Bill Foley, the former insurance executive who’s been busy building a wine empire, is adding a National Hockey League team to his holdings.
The League yesterday awarded him the franchise for Las Vegas, where he lives. Foley will pay $500 million to the NHL’s other owners as an expansion fee. The new team will play in T-Mobile Arena, the $375 million building that opened just off the Las Vegas Strip in April.
Las Vegas is the largest population center (2.2 million people) in the U.S. without a major professional sports team. In the past there had been concerns about corruption, owing to the city’s sports gambling culture, but the NHL seems to have resolved those concerns.
Foley has partnered with Joe and Gavin Maloof. The Maloofs were the owners of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1998 until 2013. Joe and Gavin are the sons of George J. Maloof, Sr., and his wife Colleen.
Originally from New Mexico, the Maloofs’ success began with the distribution rights for Coors Beer in the Southwest region of the U.S. in 1937. It was from this highly successful distribution service that the family was able to expand their empire.
The Maloofs sold their beer distribution business in an unsuccessful attempt to save the Palms and Palms Towers, which they were developing. In 2011 a restructuring gave private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners each a 49% share of the Palms, leaving the Maloofs with 2% ownership.
Foley describes himself as reclusive, telling ESPN “I’m not really good at large groups and glad-handing and trying to motivate and get people excited. So I’ve had to really learn how to do that in doses.”
Foley is a West Point graduate. He’s leaning toward naming the hockey team the Black Knights, which is also the name of West Point’s football team. “I love Black Knights,” Foley said. “I’m an Army guy, but maybe that’s not the right name for the team at this time. We’re going to work through the league.”
Established in 1996, Foley Family Wines has acquired 19 wineries, including three in New Zealand. Its North Coast wineries include Chalk Hill, Sebastiani, Roth, Lancaster Estate, Merus, Foley Johnson, Kuleto, Altvs, and Langtry Estate.