T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The National Hockey League awarded its 31st franchise to billionaire businessman Bill Foley, who will pay $500 million to other NHL owners as an expansion fee.

The league's board of governors unanimously voted Wednesday to put the team in Las Vegas, and it will play in the new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip beginning in 2017. "We think this is a tremendously exciting opportunity, not just for Las Vegas, but for the league as well," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. This is the first time the NHL has expanded since 2000, when Minnesota and Columbus paid $80 million each to join the league.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.