and Thrashers each failed to gain traction and left Atlanta.
Lagerbloom told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he is confident that North Point Mall is the better site for a hockey arena and is focused on “moving at a speed that the league will want.”
The city has attempted to redevelop or repurpose North Point Mall for years as it struggles to stay relevant and attract the same foot traffic it did in its heyday. Alpharetta City Council recently approved a 30-year plan to revamp North Point into a walkable, green district, with multiple construction projects already underway along the corridor.
Some experts say developments like a hockey arena would add very little direct economic value to Alpharetta residents. Jean-Paul Addie, a Georgia State University associate professor in the Urban Studies Institute, told the AJC that the city should focus on “less splashy but more meaningful forms of inclusive development.”
But with the city’s sights on the NHL, it’s full steam ahead for now.
“This is the right next step for us as the city pursues this interest,” Lagerbloom said. “Now we just have to see if we can move fast enough. We have some sense of urgency.”
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