A defining day in Las Vegas sports history

A sweltering June day that will go down in history in Las Vegas.

A historic moment was added to the timeline Wednesday, the sort of announcement that forever could be etched into those occurrences that most define Las Vegas.

Clark County was created in 1909, the Boulder Canyon project approved almost 20 years later, and it was apparently a big deal around here when the city’s population reached 2,000, although today that would be defined as the number of students in a high school English class.

Sports also have produced such notable memories, but none will be considered more significant than that which officially began on a June afternoon in a studio ballroom at the MGM Grand.

Las Vegas took its next anticipated step toward welcoming its first major league professional sports franchise when the NHL agreed to formally open an expansion process, meaning there is enough interest from 30 owners to pursue those folks with the desire and means and know-how to join their fraternity.

Which means folks with a half billion dollars laying around to cover an expansion fee.

Bill Foley has all that and more, and the chairman of Fidelity National Financial appears more than ever set to become the person who delivers Las Vegas its long-desired major league team.

And that is incredibly historic.

UNLV claiming its national championship in basketball was extremely important to the city. So, too, was Greg Maddux making the National Baseball Hall of Fame and every Grand Slam trophy Andre Agassi held aloft.

But this is pro sports at a level the town has never known, an entirely different dynamic than ever experienced here.

This isn’t the Arena Football League or the United Football League or roller hockey or indoor soccer.

The potential impact of an NHL team here, socially and economically, is immeasurable.

“This is a city that has national and international prominence,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “But we haven’t had the discussions about what would be the terms, how many (expansion) teams, what teams, where, what the alignment is.

“The fact that we’re going through this process doesn’t mean we’re going to expand. All it means is that we have stopped listening to expressions of interest and are now taking a good, hard look at what they mean and represent. This won’t be a long, drawn-out process. What happens will depend on what we get.”

It has been about as smooth a process as Foley could have envisioned since beginning his season-ticket drive in February, one that now has more than 13,000 commitments without yet including those pledges that casinos and other local corporations obviously would make.

I have no idea if Bettman plays poker, but I would expect him to own an expressionless gaze at the table, no matter what sort of hand he held. He has consistently answered questions on expansion with an evasive tone, not willing to divulge much of anything.

It’s a process, and he’s not about to jump ahead.

But if Wednesday was the most important day in the history of Las Vegas sports, there is every chance Sept. 30 will inherit that moniker. That’s when the league’s Board of Governors meets in New York, almost two months after the deadline for expansion applications.

That’s when it has been assumed across the league for some time now that Foley and his group and their massive expansion fee check will be awarded their team, which would begin play at the new MGM Arena in the 2017-18 season.

“Las Vegas isn’t your typical market,” Bettman said. “I think a number of people, including Mr. Foley, were curious as to whether or not there was a groundswell from the community itself, not just the casinos or other businesses or the travel industry. Were there real fans here that would embrace a professional team?

“I think, based on the ticket drive, on the surface, it looks like there is a tremendous amount of interest. Not surprising, but I know there were people who were skeptical. I think people have come away with the impression that this community would respond to professional sports, to hockey, like many other significant cities across North America. That there are people who live and work here, raise kids here, have businesses here, and they would like something communal from the sports standpoint to get behind.

“Frankly, if (Foley) had only sold 1,000 season tickets and that was it, I think he would have decided there were other things he should do with his time and money.”

His time and money now will be all about formally applying for a franchise and continuing the journey that inevitably should conclude with Foley owning the first major league sports team in Las Vegas history.

We know he has enough zeros to handle the check.

He should sail through the vetting process.

A historic moment was added to the timeline Wednesday and an even bigger one likely awaits in September.

The game has changed for Las Vegas.

Most likely forever.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.